Cost of living comparison

Rwanda

compared to

Botswana

Botswana vs. Rwanda Cost of Living Summary

Botswana is 3.0% cheaper than Rwanda overall.

Restaurants: pay 70.2% more in Botswana
Groceries: pay 37.6% more in Botswana
Transportation: pay 13.1% less in Botswana
Housing: pay 40.4% less in Botswana
Childcare: pay 45.6% less in Botswana
Entertainment and Sports: pay 47.7% more in Botswana
Clothing: pay 2.2 times more in Botswana

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

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Botswana vs. Rwanda Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Botswana instead of Rwanda, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 70.2% more for restaurants

	Rwanda	Botswana
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.71 RWF4,005	$10.85 BWP148.87	+300.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.77 RWF10,013	$5.79 BWP79.40	-14.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.78 RWF1,155	$0.72 BWP9.92	-7.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.56 RWF826	$0.42 BWP5.71	-25.6%
Average			+70.2%

Rwanda vs. Botswana - Cost of restaurants

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pay 37.6% more for groceries

	Rwanda	Botswana
Bread 1 loaf	$1.05 RWF1,548	$0.88 BWP12.02	-16.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.11 RWF3,115	$3.16 BWP43.42	+50.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.16 RWF4,675	$5.47 BWP75.12	+73.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.63 RWF2,412	$2.47 BWP33.83	+51.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.08 RWF3,078	$2.11 BWP28.88	+1.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.09 RWF1,618	$0.75 BWP10.31	-31.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.35 RWF522	$0.64 BWP8.75	+80.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.69 RWF1,019	$0.90 BWP12.38	+30.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.48 RWF707	$0.74 BWP10.15	+54.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.23 RWF333	$0.58 BWP7.97	+157.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.34 RWF499	$0.53 BWP7.25	+56.6%
Average			+37.6%

Rwanda vs. Botswana - Cost of groceries

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pay 13.1% less for transportation

	Rwanda	Botswana
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$7.00 RWF10,345	$5.15 BWP70.71	-26.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$25.40 RWF37,550	$29.66 BWP406.91	+16.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$26,080.15 RWF39M	$19,891.73 BWP273K	-23.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$18.97 RWF28,037	$20.87 BWP286.32	+10.0%
Average			-13.1%

Rwanda vs. Botswana - Cost of transportation

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pay 40.4% less for housing

	Rwanda	Botswana
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$21.00 RWF31,041	$42.10 BWP577.61	+100.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$666.07 RWF985K	$356.36 BWP4,889.51	-46.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$413.79 RWF612K	$221.34 BWP3,036.92	-46.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$64.32 RWF95,077	$45.63 BWP626.12	-29.1%
Average			-40.4%

Rwanda vs. Botswana - Cost of housing

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pay 45.6% less for childcare

	Rwanda	Botswana
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$112.90 RWF167K	$127.13 BWP1,744.25	+12.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,510.48 RWF14M	$2,500.03 BWP34,301.86	-73.7%
Average			-45.6%

Rwanda vs. Botswana - Cost of childcare

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pay 47.7% more for entertainment and sports

	Rwanda	Botswana
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.02 RWF1,502	$1.99 BWP27.29	+95.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.42 RWF3,578	$2.32 BWP31.83	-4.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.03 RWF3,004	$3.62 BWP49.62	+78.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$26.72 RWF39,497	$33.58 BWP460.78	+25.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.39 RWF5,007	$6.15 BWP84.36	+81.5%
Average			+47.7%

Rwanda vs. Botswana - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.2 times more for clothing

	Rwanda	Botswana
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$17.39 RWF25,701	$47.53 BWP652.19	+173.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$15.58 RWF23,031	$16.75 BWP229.75	+7.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$22.24 RWF32,877	$72.33 BWP992.46	+225.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$33.87 RWF50,067	$78.36 BWP1,075.16	+131.4%
Average			+116.8%

Rwanda vs. Botswana - 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: Rwanda vs. Botswana

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Botswana?

Quality of Life Comparison · 21 statistics

Make 6.9 times more money in Botswana

Size Comparison · See true size

Rwanda is about 22 times smaller than Botswana.

Moving from Rwanda to Botswana · Cost, visas & climate

Compare cost of living, salary and climate.

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