Cost of living comparison

Malaysia

compared to

Botswana

Botswana vs. Malaysia Cost of Living Summary

Botswana is 1.6% cheaper than Malaysia overall.

Restaurants: pay 80.6% more in Botswana
Groceries: pay 17.2% less in Botswana
Transportation: pay 33.0% more in Botswana
Housing: pay 2.6% less in Botswana
Childcare: pay 58.6% less in Botswana
Entertainment and Sports: pay 13.3% less in Botswana
Clothing: pay 19.5% less in Botswana

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

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Botswana vs. Malaysia Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Botswana instead of Malaysia, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 80.6% more for restaurants

	Malaysia	Botswana
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.42 MYR13.98	$10.85 BWP148.87	+216.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.64 MYR18.95	$5.79 BWP79.40	+24.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.75 MYR3.07	$0.72 BWP9.92	-3.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.42 MYR1.72	$0.42 BWP5.71	-1.4%
Average			+80.6%

Malaysia vs. Botswana - Cost of restaurants

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pay 17.2% less for groceries

	Malaysia	Botswana
Bread 1 loaf	$1.10 MYR4.49	$0.88 BWP12.02	-20.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.94 MYR28.32	$3.16 BWP43.42	-54.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.18 MYR29.31	$5.47 BWP75.12	-23.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.09 MYR8.53	$2.47 BWP33.83	+18.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.90 MYR7.75	$2.11 BWP28.88	+10.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.35 MYR5.53	$0.75 BWP10.31	-44.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.73 MYR2.97	$0.64 BWP8.75	-12.4%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.19 MYR4.84	$0.90 BWP12.38	-23.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.69 MYR2.83	$0.74 BWP10.15	+6.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.57 MYR2.34	$0.58 BWP7.97	+1.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.61 MYR2.50	$0.53 BWP7.25	-13.5%
Average			-17.2%

Malaysia vs. Botswana - Cost of groceries

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pay 33.0% more for transportation

	Malaysia	Botswana
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.76 MYR11.29	$5.15 BWP70.71	+86.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$15.28 MYR62.39	$29.66 BWP406.91	+94.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$40,802.19 MYR167K	$19,891.73 BWP273K	-51.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$6.46 MYR26.37	$20.87 BWP286.32	+223.1%
Average			+33.0%

Malaysia vs. Botswana - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.6% less for housing

	Malaysia	Botswana
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$27.60 MYR112.71	$42.10 BWP577.61	+52.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$363.41 MYR1,483.90	$356.36 BWP4,889.51	-1.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$265.07 MYR1,082.35	$221.34 BWP3,036.92	-16.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$36.69 MYR149.79	$45.63 BWP626.12	+24.4%
Average			-2.6%

Malaysia vs. Botswana - Cost of housing

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pay 58.6% less for childcare

	Malaysia	Botswana
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$231.07 MYR943.51	$127.13 BWP1,744.25	-45.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,043.53 MYR32,843.35	$2,500.03 BWP34,301.86	-68.9%
Average			-58.6%

Malaysia vs. Botswana - Cost of childcare

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pay 13.3% less for entertainment and sports

	Malaysia	Botswana
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.61 MYR14.73	$1.99 BWP27.29	-44.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.76 MYR11.29	$2.32 BWP31.83	-16.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.35 MYR17.74	$3.62 BWP49.62	-16.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$38.82 MYR158.52	$33.58 BWP460.78	-13.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.73 MYR19.31	$6.15 BWP84.36	+30.0%
Average			-13.3%

Malaysia vs. Botswana - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 19.5% less for clothing

	Malaysia	Botswana
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$58.43 MYR238.60	$47.53 BWP652.19	-18.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$30.42 MYR124.22	$16.75 BWP229.75	-45.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$77.72 MYR317.35	$72.33 BWP992.46	-6.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$77.79 MYR317.65	$78.36 BWP1,075.16	+0.7%
Average			-19.5%

Malaysia vs. Botswana - 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: Malaysia vs. Botswana

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Botswana?

Quality of Life Comparison · 22 statistics

Be 6.5 times more likely to be unemployed in Botswana

Size Comparison · See true size

Malaysia is about 1.8 times smaller than Botswana.

Moving from Malaysia to Botswana · Cost, visas & climate

Compare cost of living, salary and climate.

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