Cost of living comparison

compared to

Ottawa vs. P'yongyang Cost of Living Summary

Ottawa is 3.7 times more expensive than P'yongyang.

Restaurants
pay 9.5% more in Ottawa
Groceries
pay 72.0% more in Ottawa
Housing
pay 10.1 times more in Ottawa
Entertainment and Sports
pay 80.8% more in Ottawa

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

Ottawa vs. P'yongyang Cost Breakdown

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

pay 9.5% more for restaurants

 
P'yongyang
Ottawa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant ?? $17.99
CA$25.16
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
?? $11.01
CA$15.40
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $2.34
KPW2,102
$2.00
CA$2.80

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pay 72.0% more for groceries

 
P'yongyang
Ottawa
Bread
1 loaf
$2.40
KPW2,161
$2.73
CA$3.82
Local cheese (8 oz) ?? $5.85
CA$8.18
Milk (1 gallon) $3.70
KPW3,332
$8.65
CA$12.10

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pay (unknown) more for transportation

 
P'yongyang
Ottawa
Gasoline (1 gallon) ?? $4.05
CA$5.66
Monthly public transit pass ?? $97.12
CA$135.85
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) ?? $24,444.83
CA$34,192.21

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pay 10.1 times more for housing

 
P'yongyang
Ottawa
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
?? $49.93
CA$69.84
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $93.44
KPW84,095
$1,452.55
CA$2,031.76
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $262.80
KPW236,518
$1,228.71
CA$1,718.66

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pay (unknown) more for childcare

 
P'yongyang
Ottawa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly ?? $788.18
CA$1,102.46
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters ?? $15,753.32
CA$22,034.96

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pay 80.8% more for entertainment and sports

 
P'yongyang
Ottawa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $14.02
KPW12,614
$5.76
CA$8.05
Cappuccino in mid-range area $1.17
KPW1,051
$3.74
CA$5.24
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
?? $12.95
CA$18.11

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pay (unknown) more for clothing

 
P'yongyang
Ottawa
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
?? $52.82
CA$73.89
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
?? $38.91
CA$54.43
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
?? $87.10
CA$121.83

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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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