Cost of living comparison

Kuwait

compared to

Maldives

Male vs. Kuwait City Cost of Living Summary

Male is 12.8% more expensive than Kuwait City.

Restaurants: pay 20.7% less in Male
Groceries: pay 45.0% more in Male
Transportation: pay 41.1% more in Male
Housing: pay 20.2% more in Male
Childcare: pay 55.5% less in Male
Entertainment and Sports: pay 0.1% more in Male
Clothing: pay 8.6% less in Male

The cost of groceries, transportation, housing, and entertainment and sports in Male are more expensive than in Kuwait City. Expenses including childcare, restaurants, and clothing are lower in Male.

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Male vs. Kuwait City Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Male instead of Kuwait City, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 20.7% less for restaurants

	Kuwait City	Male
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$12.89 KWD3.980	$6.00 MVR92.80	-53.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.86 KWD2.740	$9.73 MVR150.49	+9.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.72 KWD0.220	$1.63 MVR25.14	+124.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.30 KWD0.090	$0.30 MVR4.59	-1.6%
Average			-20.7%

Kuwait City vs. Male - Cost of restaurants

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pay 45.0% more for groceries

	Kuwait City	Male
Bread 1 loaf	$1.50 KWD0.460	$1.65 MVR25.58	+10.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.18 KWD0.670	$5.34 MVR82.48	+144.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.08 KWD1.880	$7.69 MVR118.88	+26.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.10 KWD0.650	$1.92 MVR29.72	-8.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.02 KWD0.930	$2.77 MVR42.75	-8.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.11 KWD0.340	$1.80 MVR27.85	+61.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.86 KWD0.270	$1.39 MVR21.42	+61.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.82 KWD0.250	$1.85 MVR28.67	+124.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.69 KWD0.210	$1.22 MVR18.85	+77.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.61 KWD0.190	$0.93 MVR14.41	+53.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.66 KWD0.200	$0.86 MVR13.31	+30.3%
Average			+45.0%

Kuwait City vs. Male - Cost of groceries

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pay 41.1% more for transportation

	Kuwait City	Male
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$1.28 KWD0.400	$3.81 MVR58.85	+197.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$48.33 KWD14.940	$30.82 MVR476.54	-36.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$20,942.34 KWD6,474.120	$32,446.46 MVR502K	+54.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$30.61 KWD9.460	$17.52 MVR270.88	-42.8%
Average			+41.1%

Kuwait City vs. Male - Cost of transportation

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pay 20.2% more for housing

	Kuwait City	Male
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$29.92 KWD9.250	$73.00 MVR1,128.65	+144.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$924.68 KWD285.860	$951.14 MVR14,704.70	+2.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$635.52 KWD196.460	$699.92 MVR10,820.71	+10.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$50.13 KWD15.500	$90.98 MVR1,406.51	+81.5%
Average			+20.2%

Kuwait City vs. Male - Cost of housing

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pay 55.5% less for childcare

	Kuwait City	Male
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$299.37 KWD92.550	$184.98 MVR2,859.75	-38.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,387.00 KWD2,901.900	$3,004.83 MVR46,454.64	-68.0%
Average			-55.5%

Kuwait City vs. Male - Cost of childcare

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pay 0.1% more for entertainment and sports

	Kuwait City	Male
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.22 KWD1.000	$4.87 MVR75.24	+51.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.21 KWD1.610	$3.55 MVR54.87	-31.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.74 KWD0.850	$14.93 MVR230.75	+445.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$122.83 KWD37.970	$70.81 MVR1,094.69	-42.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$11.28 KWD3.490	$9.73 MVR150.49	-13.7%
Average			+0.1%

Kuwait City vs. Male - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 8.6% less for clothing

	Kuwait City	Male
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$37.59 KWD11.620	$39.51 MVR610.88	+5.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$39.47 KWD12.200	$49.64 MVR767.37	+25.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$97.66 KWD30.190	$87.13 MVR1,346.98	-10.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$88.60 KWD27.390	$52.52 MVR811.92	-40.7%
Average			-8.6%

Kuwait City vs. Male - 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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