Cost of living comparison
compared to
South Africa vs. North Korea Cost of Living Summary
South Africa is 31.9% more expensive than North Korea overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 43.5% less in South Africa
- Groceries
-
pay 9.4% less in South Africa
- Housing
-
pay 2.9 times more in South Africa
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 4.5% less in South Africa
Expenses including restaurants, groceries, and entertainment and sports are lower in South Africa. Notably, housing is significantly more expensive in South Africa.
South Africa vs. North Korea Cost Breakdown
If you lived in South Africa instead of North Korea, you would:
pay 43.5% less for restaurants
|
North Korea
|
South Africa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant | ?? |
$9.33
ZAR159.73
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
?? |
$5.11
ZAR87.49
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.34
KPW2,102
|
$1.03
ZAR17.65
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.17
KPW1,051
|
$0.80
ZAR13.74
|
|
North Korea vs. South Africa - Cost of restaurants
pay 9.4% less for groceries
|
North Korea
|
South Africa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.40
KPW2,161
|
$1.00
ZAR17.16
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) | ?? |
$3.88
ZAR66.47
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.70
KPW3,332
|
$4.37
ZAR74.79
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.08
KPW1,876
|
$2.33
ZAR39.93
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) | ?? |
$2.13
ZAR36.52
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) | ?? |
$0.73
ZAR12.46
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) | ?? |
$0.65
ZAR11.16
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) | ?? |
$0.68
ZAR11.70
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) | ?? |
$0.71
ZAR12.14
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) | ?? |
$0.59
ZAR10.02
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) | ?? |
$0.60
ZAR10.27
|
|
North Korea vs. South Africa - Cost of groceries
pay (unknown) more for transportation
|
North Korea
|
South Africa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) | ?? |
$4.92
ZAR84.25
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass | ?? |
$56.18
ZAR961.29
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) | ?? |
$21,394.82
ZAR366,106.47
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) | ?? |
$9.34
ZAR159.79
|
North Korea vs. South Africa - Cost of transportation
pay 2.9 times more for housing
|
North Korea
|
South Africa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
?? |
$39.36
ZAR673.48
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$93.44
KPW84,095
|
$404.16
ZAR6,915.94
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$262.80
KPW236,518
|
$361.59
ZAR6,187.51
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
?? |
$88.13
ZAR1,508.04
|
|
North Korea vs. South Africa - Cost of housing
pay (unknown) more for childcare
|
North Korea
|
South Africa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly | ?? |
$173.48
ZAR2,968.50
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters | ?? |
$3,962.11
ZAR67,799.29
|
North Korea vs. South Africa - Cost of childcare
pay 4.5% less for entertainment and sports
|
North Korea
|
South Africa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$14.02
KPW12,614
|
$2.18
ZAR37.27
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$1.17
KPW1,051
|
$2.05
ZAR35.06
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
?? |
$2.96
ZAR50.72
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym | ?? |
$30.26
ZAR517.83
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema | ?? |
$6.85
ZAR117.19
|
|
North Korea vs. South Africa - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay (unknown) more for clothing
|
North Korea
|
South Africa
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
?? |
$50.74
ZAR868.31
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
?? |
$32.75
ZAR560.46
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
?? |
$94.19
ZAR1,611.79
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) | ?? |
$81.80
ZAR1,399.67
|
North Korea vs. South Africa - 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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