Cost of living comparison

 Manila, Philippines
compared to
 P'yongyang, North Korea
P'yongyang vs. Manila Cost of Living Summary

P'yongyang is 2.2 times more expensive than Manila.

Restaurants
pay 2.3 times more in P'yongyang
Groceries
pay 11.4% more in P'yongyang
Housing
pay 72.5% less in P'yongyang
Entertainment and Sports
pay 4.9 times more in P'yongyang

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

P'yongyang vs. Manila Cost Breakdown

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

pay 2.3 times more for restaurants

 
Manila
P'yongyang
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $5.12
₱293.45
??
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$4.26
₱244.54
??
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $0.87
₱50.08
$2.14
KPW1,929

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pay 11.4% more for groceries

 
Manila
P'yongyang
Bread
1 loaf
$1.35
₱77.55
$2.20
KPW1,983
Local cheese (8 oz) $5.30
₱304.26
??
Milk (1 gallon) $6.79
₱389.71
$3.40
KPW3,058

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pay (unknown) more for transportation

 
Manila
P'yongyang
Gasoline (1 gallon) $4.14
₱237.58
??
Monthly public transit pass $9.93
₱569.58
??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $25,575.45
₱1,467,250.54
??

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pay 72.5% less for housing

 
Manila
P'yongyang
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$28.80
₱1,652.52
??
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $468.88
₱26,899.54
$85.74
KPW77,167
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $234.44
₱13,449.80
$85.74
KPW77,167

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pay (unknown) more for childcare

 
Manila
P'yongyang
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $482.52
₱27,682.13
??
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $14,127.39
₱810,481.25
??

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pay 4.9 times more for entertainment and sports

 
Manila
P'yongyang
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $1.36
₱78.25
$12.86
KPW11,575
Cappuccino in mid-range area $2.70
₱154.73
$1.07
KPW965
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$3.07
₱176.07
??

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pay (unknown) more for clothing

 
Manila
P'yongyang
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$33.31
₱1,911.11
??
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$26.60
₱1,525.84
??
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$74.03
₱4,246.79
??

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

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