Cost of living comparison

Maldives

compared to

Kuwait

Kuwait vs. Maldives Cost of Living Summary

Kuwait is 21.1% cheaper than Maldives overall.

Restaurants: pay 2.5% less in Kuwait
Groceries: pay 32.9% less in Kuwait
Transportation: pay 29.7% less in Kuwait
Housing: pay 29.4% less in Kuwait
Childcare: pay 71.6% more in Kuwait
Entertainment and Sports: pay 9.6% less in Kuwait
Clothing: pay 1.0% more in Kuwait

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

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Kuwait vs. Maldives Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Kuwait instead of Maldives, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.5% less for restaurants

	Maldives	Kuwait
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.00 MVR92.80	$8.31 KWD2.570	+38.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.57 MVR147.98	$7.91 KWD2.450	-17.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.63 MVR25.14	$0.55 KWD0.170	-66.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.30 MVR4.59	$0.31 KWD0.090	+3.4%
Average			-2.5%

Maldives vs. Kuwait - Cost of restaurants

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pay 32.9% less for groceries

	Maldives	Kuwait
Bread 1 loaf	$1.65 MVR25.58	$1.08 KWD0.330	-34.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.48 MVR53.78	$2.22 KWD0.690	-36.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.83 MVR105.59	$5.32 KWD1.650	-22.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.87 MVR28.90	$2.10 KWD0.650	+12.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.76 MVR42.75	$2.71 KWD0.840	-2.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.80 MVR27.85	$1.10 KWD0.340	-38.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.39 MVR21.41	$0.80 KWD0.250	-42.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.59 MVR24.57	$0.67 KWD0.210	-57.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.22 MVR18.85	$0.61 KWD0.190	-50.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.75 MVR11.64	$0.50 KWD0.160	-33.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.69 MVR10.64	$0.47 KWD0.150	-31.1%
Average			-32.9%

Maldives vs. Kuwait - Cost of groceries

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pay 29.7% less for transportation

	Maldives	Kuwait
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.81 MVR58.84	$1.25 KWD0.390	-67.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$30.82 MVR476.54	$51.95 KWD16.060	+68.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$32,446.46 MVR502K	$20,021.80 KWD6,189.540	-38.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$17.52 MVR270.88	$29.57 KWD9.140	+68.8%
Average			-29.7%

Maldives vs. Kuwait - Cost of transportation

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pay 29.4% less for housing

	Maldives	Kuwait
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$73.00 MVR1,128.65	$30.53 KWD9.440	-58.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,043.39 MVR16,130.74	$776.48 KWD240.040	-25.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$739.32 MVR11,429.82	$619.33 KWD191.460	-16.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$85.19 MVR1,317.00	$39.56 KWD12.230	-53.6%
Average			-29.4%

Maldives vs. Kuwait - Cost of housing

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pay 71.6% more for childcare

	Maldives	Kuwait
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$184.92 MVR2,858.87	$251.54 KWD77.760	+36.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,003.87 MVR46,439.89	$6,500.38 KWD2,009.530	+116.4%
Average			+71.6%

Maldives vs. Kuwait - Cost of childcare

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pay 9.6% less for entertainment and sports

	Maldives	Kuwait
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.87 MVR75.24	$2.68 KWD0.830	-45.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.55 MVR54.86	$4.71 KWD1.460	+32.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$13.95 MVR215.70	$2.74 KWD0.850	-80.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$70.81 MVR1,094.69	$97.98 KWD30.290	+38.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$9.73 MVR150.49	$11.58 KWD3.580	+19.0%
Average			-9.6%

Maldives vs. Kuwait - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 1.0% more for clothing

	Maldives	Kuwait
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$39.51 MVR610.80	$37.05 KWD11.450	-6.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$49.63 MVR767.27	$37.45 KWD11.580	-24.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$87.11 MVR1,346.76	$95.55 KWD29.540	+9.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$52.50 MVR811.70	$70.48 KWD21.790	+34.2%
Average			+1.0%

Maldives vs. Kuwait - 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: Maldives vs. Kuwait

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Kuwait?

Quality of Life Comparison · 19 statistics

Make 2.2 times more money in Kuwait

Size Comparison · See true size

Maldives is about 60 times smaller than Kuwait.

Moving from Maldives to Kuwait · Cost, visas & climate

Compare cost of living, salary and climate.

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