Cost of living comparison

Malaysia

compared to

Rwanda

Rwanda vs. Malaysia Cost of Living Summary

Rwanda is 1.4% more expensive than Malaysia overall.

Restaurants: pay 6.1% more in Rwanda
Groceries: pay 39.8% less in Rwanda
Transportation: pay 53.0% more in Rwanda
Housing: pay 63.4% more in Rwanda
Childcare: pay 24.0% less in Rwanda
Entertainment and Sports: pay 41.3% less in Rwanda
Clothing: pay 62.9% less in Rwanda

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

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Rwanda vs. Malaysia Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 6.1% more for restaurants

	Malaysia	Rwanda
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.42 MYR13.98	$2.71 RWF4,005	-20.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.64 MYR18.95	$6.77 RWF10,013	+46.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.75 MYR3.07	$0.78 RWF1,155	+4.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.42 MYR1.72	$0.56 RWF826	+32.5%
Average			+6.1%

Malaysia vs. Rwanda - Cost of restaurants

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pay 39.8% less for groceries

	Malaysia	Rwanda
Bread 1 loaf	$1.10 MYR4.49	$1.05 RWF1,548	-4.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.94 MYR28.32	$2.11 RWF3,115	-69.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.18 MYR29.31	$3.16 RWF4,675	-55.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.09 MYR8.53	$1.63 RWF2,412	-21.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.90 MYR7.75	$2.08 RWF3,078	+9.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.35 MYR5.53	$1.09 RWF1,618	-19.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.73 MYR2.97	$0.35 RWF522	-51.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.19 MYR4.84	$0.69 RWF1,019	-41.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.69 MYR2.83	$0.48 RWF707	-31.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.57 MYR2.34	$0.23 RWF333	-60.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.61 MYR2.50	$0.34 RWF499	-44.8%
Average			-39.8%

Malaysia vs. Rwanda - Cost of groceries

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pay 53.0% more for transportation

	Malaysia	Rwanda
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.76 MYR11.29	$7.00 RWF10,345	+153.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$15.28 MYR62.39	$25.40 RWF37,550	+66.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$40,802.19 MYR167K	$26,080.15 RWF39M	-36.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$6.46 MYR26.37	$18.97 RWF28,037	+193.6%
Average			+53.0%

Malaysia vs. Rwanda - Cost of transportation

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pay 63.4% more for housing

	Malaysia	Rwanda
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$27.60 MYR112.71	$21.00 RWF31,041	-23.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$363.41 MYR1,483.90	$666.07 RWF985K	+83.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$265.07 MYR1,082.35	$413.79 RWF612K	+56.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$36.69 MYR149.79	$64.32 RWF95,077	+75.3%
Average			+63.4%

Malaysia vs. Rwanda - Cost of housing

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pay 24.0% less for childcare

	Malaysia	Rwanda
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$231.07 MYR943.51	$112.90 RWF167K	-51.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,043.53 MYR32,843.35	$9,510.48 RWF14M	+18.2%
Average			-24.0%

Malaysia vs. Rwanda - Cost of childcare

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pay 41.3% less for entertainment and sports

	Malaysia	Rwanda
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.61 MYR14.73	$1.02 RWF1,502	-71.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.76 MYR11.29	$2.42 RWF3,578	-12.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.35 MYR17.74	$2.03 RWF3,004	-53.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$38.82 MYR158.52	$26.72 RWF39,497	-31.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.73 MYR19.31	$3.39 RWF5,007	-28.4%
Average			-41.3%

Malaysia vs. Rwanda - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 62.9% less for clothing

	Malaysia	Rwanda
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$58.43 MYR238.60	$17.39 RWF25,701	-70.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$30.42 MYR124.22	$15.58 RWF23,031	-48.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$77.72 MYR317.35	$22.24 RWF32,877	-71.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$77.79 MYR317.65	$33.87 RWF50,067	-56.5%
Average			-62.9%

Malaysia vs. Rwanda - 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. Rwanda

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Rwanda?

Quality of Life Comparison · 25 statistics

Be 5.4 times more likely to live below the poverty line in Rwanda

Size Comparison · See true size

Malaysia is about 13 times bigger than Rwanda.

Moving from Malaysia to Rwanda · Cost, visas & climate

Compare cost of living, salary and climate.

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