Cost of living comparison

compared to

Asmara vs. P'yongyang Cost of Living Summary

Asmara is 61.0% more expensive than P'yongyang.

Restaurants
pay 12.3% more in Asmara
Groceries
pay 93.4% more in Asmara
Housing
pay 2.5 times more in Asmara
Entertainment and Sports
pay 76.6% less in Asmara

The cost of housing, groceries, and restaurants in Asmara are more expensive than in P'yongyang. Notably, housing and groceries are significantly more expensive in Asmara.

Asmara vs. P'yongyang Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Asmara instead of P'yongyang, you would:

pay 12.3% more for restaurants

 
P'yongyang
Asmara
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $4.81
KPW4,327
$21.00
ERN315.00
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$21.26
KPW19,136
$5.99
ERN89.85
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.21
KPW1,985
$1.00
ERN15.00

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pay 93.4% more for groceries

 
P'yongyang
Asmara
Bread
1 loaf
$2.30
KPW2,071
??
Local cheese (8 oz) ?? $1.50
ERN22.50
Milk (1 gallon) $3.55
KPW3,195
$6.06
ERN90.85

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pay (unknown) more for transportation

 
P'yongyang
Asmara
Gasoline (1 gallon) ?? $9.46
ERN141.95
Monthly public transit pass ?? $8.00
ERN120.00
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) ?? $66,666.00
ERN1000K

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pay 2.5 times more for housing

 
P'yongyang
Asmara
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
?? $200.00
ERN3,000.00
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $89.58
KPW80,621
$250.00
ERN3,750.00
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $89.58
KPW80,621
$200.00
ERN3,000.00

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pay (unknown) more for childcare

 
P'yongyang
Asmara
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly ?? $25.00
ERN375.00
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters ?? $2,600.00
ERN39,000.00

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pay 76.6% less for entertainment and sports

 
P'yongyang
Asmara
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $13.44
KPW12,093
$0.60
ERN9.00
Cappuccino in mid-range area $1.12
KPW1,008
$0.80
ERN12.00
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
?? ??

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pay (unknown) more for clothing

 
P'yongyang
Asmara
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
?? $135.00
ERN2,025.00
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
?? $120.00
ERN1,800.00
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
?? $200.00
ERN3,000.00

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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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