Cost of living comparison
compared to
North Korea vs. Sao Tome and Principe Cost of Living Summary
North Korea is 86.1% more expensive than Sao Tome and Principe overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 21.7% more in North Korea
- Groceries
-
pay 8.3% more in North Korea
- Housing
-
pay 30.4% less in North Korea
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 4.4 times more in North Korea
The cost of entertainment and sports, restaurants, and groceries in North Korea are more expensive than in Sao Tome and Principe. Notably, entertainment and sports is significantly more expensive in North Korea.
North Korea vs. Sao Tome and Principe Cost Breakdown
If you lived in North Korea instead of Sao Tome and Principe, you would:
pay 21.7% more for restaurants
|
Sao Tome and Principe
|
North Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$29.20
STD650,623
|
?? | |
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$11.68
STD260,249
|
?? | |
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.92
STD42,768
|
$2.34
KPW2,102
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$1.17
STD26,025
|
$1.17
KPW1,051
|
|
Sao Tome and Principe vs. North Korea - Cost of restaurants
pay 8.3% more for groceries
|
Sao Tome and Principe
|
North Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.08
STD24,088
|
$2.40
KPW2,161
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$10.22
STD227,718
|
?? | |
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$5.97
STD132,995
|
$3.70
KPW3,332
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$5.09
STD113,503
|
$2.08
KPW1,876
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$9.27
STD206,583
|
?? | |
| Apples (1 lb) |
$2.12
STD47,219
|
?? | |
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.53
STD11,805
|
?? | |
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$1.85
STD41,316
|
?? | |
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$1.59
STD35,414
|
?? | |
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$1.19
STD26,561
|
?? | |
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.93
STD20,658
|
?? | |
Sao Tome and Principe vs. North Korea - Cost of groceries
pay (unknown) more for transportation
|
Sao Tome and Principe
|
North Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$6.40
STD142,518
|
?? | |
| Monthly public transit pass | ?? | ?? | |
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) | ?? | ?? | |
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) | ?? | ?? |
Sao Tome and Principe vs. North Korea - Cost of transportation
pay 30.4% less for housing
|
Sao Tome and Principe
|
North Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$72.42
STD1,613,544
|
?? | |
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$350.40
STD7,807,473
|
$93.44
KPW84,095
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$233.60
STD5,204,982
|
$262.80
KPW236,518
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
?? | ?? | |
Sao Tome and Principe vs. North Korea - Cost of housing
pay (unknown) more for childcare
|
Sao Tome and Principe
|
North Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly | ?? | ?? | |
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters | ?? | ?? |
Sao Tome and Principe vs. North Korea - Cost of childcare
pay 4.4 times more for entertainment and sports
|
Sao Tome and Principe
|
North Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$1.67
STD37,216
|
$14.02
KPW12,614
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.34
STD52,050
|
$1.17
KPW1,051
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$2.34
STD52,050
|
?? | |
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$37.38
STD832,797
|
?? | |
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$21.02
STD468,448
|
?? | |
Sao Tome and Principe vs. North Korea - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay (unknown) more for clothing
|
Sao Tome and Principe
|
North Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
?? | ?? | |
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
?? | ?? | |
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
?? | ?? | |
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$19.16
STD426,809
|
?? |
Sao Tome and Principe vs. North Korea - Cost of clothing
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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