Cost of living comparison

Botswana

compared to

Nicaragua

Managua vs. Gaborone Cost of Living Summary

Managua is 8.5% more expensive than Gaborone.

Restaurants: pay 14.2% more in Managua
Groceries: pay 41.6% more in Managua
Transportation: pay 32.8% less in Managua
Housing: pay 8.2% less in Managua
Childcare: pay 2.1 times more in Managua
Entertainment and Sports: pay 4.3% more in Managua
Clothing: pay 97.9% more in Managua

The cost of childcare, clothing, groceries, restaurants, and entertainment and sports in Managua are more expensive than in Gaborone. Expenses including transportation and housing are lower in Managua. Notably, childcare and clothing are significantly more expensive in Managua.

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Managua vs. Gaborone Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Managua instead of Gaborone, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 14.2% more for restaurants

	Gaborone	Managua
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.85 BWP148.87	$10.00 NIO368.55	-7.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.79 BWP79.40	$7.61 NIO280.46	+31.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.72 BWP9.92	$0.88 NIO32.54	+22.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.42 BWP5.71	$0.71 NIO26.22	+71.1%
Average			+14.2%

Gaborone vs. Managua - Cost of restaurants

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pay 41.6% more for groceries

	Gaborone	Managua
Bread 1 loaf	$0.88 BWP12.02	$2.37 NIO87.46	+170.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.16 BWP43.42	$5.80 NIO213.64	+83.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.47 BWP75.12	$4.68 NIO172.61	-14.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.47 BWP33.83	$2.37 NIO87.18	-4.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.11 BWP28.88	$2.87 NIO105.79	+36.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.75 BWP10.31	$1.82 NIO67.08	+142.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.64 BWP8.75	$0.27 NIO10.03	-57.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 BWP12.38	$0.82 NIO30.09	-9.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.74 BWP10.15	$1.11 NIO41.05	+50.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.58 BWP7.97	$1.79 NIO65.90	+207.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.53 BWP7.25	$1.01 NIO37.13	+90.6%
Average			+41.6%

Gaborone vs. Managua - Cost of groceries

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pay 32.8% less for transportation

	Gaborone	Managua
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.15 BWP70.71	$5.06 NIO186.38	-1.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.66 BWP406.91	$6.01 NIO221.41	-79.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,891.73 BWP273K	$22,973.64 NIO847K	+15.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$20.87 BWP286.32	$14.69 NIO541.39	-29.6%
Average			-32.8%

Gaborone vs. Managua - Cost of transportation

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pay 8.2% less for housing

	Gaborone	Managua
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$42.10 BWP577.61	$32.47 NIO1,196.57	-22.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$356.36 BWP4,889.51	$256.40 NIO9,449.50	-28.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$221.34 BWP3,036.92	$181.00 NIO6,670.67	-18.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$45.63 BWP626.12	$115.83 NIO4,268.74	+153.8%
Average			-8.2%

Gaborone vs. Managua - Cost of housing

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pay 2.1 times more for childcare

	Gaborone	Managua
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$127.13 BWP1,744.25	$235.82 NIO8,690.94	+85.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$2,500.03 BWP34,301.86	$6,060.00 NIO223K	+142.4%
Average			+112.0%

Gaborone vs. Managua - Cost of childcare

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pay 4.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Gaborone	Managua
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.99 BWP27.29	$1.50 NIO55.28	-24.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.32 BWP31.83	$2.60 NIO95.82	+12.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.62 BWP49.62	$2.73 NIO100.51	-24.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$33.58 BWP460.78	$34.79 NIO1,282.16	+3.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.15 BWP84.36	$9.00 NIO331.69	+46.4%
Average			+4.3%

Gaborone vs. Managua - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 97.9% more for clothing

	Gaborone	Managua
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$47.53 BWP652.19	$59.88 NIO2,206.90	+26.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$16.75 BWP229.75	$65.00 NIO2,395.54	+288.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$72.33 BWP992.46	$122.64 NIO4,519.99	+69.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$78.36 BWP1,075.16	$144.83 NIO5,337.49	+84.8%
Average			+97.9%

Gaborone vs. Managua - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

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