Cost of living comparison
compared to
North Korea vs. United Arab Emirates Cost of Living Summary
North Korea is 73.2% cheaper than United Arab Emirates overall.
North Korea vs. United Arab Emirates Cost Breakdown
If you lived in North Korea instead of United Arab Emirates, you would:
pay 27.5% more for restaurants
|
United Arab Emirates
|
North Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant |
$8.43
AED30.95
|
$4.81
KPW4,327
|
|
|
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
|
$8.55
AED31.39
|
$21.26
KPW19,136
|
|
| Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) |
$1.07
AED3.94
|
$2.21
KPW1,985
|
|
| Bottle of water (11 fl. oz) |
$0.45
AED1.66
|
$1.28
KPW1,153
|
|
United Arab Emirates vs. North Korea - Cost of restaurants
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pay 16.1% less for groceries
|
United Arab Emirates
|
North Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Bread
1 loaf
|
$1.46
AED5.38
|
$2.30
KPW2,071
|
|
| Local cheese (8 oz) |
$4.94
AED18.13
|
?? | |
| Milk (1 gallon) |
$6.75
AED24.79
|
$3.55
KPW3,195
|
|
|
Eggs
1 dozen
|
$2.80
AED10.28
|
$2.00
KPW1,798
|
|
| Boneless chicken breast (1 lb) |
$3.68
AED13.51
|
?? | |
| Apples (1 lb) |
$0.97
AED3.58
|
?? | |
| Bananas (1 lb) |
$0.76
AED2.80
|
?? | |
| Oranges (1 lb) |
$0.72
AED2.65
|
?? | |
| Tomatoes (1 lb) |
$0.58
AED2.13
|
?? | |
| Potatoes (1 lb) |
$0.48
AED1.75
|
?? | |
| Onions (1 lb) |
$0.47
AED1.74
|
?? | |
United Arab Emirates vs. North Korea - Cost of groceries
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pay (unknown) more for transportation
|
United Arab Emirates
|
North Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Gasoline (1 gallon) |
$3.40
AED12.50
|
?? | |
| Monthly public transit pass |
$49.01
AED180.00
|
?? | |
| New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) |
$33,745.09
AED124K
|
?? | |
| Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles) |
$7.71
AED28.31
|
?? |
United Arab Emirates vs. North Korea - Cost of transportation
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pay 92.8% less for housing
|
United Arab Emirates
|
North Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
|
$87.46
AED321.23
|
?? | |
| 1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area |
$1,419.61
AED5,214.23
|
$89.58
KPW80,621
|
|
| 1-Bedroom apartment outside city center |
$1,087.32
AED3,993.73
|
$89.58
KPW80,621
|
|
|
Utilities for two
(700 sq ft apartment)
including electric, gas, water, heating
|
$131.39
AED482.60
|
?? | |
United Arab Emirates vs. North Korea - Cost of housing
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pay (unknown) more for childcare
|
United Arab Emirates
|
North Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Private preschool for 1 child, monthly |
$481.84
AED1,769.81
|
?? | |
| Middle school for 1 child, two semesters |
$8,191.72
AED30,088.20
|
?? |
United Arab Emirates vs. North Korea - Cost of childcare
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pay 30.7% less for entertainment and sports
|
United Arab Emirates
|
North Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
| Domestic/local beer (1 pint) |
$10.81
AED39.72
|
$13.44
KPW12,093
|
|
| Cappuccino in mid-range area |
$4.99
AED18.34
|
$1.12
KPW1,008
|
|
|
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
|
$6.20
AED22.77
|
?? | |
| Monthly membership at local gym |
$69.98
AED257.02
|
$75.02
KPW67,520
|
|
| Movie ticket to theater/cinema |
$13.30
AED48.83
|
?? | |
United Arab Emirates vs. North Korea - Cost of entertainment and sports
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pay (unknown) more for clothing
|
United Arab Emirates
|
North Korea
|
||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
|
$53.49
AED196.45
|
?? | |
|
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
|
$52.36
AED192.32
|
?? | |
|
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
|
$95.31
AED350.08
|
?? | |
| Men's business shoes (leather) |
$94.82
AED348.27
|
?? |
United Arab Emirates 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 November 2026). How we calculate this
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Compare further: United Arab Emirates vs. North Korea
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Quality of Life Comparison · 14 statistics
Be 63.1% more likely to be unemployed in North Korea
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Size Comparison · See true size
United Arab Emirates is about 1.4 times smaller than North Korea.
→
Moving from United Arab Emirates to North Korea · Cost, visas & climate
Compare cost of living, salary and climate.
→
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