Cost of living comparison
compared to
Sri Lanka vs. North Korea Cost of Living Summary
Sri Lanka is 3.5% cheaper than North Korea overall.
Sri Lanka vs. North Korea Cost Breakdown
If you lived in Sri Lanka instead of North Korea, you would:
pay 64.2% less for restaurants
|
North Korea
|
Sri Lanka
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$4.81
KPW4,327
|
$2.19
LKR726.11
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$21.26
KPW19,136
|
$6.20
LKR2,052.12
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$2.21
KPW1,985
|
$0.82
LKR270.87
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.28
KPW1,153
|
$0.31
LKR101.62
|
|
North Korea vs. Sri Lanka - Cost of restaurants
pay 37.7% less for groceries
|
North Korea
|
Sri Lanka
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$2.30
KPW2,071
|
$0.50
LKR164.88
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) | ?? |
$5.10
LKR1,689.36
|
|
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$3.55
KPW3,195
|
$5.00
LKR1,656.35
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.00
KPW1,798
|
$1.59
LKR525.48
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) | ?? |
$1.92
LKR637.54
|
|
| Apples (1 lb) | ?? |
$2.39
LKR790.19
|
|
| Bananas (1 lb) | ?? |
$0.33
LKR110.92
|
|
| Oranges (1 lb) | ?? |
$1.65
LKR546.03
|
|
| Tomatoes (1 lb) | ?? |
$0.59
LKR195.36
|
|
| Potatoes (1 lb) | ?? |
$0.45
LKR150.14
|
|
| Onions (1 lb) | ?? |
$0.34
LKR113.13
|
|
North Korea vs. Sri Lanka - Cost of groceries
pay (unknown) more for transportation
|
North Korea
|
Sri Lanka
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) | ?? |
$4.79
LKR1,585.93
|
|
| Monthly public transit pass | ?? |
$4.92
LKR1,628.00
|
|
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) | ?? |
$29,619.96
LKR10M
|
|
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) | ?? |
$2.96
LKR979.01
|
North Korea vs. Sri Lanka - Cost of transportation
pay 2.1 times more for housing
|
North Korea
|
Sri Lanka
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
?? |
$16.30
LKR5,399.45
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$89.58
KPW80,621
|
$251.30
LKR83,230.31
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$89.58
KPW80,621
|
$143.93
LKR47,668.88
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
?? |
$35.77
LKR11,847.20
|
|
North Korea vs. Sri Lanka - Cost of housing
pay (unknown) more for childcare
|
North Korea
|
Sri Lanka
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly | ?? |
$28.08
LKR9,301.28
|
|
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters | ?? |
$711.79
LKR236K
|
North Korea vs. Sri Lanka - Cost of childcare
pay 68.3% less for entertainment and sports
|
North Korea
|
Sri Lanka
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$13.44
KPW12,093
|
$2.16
LKR714.17
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$1.12
KPW1,008
|
$2.16
LKR713.82
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
?? |
$9.91
LKR3,283.39
|
|
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$75.02
KPW67,520
|
$9.67
LKR3,202.38
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema | ?? |
$3.64
LKR1,206.25
|
|
North Korea vs. Sri Lanka - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay (unknown) more for clothing
|
North Korea
|
Sri Lanka
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
?? |
$21.76
LKR7,207.45
|
|
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
?? |
$13.15
LKR4,354.50
|
|
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
?? |
$71.61
LKR23,716.18
|
|
| Men's business shoes (leather) | ?? |
$33.60
LKR11,128.93
|
North Korea vs. Sri Lanka - Cost of clothing
We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this
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Compare further: North Korea vs. Sri Lanka
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Quality of Life Comparison · 12 statistics
Be 73.9% more likely to have access to electricity in Sri Lanka
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Size Comparison · See true size
North Korea is about 1.8 times bigger than Sri Lanka.
→
Moving from North Korea to Sri Lanka · Cost, visas & climate
Compare cost of living, salary and climate.
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