Cost of living comparison

compared to

Laos vs. Papua New Guinea Cost of Living Summary

Laos is 7.3% cheaper than Papua New Guinea overall.

Restaurants: pay 32.5% less in Laos
Groceries: pay 15.0% less in Laos
Transportation: pay 28.4% more in Laos
Housing: pay 43.5% less in Laos
Childcare: pay 40.3% more in Laos
Entertainment and Sports: pay 47.6% less in Laos
Clothing: pay 18.9% more in Laos

The cost of childcare, transportation, and clothing in Laos are more expensive than in Papua New Guinea. Expenses including entertainment and sports, housing, restaurants, and groceries are lower in Laos.

Laos vs. Papua New Guinea Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Laos instead of Papua New Guinea, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 32.5% less for restaurants

	Papua New Guinea	Laos
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$17.87 PGK77.15	$2.08 LAK44,512	-88.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.92 PGK25.57	$5.54 LAK119K	-6.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.80 PGK3.47	$0.76 LAK16,277	-5.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.70 PGK3.04	$0.50 LAK10,610	-29.7%
Average			-32.5%

Papua New Guinea vs. Laos - Cost of restaurants

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pay 15.0% less for groceries

	Papua New Guinea	Laos
Bread 1 loaf	$1.55 PGK6.71	$1.13 LAK24,315	-26.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.60 PGK15.55	$13.26 LAK284K	+268.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.76 PGK33.51	$6.91 LAK148K	-10.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$4.00 PGK17.29	$2.11 LAK45,122	-47.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.63 PGK15.67	$2.10 LAK44,911	-42.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.99 PGK8.59	$0.76 LAK16,239	-61.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.32 PGK5.71	$0.75 LAK16,074	-43.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.73 PGK11.80	$0.97 LAK20,772	-64.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.62 PGK7.01	$1.30 LAK27,935	-19.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.58 PGK6.82	$0.70 LAK15,106	-55.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.18 PGK5.10	$0.46 LAK9,807	-61.3%
Average			-15.0%

Papua New Guinea vs. Laos - Cost of groceries

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pay 28.4% more for transportation

	Papua New Guinea	Laos
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.22 PGK18.21	$4.72 LAK101K	+12.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$23.69 PGK102.28	$54.89 LAK1M	+131.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$22,387.96 PGK96,654.42	$28,639.89 LAK614M	+27.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$24.88 PGK107.39	$10.51 LAK225K	-57.8%
Average			+28.4%

Papua New Guinea vs. Laos - Cost of transportation

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pay 43.5% less for housing

	Papua New Guinea	Laos
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$165.84 PGK715.96	$9.16 LAK196K	-94.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$2,652.44 PGK11,451.23	$1,004.64 LAK22M	-62.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$758.54 PGK3,274.82	$817.42 LAK18M	+7.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$80.08 PGK345.71	$59.90 LAK1M	-25.2%
Average			-43.5%

Papua New Guinea vs. Laos - Cost of housing

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pay 40.3% more for childcare

	Papua New Guinea	Laos
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$631.76 PGK2,727.46	$296.67 LAK6M	-53.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,968.24 PGK17,131.87	$9,267.93 LAK199M	+133.6%
Average			+40.3%

Papua New Guinea vs. Laos - Cost of childcare

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pay 47.6% less for entertainment and sports

	Papua New Guinea	Laos
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.98 PGK12.85	$1.42 LAK30,415	-52.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.56 PGK11.04	$1.66 LAK35,486	-35.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.96 PGK30.04	$1.98 LAK42,449	-71.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$73.52 PGK317.41	$67.50 LAK1M	-8.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.30 PGK44.47	$3.02 LAK64,766	-70.7%
Average			-47.6%

Papua New Guinea vs. Laos - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 18.9% more for clothing

	Papua New Guinea	Laos
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$31.15 PGK134.50	$50.20 LAK1M	+61.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$36.48 PGK157.51	$65.21 LAK1M	+78.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$76.40 PGK329.85	$66.39 LAK1M	-13.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$97.73 PGK421.90	$47.52 LAK1M	-51.4%
Average			+18.9%

Papua New Guinea vs. Laos - Cost of clothing

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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: March 2026

Compare further: Papua New Guinea vs. Laos

Quality of Life Comparison · 14 statistics

Be 5.3 times more likely to have access to electricity in Laos

Size Comparison · See true size

Papua New Guinea is about 1.9 times bigger than Laos.

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