Cost of living comparison

compared to

Colombo vs. P'yongyang Cost of Living Summary

Colombo is 50.7% more expensive than P'yongyang.

Restaurants
pay 52.2% less in Colombo
Groceries
pay 30.8% less in Colombo
Housing
pay 4.5 times more in Colombo
Entertainment and Sports
pay 61.4% less in Colombo

Expenses including entertainment and sports, restaurants, and groceries are lower in Colombo. Notably, housing is significantly more expensive in Colombo.

Colombo vs. P'yongyang Cost Breakdown

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

pay 52.2% less for restaurants

 
P'yongyang
Colombo
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $4.81
KPW4,327
$3.82
LKR1,265.61
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$21.26
KPW19,136
$7.56
LKR2,502.59
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.21
KPW1,985
$0.70
LKR232.56

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pay 30.8% less for groceries

 
P'yongyang
Colombo
Bread
1 loaf
$2.30
KPW2,071
$0.55
LKR181.98
Local cheese (8 oz) ?? $6.89
LKR2,281.50
Milk (1 gallon) $3.55
KPW3,195
$6.03
LKR1,996.25

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pay (unknown) more for transportation

 
P'yongyang
Colombo
Gasoline (1 gallon) ?? $5.14
LKR1,701.24
Monthly public transit pass ?? $7.19
LKR2,381.42
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) ?? $37,024.95
LKR12M

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pay 4.5 times more for housing

 
P'yongyang
Colombo
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
?? $20.78
LKR6,883.48
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $89.58
KPW80,621
$589.61
LKR195K
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $89.58
KPW80,621
$270.44
LKR89,571.04

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pay (unknown) more for childcare

 
P'yongyang
Colombo
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly ?? $37.78
LKR12,512.93
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters ?? $1,208.98
LKR400K

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pay 61.4% less for entertainment and sports

 
P'yongyang
Colombo
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $13.44
KPW12,093
$2.21
LKR730.76
Cappuccino in mid-range area $1.12
KPW1,008
$2.51
LKR832.69
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
?? $10.28
LKR3,403.52

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pay (unknown) more for clothing

 
P'yongyang
Colombo
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
?? $18.13
LKR6,006.21
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
?? $16.62
LKR5,505.69
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
?? $79.09
LKR26,193.74

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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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