Cost of living comparison

Maldives

compared to

Panama

Panama vs. Maldives Cost of Living Summary

Panama is 0.8% cheaper than Maldives overall.

Restaurants: pay 28.2% more in Panama
Groceries: pay 19.3% more in Panama
Transportation: pay 11.7% less in Panama
Housing: pay 16.9% less in Panama
Childcare: pay 2.7 times more in Panama
Entertainment and Sports: pay 35.8% less in Panama
Clothing: pay 3.6% more in Panama

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

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Panama vs. Maldives Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 28.2% more for restaurants

	Maldives	Panama
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.00 MVR92.74	$8.20 PAB8.20	+36.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.57 MVR147.88	$8.90 PAB8.90	-7.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.63 MVR25.12	$1.41 PAB1.41	-13.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.30 MVR4.59	$1.30 PAB1.30	+339.4%
Average			+28.2%

Maldives vs. Panama - Cost of restaurants

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pay 19.3% more for groceries

	Maldives	Panama
Bread 1 loaf	$1.65 MVR25.57	$2.28 PAB2.28	+38.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.48 MVR53.75	$6.18 PAB6.18	+77.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.83 MVR105.52	$7.09 PAB7.09	+3.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.87 MVR28.89	$2.56 PAB2.56	+36.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.76 MVR42.72	$3.42 PAB3.42	+23.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.80 MVR27.83	$1.86 PAB1.86	+3.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.39 MVR21.40	$0.59 PAB0.59	-57.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.59 MVR24.56	$1.76 PAB1.76	+10.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.22 MVR18.83	$1.67 PAB1.67	+37.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.75 MVR11.63	$1.09 PAB1.09	+45.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.69 MVR10.63	$1.14 PAB1.14	+66.0%
Average			+19.3%

Maldives vs. Panama - Cost of groceries

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pay 11.7% less for transportation

	Maldives	Panama
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.81 MVR58.81	$4.34 PAB4.34	+14.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$30.82 MVR476.23	$23.00 PAB23.00	-25.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$32,446.46 MVR501K	$23,920.67 PAB23,920.67	-26.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$17.52 MVR270.70	$16.62 PAB16.62	-5.1%
Average			-11.7%

Maldives vs. Panama - Cost of transportation

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pay 16.9% less for housing

	Maldives	Panama
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$73.00 MVR1,127.92	$49.81 PAB49.81	-31.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,043.39 MVR16,120.31	$789.50 PAB789.50	-24.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$739.32 MVR11,422.43	$614.84 PAB614.84	-16.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$85.19 MVR1,316.15	$96.53 PAB96.53	+13.3%
Average			-16.9%

Maldives vs. Panama - Cost of housing

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pay 2.7 times more for childcare

	Maldives	Panama
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$184.92 MVR2,857.02	$543.33 PAB543.33	+193.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,003.87 MVR46,409.85	$7,213.83 PAB7,213.83	+140.2%
Average			+165.6%

Maldives vs. Panama - Cost of childcare

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pay 35.8% less for entertainment and sports

	Maldives	Panama
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.87 MVR75.19	$2.21 PAB2.21	-54.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.55 MVR54.82	$3.73 PAB3.73	+5.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$13.95 MVR215.56	$5.29 PAB5.29	-62.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$70.81 MVR1,093.98	$50.91 PAB50.91	-28.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$9.73 MVR150.39	$6.13 PAB6.13	-37.0%
Average			-35.8%

Maldives vs. Panama - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 3.6% more for clothing

	Maldives	Panama
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$39.51 MVR610.41	$45.56 PAB45.56	+15.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$49.63 MVR766.77	$36.71 PAB36.71	-26.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$87.11 MVR1,345.89	$69.81 PAB69.81	-19.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$52.50 MVR811.17	$88.33 PAB88.33	+68.2%
Average			+3.6%

Maldives vs. Panama - 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 November 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: Maldives vs. Panama

Salary Calculator · Free tool

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Quality of Life Comparison · 19 statistics

Be 85.4% more likely to be unemployed in Panama

Size Comparison · See true size

Maldives is about 253 times smaller than Panama.

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Compare cost of living, salary and climate.

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