Cost of living comparison

Panama

compared to

Bhutan

Thimphu vs. Panama City Cost of Living Summary

Thimphu is 74.8% cheaper than Panama City.

Restaurants: pay 69.8% less in Thimphu
Groceries: pay 62.5% less in Thimphu
Transportation: pay 46.6% less in Thimphu
Housing: pay 87.6% less in Thimphu
Childcare: pay 93.0% less in Thimphu
Entertainment and Sports: pay 43.9% less in Thimphu
Clothing: pay 57.0% less in Thimphu

Expenses including childcare, housing, restaurants, groceries, clothing, and transportation are lower in Thimphu.

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Thimphu vs. Panama City Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Thimphu instead of Panama City, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 69.8% less for restaurants

	Panama City	Thimphu
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$11.50 PAB11.50	$2.58 BTN245.70	-77.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.00 PAB8.00	$4.91 BTN466.83	-38.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.97 PAB1.97	$0.50 BTN47.50	-74.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.60 PAB1.60	$0.18 BTN17.20	-88.7%
Average			-69.8%

Panama City vs. Thimphu - Cost of restaurants

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pay 62.5% less for groceries

	Panama City	Thimphu
Bread 1 loaf	$2.52 PAB2.52	$1.07 BTN101.96	-57.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.18 PAB6.18	$1.88 BTN178.54	-69.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.09 PAB7.09	$3.03 BTN288.32	-57.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.75 PAB2.75	$1.88 BTN178.87	-31.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.07 PAB3.07	$1.79 BTN170.51	-41.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.87 PAB1.87	$1.15 BTN109.22	-38.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.82 PAB0.82	$0.69 BTN65.75	-16.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.92 PAB1.92	$0.73 BTN69.10	-62.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.86 PAB1.86	$0.33 BTN31.76	-82.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.55 PAB1.55	$0.26 BTN24.52	-83.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.96 PAB1.96	$0.31 BTN29.53	-84.1%
Average			-62.5%

Panama City vs. Thimphu - Cost of groceries

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pay 46.6% less for transportation

	Panama City	Thimphu
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.62 PAB4.62	$2.79 BTN264.82	-39.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$21.00 PAB21.00	$5.17 BTN491.40	-75.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,262.00 PAB21,262.00	$16,591.53 BTN2M	-22.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$16.98 PAB16.98	$13.18 BTN1,253.06	-22.4%
Average			-46.6%

Panama City vs. Thimphu - Cost of transportation

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pay 87.6% less for housing

	Panama City	Thimphu
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$48.70 PAB48.70	$24.17 BTN2,297.69	-50.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,262.50 PAB1,262.50	$127.00 BTN12,071.65	-89.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$874.18 PAB874.18	$86.02 BTN8,176.19	-90.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$100.29 PAB100.29	$25.81 BTN2,452.87	-74.3%
Average			-87.6%

Panama City vs. Thimphu - Cost of housing

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pay 93.0% less for childcare

	Panama City	Thimphu
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$543.33 PAB543.33	$44.98 BTN4,275.09	-91.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,641.50 PAB9,641.50	$568.68 BTN54,053.67	-94.1%
Average			-93.0%

Panama City vs. Thimphu - Cost of childcare

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pay 43.9% less for entertainment and sports

	Panama City	Thimphu
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.30 PAB3.30	$2.58 BTN245.70	-21.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.11 PAB4.11	$1.28 BTN121.21	-69.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.00 PAB6.00	$3.88 BTN368.55	-35.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$46.40 PAB46.40	$46.53 BTN4,422.57	+0.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.50 PAB8.50	$3.10 BTN294.84	-63.5%
Average			-43.9%

Panama City vs. Thimphu - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 57.0% less for clothing

	Panama City	Thimphu
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$66.67 PAB66.67	$49.97 BTN4,750.10	-25.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$48.43 PAB48.43	$24.99 BTN2,375.05	-48.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$94.62 PAB94.62	$67.21 BTN6,388.16	-29.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$111.67 PAB111.67	$13.96 BTN1,326.77	-87.5%
Average			-57.0%

Panama City vs. Thimphu - 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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