Cost of living comparison
compared to
North Korea vs. Iceland Cost of Living Summary
North Korea is 85.3% cheaper than Iceland overall.
North Korea vs. Iceland Cost Breakdown
If you lived in North Korea instead of Iceland, you would:
pay 61.5% less for restaurants
|
Iceland
|
North Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$28.88
ISK3,499
|
$4.81
KPW4,327
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$22.83
ISK2,767
|
$21.26
KPW19,136
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$3.25
ISK393
|
$2.21
KPW1,985
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$3.01
ISK365
|
$1.28
KPW1,153
|
|
Iceland vs. North Korea - Cost of restaurants
pay 56.0% less for groceries
|
Iceland
|
North Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$3.55
ISK431
|
$2.30
KPW2,071
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$10.11
ISK1,226
|
?? | |
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$7.79
ISK944
|
$3.55
KPW3,195
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$6.92
ISK839
|
$2.00
KPW1,798
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$11.01
ISK1,334
|
?? | |
| Apples (1 lb) |
$1.43
ISK173
|
?? | |
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$1.23
ISK148
|
?? | |
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.42
ISK172
|
?? | |
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$2.60
ISK315
|
?? | |
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.71
ISK207
|
?? | |
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.76
ISK92
|
?? | |
Iceland vs. North Korea - Cost of groceries
pay (unknown) more for transportation
|
Iceland
|
North Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$8.09
ISK980
|
?? | |
| Monthly public transit pass |
$80.58
ISK9,765
|
?? | |
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$48,967.53
ISK6M
|
?? | |
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$26.24
ISK3,179
|
?? |
Iceland vs. North Korea - Cost of transportation
pay 95.7% less for housing
|
Iceland
|
North Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$98.24
ISK11,905
|
?? | |
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$2,335.24
ISK283K
|
$89.58
KPW80,621
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,824.40
ISK221K
|
$89.58
KPW80,621
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$72.34
ISK8,766
|
?? | |
Iceland vs. North Korea - Cost of housing
pay (unknown) more for childcare
|
Iceland
|
North Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$833.66
ISK101K
|
?? | |
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$27,752.37
ISK3M
|
?? |
Iceland vs. North Korea - Cost of childcare
pay 39.5% less for entertainment and sports
|
Iceland
|
North Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$11.37
ISK1,378
|
$13.44
KPW12,093
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$5.90
ISK715
|
$1.12
KPW1,008
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$13.85
ISK1,679
|
?? | |
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$83.64
ISK10,136
|
$75.02
KPW67,520
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$17.92
ISK2,171
|
?? | |
Iceland vs. North Korea - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay (unknown) more for clothing
|
Iceland
|
North Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$134.47
ISK16,295
|
?? | |
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$63.25
ISK7,664
|
?? | |
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$159.03
ISK19,271
|
?? | |
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$237.19
ISK28,742
|
?? |
Iceland vs. North Korea - Cost of clothing
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this
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Compare further: Iceland vs. North Korea
Salary Calculator · Free tool
What salary would you need in North Korea?
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Quality of Life Comparison · 13 statistics
Be 42.5% less likely to have access to electricity in North Korea
→
Size Comparison · See true size
Iceland is about 1.2 times smaller than North Korea.
→
Moving from Iceland to North Korea · Cost, visas & climate
Compare cost of living, salary and climate.
→
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