Pyongyang vs South Tarawa - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: June 21, 2026

	Pyongyang	South Tarawa
🚶 Cost of living one person	$1669	$526
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$3681	$1270
🏠 One person rent	$957	$226
🏘️ Family rent	$1680	$370
🍽️ Food expenses	$494	$222
🚐 Transport expenses	$167	$22.1
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$159	$181
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	15 km	20 km
🎓 Higher education	19	1
😀 Quality of life	23	30
🏙️ Population	2.86M	63.4K

The cost of living in Pyongyang is 217% more expensive than in South Tarawa. Cities ranked 3318th and 8528th ($1669 vs $526) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 2nd in North Korea and Kiribati, respectively. Check North Korea vs Kiribati comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.1 months in Pyongyang compared to 0.3 months in South Tarawa. Pyongyang ranked 1st best city to live in North Korea vs South Tarawa ranked 1st in Kiribati, while ranked 9024th and 8796th among best cities to live in the world.

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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	$8.42	$3.8
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$111	$21.7
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$5.04	$5.11
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.93	$1.82
☕ Cappuccino	$1.98	$1.95
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$0.52	$0.63
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$887	$214
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$804	$146
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1630	$385
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1466	$256
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$80.6	$41.3
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$126	$63.1
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$55.1	$25.1
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	12.65%	12.34%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1605	$1342
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$874	$823
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$0.3	$0.38
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$46.9	$15.3
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$19	$7.19
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$0.9	$1.03
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$2.52	$1.22
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$2.64	$0.74
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.62	$1.19
🥚 Eggs, x12	$2.54	$1.7
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$9.49	$7.3
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$17.8	$4.45
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$6.88	$7.14
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.13	$2.34
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.12	$1.25
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.56	$1.62
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$6.95	$1.14
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.01	$1.03
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$0.93	$1.03
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.32	$0.38
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$2.17	$1.2
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$7.01	$7.9
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.71	$1.42
🚬 Cigarette pack	$3.19	$3.16
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$3.27	$3.85
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$2.89	$3.01
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.53	$1.51
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$4.38	$1.24
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$23.9	$23.6
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$4.14	$4.41
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$16.1	$18.5
💇 Haircut, simple	$3.92	$4.15
👖 Brand Jeans	$28	$31
👟 Brand Sneakers	$61.1	$65.3
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$131	$139
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$4572	$4506

Cost of living in other countries

Cost of living

Cost of Living in the nearest cities

Cities near Pyongyang

Distance	City	Cost of living
27 km or 17 mi	Pyongsong	$1560
44 km or 27 mi	Nampo	$1572
46 km or 29 mi	Sunchon	$1579
59 km or 36 mi	Sariwon	$1569
65 km or 41 mi	Anju	$1559
76 km or 47 mi	Kaechon	$1564
77 km or 48 mi	Chongju	$1544
95 km or 59 mi	Tokchon	$1563
111 km or 69 mi	Haeju	$1562
115 km or 71 mi	Kusong	$1550
135 km or 84 mi	Huichon	$1547
138 km or 86 mi	Kaesong	$1557
149 km or 92 mi	Wonsan	$1570
163 km or 102 mi	Paju	$1010
165 km or 102 mi	Sinuiju	$1572
165 km or 103 mi	Donggang	$540
167 km or 104 mi	Dandong	$541
170 km or 106 mi	Dongducheon	$977
178 km or 111 mi	Gimpo	$1040
180 km or 112 mi	Yangju	$894
180 km or 112 mi	Pocheon	$982
181 km or 112 mi	Goyang	$1052
183 km or 113 mi	Uijeongbu	$868
184 km or 114 mi	Hamhung	$1607
192 km or 119 mi	Incheon	$1032
193 km or 120 mi	Bucheon	$1090
195 km or 121 mi	Seoul	$1296
199 km or 124 mi	Gwangmyeong	$1029
202 km or 125 mi	Guri	$1089
202 km or 125 mi	Namyangju	$1094
209 km or 130 mi	Gwacheon	$1031
210 km or 130 mi	Anyang	$943
210 km or 131 mi	Hanam	$1152
212 km or 132 mi	Ansan	$1001
213 km or 132 mi	Fengcheng	$526
213 km or 133 mi	Gunpo	$1053
215 km or 134 mi	Seongnam	$1455
216 km or 134 mi	Uiwang	$1022
216 km or 134 mi	Siheung	$1313
217 km or 135 mi	Chuncheon	$819

Cities near South Tarawa

Distance	City	Cost of living
658 km or 409 mi	Majuro	$1499
661 km or 411 mi	Djarrit	$1497
706 km or 439 mi	Yaren	$788
1302 km or 809 mi	Vaiaku	$714
1302 km or 809 mi	Funafuti	$714
1768 km or 1099 mi	Auki	$1491
1879 km or 1167 mi	Honiara	$1502
1988 km or 1235 mi	Luganville	$2020
2172 km or 1349 mi	Lautoka	$680
2190 km or 1361 mi	Nadi	$1095
2190 km or 1361 mi	Port Vila	$2036
2248 km or 1397 mi	Nasinu	$910
2253 km or 1400 mi	Suva	$891
2310 km or 1435 mi	Manase	$790
2382 km or 1480 mi	Apia	$789
2712 km or 1685 mi	Dumbea	$1844
2713 km or 1686 mi	Paita	$1851
2725 km or 1693 mi	Noumea	$1911
2817 km or 1750 mi	Nukualofa	$1032
2825 km or 1756 mi	Mua	$1033
3022 km or 1878 mi	Lae	$546
3104 km or 1929 mi	Port Moresby	$562
3286 km or 2042 mi	London	$526
3357 km or 2086 mi	Saipan	$1435
3375 km or 2097 mi	Dededo	$2409
3383 km or 2102 mi	Hagatna	$3243
3611 km or 2244 mi	Cairns	$1851
3612 km or 2244 mi	Jayapura	$492
3658 km or 2273 mi	Gladstone	$1643
3665 km or 2277 mi	Townsville	$2015
3668 km or 2279 mi	Bundaberg	$1720
3672 km or 2282 mi	Hervey Bay	$1883
3673 km or 2282 mi	Rockhampton	$1642
3762 km or 2338 mi	Kauai	$2888
3779 km or 2348 mi	Sunshine Coast	$1838
3788 km or 2354 mi	Caloundra	$1863
3822 km or 2375 mi	Caboolture	$1992
3851 km or 2393 mi	Waipahu	$2760
3854 km or 2395 mi	Brisbane	$2323
3855 km or 2396 mi	Pearl	$2649