Pyongyang vs Sydney - Cost of Living Comparison

Updated: March 11, 2026

	Pyongyang	Sydney
🚶 Cost of living one person	$1675	$2844
👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 Cost of living Family	$3651	$6700
🏠 One person rent	$960	$1749
🏘️ Family rent	$1648	$3002
🍽️ Food expenses	$494	$597
🚐 Transport expenses	$167	$337
💳 Monthly salary after tax	$126	$4145
😷 Air quality	Moderate	Excellent
✈️ Airport proximity	15 km	9 km
🎓 Higher education	19	99
😀 Quality of life	23	98
🏙️ Population	2.86M	5.45M

The cost of living in Pyongyang is 41% less expensive than in Sydney. Cities ranked 3341st and 348th ($1675 vs $2844) in the list of the most expensive cities in the world and ranked 1st and 1st in North Korea and Australia, respectively. Check North Korea vs Australia comparison.

The average after-tax salary is enough to cover living expenses for 0.1 months in Pyongyang compared to 1.5 months in Sydney. Pyongyang ranked 1st best city to live in North Korea vs Sydney ranked 2nd in Australia, while ranked 9065th and 2nd among best cities to live in the world.

Salary adjustment calculator
the estimated difference in money purchasing power

Share this infographic!

Use the link below to embed the infographic from our site and automatically keep the data layer up to date.

If you prefer to download the image, please credit us as a source.

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

Prices in Pyongyang vs Sydney

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

	Pyongyang	Sydney
Eating Out
🍱 Lunch Menu	$8.41	$15.8
🥂 Dinner in a Restaurant, for 2	$111	$79.7
🥪 Fast food meal, equiv. McDonald's	$5.02	$11.2
🍻 Beer in a Pub, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$1.92	$7.36
☕ Cappuccino	$1.99	$3.85
🥤 Pepsi / Coke, 0.5 L or 16.9 fl oz	$0.53	$2.82
Rent & Utilities
🏙️ 1 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$891	$2123
🏡 Cheap 1 bedroom apartment, 40 m2 or 430 ft2	$806	$1437
🏙️ 3 bedroom apartment in Downtown, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1610	$3835
🏡 Cheap 3 bedroom apartment, 80 m2 or 860 ft2	$1432	$2492
🔌 Utility Bill one person, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$81.4	$123
🔌 Utility Bill for a Family, electricity, heating, water, etc.	$125	$190
🌐 Internet plan, 50 Mbps+ 1 month unlimited	$55.4	$51.6
🏦 Mortgage Interest Rate for 20 Years	12.8%	6.09%
🏙️ Apartment price to Buy in city Center, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$1642	$13218
🏡 House price to Buy in Suburbs, 1 m2 or 10 ft2	$900	$7866
Transportation
🚌 Local transport ticket	$0.33	$3.77
🎟️ Monthly ticket local transport	$46.8	$118
🚕 Taxi Ride, 8 km or 5 mi	$19.2	$20.6
⛽ Gas / Petrol, 1 L or 0.26 gal	$0.89	$1.37
Groceries
🥛 Milk, 1 L or 1 qt	$2.5	$1.84
🍞 Bread, 0.5 kg or 1.1 lb	$2.64	$2.46
🍚 Rice, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$2.63	$2.13
🥚 Eggs, x12	$2.56	$5.78
🧀 Cheese, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$9.54	$13.9
🐔 Chicken Breast, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$17.9	$9.78
🥩 Round Steak, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$6.88	$15.8
🍏 Apples, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3.13	$3.56
🍌 Banana, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.14	$3.1
🍊 Oranges, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$1.59	$3.24
🍅 Tomato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$6.93	$4.66
🥔 Potato, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$3	$2.86
🧅 Onion, 1 kg or 2.2 lb	$0.98	$2.53
🌊 Water, 1 L or 1 qt	$0.34	$0.82
🍹 Coca-Cola / Pepsi, 2 L or 67.6 fl oz	$2.16	$2.8
🍾 Wine (mid-priced), 750 mL bottle	$6.96	$15.8
🍺 Beer, 0.5 L or 16 fl oz	$2.73	$4.69
🚬 Cigarette pack	$2.84	$24.9
💊 Cold medicince, 1 week	$3.17	$9.5
🧴 Hair Shampoo	$2.93	$4.93
🧻 Toilet paper, 4 rolls	$1.54	$3.1
👄 Toothpaste, 1 tube	$4.46	$3.03
Other
🏋️ Gym Membership, 1 month	$24.9	$63.4
🎫 Cinema Ticket, 1 person	$4.26	$16.6
👩‍⚕️ Doctor's visit	$17.1	$70.3
💇 Haircut, simple	$4.46	$21.7
👖 Brand Jeans	$27.9	$80.9
👟 Brand Sneakers	$62.9	$111
👶 Daycare or Preschool, 1 month	$114	$2281
🏫 International Primary School, 1 year	$4189	$21946

