Finland vs South Africa - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated:

Livingcost

Finland South Africa
🚶 Cost of living one person
$1644
$1116
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family
$3907
$2517
🏠 One person rent
$777
$573
🏘️ Family rent
$1308
$928
🍽️ Food expenses
$588
$324
🚐 Transport expenses
$105
$125
💳 Monthly salary after tax
$3033
$395
💸 GDP per capita
$53150
$6267
😃 Human freedom index
8.83
7.07
❤️ Life expectancy
81.7
66.1
👮 Corruption perceptions index
88
41
🌐 English speaking %
70.1%
50.7%
🎓 Higher education
95
82
😀 Quality of life
93
38
🏙️ Population
5.62M
64M

The average cost of living in Finland ($1644) is 47% more expensive than in South Africa ($1116). Finland ranked 31st vs 79th for South Africa in the list of the most expensive countries in the world.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 1.8 months in Finland compared to 0.4 months in South Africa. Ranked 11th and 135th best countries to live in the world.

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the estimated difference in money purchasing power

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Prices in Finland vs South Africa

We calculate prices for Finland and South Africa as a population-weighted mean of 49 and 36 cities, respectively. Since large cities tend to have a higher cost of living, it's better to visit specific city pages below for more relevant information.

Finland South Africa
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu
$14.8
$10.6
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2
$83.1
$41.8
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's
$12.1
$5.7
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$8.19
$2.46
 Cappuccino
$4.91
$2.34
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz
$3.04
$1.2
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$802
$579
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2
$640
$417
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1544
$1059
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2
$1162
$867
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$83.3
$95.7
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.
$128
$147
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited
$23.2
$39.7
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years
3.78%
11.1%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$5166
$1300
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2
$2820
$937
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket
$3.5
$1.91
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport
$71.4
$60.8
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi
$22.9
$9.05
 Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal
$2.05
$1.34
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.37
$1.27
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb
$2.45
$1.12
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.55
$1.81
🥚 Eggs, x12
$3.48
$2.6
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$9.55
$8.53
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$13.5
$5.69
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$21.6
$8.33
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.5
$1.94
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.1
$1.81
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$2.5
$1.88
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$4.19
$1.9
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.22
$1.55
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb
$1.81
$1.6
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt
$1.24
$0.81
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz
$3.22
$1.52
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle
$15
$5.87
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz
$3.35
$1.61
🚬 Cigarette pack
$12.2
$3.26
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week
$10.6
$5.56
🧴 Hair Shampoo
$3.66
$3.89
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls
$1.93
$2.06
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube
$2.28
$1.38
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month
$44.7
$35.7
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person
$17.4
$7.85
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit
$99.3
$30.7
💇 Haircut, simple
$22.7
$7.32
👖 Brand Jeans
$94.7
$56.4
👟 Brand Sneakers
$101
$107
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month
$408
$235
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year
$11002
$5552

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cities Comparison in Finland vs South Africa

More countries to compare

Cost of Living in Popular cities

In Finland

City Cost of living Population
Helsinki
$1970
694K
Espoo
$1974
326K
Tampere
$1407
255K
Vantaa
$1843
248K
Turku
$1560
210K
Oulu
$1672
217K
Jyvaskyla
$1403
150K
Kuopio
$1525
127K
Joensuu
$1550
79.1K
Lahti
$1533
122K
Hameenlinna
$1436
68.6K
Pori
$1416
83K
Vaasa
$1506
71.2K
Rovaniemi
$1486
65.3K
Lappeenranta
$1448
73.2K
Kouvola
$1383
78.8K
Seinajoki
$1445
67.3K
Kotka
$1478
50K
Lohja
$1391
45.6K
Mikkeli
$1445
51.6K
Salo
$1535
51.1K
Jarvenpaa
$1759
46.9K
Kirkkonummi
$1684
41.2K
Nurmijarvi
$1644
44.8K
Hyvinkaa
$1531
47K
Kokkola
$1459
48.3K
Tuusula
$1698
41.5K
Kerava
$1673
38.2K
Nokia
$1439
35.7K
Kaarina
$1529
36.7K

In South Africa

City Cost of living Population
Johannesburg
$1204
4.8M
Cape Town
$1386
3.78M
Soweto
$1031
1.27M
Pretoria
$1015
742K
Pietermaritzburg
$725
619K
Durban
$938
595K
Rustenburg
$994
550K
Randburg
$912
337K
Port Elizabeth
$1020
312K
East London
$773
267K
Bloemfontein
$742
256K
Centurion
$997
237K
Kimberley
$904
225K
Sandton
$1104
222K
Klerksdorp
$860
187K
Kroonstad
$872
169K
Benoni
$851
159K
George
$877
157K
Potchefstroom
$789
149K
Upington
$796
121K
Springs
$784
122K
Paarl
$1421
112K
Uitenhage
$968
104K
Vereeniging
$742
99.8K
Vanderbijlpark
$867
95.8K
Worcester
$763
97.1K
Mthatha
$953
96.1K
Middelburg
$875
87.3K
Komani
$1033
68.9K
Makhanda
$863
67.3K