Cost of living comparison

Botswana

compared to

Bahrain

Manama vs. Gaborone Cost of Living Summary

Manama is 65.4% more expensive than Gaborone.

Restaurants: pay 21.9% less in Manama
Groceries: pay 13.2% more in Manama
Transportation: pay 4.0% more in Manama
Housing: pay 2.6 times more in Manama
Childcare: pay 4.1 times more in Manama
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.1 times more in Manama
Clothing: pay 50.5% more in Manama

The cost of childcare, housing, entertainment and sports, clothing, groceries, and transportation in Manama are more expensive than in Gaborone. Notably, childcare, housing, and entertainment and sports are significantly more expensive in Manama.

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Manama vs. Gaborone Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 21.9% less for restaurants

	Gaborone	Manama
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.85 BWP148.87	$5.30 BHD2.010	-51.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.79 BWP79.40	$7.43 BHD2.810	+28.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.72 BWP9.92	$0.86 BHD0.330	+19.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.42 BWP5.71	$0.31 BHD0.120	-26.3%
Average			-21.9%

Gaborone vs. Manama - Cost of restaurants

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pay 13.2% more for groceries

	Gaborone	Manama
Bread 1 loaf	$0.88 BWP12.02	$1.08 BHD0.410	+23.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.16 BWP43.42	$4.33 BHD1.640	+36.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.47 BWP75.12	$5.35 BHD2.030	-2.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.47 BWP33.83	$2.27 BHD0.860	-8.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.11 BWP28.88	$2.95 BHD1.120	+40.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.75 BWP10.31	$1.06 BHD0.400	+41.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.64 BWP8.75	$1.04 BHD0.390	+62.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 BWP12.38	$0.87 BHD0.330	-3.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.74 BWP10.15	$0.64 BHD0.240	-12.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.58 BWP7.97	$0.47 BHD0.180	-19.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.53 BWP7.25	$0.63 BHD0.240	+19.5%
Average			+13.2%

Gaborone vs. Manama - Cost of groceries

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pay 4.0% more for transportation

	Gaborone	Manama
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.15 BWP70.71	$2.53 BHD0.960	-51.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.66 BWP406.91	$37.13 BHD14.060	+25.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,891.73 BWP273K	$37,115.81 BHD14,058.540	+86.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$20.87 BWP286.32	$32.88 BHD12.460	+57.6%
Average			+4.0%

Gaborone vs. Manama - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.6 times more for housing

	Gaborone	Manama
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$42.10 BWP577.61	$35.14 BHD13.310	-16.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$356.36 BWP4,889.51	$995.34 BHD377.010	+179.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$221.34 BWP3,036.92	$645.13 BHD244.360	+191.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$45.63 BWP626.12	$117.06 BHD44.340	+156.5%
Average			+164.1%

Gaborone vs. Manama - Cost of housing

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pay 4.1 times more for childcare

	Gaborone	Manama
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$127.13 BWP1,744.25	$489.38 BHD185.370	+285.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$2,500.03 BWP34,301.86	$11,017.71 BHD4,173.230	+340.7%
Average			+311.9%

Gaborone vs. Manama - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.1 times more for entertainment and sports

	Gaborone	Manama
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.99 BWP27.29	$6.63 BHD2.510	+233.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.32 BWP31.83	$4.94 BHD1.870	+112.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.62 BWP49.62	$5.30 BHD2.010	+46.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$33.58 BWP460.78	$62.98 BHD23.860	+87.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.15 BWP84.36	$10.61 BHD4.020	+72.5%
Average			+106.2%

Gaborone vs. Manama - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 50.5% more for clothing

	Gaborone	Manama
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$47.53 BWP652.19	$51.08 BHD19.350	+7.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$16.75 BWP229.75	$57.58 BHD21.810	+243.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$72.33 BWP992.46	$87.84 BHD33.270	+21.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$78.36 BWP1,075.16	$89.50 BHD33.900	+14.2%
Average			+50.5%

Gaborone vs. Manama - 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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