Cost of living comparison
compared to
Saudi Arabia vs. North Korea Cost of Living Summary
Saudi Arabia is 49.6% more expensive than North Korea overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 72.4% less in Saudi Arabia
- Groceries
-
pay 13.7% more in Saudi Arabia
- Housing
-
pay 3.0 times more in Saudi Arabia
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 55.8% more in Saudi Arabia
The cost of housing, entertainment and sports, and groceries in Saudi Arabia are more expensive than in North Korea. Notably, housing is significantly more expensive in Saudi Arabia.
Saudi Arabia vs. North Korea Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Saudi Arabia instead of North Korea, you would:
pay 72.4% less for restaurants
|
North Korea
|
Saudi Arabia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant | ?? |
$6.32
SAR23.70
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
?? |
$7.73
SAR29.00
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.34
KPW2,102
|
$0.74
SAR2.79
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.17
KPW1,051
|
$0.27
SAR1.02
|
|
North Korea vs. Saudi Arabia - Cost of restaurants
pay 13.7% more for groceries
|
North Korea
|
Saudi Arabia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.40
KPW2,161
|
$0.92
SAR3.43
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) | ?? |
$3.62
SAR13.56
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.70
KPW3,332
|
$6.74
SAR25.26
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.08
KPW1,876
|
$2.52
SAR9.47
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) | ?? |
$3.28
SAR12.28
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) | ?? |
$0.97
SAR3.63
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) | ?? |
$0.78
SAR2.91
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) | ?? |
$0.80
SAR3.00
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) | ?? |
$0.74
SAR2.77
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) | ?? |
$0.66
SAR2.49
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) | ?? |
$0.65
SAR2.43
|
|
North Korea vs. Saudi Arabia - Cost of groceries
pay (unknown) more for transportation
|
North Korea
|
Saudi Arabia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) | ?? |
$2.32
SAR8.72
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass | ?? |
$33.84
SAR126.92
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) | ?? |
$25,756.63
SAR96,608.57
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) | ?? |
$19.00
SAR71.26
|
North Korea vs. Saudi Arabia - Cost of transportation
pay 3.0 times more for housing
|
North Korea
|
Saudi Arabia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
?? |
$74.04
SAR277.70
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$93.44
KPW84,095
|
$434.87
SAR1,631.13
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$262.80
KPW236,518
|
$360.33
SAR1,351.52
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
?? |
$97.42
SAR365.42
|
|
North Korea vs. Saudi Arabia - Cost of housing
pay (unknown) more for childcare
|
North Korea
|
Saudi Arabia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly | ?? |
$350.88
SAR1,316.09
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters | ?? |
$6,485.70
SAR24,326.72
|
North Korea vs. Saudi Arabia - Cost of childcare
pay 55.8% more for entertainment and sports
|
North Korea
|
Saudi Arabia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$14.02
KPW12,614
|
$1.89
SAR7.09
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$1.17
KPW1,051
|
$3.48
SAR13.06
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
?? |
$7.47
SAR28.00
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym | ?? |
$106.43
SAR399.18
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema | ?? |
$17.24
SAR64.67
|
|
North Korea vs. Saudi Arabia - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay (unknown) more for clothing
|
North Korea
|
Saudi Arabia
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
?? |
$48.71
SAR182.69
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
?? |
$57.50
SAR215.68
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
?? |
$88.56
SAR332.16
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) | ?? |
$79.17
SAR296.96
|
North Korea vs. Saudi Arabia - 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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