Cost of living comparison

Bhutan

compared to

Ethiopia

Addis Ababa vs. Thimphu Cost of Living Summary

Addis Ababa is 2.5 times more expensive than Thimphu.

Restaurants: pay 55.7% more in Addis Ababa
Groceries: pay 24.2% more in Addis Ababa
Transportation: pay 93.9% more in Addis Ababa
Housing: pay 5.3 times more in Addis Ababa
Childcare: pay 12.7 times more in Addis Ababa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 17.6% less in Addis Ababa
Clothing: pay 90.0% more in Addis Ababa

The cost of childcare, housing, transportation, clothing, restaurants, and groceries in Addis Ababa are more expensive than in Thimphu. Notably, childcare, housing, and transportation are significantly more expensive in Addis Ababa.

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Addis Ababa vs. Thimphu Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Addis Ababa instead of Thimphu, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 55.7% more for restaurants

	Thimphu	Addis Ababa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.58 BTN245.70	$4.00 ETB654.34	+54.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.91 BTN466.83	$6.50 ETB1,063.31	+32.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.50 BTN47.50	$0.61 ETB99.06	+21.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.18 BTN17.20	$0.66 ETB107.50	+263.2%
Average			+55.7%

Thimphu vs. Addis Ababa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 24.2% more for groceries

	Thimphu	Addis Ababa
Bread 1 loaf	$1.07 BTN101.96	$1.19 ETB194.58	+10.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$1.88 BTN178.54	$3.70 ETB604.57	+96.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.03 BTN288.32	$4.09 ETB669.40	+34.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.88 BTN178.87	$1.77 ETB289.63	-5.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.79 BTN170.51	$4.59 ETB750.34	+155.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.15 BTN109.22	$2.44 ETB399.44	+112.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.69 BTN65.75	$0.30 ETB48.73	-56.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.73 BTN69.10	$0.99 ETB161.65	+35.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.33 BTN31.76	$0.31 ETB50.42	-7.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.26 BTN24.52	$0.22 ETB35.99	-14.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.31 BTN29.53	$0.49 ETB79.77	+56.9%
Average			+24.2%

Thimphu vs. Addis Ababa - Cost of groceries

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pay 93.9% more for transportation

	Thimphu	Addis Ababa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.79 BTN264.82	$3.53 ETB577.22	+26.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$5.17 BTN491.40	$21.11 ETB3,453.30	+308.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$16,591.53 BTN2M	$55,000.00 ETB9M	+231.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$13.18 BTN1,253.06	$3.53 ETB576.64	-73.3%
Average			+93.9%

Thimphu vs. Addis Ababa - Cost of transportation

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pay 5.3 times more for housing

	Thimphu	Addis Ababa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$24.17 BTN2,297.69	$212.33 ETB34,734.76	+778.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$127.00 BTN12,071.65	$706.95 ETB116K	+456.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$86.02 BTN8,176.19	$394.55 ETB64,542.82	+358.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$25.81 BTN2,452.87	$156.76 ETB25,644.51	+507.5%
Average			+434.0%

Thimphu vs. Addis Ababa - Cost of housing

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pay 12.7 times more for childcare

	Thimphu	Addis Ababa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$44.98 BTN4,275.09	$136.41 ETB22,314.75	+203.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$568.68 BTN54,053.67	$30,187.50 ETB5M	+5208.3%
Average			+1168.8%

Thimphu vs. Addis Ababa - Cost of childcare

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pay 17.6% less for entertainment and sports

	Thimphu	Addis Ababa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.58 BTN245.70	$0.80 ETB130.87	-69.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.28 BTN121.21	$0.92 ETB150.32	-27.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.88 BTN368.55	$8.00 ETB1,308.69	+106.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$46.53 BTN4,422.57	$44.15 ETB7,221.55	-5.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.10 BTN294.84	$3.75 ETB613.45	+20.9%
Average			-17.6%

Thimphu vs. Addis Ababa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 90.0% more for clothing

	Thimphu	Addis Ababa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$49.97 BTN4,750.10	$33.14 ETB5,421.12	-33.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$24.99 BTN2,375.05	$70.86 ETB11,591.24	+183.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$67.21 BTN6,388.16	$78.65 ETB12,865.68	+17.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$13.96 BTN1,326.77	$82.70 ETB13,529.26	+492.5%
Average			+90.0%

Thimphu vs. Addis Ababa - 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

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