Cost of living comparison

Rwanda

compared to

Malaysia

Malaysia vs. Rwanda Cost of Living Summary

Malaysia is 1.4% cheaper than Rwanda overall.

Restaurants: pay 5.8% less in Malaysia
Groceries: pay 66.2% more in Malaysia
Transportation: pay 34.7% less in Malaysia
Housing: pay 38.8% less in Malaysia
Childcare: pay 31.6% more in Malaysia
Entertainment and Sports: pay 70.4% more in Malaysia
Clothing: pay 2.7 times more in Malaysia

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

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Malaysia vs. Rwanda Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 5.8% less for restaurants

	Rwanda	Malaysia
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.71 RWF4,005	$3.42 MYR13.98	+26.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.77 RWF10,013	$4.64 MYR18.95	-31.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.78 RWF1,155	$0.75 MYR3.07	-3.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.56 RWF826	$0.42 MYR1.72	-24.5%
Average			-5.8%

Rwanda vs. Malaysia - Cost of restaurants

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pay 66.2% more for groceries

	Rwanda	Malaysia
Bread 1 loaf	$1.05 RWF1,548	$1.10 MYR4.49	+5.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.11 RWF3,115	$6.94 MYR28.32	+229.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.16 RWF4,675	$7.18 MYR29.31	+127.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.63 RWF2,412	$2.09 MYR8.53	+28.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.08 RWF3,078	$1.90 MYR7.75	-8.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.09 RWF1,618	$1.35 MYR5.53	+23.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.35 RWF522	$0.73 MYR2.97	+106.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.69 RWF1,019	$1.19 MYR4.84	+72.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.48 RWF707	$0.69 MYR2.83	+45.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.23 RWF333	$0.57 MYR2.34	+153.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.34 RWF499	$0.61 MYR2.50	+81.0%
Average			+66.2%

Rwanda vs. Malaysia - Cost of groceries

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pay 34.7% less for transportation

	Rwanda	Malaysia
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$7.00 RWF10,345	$2.76 MYR11.29	-60.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$25.40 RWF37,550	$15.28 MYR62.39	-39.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$26,080.15 RWF39M	$40,802.19 MYR167K	+56.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$18.97 RWF28,037	$6.46 MYR26.37	-65.9%
Average			-34.7%

Rwanda vs. Malaysia - Cost of transportation

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pay 38.8% less for housing

	Rwanda	Malaysia
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$21.00 RWF31,041	$27.60 MYR112.71	+31.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$666.07 RWF985K	$363.41 MYR1,483.90	-45.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$413.79 RWF612K	$265.07 MYR1,082.35	-35.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$64.32 RWF95,077	$36.69 MYR149.79	-43.0%
Average			-38.8%

Rwanda vs. Malaysia - Cost of housing

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pay 31.6% more for childcare

	Rwanda	Malaysia
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$112.90 RWF167K	$231.07 MYR943.51	+104.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,510.48 RWF14M	$8,043.53 MYR32,843.35	-15.4%
Average			+31.6%

Rwanda vs. Malaysia - Cost of childcare

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pay 70.4% more for entertainment and sports

	Rwanda	Malaysia
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.02 RWF1,502	$3.61 MYR14.73	+255.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.42 RWF3,578	$2.76 MYR11.29	+14.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.03 RWF3,004	$4.35 MYR17.74	+113.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$26.72 RWF39,497	$38.82 MYR158.52	+45.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.39 RWF5,007	$4.73 MYR19.31	+39.6%
Average			+70.4%

Rwanda vs. Malaysia - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.7 times more for clothing

	Rwanda	Malaysia
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$17.39 RWF25,701	$58.43 MYR238.60	+236.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$15.58 RWF23,031	$30.42 MYR124.22	+95.3%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$22.24 RWF32,877	$77.72 MYR317.35	+249.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$33.87 RWF50,067	$77.79 MYR317.65	+129.7%
Average			+169.4%

Rwanda vs. Malaysia - 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. Malaysia

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Malaysia?

Quality of Life Comparison · 25 statistics

Make 11.7 times more money in Malaysia

Size Comparison · See true size

Rwanda is about 13 times smaller than Malaysia.

Moving from Rwanda to Malaysia · Cost, visas & climate

Compare cost of living, salary and climate.

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