Cost of living comparison

China

compared to

Botswana

Gaborone vs. Shanghai Cost of Living Summary

Gaborone is 31.2% cheaper than Shanghai.

Restaurants: pay 59.2% more in Gaborone
Groceries: pay 9.9% less in Gaborone
Transportation: pay 16.2% more in Gaborone
Housing: pay 52.5% less in Gaborone
Childcare: pay 91.0% less in Gaborone
Entertainment and Sports: pay 21.0% less in Gaborone
Clothing: pay 27.2% less in Gaborone

The cost of restaurants and transportation in Gaborone are more expensive than in Shanghai. Expenses including childcare, housing, clothing, entertainment and sports, and groceries are lower in Gaborone.

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Gaborone vs. Shanghai Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Gaborone instead of Shanghai, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 59.2% more for restaurants

	Shanghai	Gaborone
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.47 CN¥29.94	$10.85 BWP148.87	+142.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.22 CN¥34.93	$5.79 BWP79.40	+10.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.60 CN¥4.01	$0.72 BWP9.92	+20.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 CN¥2.47	$0.42 BWP5.71	+12.4%
Average			+59.2%

Shanghai vs. Gaborone - Cost of restaurants

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pay 9.9% less for groceries

	Shanghai	Gaborone
Bread 1 loaf	$1.98 CN¥13.22	$0.88 BWP12.02	-55.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$8.60 CN¥57.52	$3.16 BWP43.42	-63.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.88 CN¥46.02	$5.47 BWP75.12	-20.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.70 CN¥11.36	$2.47 BWP33.83	+45.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.48 CN¥9.89	$2.11 BWP28.88	+42.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.99 CN¥6.65	$0.75 BWP10.31	-24.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.16	$0.64 BWP8.75	-17.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 CN¥6.05	$0.90 BWP12.38	-0.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 CN¥5.15	$0.74 BWP10.15	-3.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.36 CN¥2.40	$0.58 BWP7.97	+62.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.43 CN¥2.90	$0.53 BWP7.25	+22.0%
Average			-9.9%

Shanghai vs. Gaborone - Cost of groceries

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pay 16.2% more for transportation

	Shanghai	Gaborone
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.96 CN¥33.21	$5.15 BWP70.71	+3.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$29.83 CN¥199.59	$29.66 BWP406.91	-0.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,374.76 CN¥130K	$19,891.73 BWP273K	+2.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$5.67 CN¥37.92	$20.87 BWP286.32	+268.2%
Average			+16.2%

Shanghai vs. Gaborone - Cost of transportation

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pay 52.5% less for housing

	Shanghai	Gaborone
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$10.55 CN¥70.59	$42.10 BWP577.61	+299.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,036.96 CN¥6,938.07	$356.36 BWP4,889.51	-65.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$588.71 CN¥3,938.93	$221.34 BWP3,036.92	-62.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$44.06 CN¥294.77	$45.63 BWP626.12	+3.6%
Average			-52.5%

Shanghai vs. Gaborone - Cost of housing

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pay 91.0% less for childcare

	Shanghai	Gaborone
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$1,413.50 CN¥9,457.42	$127.13 BWP1,744.25	-91.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$27,686.22 CN¥185K	$2,500.03 BWP34,301.86	-91.0%
Average			-91.0%

Shanghai vs. Gaborone - Cost of childcare

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pay 21.0% less for entertainment and sports

	Shanghai	Gaborone
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 CN¥7.98	$1.99 BWP27.29	+66.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.35 CN¥22.41	$2.32 BWP31.83	-30.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.73 CN¥24.95	$3.62 BWP49.62	-3.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$65.69 CN¥439.52	$33.58 BWP460.78	-48.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.95 CN¥59.88	$6.15 BWP84.36	-31.3%
Average			-21.0%

Shanghai vs. Gaborone - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 27.2% less for clothing

	Shanghai	Gaborone
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$54.37 CN¥363.79	$47.53 BWP652.19	-12.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$37.09 CN¥248.19	$16.75 BWP229.75	-54.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$75.49 CN¥505.08	$72.33 BWP992.46	-4.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$105.70 CN¥707.25	$78.36 BWP1,075.16	-25.9%
Average			-27.2%

Shanghai vs. Gaborone - 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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