Cost of living comparison

Sao Tome and Principe

compared to

Bahrain

Manama vs. Sao Tome Cost of Living Summary

Manama is 30.6% more expensive than Sao Tome.

Restaurants: pay 37.7% less in Manama
Groceries: pay 42.0% less in Manama
Transportation: pay 20.0% less in Manama
Housing: pay 2.4 times more in Manama
Childcare: pay 3.3 times more in Manama
Entertainment and Sports: pay 66.2% more in Manama
Clothing: pay 93.4% more in Manama

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

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Manama vs. Sao Tome Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 37.7% less for restaurants

	Sao Tome	Manama
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.96 STD200K	$5.30 BHD2.010	-40.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.89 STD176K	$7.43 BHD2.810	-5.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.84 STD41,004	$0.86 BHD0.330	-53.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.25 STD27,770	$0.31 BHD0.120	-75.4%
Average			-37.7%

Sao Tome vs. Manama - Cost of restaurants

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pay 42.0% less for groceries

	Sao Tome	Manama
Bread 1 loaf	$1.00 STD22,187	$1.08 BHD0.410	+8.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$9.80 STD218K	$4.33 BHD1.640	-55.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.87 STD131K	$5.35 BHD2.030	-8.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.85 STD108K	$2.27 BHD0.860	-53.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$8.89 STD198K	$2.95 BHD1.120	-66.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.70 STD37,881	$1.06 BHD0.400	-37.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.79 STD17,644	$1.04 BHD0.390	+31.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.63 STD36,419	$0.87 BHD0.330	-46.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.57 STD34,958	$0.64 BHD0.240	-58.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.31 STD29,299	$0.47 BHD0.180	-64.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.08 STD23,986	$0.63 BHD0.240	-41.3%
Average			-42.0%

Sao Tome vs. Manama - Cost of groceries

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pay 20.0% less for transportation

	Sao Tome	Manama
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.46 STD144K	$2.53 BHD0.960	-60.9%
Monthly public transit pass	??	$37.13 BHD14.060
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$24,634.18 STD549M	$37,115.81 BHD14,058.540	+50.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$22.43 STD500K	$32.88 BHD12.460	+46.6%
Average			-20.0%

Sao Tome vs. Manama - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.4 times more for housing

	Sao Tome	Manama
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$66.91 STD1M	$35.14 BHD13.310	-47.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$284.91 STD6M	$995.34 BHD377.010	+249.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$195.02 STD4M	$645.13 BHD244.360	+230.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$174.83 STD4M	$117.06 BHD44.340	-33.0%
Average			+142.7%

Sao Tome vs. Manama - Cost of housing

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pay 3.3 times more for childcare

	Sao Tome	Manama
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$228.62 STD5M	$489.38 BHD185.370	+114.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$2,194.77 STD49M	$11,017.71 BHD4,173.230	+402.0%
Average			+227.8%

Sao Tome vs. Manama - Cost of childcare

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pay 66.2% more for entertainment and sports

	Sao Tome	Manama
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.70 STD37,799	$6.63 BHD2.510	+290.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.26 STD50,442	$4.94 BHD1.870	+118.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.26 STD50,420	$5.30 BHD2.010	+134.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$33.92 STD756K	$62.98 BHD23.860	+85.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$20.16 STD449K	$10.61 BHD4.020	-47.4%
Average			+66.2%

Sao Tome vs. Manama - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 93.4% more for clothing

	Sao Tome	Manama
Regular jeans Levi's brand	??	$51.08 BHD19.350
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$75.02 STD2M	$57.58 BHD21.810	-23.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	??	$87.84 BHD33.270
Men's business shoes (leather)	$18.36 STD409K	$89.50 BHD33.900	+387.4%
Average			+93.4%

Sao Tome vs. Manama - 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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