Cost of living comparison
compared to
North Korea vs. South Africa Cost of Living Summary
North Korea is 80.5% more expensive than South Africa overall.
- Restaurants
-
pay 86.0% more in North Korea
- Groceries
-
pay 37.8% more in North Korea
- Housing
-
pay 52.1% less in North Korea
- Entertainment and Sports
-
pay 3.5 times more in North Korea
The cost of entertainment and sports, restaurants, and groceries in North Korea are more expensive than in South Africa. Notably, entertainment and sports and restaurants are significantly more expensive in North Korea.
North Korea vs. South Africa Cost Breakdown
If you lived in North Korea instead of South Africa, you would:
pay 86.0% more for restaurants
|
South Africa
|
North Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$9.33
ZAR159.73
|
?? | |
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$5.11
ZAR87.49
|
?? | |
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.03
ZAR17.65
|
$2.34
KPW2,102
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.80
ZAR13.74
|
$1.17
KPW1,051
|
|
South Africa vs. North Korea - Cost of restaurants
pay 37.8% more for groceries
|
South Africa
|
North Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.00
ZAR17.16
|
$2.40
KPW2,161
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$3.88
ZAR66.47
|
?? | |
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$4.37
ZAR74.79
|
$3.70
KPW3,332
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.33
ZAR39.93
|
$2.08
KPW1,876
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$2.13
ZAR36.52
|
?? | |
| Apples (1 lb) |
$0.73
ZAR12.46
|
?? | |
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.65
ZAR11.16
|
?? | |
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.68
ZAR11.70
|
?? | |
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.71
ZAR12.14
|
?? | |
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.59
ZAR10.02
|
?? | |
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.60
ZAR10.27
|
?? | |
South Africa vs. North Korea - Cost of groceries
pay (unknown) more for transportation
|
South Africa
|
North Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$4.92
ZAR84.25
|
?? | |
| Monthly public transit pass |
$56.18
ZAR961.29
|
?? | |
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$21,394.82
ZAR366,106.47
|
?? | |
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$9.34
ZAR159.79
|
?? |
South Africa vs. North Korea - Cost of transportation
pay 52.1% less for housing
|
South Africa
|
North Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$39.36
ZAR673.48
|
?? | |
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$404.16
ZAR6,915.94
|
$93.44
KPW84,095
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$361.59
ZAR6,187.51
|
$262.80
KPW236,518
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$88.13
ZAR1,508.04
|
?? | |
South Africa vs. North Korea - Cost of housing
pay (unknown) more for childcare
|
South Africa
|
North Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$173.48
ZAR2,968.50
|
?? | |
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$3,962.11
ZAR67,799.29
|
?? |
South Africa vs. North Korea - Cost of childcare
pay 3.5 times more for entertainment and sports
|
South Africa
|
North Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$2.18
ZAR37.27
|
$14.02
KPW12,614
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$2.05
ZAR35.06
|
$1.17
KPW1,051
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$2.96
ZAR50.72
|
?? | |
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$30.26
ZAR517.83
|
?? | |
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$6.85
ZAR117.19
|
?? | |
South Africa vs. North Korea - Cost of entertainment and sports
pay (unknown) more for clothing
|
South Africa
|
North Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$50.74
ZAR868.31
|
?? | |
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$32.75
ZAR560.46
|
?? | |
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$94.19
ZAR1,611.79
|
?? | |
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$81.80
ZAR1,399.67
|
?? |
South Africa 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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