Cost of living comparison
compared to
United Arab Emirates vs. Sao Tome and Principe Cost of Living Summary
United Arab Emirates is 55.1% more expensive than Sao Tome and Principe overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 14.4% less in United Arab Emirates
- Groceries
-
pay 41.2% less in United Arab Emirates
- Transportation
-
pay 27.0% less in United Arab Emirates
- Housing
-
pay 3.7 times more in United Arab Emirates
- Childcare
-
pay 2.8 times more in United Arab Emirates
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 2.0 times more in United Arab Emirates
- Clothing
-
pay 89.8% more in United Arab Emirates
The cost of housing, childcare, entertainment and sports, and clothing in United Arab Emirates are more expensive than in Sao Tome and Principe. Expenses including groceries, transportation, and restaurants are lower in United Arab Emirates. Notably, housing, childcare, and entertainment and sports are significantly more expensive in United Arab Emirates.
United Arab Emirates vs. Sao Tome and Principe Cost Breakdown
If you lived in United Arab Emirates instead of Sao Tome and Principe, you would:
pay 14.4% less for restaurants
|
Sao Tome and Principe
|
United Arab Emirates
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$8.96
STD200K
|
$8.43
AED30.95
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$7.89
STD176K
|
$8.55
AED31.39
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.84
STD41,004
|
$1.07
AED3.94
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.25
STD27,770
|
$0.45
AED1.66
|
|
Sao Tome and Principe vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of restaurants
pay 41.2% less for groceries
|
Sao Tome and Principe
|
United Arab Emirates
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.00
STD22,187
|
$1.46
AED5.38
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$9.80
STD218K
|
$4.94
AED18.13
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.87
STD131K
|
$6.75
AED24.79
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$4.85
STD108K
|
$2.80
AED10.28
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$8.89
STD198K
|
$3.68
AED13.51
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.70
STD37,881
|
$0.97
AED3.58
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.79
STD17,644
|
$0.76
AED2.80
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.63
STD36,419
|
$0.72
AED2.65
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.57
STD34,958
|
$0.58
AED2.13
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.31
STD29,299
|
$0.48
AED1.75
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.08
STD23,986
|
$0.47
AED1.74
|
|
Sao Tome and Principe vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of groceries
pay 27.0% less for transportation
|
Sao Tome and Principe
|
United Arab Emirates
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$6.46
STD144K
|
$3.40
AED12.50
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass | ?? |
$49.01
AED180.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$24,634.18
STD549M
|
$33,745.09
AED124K
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$22.43
STD500K
|
$7.71
AED28.31
|
|
Sao Tome and Principe vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of transportation
pay 3.7 times more for housing
|
Sao Tome and Principe
|
United Arab Emirates
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$66.91
STD1M
|
$87.46
AED321.23
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$284.91
STD6M
|
$1,419.61
AED5,214.23
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$195.02
STD4M
|
$1,087.32
AED3,993.73
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$174.83
STD4M
|
$131.39
AED482.60
|
|
Sao Tome and Principe vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of housing
pay 2.8 times more for childcare
|
Sao Tome and Principe
|
United Arab Emirates
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$228.62
STD5M
|
$481.84
AED1,769.81
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$2,194.77
STD49M
|
$8,191.72
AED30,088.20
|
|
Sao Tome and Principe vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of childcare
pay 2.0 times more for entertainment and sports
|
Sao Tome and Principe
|
United Arab Emirates
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$1.70
STD37,799
|
$10.81
AED39.72
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.26
STD50,442
|
$4.99
AED18.34
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$2.26
STD50,420
|
$6.20
AED22.77
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$33.92
STD756K
|
$69.98
AED257.02
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$20.16
STD449K
|
$13.30
AED48.83
|
|
Sao Tome and Principe vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay 89.8% more for clothing
|
Sao Tome and Principe
|
United Arab Emirates
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
?? |
$53.49
AED196.45
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$75.02
STD2M
|
$52.36
AED192.32
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
?? |
$95.31
AED350.08
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$18.36
STD409K
|
$94.82
AED348.27
|
|
Sao Tome and Principe vs. United Arab Emirates - Cost of clothing
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
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