Cost of living comparison
compared to
Bhutan vs. North Korea Cost of Living Summary
Bhutan is 40.2% cheaper than North Korea overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 80.8% less in Bhutan
- Groceries
-
pay 29.0% less in Bhutan
- Housing
-
pay 20.8% less in Bhutan
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 30.1% less in Bhutan
Expenses including restaurants, entertainment and sports, groceries, and housing are lower in Bhutan.
Bhutan vs. North Korea Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Bhutan instead of North Korea, you would:
pay 80.8% less for restaurants
|
North Korea
|
Bhutan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant | ?? |
$2.82
BTN251.43
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
?? |
$3.38
BTN301.71
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.34
KPW2,102
|
$0.53
BTN47.27
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.17
KPW1,051
|
$0.18
BTN16.34
|
|
North Korea vs. Bhutan - Cost of restaurants
pay 29.0% less for groceries
|
North Korea
|
Bhutan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.40
KPW2,161
|
$0.89
BTN79.45
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) | ?? |
$1.61
BTN143.31
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.70
KPW3,332
|
$3.03
BTN270.30
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.08
KPW1,876
|
$1.96
BTN174.59
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) | ?? |
$1.70
BTN151.45
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) | ?? |
$1.09
BTN97.32
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) | ?? |
$0.65
BTN58.39
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) | ?? |
$0.83
BTN73.75
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) | ?? |
$0.33
BTN29.27
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) | ?? |
$0.23
BTN20.15
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) | ?? |
$0.26
BTN23.19
|
|
North Korea vs. Bhutan - Cost of groceries
pay (unknown) more for transportation
|
North Korea
|
Bhutan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) | ?? |
$3.03
BTN270.45
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass | ?? |
$4.01
BTN357.20
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) | ?? | ?? | |
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) | ?? |
$18.89
BTN1,684.56
|
North Korea vs. Bhutan - Cost of transportation
pay 20.8% less for housing
|
North Korea
|
Bhutan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
?? |
$26.44
BTN2,358.11
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$93.44
KPW84,095
|
$122.58
BTN10,932.01
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$262.80
KPW236,518
|
$71.54
BTN6,380.34
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
?? |
$17.80
BTN1,587.71
|
|
North Korea vs. Bhutan - Cost of housing
pay (unknown) more for childcare
|
North Korea
|
Bhutan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly | ?? |
$235.40
BTN20,994.09
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters | ?? |
$648.40
BTN57,828.02
|
North Korea vs. Bhutan - Cost of childcare
pay 30.1% less for entertainment and sports
|
North Korea
|
Bhutan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$14.02
KPW12,614
|
$2.82
BTN251.43
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$1.17
KPW1,051
|
$1.40
BTN124.71
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
?? |
$3.66
BTN326.85
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym | ?? |
$46.99
BTN4,190.44
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema | ?? |
$3.38
BTN301.71
|
|
North Korea vs. Bhutan - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay (unknown) more for clothing
|
North Korea
|
Bhutan
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
?? |
$9.02
BTN804.56
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
?? |
$11.28
BTN1,005.70
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
?? |
$31.01
BTN2,765.69
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) | ?? |
$31.01
BTN2,765.69
|
North Korea vs. Bhutan - 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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