Cost of living comparison

South Africa

compared to

Gabon

Gabon vs. South Africa Cost of Living Summary

Gabon is 54.9% more expensive than South Africa overall.

Restaurants: pay 94.2% more in Gabon
Groceries: pay 2.3 times more in Gabon
Transportation: pay 2.2% less in Gabon
Housing: pay 62.1% more in Gabon
Childcare: pay 24.9% more in Gabon
Entertainment and Sports: pay 46.5% more in Gabon
Clothing: pay 25.2% more in Gabon

The cost of groceries, restaurants, housing, entertainment and sports, clothing, and childcare in Gabon are more expensive than in South Africa. Notably, groceries and restaurants are significantly more expensive in Gabon.

Gabon vs. South Africa Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 94.2% more for restaurants

	South Africa	Gabon
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.33 ZAR151.59	$17.89 FCFA10,060	+91.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.11 ZAR83.03	$13.42 FCFA7,545	+162.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.03 ZAR16.75	$1.49 FCFA838	+44.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.80 ZAR13.04	$1.43 FCFA805	+78.2%
Average			+94.2%

South Africa vs. Gabon - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.3 times more for groceries

	South Africa	Gabon
Bread 1 loaf	$1.00 ZAR16.29	$1.52 FCFA854	+51.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.88 ZAR63.08	$4.70 FCFA2,641	+20.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.37 ZAR70.98	$11.57 FCFA6,506	+164.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.33 ZAR37.89	$5.55 FCFA3,119	+137.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.13 ZAR34.66	$4.06 FCFA2,282	+90.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.73 ZAR11.83	$2.03 FCFA1,141	+178.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.65 ZAR10.59	$2.03 FCFA1,141	+211.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.68 ZAR11.10	$1.62 FCFA913	+137.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 ZAR11.52	$1.62 FCFA913	+128.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.59 ZAR9.51	$1.62 FCFA913	+177.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.60 ZAR9.74	$1.62 FCFA913	+170.5%
Average			+133.5%

South Africa vs. Gabon - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.2% less for transportation

	South Africa	Gabon
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.92 ZAR79.95	$4.08 FCFA2,294	-17.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$56.18 ZAR912.31	$49.19 FCFA27,665	-12.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,394.82 ZAR347K	$30,408.43 FCFA17M	+42.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$9.34 ZAR151.64	$7.34 FCFA4,125	-21.4%
Average			-2.2%

South Africa vs. Gabon - Cost of transportation

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pay 62.1% more for housing

	South Africa	Gabon
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$39.36 ZAR639.16	$71.55 FCFA40,240	+81.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$404.16 ZAR6,563.54	$1,073.24 FCFA604K	+165.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$361.59 ZAR5,872.23	$447.18 FCFA251K	+23.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$88.13 ZAR1,431.20	$68.39 FCFA38,465	-22.4%
Average			+62.1%

South Africa vs. Gabon - Cost of housing

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pay 24.9% more for childcare

	South Africa	Gabon
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$173.48 ZAR2,817.24	$178.87 FCFA101K	+3.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,962.11 ZAR64,344.63	$5,813.38 FCFA3M	+46.7%
Average			+24.9%

South Africa vs. Gabon - Cost of childcare

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pay 46.5% more for entertainment and sports

	South Africa	Gabon
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.18 ZAR35.37	$1.07 FCFA604	-50.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.05 ZAR33.28	$6.26 FCFA3,521	+205.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.96 ZAR48.13	$2.68 FCFA1,509	-9.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$30.26 ZAR491.45	$67.08 FCFA37,725	+121.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.85 ZAR111.22	$4.50 FCFA2,528	-34.4%
Average			+46.5%

South Africa vs. Gabon - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 25.2% more for clothing

	South Africa	Gabon
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$50.74 ZAR824.06	$89.44 FCFA50,300	+76.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$32.75 ZAR531.90	$44.72 FCFA25,150	+36.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$94.19 ZAR1,529.67	$53.66 FCFA30,180	-43.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$81.80 ZAR1,328.35	$107.32 FCFA60,360	+31.2%
Average			+25.2%

South Africa vs. Gabon - 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: June 2026

Compare further: South Africa vs. Gabon

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Gabon?

Quality of Life Comparison · 14 statistics

Be 2.0 times more likely to live below the poverty line in Gabon

Size Comparison · See true size

South Africa is about 4.5 times bigger than Gabon.

Moving from South Africa to Gabon · UN DESA 2020

11 people born in South Africa live in Gabon.

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