Cost of living comparison

 Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan
compared to
 P'yongyang, North Korea
P'yongyang vs. Bishkek Cost of Living Summary

P'yongyang is 2.9 times more expensive than Bishkek.

Restaurants
pay 3.2 times more in P'yongyang
Groceries
pay 2.4 times more in P'yongyang
Housing
pay 78.8% less in P'yongyang
Entertainment and Sports
pay 5.8 times more in P'yongyang

The cost of entertainment and sports, restaurants, and groceries in P'yongyang are more expensive than in Bishkek. Notably, entertainment and sports, restaurants, and groceries are significantly more expensive in P'yongyang.

P'yongyang vs. Bishkek Cost Breakdown

If you lived in P'yongyang instead of Bishkek, you would:

pay 3.2 times more for restaurants

 
Bishkek
P'yongyang
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $5.80
KGS507.25
??
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$5.68
KGS497.11
??
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.68
KGS59.14
$2.14
KPW1,929

Improve prices ·

pay 2.4 times more for groceries

 
Bishkek
P'yongyang
Bread
1 loaf
$0.48
KGS41.78
$2.20
KPW1,983
Local cheese (8 oz) $5.14
KGS449.42
??
Milk (1 gallon) $3.25
KGS283.83
$3.40
KPW3,058

Improve prices ·

pay (unknown) more for transportation

 
Bishkek
P'yongyang
Gasoline (1 gallon) $2.90
KGS254.01
??
Monthly public transit pass $7.54
KGS659.43
??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $39,443.16
KGS3,449,303.94
??

Improve prices ·

pay 78.8% less for housing

 
Bishkek
P'yongyang
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$12.05
KGS1,053.48
??
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $474.69
KGS41,511.27
$85.74
KPW77,167
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $353.07
KGS30,875.68
$85.74
KPW77,167

Improve prices ·

pay (unknown) more for childcare

 
Bishkek
P'yongyang
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $230.15
KGS20,126.58
??
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $6,168.50
KGS539,435.63
??

Improve prices ·

pay 5.8 times more for entertainment and sports

 
Bishkek
P'yongyang
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $1.16
KGS101.45
$12.86
KPW11,575
Cappuccino in mid-range area $2.06
KGS179.79
$1.07
KPW965
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$1.56
KGS136.45
??

Improve prices ·

pay (unknown) more for clothing

 
Bishkek
P'yongyang
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$40.60
KGS3,550.75
??
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$38.86
KGS3,398.58
??
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$103.88
KGS9,084.40
??

Improve prices ·
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: April 2025
Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Kyrgyzstan vs. North Korea. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Kyrgyzstan and North Korea.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about P'yongyang or Bishkek. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.