Cost of living comparison

Tajikistan

compared to

South Africa

South Africa vs. Tajikistan Cost of Living Summary

South Africa is 40.7% more expensive than Tajikistan overall.

Restaurants: pay 67.8% more in South Africa
Groceries: pay 33.9% more in South Africa
Transportation: pay 70.0% more in South Africa
Housing: pay 28.5% more in South Africa
Childcare: pay 43.9% more in South Africa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 28.9% more in South Africa
Clothing: pay 43.8% more in South Africa

The cost of transportation, restaurants, childcare, clothing, groceries, and entertainment and sports in South Africa are more expensive than in Tajikistan.

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South Africa vs. Tajikistan Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 67.8% more for restaurants

	Tajikistan	South Africa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.88 TJS44.99	$10.21 ZAR168.45	+109.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.42 TJS49.99	$5.91 ZAR97.49	+9.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.57 TJS5.28	$1.08 ZAR17.88	+89.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.34 TJS3.12	$0.84 ZAR13.78	+146.7%
Average			+67.8%

Tajikistan vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 33.9% more for groceries

	Tajikistan	South Africa
Bread 1 loaf	$0.56 TJS5.18	$1.07 ZAR17.59	+90.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.53 TJS50.99	$4.08 ZAR67.33	-26.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.02 TJS37.14	$4.58 ZAR75.49	+13.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.81 TJS16.68	$2.56 ZAR42.28	+41.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.74 TJS16.06	$2.31 ZAR38.16	+32.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.76 TJS7.03	$0.81 ZAR13.40	+6.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.17 TJS10.77	$0.74 ZAR12.13	-37.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.20 TJS11.11	$0.79 ZAR12.95	-34.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.41 TJS3.74	$0.77 ZAR12.71	+90.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.25 TJS2.30	$0.64 ZAR10.62	+158.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.17 TJS1.59	$0.66 ZAR10.85	+282.5%
Average			+33.9%

Tajikistan vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries

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pay 70.0% more for transportation

	Tajikistan	South Africa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.37 TJS40.37	$5.49 ZAR90.53	+25.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$32.50 TJS299.95	$65.15 ZAR1,074.55	+100.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$16,250.83 TJS150K	$32,517.32 ZAR536K	+100.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$3.68 TJS33.99	$7.35 ZAR121.20	+99.5%
Average			+70.0%

Tajikistan vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation

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pay 28.5% more for housing

	Tajikistan	South Africa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$17.18 TJS158.54	$38.93 ZAR642.17	+126.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$449.43 TJS4,147.64	$421.37 ZAR6,950.09	-6.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$284.71 TJS2,627.56	$369.24 ZAR6,090.32	+29.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$43.80 TJS404.21	$105.57 ZAR1,741.24	+141.0%
Average			+28.5%

Tajikistan vs. South Africa - Cost of housing

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pay 43.9% more for childcare

	Tajikistan	South Africa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$83.42 TJS769.87	$199.53 ZAR3,291.11	+139.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$5,679.67 TJS52,416.23	$4,917.78 ZAR81,113.80	-13.4%
Average			+43.9%

Tajikistan vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare

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pay 28.9% more for entertainment and sports

	Tajikistan	South Africa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.19 TJS11.00	$2.25 ZAR37.13	+88.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.71 TJS15.75	$2.25 ZAR37.18	+32.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.98 TJS27.50	$3.16 ZAR52.13	+6.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$36.56 TJS337.44	$31.59 ZAR521.05	-13.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.88 TJS44.99	$7.32 ZAR120.70	+50.1%
Average			+28.9%

Tajikistan vs. South Africa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 43.8% more for clothing

	Tajikistan	South Africa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$22.66 TJS209.13	$52.66 ZAR868.55	+132.4%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$44.38 TJS409.60	$34.13 ZAR562.92	-23.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$64.10 TJS591.57	$99.75 ZAR1,645.29	+55.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$56.34 TJS519.91	$86.61 ZAR1,428.49	+53.7%
Average			+43.8%

Tajikistan vs. South Africa - 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: Tajikistan vs. South Africa

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in South Africa?

Quality of Life Comparison · 21 statistics

Be 4.7 times more likely to be unemployed in South Africa

Size Comparison · See true size

Tajikistan is about 8 times smaller than South Africa.

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

Compare cost of living, salary and climate.

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