Cost of living comparison
compared to
North Korea vs. Costa Rica Cost of Living Summary
North Korea is 20.9% more expensive than Costa Rica overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 4.5% less in North Korea
- Groceries
-
pay 27.2% less in North Korea
- Housing
-
pay 70.6% less in North Korea
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 2.9 times more in North Korea
Expenses including housing, groceries, and restaurants are lower in North Korea. Notably, entertainment and sports is significantly more expensive in North Korea.
North Korea vs. Costa Rica Cost Breakdown
If you lived in North Korea instead of Costa Rica, you would:
pay 4.5% less for restaurants
|
Costa Rica
|
North Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$9.77
CRC4,857.39
|
?? | |
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$9.53
CRC4,739.57
|
?? | |
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.00
CRC995.21
|
$2.34
KPW2,102
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.57
CRC781.41
|
$1.17
KPW1,051
|
|
Costa Rica vs. North Korea - Cost of restaurants
pay 27.2% less for groceries
|
Costa Rica
|
North Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.54
CRC1,262.79
|
$2.40
KPW2,161
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.50
CRC2,237.94
|
?? | |
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$7.52
CRC3,740.34
|
$3.70
KPW3,332
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.80
CRC1,389.74
|
$2.08
KPW1,876
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.83
CRC1,902.77
|
?? | |
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.78
CRC886.81
|
?? | |
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.62
CRC305.74
|
?? | |
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.65
CRC819.01
|
?? | |
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.24
CRC617.46
|
?? | |
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.28
CRC635.24
|
?? | |
| Onions (1 lb) |
$1.10
CRC547.12
|
?? | |
Costa Rica vs. North Korea - Cost of groceries
pay (unknown) more for transportation
|
Costa Rica
|
North Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$5.47
CRC2,719.23
|
?? | |
| Monthly public transit pass |
$54.59
CRC27,137.81
|
?? | |
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$36,444.91
CRC18,117,972.89
|
?? | |
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$15.68
CRC7,794.48
|
?? |
Costa Rica vs. North Korea - Cost of transportation
pay 70.6% less for housing
|
Costa Rica
|
North Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$49.17
CRC24,446.08
|
?? | |
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$805.28
CRC400,329.95
|
$93.44
KPW84,095
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$555.89
CRC276,349.98
|
$262.80
KPW236,518
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$63.57
CRC31,602.67
|
?? | |
Costa Rica vs. North Korea - Cost of housing
pay (unknown) more for childcare
|
Costa Rica
|
North Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$517.09
CRC257,060.35
|
?? | |
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$9,552.94
CRC4,749,083.93
|
?? |
Costa Rica vs. North Korea - Cost of childcare
pay 2.9 times more for entertainment and sports
|
Costa Rica
|
North Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$2.59
CRC1,285.81
|
$14.02
KPW12,614
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$3.84
CRC1,908.38
|
$1.17
KPW1,051
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$4.70
CRC2,336.25
|
?? | |
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$58.68
CRC29,171.56
|
?? | |
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$9.11
CRC4,527.37
|
?? | |
Costa Rica vs. North Korea - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay (unknown) more for clothing
|
Costa Rica
|
North Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$58.22
CRC28,941.22
|
?? | |
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$44.70
CRC22,222.99
|
?? | |
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$112.79
CRC56,072.28
|
?? | |
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$93.41
CRC46,435.67
|
?? |
Costa Rica vs. North Korea - Cost of clothing
The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you.
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world.
Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: December 2025
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