Cost of living comparison

Bahrain

compared to

Sao Tome and Principe

Sao Tome vs. Manama Cost of Living Summary

Sao Tome is 23.4% cheaper than Manama.

Restaurants: pay 60.5% more in Sao Tome
Groceries: pay 72.3% more in Sao Tome
Transportation: pay 25.0% more in Sao Tome
Housing: pay 58.8% less in Sao Tome
Childcare: pay 69.5% less in Sao Tome
Entertainment and Sports: pay 39.8% less in Sao Tome
Clothing: pay 48.3% less in Sao Tome

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

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Sao Tome vs. Manama Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Sao Tome instead of Manama, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 60.5% more for restaurants

	Manama	Sao Tome
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.30 BHD2.010	$8.96 STD200K	+68.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.43 BHD2.810	$7.89 STD176K	+6.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.86 BHD0.330	$1.84 STD41,004	+113.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.31 BHD0.120	$1.25 STD27,770	+306.7%
Average			+60.5%

Manama vs. Sao Tome - Cost of restaurants

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pay 72.3% more for groceries

	Manama	Sao Tome
Bread 1 loaf	$1.08 BHD0.410	$1.00 STD22,187	-8.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.33 BHD1.640	$9.80 STD218K	+126.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.35 BHD2.030	$5.87 STD131K	+9.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.27 BHD0.860	$4.85 STD108K	+114.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.95 BHD1.120	$8.89 STD198K	+201.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.06 BHD0.400	$1.70 STD37,881	+60.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.04 BHD0.390	$0.79 STD17,644	-23.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.87 BHD0.330	$1.63 STD36,419	+88.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.64 BHD0.240	$1.57 STD34,958	+143.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.47 BHD0.180	$1.31 STD29,299	+182.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.63 BHD0.240	$1.08 STD23,986	+70.5%
Average			+72.3%

Manama vs. Sao Tome - Cost of groceries

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pay 25.0% more for transportation

	Manama	Sao Tome
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.53 BHD0.960	$6.46 STD144K	+155.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$37.13 BHD14.060	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$37,115.81 BHD14,058.540	$24,634.18 STD549M	-33.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$32.88 BHD12.460	$22.43 STD500K	-31.8%
Average			+25.0%

Manama vs. Sao Tome - Cost of transportation

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pay 58.8% less for housing

	Manama	Sao Tome
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$35.14 BHD13.310	$66.91 STD1M	+90.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$995.34 BHD377.010	$284.91 STD6M	-71.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$645.13 BHD244.360	$195.02 STD4M	-69.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$117.06 BHD44.340	$174.83 STD4M	+49.4%
Average			-58.8%

Manama vs. Sao Tome - Cost of housing

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pay 69.5% less for childcare

	Manama	Sao Tome
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$489.38 BHD185.370	$228.62 STD5M	-53.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$11,017.71 BHD4,173.230	$2,194.77 STD49M	-80.1%
Average			-69.5%

Manama vs. Sao Tome - Cost of childcare

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pay 39.8% less for entertainment and sports

	Manama	Sao Tome
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$6.63 BHD2.510	$1.70 STD37,799	-74.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.94 BHD1.870	$2.26 STD50,442	-54.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.30 BHD2.010	$2.26 STD50,420	-57.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$62.98 BHD23.860	$33.92 STD756K	-46.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.61 BHD4.020	$20.16 STD449K	+90.0%
Average			-39.8%

Manama vs. Sao Tome - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 48.3% less for clothing

	Manama	Sao Tome
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$51.08 BHD19.350	??
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$57.58 BHD21.810	$75.02 STD2M	+30.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$87.84 BHD33.270	??
Men's business shoes (leather)	$89.50 BHD33.900	$18.36 STD409K	-79.5%
Average			-48.3%

Manama vs. Sao Tome - 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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