Cost of living comparison

South Africa

compared to

Vanuatu

Vanuatu vs. South Africa Cost of Living Summary

Vanuatu is 2.5 times more expensive than South Africa overall.

Restaurants: pay 2.1 times more in Vanuatu
Groceries: pay 3.1 times more in Vanuatu
Transportation: pay 6.2% more in Vanuatu
Housing: pay 5.2 times more in Vanuatu
Childcare: pay 2.3 times more in Vanuatu
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.3 times more in Vanuatu
Clothing: pay 19.3% more in Vanuatu

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

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Vanuatu vs. South Africa Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 2.1 times more for restaurants

	South Africa	Vanuatu
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.21 ZAR170.09	$12.67 VUV1,500	+24.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.91 ZAR98.44	$14.35 VUV1,700	+142.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.08 ZAR18.05	$2.28 VUV270	+110.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.84 ZAR13.91	$2.36 VUV279	+182.1%
Average			+114.8%

South Africa vs. Vanuatu - Cost of restaurants

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pay 3.1 times more for groceries

	South Africa	Vanuatu
Bread 1 loaf	$1.07 ZAR17.76	$1.94 VUV230	+82.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.08 ZAR67.99	$8.86 VUV1,050	+117.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.58 ZAR76.23	$10.63 VUV1,259	+132.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.56 ZAR42.69	$6.23 VUV737	+142.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.31 ZAR38.53	$7.40 VUV877	+220.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.81 ZAR13.53	$3.24 VUV384	+299.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.74 ZAR12.25	$0.96 VUV113	+30.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.79 ZAR13.07	$1.78 VUV211	+126.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.77 ZAR12.83	$4.21 VUV499	+446.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.64 ZAR10.73	$4.02 VUV476	+524.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.66 ZAR10.96	$1.57 VUV186	+138.7%
Average			+205.5%

South Africa vs. Vanuatu - Cost of groceries

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pay 6.2% more for transportation

	South Africa	Vanuatu
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.49 ZAR91.41	$6.78 VUV803	+23.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$65.15 ZAR1,085.05	$67.55 VUV8,000	+3.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$32,517.32 ZAR542K	$23,220.47 VUV3M	-28.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.35 ZAR122.38	$9.29 VUV1,100	+26.4%
Average			+6.2%

South Africa vs. Vanuatu - Cost of transportation

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pay 5.2 times more for housing

	South Africa	Vanuatu
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$38.93 ZAR648.44	$363.08 VUV43,000	+832.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$421.37 ZAR7,017.97	$1,579.90 VUV187K	+274.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$369.24 ZAR6,149.80	$1,131.05 VUV134K	+206.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$105.57 ZAR1,758.25	$484.28 VUV57,353	+358.7%
Average			+418.1%

South Africa vs. Vanuatu - Cost of housing

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pay 2.3 times more for childcare

	South Africa	Vanuatu
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$199.53 ZAR3,323.26	$624.84 VUV74,000	+213.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$4,917.78 ZAR81,906.05	$6,873.26 VUV814K	+39.8%
Average			+126.5%

South Africa vs. Vanuatu - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.3 times more for entertainment and sports

	South Africa	Vanuatu
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.25 ZAR37.49	$5.07 VUV600	+125.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.25 ZAR37.54	$4.08 VUV483	+81.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.16 ZAR52.64	$9.29 VUV1,100	+193.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$31.59 ZAR526.14	$68.29 VUV8,088	+116.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.32 ZAR121.88	??
Average			+129.1%

South Africa vs. Vanuatu - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 19.3% more for clothing

	South Africa	Vanuatu
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$52.66 ZAR877.03	$40.99 VUV4,854	-22.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.13 ZAR568.42	$67.55 VUV8,000	+97.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$99.75 ZAR1,661.36	$84.40 VUV9,995	-15.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$86.61 ZAR1,442.45	$101.28 VUV11,995	+16.9%
Average			+19.3%

South Africa vs. Vanuatu - 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: October 2026

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