Cost of living comparison

North Korea

compared to

Ottawa, Canada

Ottawa vs. North Korea Cost of Living Summary

Ottawa is 5.2 times more expensive than North Korea overall.

Restaurants: pay 22.0% more in Ottawa
Groceries: pay 81.3% more in Ottawa
Housing: pay 15.7 times more in Ottawa
Entertainment and Sports: pay 95.4% more in Ottawa

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

Ottawa vs. North Korea Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 22.0% more for restaurants

	North Korea	Ottawa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	??	$17.96 CA$24.86
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	??	$10.78 CA$14.92
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.14 KPW1,929	$2.17 CA$3.00	+1.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.07 KPW965	$1.53 CA$2.12	+42.8%
Average			+22.0%

North Korea vs. Ottawa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 81.3% more for groceries

	North Korea	Ottawa
Bread 1 loaf	$2.20 KPW1,983	$2.65 CA$3.67	+20.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	??	$6.28 CA$8.69
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.40 KPW3,058	$9.92 CA$13.74	+192.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.52 KPW2,267	$3.31 CA$4.59	+31.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	??	$5.89 CA$8.15
Apples (1 lb)	??	$1.93 CA$2.68
Bananas (1 lb)	??	$0.64 CA$0.88
Oranges (1 lb)	??	$1.44 CA$2.00
Tomatoes (1 lb)	??	$1.69 CA$2.34
Potatoes (1 lb)	??	$1.20 CA$1.66
Onions (1 lb)	??	$1.31 CA$1.81
Average			+81.3%

North Korea vs. Ottawa - Cost of groceries

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pay (unknown) more for transportation

	North Korea	Ottawa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	??	$4.15 CA$5.74
Monthly public transit pass	??	$92.50 CA$128.04
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	??	$24,412.64 CA$33,790.41
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	??	$18.80 CA$26.02

North Korea vs. Ottawa - Cost of transportation

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pay 15.7 times more for housing

	North Korea	Ottawa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	??	$50.21 CA$69.50
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$85.74 KPW77,167	$1,425.51 CA$1,973.10	+1562.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$85.74 KPW77,167	$1,269.57 CA$1,757.25	+1380.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	??	$131.33 CA$181.78
Average			+1471.7%

North Korea vs. Ottawa - Cost of housing

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pay (unknown) more for childcare

	North Korea	Ottawa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	??	$999.72 CA$1,383.75
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	??	$19,936.07 CA$27,594.24

North Korea vs. Ottawa - Cost of childcare

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pay 95.4% more for entertainment and sports

	North Korea	Ottawa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$12.86 KPW11,575	$5.75 CA$7.96	-55.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.07 KPW965	$3.71 CA$5.14	+246.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	??	$12.93 CA$17.90
Monthly membership at local gym	??	$46.27 CA$64.04
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	??	$10.78 CA$14.92
Average			+95.4%

North Korea vs. Ottawa - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay (unknown) more for clothing

	North Korea	Ottawa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	??	$57.20 CA$79.17
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	??	$44.39 CA$61.44
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	??	$97.78 CA$135.34
Men's business shoes (leather)	??	$110.86 CA$153.44

North Korea vs. Ottawa - 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: April 2025

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