Cost of living comparison

Yemen

compared to

South Africa

South Africa vs. Yemen Cost of Living Summary

South Africa is 2.8% cheaper than Yemen overall.

Restaurants: pay 22.6% less in South Africa
Groceries: pay 57.1% less in South Africa
Transportation: pay 14.6% less in South Africa
Housing: pay 78.3% more in South Africa
Childcare: pay 87.3% more in South Africa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 21.7% less in South Africa
Clothing: pay 29.3% less in South Africa

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

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South Africa vs. Yemen Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 22.6% less for restaurants

	Yemen	South Africa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.52 YER2,249	$10.21 ZAR168.45	+7.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.91 YER2,340	$5.91 ZAR97.49	-40.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.22 YER523	$1.08 ZAR17.88	-51.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.18 YER279	$0.84 ZAR13.78	-29.4%
Average			-22.6%

Yemen vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 57.1% less for groceries

	Yemen	South Africa
Bread 1 loaf	$2.06 YER487	$1.07 ZAR17.59	-48.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.42 YER1,515	$4.08 ZAR67.33	-36.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$13.63 YER3,219	$4.58 ZAR75.49	-66.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$7.05 YER1,664	$2.56 ZAR42.28	-63.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$5.50 YER1,298	$2.31 ZAR38.16	-57.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$3.80 YER898	$0.81 ZAR13.40	-78.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.07 YER254	$0.74 ZAR12.13	-31.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.83 YER669	$0.79 ZAR12.95	-72.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.47 YER346	$0.77 ZAR12.71	-47.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.32 YER313	$0.64 ZAR10.62	-51.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.27 YER299	$0.66 ZAR10.85	-48.0%
Average			-57.1%

Yemen vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries

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pay 14.6% less for transportation

	Yemen	South Africa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$9.25 YER2,184	$5.49 ZAR90.53	-40.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$84.67 YER19,994	$65.15 ZAR1,074.55	-23.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$16,933.01 YER4M	$32,517.32 ZAR536K	+92.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$21.17 YER4,998	$7.35 ZAR121.20	-65.3%
Average			-14.6%

Yemen vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation

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pay 78.3% more for housing

	Yemen	South Africa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$101.30 YER23,922	$38.93 ZAR642.17	-61.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$229.13 YER54,109	$421.37 ZAR6,950.09	+83.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$175.13 YER41,357	$369.24 ZAR6,090.32	+110.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$60.36 YER14,253	$105.57 ZAR1,741.24	+74.9%
Average			+78.3%

Yemen vs. South Africa - Cost of housing

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pay 87.3% more for childcare

	Yemen	South Africa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$74.63 YER17,624	$199.53 ZAR3,291.11	+167.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,747.12 YER885K	$4,917.78 ZAR81,113.80	+31.2%
Average			+87.3%

Yemen vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare

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pay 21.7% less for entertainment and sports

	Yemen	South Africa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.78 YER658	$2.25 ZAR37.13	-19.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.90 YER921	$2.25 ZAR37.18	-42.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$5.29 YER1,250	$3.16 ZAR52.13	-40.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$45.84 YER10,825	$31.59 ZAR521.05	-31.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.93 YER1,400	$7.32 ZAR120.70	+23.5%
Average			-21.7%

Yemen vs. South Africa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 29.3% less for clothing

	Yemen	South Africa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$75.14 YER17,744	$52.66 ZAR868.55	-29.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$103.71 YER24,492	$34.13 ZAR562.92	-67.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$79.02 YER18,661	$99.75 ZAR1,645.29	+26.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$100.89 YER23,826	$86.61 ZAR1,428.49	-14.2%
Average			-29.3%

Yemen 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 October 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: Yemen vs. South Africa

Salary Calculator · Free tool

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Quality of Life Comparison · 19 statistics

Be 4.4 times more likely to have internet access in South Africa

Size Comparison · See true size

Yemen is about 2.3 times smaller than South Africa.

Moving from Yemen to South Africa · UN DESA 2020

96 people born in Yemen live in South Africa.

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