Cost of living comparison

North Korea

compared to

Cuba

Cuba vs. North Korea Cost of Living Summary

Cuba is 2.2 times more expensive than North Korea overall.

Restaurants: pay 5.9% more in Cuba
Groceries: pay 74.0% more in Cuba
Housing: pay 5.4 times more in Cuba
Entertainment and Sports: pay 37.2% less in Cuba

The cost of housing, groceries, and restaurants in Cuba are more expensive than in North Korea. Notably, housing is significantly more expensive in Cuba.

Cuba vs. North Korea Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 5.9% more for restaurants

	North Korea	Cuba
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	??	$5.06 CUC5.06
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	??	$7.75 CUC7.75
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.14 KPW1,929	$2.08 CUC2.08	-3.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.07 KPW965	$1.23 CUC1.23	+14.9%
Average			+5.9%

North Korea vs. Cuba - Cost of restaurants

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pay 74.0% more for groceries

	North Korea	Cuba
Bread 1 loaf	$2.20 KPW1,983	$1.17 CUC1.17	-46.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	??	$2.75 CUC2.75
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.40 KPW3,058	$11.92 CUC11.92	+250.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.52 KPW2,267	$2.97 CUC2.97	+18.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	??	$2.32 CUC2.32
Apples (1 lb)	??	$2.27 CUC2.27
Bananas (1 lb)	??	$0.44 CUC0.44
Oranges (1 lb)	??	$0.79 CUC0.79
Tomatoes (1 lb)	??	$0.64 CUC0.64
Potatoes (1 lb)	??	$0.86 CUC0.86
Onions (1 lb)	??	$1.91 CUC1.91
Average			+74.0%

North Korea vs. Cuba - Cost of groceries

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pay (unknown) more for transportation

	North Korea	Cuba
Gasoline (1 gallon)	??	$4.81 CUC4.81
Monthly public transit pass	??	$22.50 CUC22.50
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	??	$65,000.00 CUC65,000.00
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	??	$8.60 CUC8.60

North Korea vs. Cuba - Cost of transportation

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pay 5.4 times more for housing

	North Korea	Cuba
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	??	$147.50 CUC147.50
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$85.74 KPW77,167	$381.94 CUC381.94	+345.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$85.74 KPW77,167	$544.70 CUC544.70	+535.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	??	$29.63 CUC29.63
Average			+440.4%

North Korea vs. Cuba - Cost of housing

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pay (unknown) more for childcare

	North Korea	Cuba
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	??	$101.00 CUC101.00
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	??	$12,500.00 CUC12,500.00

North Korea vs. Cuba - Cost of childcare

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pay 37.2% less for entertainment and sports

	North Korea	Cuba
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$12.86 KPW11,575	$2.88 CUC2.88	-77.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.07 KPW965	$1.10 CUC1.10	+3.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	??	$3.85 CUC3.85
Monthly membership at local gym	??	$40.17 CUC40.17
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	??	$0.93 CUC0.93
Average			-37.2%

North Korea vs. Cuba - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay (unknown) more for clothing

	North Korea	Cuba
Regular jeans Levi's brand	??	$39.88 CUC39.88
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	??	$31.83 CUC31.83
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	??	$75.62 CUC75.62
Men's business shoes (leather)	??	$84.17 CUC84.17

North Korea vs. Cuba - Cost of clothing

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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: March 2025

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