Cost of Living in North Korea
Updated:
| Cost of living | One person | Family of 4 |
|---|---|---|
| 💰 Total with rent | ||
| 🛋️ Without rent | ||
| 🏨 Rent & Utilities | ||
| 🍽️ Food | ||
| 🚐 Transport | ||
| 💳 Monthly salary after tax | ||
| 💸 GDP per capita | ||
| 😃 Human freedom index | ||
| ❤️ Life expectancy | ||
| 🌐 English speaking % | ||
| 🏙️ Population | ||
The cost of living in North Korea is $1597, which is 1.46 times more expensive than the world average. North Korea ranked 29th out of 197 countries by cost of living and the 191st best country to live in.
The average salary after taxes in North Korea is $410, which is enough to cover living expenses for 0.3 months.
Why living in North Korea costs 3.9 times more than the average salary? Because we have a developed country lifestyle as a reference and in some least developed countries maintaining such a standard of living is hard and expensive. Thus, living costs in North Korea for locals and expats differ significantly.
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Prices in North Korea
We calculate prices for North Korea as a population-weighted mean of 24 cities. Since large cities tend to have a higher cost of living, it's better to visit specific city pages below for more relevant information.
| 🍱 Lunch Menu | |
|---|---|
| 🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2 | |
| 🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's | |
| 🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz | |
| ☕ Cappuccino | |
| 🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz |
| 🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in city Center, 40 m2 or 430 ft2 | |
|---|---|
| 🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2 | |
| 🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in city Center, 80 m2 or 860 ft2 | |
| 🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2 | |
| 🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc. | |
| 🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc. | |
| 🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited | |
| 🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years | |
| 🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2 | |
| 🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2 |
| 🚌 Local transport ticket | |
|---|---|
| 🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport | |
| 🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi | |
| ⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal |
| 🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt | |
|---|---|
| 🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb | |
| 🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb | |
| 🥚 Eggs, x12 | |
| 🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb | |
| 🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb | |
| 🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb | |
| 🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb | |
| 🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb | |
| 🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb | |
| 🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb | |
| 🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb | |
| 🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb | |
| 🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt | |
| 🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz | |
| 🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle | |
| 🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz | |
| 🚬 Cigarette pack | |
| 💊 Cold medicince, 1 week | |
| 🧴 Hair Shampoo | |
| 🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls | |
| 👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube |
| 🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month | |
|---|---|
| 🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person | |
| 👩⚕️ Doctor's visit | |
| 💇 Haircut, simple | |
| 👖 Brand Jeans | |
| 👟 Brand Sneakers | |
| 👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month | |
| 🏫 International Primary School, 1 year |
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