Cost of living comparison
compared to
Sri Lanka vs. North Korea Cost of Living Summary
Sri Lanka is 5.3% more expensive than North Korea overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 69.6% less in Sri Lanka
- Groceries
-
pay 8.1% less in Sri Lanka
- Housing
-
pay 88.7% more in Sri Lanka
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 10.0% more in Sri Lanka
The cost of housing and entertainment and sports in Sri Lanka are more expensive than in North Korea. Expenses including restaurants and groceries are lower in Sri Lanka. Notably, housing is significantly more expensive in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka vs. North Korea Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Sri Lanka instead of North Korea, you would:
pay 69.6% less for restaurants
|
North Korea
|
Sri Lanka
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant | ?? |
$3.63
LKR1,116.85
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
?? |
$7.90
LKR2,426.61
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.34
KPW2,102
|
$0.73
LKR224.32
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.17
KPW1,051
|
$0.35
LKR106.15
|
|
North Korea vs. Sri Lanka - Cost of restaurants
pay 8.1% less for groceries
|
North Korea
|
Sri Lanka
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.40
KPW2,161
|
$0.48
LKR147.07
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) | ?? |
$5.72
LKR1,758.02
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.70
KPW3,332
|
$6.01
LKR1,847.59
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.08
KPW1,876
|
$1.94
LKR597.37
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) | ?? |
$2.05
LKR629.94
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) | ?? |
$2.40
LKR736.93
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) | ?? |
$0.44
LKR136.48
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) | ?? |
$2.17
LKR665.91
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) | ?? |
$0.55
LKR168.43
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) | ?? |
$0.45
LKR139.78
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) | ?? |
$0.51
LKR155.98
|
|
North Korea vs. Sri Lanka - Cost of groceries
pay (unknown) more for transportation
|
North Korea
|
Sri Lanka
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) | ?? |
$4.12
LKR1,264.88
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass | ?? |
$10.74
LKR3,299.78
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) | ?? |
$24,680.98
LKR7,584,425.30
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) | ?? |
$3.00
LKR921.91
|
North Korea vs. Sri Lanka - Cost of transportation
pay 88.7% more for housing
|
North Korea
|
Sri Lanka
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
?? |
$12.84
LKR3,944.37
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$93.44
KPW84,095
|
$289.17
LKR88,862.02
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$262.80
KPW236,518
|
$178.38
LKR54,816.88
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
?? |
$31.64
LKR9,722.89
|
|
North Korea vs. Sri Lanka - Cost of housing
pay (unknown) more for childcare
|
North Korea
|
Sri Lanka
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly | ?? |
$33.87
LKR10,407.01
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters | ?? |
$466.09
LKR143,227.52
|
North Korea vs. Sri Lanka - Cost of childcare
pay 10.0% more for entertainment and sports
|
North Korea
|
Sri Lanka
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$14.02
KPW12,614
|
$2.08
LKR639.65
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$1.17
KPW1,051
|
$2.39
LKR735.74
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
?? |
$9.25
LKR2,842.89
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym | ?? |
$15.04
LKR4,620.30
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema | ?? |
$3.12
LKR959.48
|
|
North Korea vs. Sri Lanka - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay (unknown) more for clothing
|
North Korea
|
Sri Lanka
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
?? |
$25.05
LKR7,697.80
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
?? |
$17.03
LKR5,232.27
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
?? |
$62.69
LKR19,264.32
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) | ?? |
$35.07
LKR10,776.88
|
North Korea vs. Sri Lanka - 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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