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	$1551
44 km or 27 mi	Nampo	$1580
46 km or 29 mi	Sunchon	$1574
59 km or 36 mi	Sariwon	$1560
65 km or 41 mi	Anju	$1551
76 km or 47 mi	Kaechon	$1572
77 km or 48 mi	Chongju	$1539
95 km or 59 mi	Tokchon	$1560
111 km or 69 mi	Haeju	$1568
115 km or 71 mi	Kusong	$1540
135 km or 84 mi	Huichon	$1545
138 km or 86 mi	Kaesong	$1563
149 km or 92 mi	Wonsan	$1572
163 km or 102 mi	Paju	$1049
165 km or 102 mi	Sinuiju	$1574
165 km or 103 mi	Donggang	$534
167 km or 104 mi	Dandong	$544
170 km or 106 mi	Dongducheon	$1007
178 km or 111 mi	Gimpo	$1068
180 km or 112 mi	Yangju	$937
180 km or 112 mi	Pocheon	$1008
181 km or 112 mi	Goyang	$1092
183 km or 113 mi	Uijeongbu	$913
184 km or 114 mi	Hamhung	$1604
192 km or 119 mi	Incheon	$1057
193 km or 120 mi	Bucheon	$1167
195 km or 121 mi	Seoul	$1363
199 km or 124 mi	Gwangmyeong	$1071
202 km or 125 mi	Guri	$1117
202 km or 125 mi	Namyangju	$1120
209 km or 130 mi	Gwacheon	$1061
210 km or 130 mi	Anyang	$988
210 km or 131 mi	Hanam	$1162
212 km or 132 mi	Ansan	$1044
213 km or 132 mi	Fengcheng	$517
213 km or 133 mi	Gunpo	$1112
215 km or 134 mi	Seongnam	$1425
216 km or 134 mi	Uiwang	$1063
216 km or 134 mi	Siheung	$1292
217 km or 135 mi	Chuncheon	$867

Cities near Sydney

Distance	City	Cost of living
15 km or 9.2 mi	Dee Why	$2379
19 km or 12 mi	Parramatta	$2482
29 km or 18 mi	Kellyville	$2050
29 km or 18 mi	Blacktown	$1710
69 km or 43 mi	Wollongong	$1695
117 km or 73 mi	Newcastle	$1997
158 km or 98 mi	Bathurst	$1699
168 km or 104 mi	Goulburn	$1821
205 km or 127 mi	Orange	$1477
247 km or 154 mi	Canberra	$2223
301 km or 187 mi	Dubbo	$1867
314 km or 195 mi	Port Macquarie	$1796
377 km or 234 mi	Armidale	$1288
378 km or 235 mi	Wagga Wagga	$1583
436 km or 271 mi	Coffs Harbour	$2172
478 km or 297 mi	Griffith	$1824
597 km or 371 mi	Shepparton	$1815
624 km or 388 mi	Byron Bay	$2703
638 km or 396 mi	Traralgon	$1979
683 km or 425 mi	Gold Coast	$2528
689 km or 428 mi	Southport	$2352
695 km or 432 mi	Pakenham	$1896
701 km or 436 mi	Berwick	$1860
706 km or 439 mi	Bendigo	$1487
706 km or 439 mi	Toowoomba	$1766
707 km or 439 mi	Dandenong	$1894
711 km or 442 mi	Ipswich	$1813
711 km or 442 mi	Cranbourne	$1798
713 km or 443 mi	South Yarra	$1829
713 km or 443 mi	Melbourne	$2496
716 km or 445 mi	Sunbury	$1928
724 km or 450 mi	Frankston	$1889
732 km or 455 mi	Melton	$1906
733 km or 455 mi	Brisbane	$2269
735 km or 457 mi	Tarneit	$1822
736 km or 457 mi	Hoppers Crossing	$1854
775 km or 481 mi	Caboolture	$1988
778 km or 484 mi	Geelong	$2217
779 km or 484 mi	Ballarat	$1604
807 km or 502 mi	Caloundra	$1864