Pyongyang vs South Tarawa - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 02, 2025

	Pyongyang	South Tarawa
🚶 Cost of living one person	$1675	$514
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$4114	$1262
🏠 One person rent	$959	$228
🏘️ Family rent	$2118	$423
🍽️ Food expenses	$496	$211
🚐 Transport expenses	$168	$21.3
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$411	$397
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	15 km	20 km
🎓 Higher education	19	1
😀 Quality of life	20	23
🏙️ Population	2.86M	63.4K

The cost of living in Pyongyang is 226% more expensive than in South Tarawa. Cities ranked 2779th and 8525th ($1675 vs $514) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 1st in North Korea and Kiribati, respectively. Check North Korea vs Kiribati comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.2 months in Pyongyang compared to 0.8 months in South Tarawa. Pyongyang ranked 1st best city to live in North Korea vs South Tarawa ranked 1st in Kiribati, while ranked 8868th and 8757th among best cities to live in the world.

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Cost of living in Pyongyang vs South Tarawa infographic

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<img src="https://livingcost.org/assets/photo/cost/pyongyang/south-tarawa.jpg" alt="Cost of living in Pyongyang vs South Tarawa infographic" style="max-width: 100%; height: auto;"><p>Source: <a href="https://livingcost.org/cost/pyongyang/south-tarawa" target="_blank">Pyongyang vs South Tarawa - Cost of Living Comparison</a></p>

Prices in Pyongyang vs South Tarawa

Prices for goods and services in Pyongyang and South Tarawa are partly crowdsourced by our visitors, just like yourself. Please consider telling us about your city.

	Pyongyang	South Tarawa
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$8.46	$3.49
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$112	$20.3
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$5.05	$4.84
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.87	$1.79
☕ Cappuccino	$1.89	$1.8
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$0.51	$0.56
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$892	$216
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$805	$149
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$3191	$452
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1625	$307
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$81.2	$39.2
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$125	$59.9
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$55.5	$26.5
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	12.14%	11.84%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1656	$1450
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$984	$916
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$0.38	$0.4
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$47.4	$15.1
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$19	$6.61
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$0.89	$1.06
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$2.52	$1.16
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$2.62	$0.72
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.61	$1.15
🥚 Eggs, x12	$2.54	$1.63
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$9.54	$7.06
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$18.1	$4.27
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$6.86	$6.89
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.15	$2.14
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.16	$1.22
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.49	$1.57
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$6.95	$1.08
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.95	$0.93
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$0.97	$0.98
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.32	$0.35
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$2.15	$1.2
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$6.94	$7.64
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.71	$1.39
🚬 Cigarette pack	$2.82	$2.85
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$3.34	$3.83
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$2.9	$2.92
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.52	$1.53
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$4.43	$1.27
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$24.2	$23
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$4.24	$4.3
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$16	$15.5
💇 Haircut, simple	$4.35	$4.09
👖 Brand Jeans	$28.4	$29.3
👟 Brand Sneakers	$63	$62.9
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$103	$108
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$3399	$3341

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

$349

$907

$6.64K

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Pyongyang

Distance	City	Cost of living
27 km or 17 mi	Pyongsong	$1548
44 km or 27 mi	Nampo	$1570
46 km or 29 mi	Sunchon	$1574
59 km or 36 mi	Sariwon	$1561
65 km or 41 mi	Anju	$1554
76 km or 47 mi	Kaechon	$1565
77 km or 48 mi	Chongju	$1547
95 km or 59 mi	Tokchon	$1546
111 km or 69 mi	Haeju	$1550
115 km or 71 mi	Kusong	$1549
135 km or 84 mi	Huichon	$1538
138 km or 86 mi	Kaesong	$1565
149 km or 92 mi	Wonsan	$1568
163 km or 102 mi	Paju	$1075
165 km or 102 mi	Sinuiju	$1572
165 km or 103 mi	Donggang	$505
167 km or 104 mi	Dandong	$503
170 km or 106 mi	Dongducheon	$1055
178 km or 111 mi	Gimpo	$1099
180 km or 112 mi	Yangju	$974
180 km or 112 mi	Pocheon	$1040
181 km or 112 mi	Goyang	$1171
183 km or 113 mi	Uijeongbu	$955
184 km or 114 mi	Hamhung	$1597
192 km or 119 mi	Incheon	$1092
193 km or 120 mi	Bucheon	$1163
195 km or 121 mi	Seoul	$1334
199 km or 124 mi	Gwangmyeong	$1089
202 km or 125 mi	Guri	$1122
202 km or 125 mi	Namyangju	$1129
209 km or 130 mi	Gwacheon	$1070
210 km or 130 mi	Anyang	$1022
210 km or 131 mi	Hanam	$1161
212 km or 132 mi	Ansan	$1070
213 km or 132 mi	Fengcheng	$492
213 km or 133 mi	Gunpo	$1098
215 km or 134 mi	Seongnam	$1400
216 km or 134 mi	Uiwang	$1063
216 km or 134 mi	Siheung	$1283
217 km or 135 mi	Chuncheon	$865

Cities near South Tarawa

Distance	City	Cost of living
658 km or 409 mi	Majuro	$1488
661 km or 411 mi	Djarrit	$1494
706 km or 439 mi	Yaren	$669
1302 km or 809 mi	Vaiaku	$661
1302 km or 809 mi	Funafuti	$659
1768 km or 1099 mi	Auki	$1401
1879 km or 1167 mi	Honiara	$1411
1988 km or 1235 mi	Luganville	$1946
2172 km or 1349 mi	Lautoka	$660
2190 km or 1361 mi	Nadi	$977
2190 km or 1361 mi	Port Vila	$1938
2248 km or 1397 mi	Nasinu	$810
2253 km or 1400 mi	Suva	$808
2310 km or 1435 mi	Manase	$644
2382 km or 1480 mi	Apia	$647
2712 km or 1685 mi	Dumbea	$1604
2713 km or 1686 mi	Paita	$1604
2725 km or 1693 mi	Noumea	$1652
2817 km or 1750 mi	Nukualofa	$1001
2825 km or 1756 mi	Mua	$1002
3022 km or 1878 mi	Lae	$531
3104 km or 1929 mi	Port Moresby	$547
3286 km or 2042 mi	London	$513
3357 km or 2086 mi	Saipan	$1427
3375 km or 2097 mi	Dededo	$2909
3383 km or 2102 mi	Hagatna	$2648
3611 km or 2244 mi	Cairns	$1335
3612 km or 2244 mi	Jayapura	$420
3658 km or 2273 mi	Gladstone	$1478
3665 km or 2277 mi	Townsville	$1667
3668 km or 2279 mi	Bundaberg	$1557
3672 km or 2282 mi	Hervey Bay	$1638
3673 km or 2282 mi	Rockhampton	$1411
3762 km or 2338 mi	Kauai	$2735
3779 km or 2348 mi	Sunshine Coast	$1709
3788 km or 2354 mi	Caloundra	$1683
3822 km or 2375 mi	Caboolture	$1748
3851 km or 2393 mi	Waipahu	$2620
3854 km or 2395 mi	Brisbane	$2016
3855 km or 2396 mi	Pearl	$2562