Cost of living comparison

compared to

Yemen vs. South Africa Cost of Living Summary

Yemen is 35.2% more expensive than South Africa overall.

Restaurants: pay 24.8% more in Yemen
Groceries: pay 91.2% more in Yemen
Transportation: pay 85.8% more in Yemen
Housing: pay 8.4% less in Yemen
Childcare: pay 49.3% less in Yemen
Entertainment and Sports: pay 46.1% more in Yemen
Clothing: pay 56.3% more in Yemen

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

Yemen vs. South Africa Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 24.8% more for restaurants

	South Africa	Yemen
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.33 ZAR157.59	$7.57 YER1,807	-18.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.11 ZAR86.32	$9.77 YER2,330	+91.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.03 ZAR17.41	$1.41 YER335	+36.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.80 ZAR13.56	$0.73 YER174	-9.3%
Average			+24.8%

South Africa vs. Yemen - Cost of restaurants

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pay 91.2% more for groceries

	South Africa	Yemen
Bread 1 loaf	$1.00 ZAR16.93	$1.43 YER341	+42.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.88 ZAR65.58	$4.22 YER1,006	+8.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.37 ZAR73.79	$9.19 YER2,192	+110.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.33 ZAR39.39	$5.26 YER1,255	+125.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.13 ZAR36.03	$4.83 YER1,153	+126.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.73 ZAR12.30	$2.51 YER598	+244.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.65 ZAR11.01	$0.81 YER194	+24.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.68 ZAR11.54	$1.82 YER433	+165.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 ZAR11.97	$1.02 YER244	+44.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.59 ZAR9.89	$0.97 YER232	+65.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.60 ZAR10.13	$0.86 YER206	+44.2%
Average			+91.2%

South Africa vs. Yemen - Cost of groceries

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pay 85.8% more for transportation

	South Africa	Yemen
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.92 ZAR83.12	$10.62 YER2,533	+115.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$56.18 ZAR948.42	$80.08 YER19,104	+42.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$21,394.82 ZAR361K	$16,715.42 YER4M	-21.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$9.34 ZAR157.65	$28.63 YER6,831	+206.7%
Average			+85.8%

South Africa vs. Yemen - Cost of transportation

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pay 8.4% less for housing

	South Africa	Yemen
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$39.36 ZAR664.47	$77.76 YER18,549	+97.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$404.16 ZAR6,823.38	$232.18 YER55,386	-42.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$361.59 ZAR6,104.70	$165.92 YER39,579	-54.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$88.13 ZAR1,487.86	$57.78 YER13,784	-34.4%
Average			-8.4%

South Africa vs. Yemen - Cost of housing

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pay 49.3% less for childcare

	South Africa	Yemen
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$173.48 ZAR2,928.77	$77.38 YER18,459	-55.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,962.11 ZAR66,891.91	$2,249.75 YER537K	-43.2%
Average			-49.3%

South Africa vs. Yemen - Cost of childcare

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pay 46.1% more for entertainment and sports

	South Africa	Yemen
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.18 ZAR36.77	$2.28 YER545	+4.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.05 ZAR34.59	$3.46 YER825	+68.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.96 ZAR50.04	$4.66 YER1,112	+57.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$30.26 ZAR510.90	$65.76 YER15,687	+117.3%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.85 ZAR115.62	$5.64 YER1,345	-17.7%
Average			+46.1%

South Africa vs. Yemen - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 56.3% more for clothing

	South Africa	Yemen
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$50.74 ZAR856.69	$52.93 YER12,627	+4.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$32.75 ZAR552.96	$112.92 YER26,938	+244.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$94.19 ZAR1,590.22	$75.22 YER17,944	-20.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$81.80 ZAR1,380.94	$78.60 YER18,751	-3.9%
Average			+56.3%

South Africa vs. Yemen - 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: March 2026

Compare further: South Africa vs. Yemen

Quality of Life Comparison · 15 statistics

Be 2.9 times more likely to live below the poverty line in Yemen

Size Comparison · See true size

South Africa is about 2.3 times bigger than Yemen.

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