Cost of living comparison

Taiwan

compared to

North Korea

North Korea vs. Taiwan Cost of Living Summary

North Korea is 45.9% cheaper than Taiwan overall.

Restaurants: pay 2.0 times more in North Korea
Groceries: pay 30.7% less in North Korea
Housing: pay 75.6% less in North Korea
Entertainment and Sports: pay 80.8% more in North Korea

The cost of restaurants and entertainment and sports in North Korea are more expensive than in Taiwan. Expenses including housing and groceries are lower in North Korea. Notably, restaurants and entertainment and sports are significantly more expensive in North Korea.

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North Korea vs. Taiwan Cost Breakdown

If you lived in North Korea instead of Taiwan, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 2.0 times more for restaurants

	Taiwan	North Korea
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.28 NT$136.94	$4.81 KPW4,327	+12.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.99 NT$159.58	$21.26 KPW19,136	+325.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.95 NT$30.41	$2.21 KPW1,985	+131.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.65 NT$20.68	$1.28 KPW1,153	+97.9%
Average			+103.7%

Taiwan vs. North Korea - Cost of restaurants

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pay 30.7% less for groceries

	Taiwan	North Korea
Bread 1 loaf	$1.74 NT$55.75	$2.30 KPW2,071	+31.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$10.75 NT$343.72	??
Milk (1 gallon)	$11.29 NT$360.84	$3.55 KPW3,195	-68.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.49 NT$79.71	$2.00 KPW1,798	-19.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.71 NT$118.68	??
Apples (1 lb)	$1.94 NT$61.93	??
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.13 NT$36.09	??
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.36 NT$43.50	??
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.45 NT$46.48	??
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.07 NT$34.32	??
Onions (1 lb)	$0.96 NT$30.56	??
Average			-30.7%

Taiwan vs. North Korea - Cost of groceries

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pay (unknown) more for transportation

	Taiwan	North Korea
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.85 NT$123.03	??
Monthly public transit pass	$34.67 NT$1,108.01	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$32,963.14 NT$1M	??
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.50 NT$271.68	??

Taiwan vs. North Korea - Cost of transportation

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pay 75.6% less for housing

	Taiwan	North Korea
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$21.08 NT$673.70	??
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$462.93 NT$14,796.00	$89.58 KPW80,621	-80.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$291.17 NT$9,306.13	$89.58 KPW80,621	-69.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$62.73 NT$2,004.80	??
Average			-75.6%

Taiwan vs. North Korea - Cost of housing

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pay (unknown) more for childcare

	Taiwan	North Korea
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$537.84 NT$17,189.98	??
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$17,498.18 NT$559K	??

Taiwan vs. North Korea - Cost of childcare

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pay 80.8% more for entertainment and sports

	Taiwan	North Korea
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.82 NT$58.32	$13.44 KPW12,093	+636.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.83 NT$90.51	$1.12 KPW1,008	-60.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.03 NT$128.75	??
Monthly membership at local gym	$37.82 NT$1,208.82	$75.02 KPW67,520	+98.4%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$9.97 NT$318.70	??
Average			+80.8%

Taiwan vs. North Korea - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay (unknown) more for clothing

	Taiwan	North Korea
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$60.97 NT$1,948.76	??
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$32.64 NT$1,043.09	??
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$78.55 NT$2,510.61	??
Men's business shoes (leather)	$92.75 NT$2,964.27	??

Taiwan vs. North Korea - Cost of clothing

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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

Compare further: Taiwan vs. North Korea

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in North Korea?

Quality of Life Comparison · 4 statistics

Live 7.4 years less in North Korea

Size Comparison · See true size

Taiwan is about 3.4 times smaller than North Korea.

Moving from Taiwan to North Korea · Cost, visas & climate

Compare cost of living, salary and climate.

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