Cost of living comparison

South Africa

compared to

Bahrain

Bahrain vs. South Africa Cost of Living Summary

Bahrain is 28.6% more expensive than South Africa overall.

Restaurants: pay 13.7% less in Bahrain
Groceries: pay 6.5% more in Bahrain
Transportation: pay 25.6% less in Bahrain
Housing: pay 72.6% more in Bahrain
Childcare: pay 2.1 times more in Bahrain
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.2 times more in Bahrain
Clothing: pay 9.5% more in Bahrain

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

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Bahrain vs. South Africa Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Bahrain instead of South Africa, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 13.7% less for restaurants

	South Africa	Bahrain
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.21 ZAR168.45	$6.42 BHD2.430	-37.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.91 ZAR97.49	$7.93 BHD3.000	+34.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.08 ZAR17.88	$1.13 BHD0.430	+4.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.84 ZAR13.78	$0.53 BHD0.200	-36.6%
Average			-13.7%

South Africa vs. Bahrain - Cost of restaurants

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pay 6.5% more for groceries

	South Africa	Bahrain
Bread 1 loaf	$1.07 ZAR17.59	$1.18 BHD0.450	+10.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.08 ZAR67.33	$4.29 BHD1.620	+5.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.58 ZAR75.49	$6.16 BHD2.330	+34.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.56 ZAR42.28	$2.19 BHD0.830	-14.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.31 ZAR38.16	$2.75 BHD1.040	+18.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.81 ZAR13.40	$1.17 BHD0.440	+44.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.74 ZAR12.13	$0.99 BHD0.370	+34.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.79 ZAR12.95	$1.01 BHD0.380	+28.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 ZAR12.71	$0.74 BHD0.280	-4.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.64 ZAR10.62	$0.42 BHD0.160	-34.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.66 ZAR10.85	$0.53 BHD0.200	-19.6%
Average			+6.5%

South Africa vs. Bahrain - Cost of groceries

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pay 25.6% less for transportation

	South Africa	Bahrain
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.49 ZAR90.53	$2.10 BHD0.800	-61.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$65.15 ZAR1,074.55	$42.90 BHD16.250	-34.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$32,517.32 ZAR536K	$33,877.63 BHD12,832.000	+4.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.35 ZAR121.20	$27.42 BHD10.380	+273.1%
Average			-25.6%

South Africa vs. Bahrain - Cost of transportation

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pay 72.6% more for housing

	South Africa	Bahrain
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$38.93 ZAR642.17	$36.07 BHD13.660	-7.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$421.37 ZAR6,950.09	$937.18 BHD354.980	+122.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$369.24 ZAR6,090.32	$670.90 BHD254.120	+81.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$105.57 ZAR1,741.24	$99.35 BHD37.630	-5.9%
Average			+72.6%

South Africa vs. Bahrain - Cost of housing

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pay 2.1 times more for childcare

	South Africa	Bahrain
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$199.53 ZAR3,291.11	$442.48 BHD167.600	+121.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$4,917.78 ZAR81,113.80	$9,792.89 BHD3,709.300	+99.1%
Average			+110.1%

South Africa vs. Bahrain - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.2 times more for entertainment and sports

	South Africa	Bahrain
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.25 ZAR37.13	$7.03 BHD2.660	+212.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.25 ZAR37.18	$4.97 BHD1.880	+120.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.16 ZAR52.13	$4.94 BHD1.870	+56.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$31.59 ZAR521.05	$87.02 BHD32.960	+175.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.32 ZAR120.70	$11.35 BHD4.300	+55.1%
Average			+121.1%

South Africa vs. Bahrain - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 9.5% more for clothing

	South Africa	Bahrain
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$52.66 ZAR868.55	$61.27 BHD23.210	+16.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.13 ZAR562.92	$47.96 BHD18.170	+40.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$99.75 ZAR1,645.29	$88.18 BHD33.400	-11.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$86.61 ZAR1,428.49	$86.19 BHD32.650	-0.5%
Average			+9.5%

South Africa vs. Bahrain - 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: South Africa vs. Bahrain

Salary Calculator · Free tool

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Quality of Life Comparison · 22 statistics

Make 4.6 times more money in Bahrain

Size Comparison · See true size

South Africa is about 1,604 times bigger than Bahrain.

Moving from South Africa to Bahrain · Cost, visas & climate

Compare cost of living, salary and climate.

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