Cost of living comparison

Tonga

compared to

Botswana

Botswana vs. Tonga Cost of Living Summary

Botswana is 26.6% cheaper than Tonga overall.

Restaurants: pay 32.9% less in Botswana
Groceries: pay 40.4% less in Botswana
Transportation: pay 31.4% more in Botswana
Housing: pay 52.7% less in Botswana
Childcare: pay 2.8 times more in Botswana
Entertainment and Sports: pay 50.8% less in Botswana
Clothing: pay 2.3 times more in Botswana

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

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Botswana vs. Tonga Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Botswana instead of Tonga, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 32.9% less for restaurants

	Tonga	Botswana
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.31 TOP20.00	$10.85 BWP148.87	+30.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$10.38 TOP25.00	$5.79 BWP79.40	-44.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.84 TOP6.83	$0.72 BWP9.92	-74.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.46 TOP5.92	$0.42 BWP5.71	-83.1%
Average			-32.9%

Tonga vs. Botswana - Cost of restaurants

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pay 40.4% less for groceries

	Tonga	Botswana
Bread 1 loaf	$1.04 TOP2.50	$0.88 BWP12.02	-15.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.50 TOP10.83	$3.16 BWP43.42	-29.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.92 TOP14.26	$5.47 BWP75.12	-7.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.09 TOP12.27	$2.47 BWP33.83	-51.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.67 TOP6.43	$2.11 BWP28.88	-21.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.26 TOP3.02	$0.75 BWP10.31	-40.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.26 TOP3.02	$0.64 BWP8.75	-49.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.32 TOP3.18	$0.90 BWP12.38	-31.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.70 TOP4.08	$0.74 BWP10.15	-56.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.44 TOP3.48	$0.58 BWP7.97	-59.8%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.19 TOP2.87	$0.53 BWP7.25	-55.7%
Average			-40.4%

Tonga vs. Botswana - Cost of groceries

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pay 31.4% more for transportation

	Tonga	Botswana
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.50 TOP13.25	$5.15 BWP70.71	-6.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$41.53 TOP100.00	$29.66 BWP406.91	-28.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$5,814.53 TOP14,000.00	$19,891.73 BWP273K	+242.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$18.69 TOP45.00	$20.87 BWP286.32	+11.7%
Average			+31.4%

Tonga vs. Botswana - Cost of transportation

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pay 52.7% less for housing

	Tonga	Botswana
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$124.60 TOP300.00	$42.10 BWP577.61	-66.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$622.99 TOP1,500.00	$356.36 BWP4,889.51	-42.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	??	$221.34 BWP3,036.92
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$142.92 TOP344.12	$45.63 BWP626.12	-68.1%
Average			-52.7%

Tonga vs. Botswana - Cost of housing

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pay 2.8 times more for childcare

	Tonga	Botswana
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$157.82 TOP380.00	$127.13 BWP1,744.25	-19.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$249.19 TOP600.00	$2,500.03 BWP34,301.86	+903.2%
Average			+184.3%

Tonga vs. Botswana - Cost of childcare

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pay 50.8% less for entertainment and sports

	Tonga	Botswana
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.32 TOP8.00	$1.99 BWP27.29	-40.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.91 TOP7.00	$2.32 BWP31.83	-20.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$10.18 TOP24.50	$3.62 BWP49.62	-64.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$31.15 TOP75.00	$33.58 BWP460.78	+7.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$41.53 TOP100.00	$6.15 BWP84.36	-85.2%
Average			-50.8%

Tonga vs. Botswana - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.3 times more for clothing

	Tonga	Botswana
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$14.54 TOP35.00	$47.53 BWP652.19	+227.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$17.65 TOP42.50	$16.75 BWP229.75	-5.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$20.77 TOP50.00	$72.33 BWP992.46	+248.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$29.07 TOP70.00	$78.36 BWP1,075.16	+169.5%
Average			+132.3%

Tonga vs. Botswana - 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: Tonga vs. Botswana

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Botswana?

Quality of Life Comparison · 17 statistics

Be 12.2 times more likely to be unemployed in Botswana

Size Comparison · See true size

Tonga is about 779 times smaller than Botswana.

Moving from Tonga to Botswana · Cost, visas & climate

Compare cost of living, salary and climate.

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