Cost of living comparison

United Arab Emirates

compared to

Rwanda

Rwanda vs. United Arab Emirates Cost of Living Summary

Rwanda is 48.4% cheaper than United Arab Emirates overall.

Restaurants: pay 45.2% less in Rwanda
Groceries: pay 36.7% less in Rwanda
Transportation: pay 10.6% more in Rwanda
Housing: pay 58.0% less in Rwanda
Childcare: pay 47.8% less in Rwanda
Entertainment and Sports: pay 73.1% less in Rwanda
Clothing: pay 70.0% less in Rwanda

Expenses including entertainment and sports, clothing, housing, childcare, restaurants, and groceries are lower in Rwanda.

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Rwanda vs. United Arab Emirates Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Rwanda instead of United Arab Emirates, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 45.2% less for restaurants

	United Arab Emirates	Rwanda
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.43 AED30.95	$2.71 RWF3,999	-67.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.55 AED31.39	$6.77 RWF9,999	-20.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.07 AED3.94	$0.78 RWF1,154	-27.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.45 AED1.66	$0.56 RWF825	+24.0%
Average			-45.2%

United Arab Emirates vs. Rwanda - Cost of restaurants

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pay 36.7% less for groceries

	United Arab Emirates	Rwanda
Bread 1 loaf	$1.46 AED5.38	$1.05 RWF1,546	-28.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.94 AED18.13	$2.11 RWF3,111	-57.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.75 AED24.79	$3.16 RWF4,668	-53.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.80 AED10.28	$1.63 RWF2,409	-41.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.68 AED13.51	$2.08 RWF3,074	-43.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.97 AED3.58	$1.09 RWF1,616	+12.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.76 AED2.80	$0.35 RWF522	-53.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.72 AED2.65	$0.69 RWF1,018	-4.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.58 AED2.13	$0.48 RWF705	-17.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.48 AED1.75	$0.23 RWF333	-52.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.47 AED1.74	$0.34 RWF498	-28.8%
Average			-36.7%

United Arab Emirates vs. Rwanda - Cost of groceries

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pay 10.6% more for transportation

	United Arab Emirates	Rwanda
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.40 AED12.50	$7.00 RWF10,329	+105.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$49.01 AED180.00	$25.40 RWF37,494	-48.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$33,745.09 AED124K	$26,080.15 RWF38M	-22.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.71 AED28.31	$18.97 RWF27,996	+146.1%
Average			+10.6%

United Arab Emirates vs. Rwanda - Cost of transportation

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pay 58.0% less for housing

	United Arab Emirates	Rwanda
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$87.46 AED321.23	$21.00 RWF30,995	-76.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,419.61 AED5,214.23	$666.07 RWF983K	-53.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,087.32 AED3,993.73	$413.79 RWF611K	-61.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$131.39 AED482.60	$64.32 RWF94,937	-51.0%
Average			-58.0%

United Arab Emirates vs. Rwanda - Cost of housing

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pay 47.8% less for childcare

	United Arab Emirates	Rwanda
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$481.84 AED1,769.81	$112.90 RWF167K	-76.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,191.72 AED30,088.20	$9,510.48 RWF14M	+16.1%
Average			-47.8%

United Arab Emirates vs. Rwanda - Cost of childcare

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pay 73.1% less for entertainment and sports

	United Arab Emirates	Rwanda
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$10.81 AED39.72	$1.02 RWF1,500	-90.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$4.99 AED18.34	$2.42 RWF3,573	-51.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.20 AED22.77	$2.03 RWF3,000	-67.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$69.98 AED257.02	$26.72 RWF39,439	-61.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$13.30 AED48.83	$3.39 RWF4,999	-74.5%
Average			-73.1%

United Arab Emirates vs. Rwanda - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 70.0% less for clothing

	United Arab Emirates	Rwanda
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$53.49 AED196.45	$17.39 RWF25,663	-67.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$52.36 AED192.32	$15.58 RWF22,997	-70.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$95.31 AED350.08	$22.24 RWF32,828	-76.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$94.82 AED348.27	$33.87 RWF49,993	-64.3%
Average			-70.0%

United Arab Emirates vs. Rwanda - 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: United Arab Emirates vs. Rwanda

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Quality of Life Comparison · 24 statistics

Be 5.2 times more likely to be unemployed in Rwanda

Size Comparison · See true size

United Arab Emirates is about 3.2 times bigger than Rwanda.

Moving from United Arab Emirates to Rwanda · Cost, visas & climate

Compare cost of living, salary and climate.

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