Cost of living comparison

Rwanda

compared to

China

China vs. Rwanda Cost of Living Summary

China is 9.2% cheaper than Rwanda overall.

Restaurants: pay 14.3% less in China
Groceries: pay 30.6% more in China
Transportation: pay 35.1% less in China
Housing: pay 46.8% less in China
Childcare: pay 3.0 times more in China
Entertainment and Sports: pay 45.9% more in China
Clothing: pay 2.6 times more in China

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

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China vs. Rwanda Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 14.3% less for restaurants

	Rwanda	China
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.71 RWF4,005	$3.02 CN¥20.18	+11.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.77 RWF10,013	$5.16 CN¥34.52	-23.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.78 RWF1,155	$0.51 CN¥3.39	-35.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.56 RWF826	$0.29 CN¥1.97	-47.2%
Average			-14.3%

Rwanda vs. China - Cost of restaurants

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pay 30.6% more for groceries

	Rwanda	China
Bread 1 loaf	$1.05 RWF1,548	$1.66 CN¥11.09	+58.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.11 RWF3,115	$6.71 CN¥44.88	+218.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.16 RWF4,675	$6.65 CN¥44.53	+110.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.63 RWF2,412	$1.57 CN¥10.47	-4.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.08 RWF3,078	$1.52 CN¥10.14	-27.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.09 RWF1,618	$0.83 CN¥5.55	-24.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.35 RWF522	$0.59 CN¥3.92	+65.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.69 RWF1,019	$0.67 CN¥4.46	-3.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.48 RWF707	$0.58 CN¥3.90	+22.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.23 RWF333	$0.33 CN¥2.18	+44.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.34 RWF499	$0.40 CN¥2.67	+18.3%
Average			+30.6%

Rwanda vs. China - Cost of groceries

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pay 35.1% less for transportation

	Rwanda	China
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$7.00 RWF10,345	$4.77 CN¥31.92	-31.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$25.40 RWF37,550	$20.77 CN¥138.99	-18.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$26,080.15 RWF39M	$18,838.53 CN¥126K	-27.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$18.97 RWF28,037	$4.24 CN¥28.39	-77.6%
Average			-35.1%

Rwanda vs. China - Cost of transportation

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pay 46.8% less for housing

	Rwanda	China
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$21.00 RWF31,041	$11.27 CN¥75.42	-46.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$666.07 RWF985K	$336.09 CN¥2,248.74	-49.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$413.79 RWF612K	$212.64 CN¥1,422.74	-48.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$64.32 RWF95,077	$42.92 CN¥287.14	-33.3%
Average			-46.8%

Rwanda vs. China - Cost of housing

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pay 3.0 times more for childcare

	Rwanda	China
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$112.90 RWF167K	$500.54 CN¥3,348.99	+343.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,510.48 RWF14M	$18,908.16 CN¥127K	+98.8%
Average			+196.9%

Rwanda vs. China - Cost of childcare

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pay 45.9% more for entertainment and sports

	Rwanda	China
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.02 RWF1,502	$1.12 CN¥7.52	+10.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.42 RWF3,578	$2.84 CN¥19.00	+17.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.03 RWF3,004	$3.71 CN¥24.79	+82.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$26.72 RWF39,497	$41.75 CN¥279.37	+56.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.39 RWF5,007	$6.28 CN¥41.99	+85.3%
Average			+45.9%

Rwanda vs. China - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.6 times more for clothing

	Rwanda	China
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$17.39 RWF25,701	$46.40 CN¥310.43	+166.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$15.58 RWF23,031	$33.97 CN¥227.29	+118.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$22.24 RWF32,877	$73.79 CN¥493.72	+231.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$33.87 RWF50,067	$78.93 CN¥528.10	+133.0%
Average			+159.0%

Rwanda vs. China - 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. China

Salary Calculator · Free tool

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Quality of Life Comparison · 22 statistics

Make 12.3 times more money in China

Size Comparison · See true size

Rwanda is about 364 times smaller than China.

Moving from Rwanda to China · Cost, visas & climate

Compare cost of living, salary and climate.

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