Cost of living comparison

Norway

compared to

South Africa

South Africa vs. Norway Cost of Living Summary

South Africa is 55.3% cheaper than Norway overall.

Restaurants: pay 61.3% less in South Africa
Groceries: pay 54.1% less in South Africa
Transportation: pay 35.3% less in South Africa
Housing: pay 63.2% less in South Africa
Childcare: pay 37.3% less in South Africa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 64.1% less in South Africa
Clothing: pay 39.4% less in South Africa

Expenses including entertainment and sports, housing, restaurants, groceries, clothing, and childcare are lower in South Africa.

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South Africa vs. Norway Cost Breakdown

If you lived in South Africa instead of Norway, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 61.3% less for restaurants

	Norway	South Africa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$22.46 NOK206.81	$10.21 ZAR170.75	-54.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$15.20 NOK139.96	$5.91 ZAR98.83	-61.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$3.98 NOK36.69	$1.08 ZAR18.12	-72.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$3.16 NOK29.14	$0.84 ZAR13.97	-73.6%
Average			-61.3%

Norway vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 54.1% less for groceries

	Norway	South Africa
Bread 1 loaf	$3.73 NOK34.36	$1.07 ZAR17.83	-71.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.51 NOK59.95	$4.08 ZAR68.25	-37.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$9.11 NOK83.89	$4.58 ZAR76.53	-49.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.06 NOK46.62	$2.56 ZAR42.86	-49.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$6.95 NOK63.98	$2.31 ZAR38.68	-66.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.62 NOK14.89	$0.81 ZAR13.58	-49.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.22 NOK11.24	$0.74 ZAR12.30	-39.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.65 NOK15.22	$0.79 ZAR13.13	-52.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.31 NOK21.30	$0.77 ZAR12.88	-66.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.20 NOK11.00	$0.64 ZAR10.77	-46.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.34 NOK12.32	$0.66 ZAR11.00	-50.8%
Average			-54.1%

Norway vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries

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pay 35.3% less for transportation

	Norway	South Africa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$8.73 NOK80.40	$5.49 ZAR91.77	-37.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$78.63 NOK724.04	$65.15 ZAR1,089.26	-17.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$45,459.95 NOK419K	$32,517.32 ZAR544K	-28.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$25.74 NOK236.98	$7.35 ZAR122.86	-71.4%
Average			-35.3%

Norway vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation

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pay 63.2% less for housing

	Norway	South Africa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$65.87 NOK606.57	$38.93 ZAR650.96	-40.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,278.72 NOK11,775.13	$421.37 ZAR7,045.19	-67.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,052.00 NOK9,687.35	$369.24 ZAR6,173.65	-64.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$221.33 NOK2,038.08	$105.57 ZAR1,765.07	-52.3%
Average			-63.2%

Norway vs. South Africa - Cost of housing

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pay 37.3% less for childcare

	Norway	South Africa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$256.93 NOK2,365.94	$199.53 ZAR3,336.14	-22.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,715.88 NOK89,468.69	$4,917.78 ZAR82,223.72	-49.4%
Average			-37.3%

Norway vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare

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pay 64.1% less for entertainment and sports

	Norway	South Africa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$11.32 NOK104.27	$2.25 ZAR37.63	-80.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.55 NOK51.11	$2.25 ZAR37.69	-59.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$16.96 NOK156.20	$3.16 ZAR52.84	-81.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$53.57 NOK493.30	$31.59 ZAR528.18	-41.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$17.67 NOK162.75	$7.32 ZAR122.35	-58.6%
Average			-64.1%

Norway vs. South Africa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 39.4% less for clothing

	Norway	South Africa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$102.56 NOK944.43	$52.66 ZAR880.43	-48.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$56.21 NOK517.57	$34.13 ZAR570.62	-39.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$125.90 NOK1,159.33	$99.75 ZAR1,667.81	-20.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$159.02 NOK1,464.36	$86.61 ZAR1,448.04	-45.5%
Average			-39.4%

Norway vs. South Africa - 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: Norway vs. South Africa

Salary Calculator · Free tool

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Quality of Life Comparison · 23 statistics

Be 7.0 times more likely to be unemployed in South Africa

Size Comparison · See true size

Norway is about 3.8 times smaller than South Africa.

Moving from Norway to South Africa · UN DESA 2020

1,350 people born in Norway live in South Africa.

City Size Comparison · See true size

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