Cost of living comparison

Turkmenistan

compared to

South Africa

South Africa vs. Turkmenistan Cost of Living Summary

South Africa is 50.4% cheaper than Turkmenistan overall.

Restaurants: pay 55.8% less in South Africa
Groceries: pay 63.6% less in South Africa
Transportation: pay 2.2 times more in South Africa
Housing: pay 68.2% less in South Africa
Childcare: pay 31.6% more in South Africa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 67.1% less in South Africa
Clothing: pay 56.8% less in South Africa

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

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South Africa vs. Turkmenistan Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 55.8% less for restaurants

	Turkmenistan	South Africa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$31.43 TMT110.00	$10.21 ZAR168.71	-67.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$12.86 TMT45.00	$5.91 ZAR97.64	-54.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.57 TMT5.50	$1.08 ZAR17.90	-31.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.86 TMT3.00	$0.84 ZAR13.80	-2.5%
Average			-55.8%

Turkmenistan vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 63.6% less for groceries

	Turkmenistan	South Africa
Bread 1 loaf	$2.04 TMT7.13	$1.07 ZAR17.62	-47.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$18.82 TMT65.88	$4.08 ZAR67.43	-78.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$17.09 TMT59.81	$4.58 ZAR75.61	-73.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$6.00 TMT21.00	$2.56 ZAR42.35	-57.3%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$9.07 TMT31.75	$2.31 ZAR38.22	-74.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.30 TMT8.05	$0.81 ZAR13.42	-64.7%
Bananas (1 lb)	$3.84 TMT13.45	$0.74 ZAR12.15	-80.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$3.40 TMT11.91	$0.79 ZAR12.97	-76.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.67 TMT5.85	$0.77 ZAR12.73	-53.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.04 TMT3.63	$0.64 ZAR10.64	-37.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.65 TMT2.27	$0.66 ZAR10.87	+1.5%
Average			-63.6%

Turkmenistan vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.2 times more for transportation

	Turkmenistan	South Africa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$1.62 TMT5.68	$5.49 ZAR90.67	+238.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$10.00 TMT35.00	$65.15 ZAR1,076.21	+551.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$43,928.57 TMT154K	$32,517.32 ZAR537K	-26.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$9.71 TMT34.00	$7.35 ZAR121.38	-24.4%
Average			+117.5%

Turkmenistan vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation

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pay 68.2% less for housing

	Turkmenistan	South Africa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$102.86 TMT360.00	$38.93 ZAR643.16	-62.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,414.29 TMT4,950.00	$421.37 ZAR6,960.81	-70.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,000.00 TMT3,500.00	$369.24 ZAR6,099.71	-63.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$436.97 TMT1,529.41	$105.57 ZAR1,743.93	-75.8%
Average			-68.2%

Turkmenistan vs. South Africa - Cost of housing

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pay 31.6% more for childcare

	Turkmenistan	South Africa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$22.86 TMT80.00	$199.53 ZAR3,296.18	+773.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$24,807.14 TMT86,825.00	$4,917.78 ZAR81,238.86	-80.2%
Average			+31.6%

Turkmenistan vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare

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pay 67.1% less for entertainment and sports

	Turkmenistan	South Africa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$5.71 TMT20.00	$2.25 ZAR37.18	-60.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$6.79 TMT23.75	$2.25 ZAR37.24	-66.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$25.71 TMT90.00	$3.16 ZAR52.21	-87.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$195.24 TMT683.33	$31.59 ZAR521.86	-83.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.57 TMT30.00	$7.32 ZAR120.89	-14.6%
Average			-67.1%

Turkmenistan vs. South Africa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 56.8% less for clothing

	Turkmenistan	South Africa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$55.71 TMT195.00	$52.66 ZAR869.89	-5.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$114.29 TMT400.00	$34.13 ZAR563.79	-70.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$364.29 TMT1,275.00	$99.75 ZAR1,647.83	-72.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$192.86 TMT675.00	$86.61 ZAR1,430.70	-55.1%
Average			-56.8%

Turkmenistan 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 November 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: Turkmenistan vs. South Africa

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in South Africa?

Quality of Life Comparison · 17 statistics

Be 7.6 times more likely to be unemployed in South Africa

Size Comparison · See true size

Turkmenistan is about 2.5 times smaller than South Africa.

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

Compare cost of living, salary and climate.

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