Cost of living comparison

compared to

Eritrea vs. South Africa Cost of Living Summary

Eritrea is 35.6% more expensive than South Africa overall.

Restaurants: pay 22.9% more in Eritrea
Groceries: pay 2.2 times more in Eritrea
Transportation: pay 66.3% more in Eritrea
Housing: pay 90.0% more in Eritrea
Childcare: pay 71.7% less in Eritrea
Entertainment and Sports: pay 54.4% less in Eritrea
Clothing: pay 80.0% more in Eritrea

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

Eritrea vs. South Africa Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 22.9% more for restaurants

	South Africa	Eritrea
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.33 ZAR159.73	$12.00 ERN180.00	+28.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.11 ZAR87.49	$5.99 ERN89.85	+17.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.03 ZAR17.65	$1.25 ERN18.75	+21.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.80 ZAR13.74	$1.00 ERN15.00	+24.5%
Average			+22.9%

South Africa vs. Eritrea - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.2 times more for groceries

	South Africa	Eritrea
Bread 1 loaf	$1.00 ZAR17.16	??
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.88 ZAR66.47	$1.50 ERN22.50	-61.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.37 ZAR74.79	$5.30 ERN79.49	+21.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.33 ZAR39.93	$4.38 ERN65.70	+87.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.13 ZAR36.52	$12.17 ERN182.57	+470.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.73 ZAR12.46	$5.54 ERN83.16	+661.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.65 ZAR11.16	$0.58 ERN8.69	-11.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.68 ZAR11.70	$0.91 ERN13.61	+32.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 ZAR12.14	$0.50 ERN7.56	-28.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.59 ZAR10.02	$0.70 ERN10.43	+18.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.60 ZAR10.27	$0.43 ERN6.50	-27.8%
Average			+116.3%

South Africa vs. Eritrea - Cost of groceries

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pay 66.3% more for transportation

	South Africa	Eritrea
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.92 ZAR84.25	$8.52 ERN127.76	+73.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$56.18 ZAR961.29	$8.00 ERN120.00	-85.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,394.82 ZAR366,106.47	$66,666.00 ERN999,990.00	+211.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$9.34 ZAR159.79	??
Average			+66.3%

South Africa vs. Eritrea - Cost of transportation

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pay 90.0% more for housing

	South Africa	Eritrea
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$39.36 ZAR673.48	$200.00 ERN3,000.00	+408.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$404.16 ZAR6,915.94	$475.00 ERN7,125.00	+17.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$361.59 ZAR6,187.51	$400.00 ERN6,000.00	+10.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$88.13 ZAR1,508.04	$21.03 ERN315.44	-76.1%
Average			+90.0%

South Africa vs. Eritrea - Cost of housing

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pay 71.7% less for childcare

	South Africa	Eritrea
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$173.48 ZAR2,968.50	$25.00 ERN375.00	-85.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,962.11 ZAR67,799.29	$1,675.00 ERN25,125.00	-57.7%
Average			-71.7%

South Africa vs. Eritrea - Cost of childcare

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pay 54.4% less for entertainment and sports

	South Africa	Eritrea
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.18 ZAR37.27	$0.80 ERN12.00	-63.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.05 ZAR35.06	$0.82 ERN12.38	-59.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.96 ZAR50.72	??
Monthly membership at local gym	$30.26 ZAR517.83	$27.00 ERN405.00	-10.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.85 ZAR117.19	$1.10 ERN16.50	-83.9%
Average			-54.4%

South Africa vs. Eritrea - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 80.0% more for clothing

	South Africa	Eritrea
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$50.74 ZAR868.31	$82.50 ERN1,237.50	+62.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$32.75 ZAR560.46	$75.00 ERN1,125.00	+129.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$94.19 ZAR1,611.79	$200.00 ERN3,000.00	+112.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$81.80 ZAR1,399.67	$95.00 ERN1,425.00	+16.1%
Average			+80.0%

South Africa vs. Eritrea - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025

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