Cost of living comparison

compared to

South Korea vs. Maldives Cost of Living Summary

South Korea is 42.3% more expensive than Maldives overall.

Restaurants: pay 37.2% more in South Korea
Groceries: pay 58.0% more in South Korea
Transportation: pay 3.9% more in South Korea
Housing: pay 33.1% less in South Korea
Childcare: pay 3.2 times more in South Korea
Entertainment and Sports: pay 26.1% less in South Korea
Clothing: pay 30.9% more in South Korea

The cost of childcare, groceries, restaurants, clothing, and transportation in South Korea are more expensive than in Maldives. Expenses including housing and entertainment and sports are lower in South Korea. Notably, childcare is significantly more expensive in South Korea.

South Korea vs. Maldives Cost Breakdown

If you lived in South Korea instead of Maldives, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 37.2% more for restaurants

	Maldives	South Korea
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.56 MVR85.56	$6.72 ₩9,907	+21.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.80 MVR150.98	$5.50 ₩8,102	-43.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.45 MVR22.29	$1.47 ₩2,161	+1.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.31 MVR4.70	$0.82 ₩1,216	+170.4%
Average			+37.2%

Maldives vs. South Korea - Cost of restaurants

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pay 58.0% more for groceries

	Maldives	South Korea
Bread 1 loaf	$1.59 MVR24.49	$2.87 ₩4,235	+80.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.58 MVR70.46	$5.63 ₩8,290	+22.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.95 MVR107.00	$7.67 ₩11,311	+10.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.67 MVR25.67	$2.84 ₩4,180	+70.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.82 MVR43.37	$3.34 ₩4,917	+18.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.84 MVR28.31	$3.24 ₩4,768	+76.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.73 MVR26.63	$1.39 ₩2,045	-19.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.96 MVR30.25	$2.80 ₩4,121	+42.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.48 MVR22.83	$2.40 ₩3,543	+62.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.70 MVR10.77	$1.78 ₩2,627	+154.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.55 MVR8.45	$1.20 ₩1,775	+119.5%
Average			+58.0%

Maldives vs. South Korea - Cost of groceries

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pay 3.9% more for transportation

	Maldives	South Korea
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.54 MVR54.53	$4.40 ₩6,485	+24.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$28.91 MVR445.28	$47.17 ₩69,524	+63.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$32,679.74 MVR503,267.97	$26,440.41 ₩38,967,875	-19.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$17.65 MVR271.76	$8.33 ₩12,280	-52.8%
Average			+3.9%

Maldives vs. South Korea - Cost of transportation

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pay 33.1% less for housing

	Maldives	South Korea
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$61.82 MVR952.02	$21.68 ₩31,958	-64.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,136.53 MVR17,502.54	$473.91 ₩698,442	-58.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$731.21 MVR11,260.62	$357.19 ₩526,420	-51.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$93.30 MVR1,436.78	$132.53 ₩195,326	+42.1%
Average			-33.1%

Maldives vs. South Korea - Cost of housing

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pay 3.2 times more for childcare

	Maldives	South Korea
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$164.38 MVR2,531.44	$378.52 ₩557,869	+130.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,587.42 MVR55,246.24	$15,055.40 ₩22,188,655	+319.7%
Average			+225.0%

Maldives vs. South Korea - Cost of childcare

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pay 26.1% less for entertainment and sports

	Maldives	South Korea
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.74 MVR72.97	$3.12 ₩4,595	-34.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.31 MVR50.96	$3.57 ₩5,258	+7.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$13.07 MVR201.31	$3.18 ₩4,693	-75.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$72.98 MVR1,123.97	$49.86 ₩73,483	-31.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$9.80 MVR150.98	$10.12 ₩14,912	+3.2%
Average			-26.1%

Maldives vs. South Korea - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 30.9% more for clothing

	Maldives	South Korea
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$43.03 MVR662.64	$66.46 ₩97,948	+54.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$56.86 MVR875.69	$50.68 ₩74,697	-10.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$90.20 MVR1,389.02	$72.74 ₩107,204	-19.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$51.74 MVR796.84	$103.23 ₩152,146	+99.5%
Average			+30.9%

Maldives vs. South Korea - Cost of clothing

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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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