Cost of living comparison

Japan

compared to

Timor-Leste

Timor-Leste vs. Japan Cost of Living Summary

Timor-Leste is 16.3% more expensive than Japan overall.

Restaurants: pay 21.3% more in Timor-Leste
Groceries: pay 23.7% less in Timor-Leste
Transportation: pay 10.7% less in Timor-Leste
Housing: pay 62.8% more in Timor-Leste
Childcare: pay 2.3 times more in Timor-Leste
Entertainment and Sports: pay 14.2% less in Timor-Leste
Clothing: pay 5.4% more in Timor-Leste

The cost of childcare, housing, restaurants, and clothing in Timor-Leste are more expensive than in Japan. Expenses including groceries, entertainment and sports, and transportation are lower in Timor-Leste. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in Timor-Leste.

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Timor-Leste vs. Japan Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Timor-Leste instead of Japan, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 21.3% more for restaurants

	Japan	Timor-Leste
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.75 ¥1,066	$5.00	-25.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.10 ¥805	$8.00	+56.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.13 ¥179	$1.67	+46.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.76 ¥120	$2.83	+274.1%
Average			+21.3%

Japan vs. Timor-Leste - Cost of restaurants

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pay 23.7% less for groceries

	Japan	Timor-Leste
Bread 1 loaf	$1.53 ¥241	$2.48	+62.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.55 ¥877	$1.00	-82.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.56 ¥879	$8.80	+58.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.01 ¥318	$2.70	+34.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.85 ¥450	$4.31	+51.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.16 ¥342	$1.51	-30.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.08 ¥171	$0.83	-23.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.54 ¥243	$1.13	-26.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.92 ¥303	$1.06	-44.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.10 ¥174	$0.55	-49.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.08 ¥170	$0.53	-50.8%
Average			-23.7%

Japan vs. Timor-Leste - Cost of groceries

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pay 10.7% less for transportation

	Japan	Timor-Leste
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.11 ¥649	$5.34	+29.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$63.20 ¥9,986	$30.00	-52.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,047.50 ¥3M	$18,000.00	-14.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$24.65 ¥3,895	$32.70	+32.7%
Average			-10.7%

Japan vs. Timor-Leste - Cost of transportation

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pay 62.8% more for housing

	Japan	Timor-Leste
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$33.54 ¥5,300	??
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$546.58 ¥86,367	$828.75	+51.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$360.78 ¥57,008	$753.75	+108.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$113.26 ¥17,897	$114.71	+1.3%
Average			+62.8%

Japan vs. Timor-Leste - Cost of housing

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pay 2.3 times more for childcare

	Japan	Timor-Leste
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$417.01 ¥65,893	$1,500.00	+259.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$11,300.14 ¥2M	$16,000.00	+41.6%
Average			+125.7%

Japan vs. Timor-Leste - Cost of childcare

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pay 14.2% less for entertainment and sports

	Japan	Timor-Leste
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.57 ¥406	$2.50	-2.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.06 ¥483	$4.12	+35.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.83 ¥605	$3.00	-21.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$53.31 ¥8,424	$50.00	-6.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.73 ¥1,853	$6.00	-48.8%
Average			-14.2%

Japan vs. Timor-Leste - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 5.4% more for clothing

	Japan	Timor-Leste
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$46.32 ¥7,320	$60.00	+29.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$31.33 ¥4,950	$30.00	-4.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$59.45 ¥9,394	$80.00	+34.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$81.04 ¥12,805	$60.00	-26.0%
Average			+5.4%

Japan vs. Timor-Leste - 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

Compare further: Japan vs. Timor-Leste

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Timor-Leste?

Quality of Life Comparison · 22 statistics

Be 2.6 times more likely to live below the poverty line in Timor-Leste

Size Comparison · See true size

Japan is about 25 times bigger than Timor-Leste.

Moving from Japan to Timor-Leste · Cost, visas & climate

Compare cost of living, salary and climate.

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