Cost of living comparison

Sao Tome and Principe

compared to

Kyrgyzstan

Bishkek vs. Sao Tome Cost of Living Summary

Bishkek is 12.8% cheaper than Sao Tome.

Restaurants: pay 35.2% less in Bishkek
Groceries: pay 60.5% less in Bishkek
Transportation: pay 32.3% less in Bishkek
Housing: pay 33.7% more in Bishkek
Childcare: pay 85.2% more in Bishkek
Entertainment and Sports: pay 20.8% less in Bishkek
Clothing: pay 68.0% more in Bishkek

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

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Bishkek vs. Sao Tome Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Bishkek instead of Sao Tome, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 35.2% less for restaurants

	Sao Tome	Bishkek
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.96 STD200K	$6.86 KGS600.01	-23.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.89 STD176K	$5.83 KGS510.01	-26.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.84 STD41,004	$0.74 KGS65.00	-59.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.25 STD27,770	$0.39 KGS33.88	-68.9%
Average			-35.2%

Sao Tome vs. Bishkek - Cost of restaurants

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pay 60.5% less for groceries

	Sao Tome	Bishkek
Bread 1 loaf	$1.00 STD22,187	$0.40 KGS34.67	-60.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$9.80 STD218K	$3.82 KGS334.23	-61.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.87 STD131K	$3.81 KGS333.12	-35.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.85 STD108K	$1.73 KGS151.13	-64.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$8.89 STD198K	$2.08 KGS181.82	-76.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.70 STD37,881	$0.63 KGS54.76	-63.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.79 STD17,644	$0.84 KGS73.57	+6.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.63 STD36,419	$0.93 KGS81.76	-42.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.57 STD34,958	$0.72 KGS62.84	-54.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.31 STD29,299	$0.27 KGS23.90	-79.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.08 STD23,986	$0.22 KGS19.28	-79.5%
Average			-60.5%

Sao Tome vs. Bishkek - Cost of groceries

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pay 32.3% less for transportation

	Sao Tome	Bishkek
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.46 STD144K	$3.74 KGS326.93	-42.1%
Monthly public transit pass	??	$11.66 KGS1,020.02
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$24,634.18 STD549M	$29,991.94 KGS3M	+21.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$22.43 STD500K	$4.52 KGS395.01	-79.9%
Average			-32.3%

Sao Tome vs. Bishkek - Cost of transportation

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pay 33.7% more for housing

	Sao Tome	Bishkek
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$66.91 STD1M	$12.00 KGS1,049.18	-82.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$284.91 STD6M	$603.19 KGS52,748.92	+111.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$195.02 STD4M	$416.93 KGS36,460.58	+113.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$174.83 STD4M	$38.42 KGS3,359.98	-78.0%
Average			+33.7%

Sao Tome vs. Bishkek - Cost of housing

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pay 85.2% more for childcare

	Sao Tome	Bishkek
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$228.62 STD5M	$219.56 KGS19,200.33	-4.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$2,194.77 STD49M	$7,837.88 KGS685K	+257.1%
Average			+85.2%

Sao Tome vs. Bishkek - Cost of childcare

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pay 20.8% less for entertainment and sports

	Sao Tome	Bishkek
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.70 STD37,799	$1.37 KGS120.00	-19.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.26 STD50,442	$2.43 KGS212.36	+7.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.26 STD50,420	$2.06 KGS180.00	-9.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$33.92 STD756K	$54.84 KGS4,795.54	+61.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$20.16 STD449K	$5.72 KGS500.01	-71.6%
Average			-20.8%

Sao Tome vs. Bishkek - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 68.0% more for clothing

	Sao Tome	Bishkek
Regular jeans Levi's brand	??	$55.40 KGS4,844.53
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$75.02 STD2M	$43.07 KGS3,766.73	-42.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	??	$90.57 KGS7,920.14
Men's business shoes (leather)	$18.36 STD409K	$90.22 KGS7,890.14	+391.3%
Average			+68.0%

Sao Tome vs. Bishkek - 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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