Cost of living comparison

compared to

South Africa vs. Tajikistan Cost of Living Summary

South Africa is 65.8% more expensive than Tajikistan overall.

Restaurants: pay 64.4% more in South Africa
Groceries: pay 37.4% more in South Africa
Transportation: pay 2.7 times more in South Africa
Housing: pay 79.0% more in South Africa
Childcare: pay 19.4% more in South Africa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 39.2% more in South Africa
Clothing: pay 47.8% more in South Africa

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

South Africa vs. Tajikistan Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 64.4% more for restaurants

	Tajikistan	South Africa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$6.09 TJS56.16	$9.33 ZAR159.73	+53.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.60 TJS79.35	$5.11 ZAR87.49	-40.6%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.56 TJS5.21	$1.03 ZAR17.65	+82.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.31 TJS2.83	$0.80 ZAR13.74	+162.2%
Average			+64.4%

Tajikistan vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 37.4% more for groceries

	Tajikistan	South Africa
Bread 1 loaf	$0.55 TJS5.06	$1.00 ZAR17.16	+82.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.82 TJS53.71	$3.88 ZAR66.47	-33.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.96 TJS36.56	$4.37 ZAR74.79	+10.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.72 TJS15.88	$2.33 ZAR39.93	+35.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.75 TJS16.11	$2.13 ZAR36.52	+22.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.70 TJS6.45	$0.73 ZAR12.46	+4.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.18 TJS10.93	$0.65 ZAR11.16	-45.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.92 TJS8.51	$0.68 ZAR11.70	-25.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.44 TJS4.07	$0.71 ZAR12.14	+60.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.29 TJS2.65	$0.59 ZAR10.02	+104.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.20 TJS1.87	$0.60 ZAR10.27	+195.6%
Average			+37.4%

Tajikistan vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.7 times more for transportation

	Tajikistan	South Africa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.06 TJS37.49	$4.92 ZAR84.25	+21.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$10.59 TJS97.66	$56.18 ZAR961.29	+430.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$11,647.15 TJS107,429.74	$21,394.82 ZAR366,106.47	+83.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$3.60 TJS33.21	$9.34 ZAR159.79	+159.4%
Average			+173.7%

Tajikistan vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation

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pay 79.0% more for housing

	Tajikistan	South Africa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$19.59 TJS180.68	$39.36 ZAR673.48	+100.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$370.61 TJS3,418.42	$404.16 ZAR6,915.94	+9.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$239.79 TJS2,211.79	$361.59 ZAR6,187.51	+50.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$34.50 TJS318.22	$88.13 ZAR1,508.04	+155.4%
Average			+79.0%

Tajikistan vs. South Africa - Cost of housing

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pay 19.4% more for childcare

	Tajikistan	South Africa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$95.29 TJS878.97	$173.48 ZAR2,968.50	+82.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$6,972.94 TJS64,316.23	$3,962.11 ZAR67,799.29	-43.2%
Average			+19.4%

Tajikistan vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare

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pay 39.2% more for entertainment and sports

	Tajikistan	South Africa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.06 TJS9.77	$2.18 ZAR37.27	+105.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.50 TJS13.84	$2.05 ZAR35.06	+36.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.65 TJS24.42	$2.96 ZAR50.72	+12.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$33.89 TJS312.58	$30.26 ZAR517.83	-10.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.50 TJS41.51	$6.85 ZAR117.19	+52.2%
Average			+39.2%

Tajikistan vs. South Africa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 47.8% more for clothing

	Tajikistan	South Africa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$26.45 TJS243.96	$50.74 ZAR868.31	+91.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$33.67 TJS310.57	$32.75 ZAR560.46	-2.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$60.88 TJS561.56	$94.19 ZAR1,611.79	+54.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$55.59 TJS512.73	$81.80 ZAR1,399.67	+47.1%
Average			+47.8%

Tajikistan vs. South Africa - 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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