Cost of living comparison

P'yongyang, North Korea

compared to

Lusaka, Zambia

Lusaka vs. P'yongyang Cost of Living Summary

Lusaka is 2.2% more expensive than P'yongyang.

Restaurants: pay 67.9% less in Lusaka
Groceries: pay 15.7% less in Lusaka
Housing: pay 92.1% more in Lusaka
Entertainment and Sports: pay 0.5% more in Lusaka

The cost of housing and entertainment and sports in Lusaka are more expensive than in P'yongyang. Expenses including restaurants and groceries are lower in Lusaka. Notably, housing is significantly more expensive in Lusaka.

Lusaka vs. P'yongyang Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 67.9% less for restaurants

	P'yongyang	Lusaka
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	??	$7.21 ZMW207.16
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	??	$3.82 ZMW109.78
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.14 KPW1,929	$0.71 ZMW20.50	-66.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.07 KPW965	$0.33 ZMW9.50	-69.1%
Average			-67.9%

P'yongyang vs. Lusaka - Cost of restaurants

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pay 15.7% less for groceries

	P'yongyang	Lusaka
Bread 1 loaf	$2.20 KPW1,983	$0.74 ZMW21.25	-66.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	??	$3.64 ZMW104.44
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.40 KPW3,058	$4.85 ZMW139.39	+42.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.52 KPW2,267	$1.92 ZMW55.29	-23.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	??	$1.80 ZMW51.61
Apples (1 lb)	??	$1.20 ZMW34.50
Bananas (1 lb)	??	$0.60 ZMW17.34
Oranges (1 lb)	??	$1.27 ZMW36.35
Tomatoes (1 lb)	??	$0.56 ZMW16.18
Potatoes (1 lb)	??	$0.96 ZMW27.46
Onions (1 lb)	??	$0.67 ZMW19.36
Average			-15.7%

P'yongyang vs. Lusaka - Cost of groceries

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pay (unknown) more for transportation

	P'yongyang	Lusaka
Gasoline (1 gallon)	??	$4.77 ZMW136.90
Monthly public transit pass	??	$37.04 ZMW1,063.96
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	??	$8,004.53 ZMW229,954.14
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	??	$12.13 ZMW348.46

P'yongyang vs. Lusaka - Cost of transportation

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pay 92.1% more for housing

	P'yongyang	Lusaka
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	??	$125.92 ZMW3,617.41
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$85.74 KPW77,167	$214.42 ZMW6,159.94	+150.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$85.74 KPW77,167	$114.96 ZMW3,302.53	+34.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	??	$83.50 ZMW2,398.84
Average			+92.1%

P'yongyang vs. Lusaka - Cost of housing

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pay (unknown) more for childcare

	P'yongyang	Lusaka
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	??	$176.79 ZMW5,078.81
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	??	$6,570.42 ZMW188,755.18

P'yongyang vs. Lusaka - Cost of childcare

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pay 0.5% more for entertainment and sports

	P'yongyang	Lusaka
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$12.86 KPW11,575	$0.97 ZMW27.78	-92.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.07 KPW965	$2.07 ZMW59.57	+93.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	??	$2.49 ZMW71.51
Monthly membership at local gym	??	$41.21 ZMW1,183.94
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	??	$3.50 ZMW100.53
Average			+0.5%

P'yongyang vs. Lusaka - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay (unknown) more for clothing

	P'yongyang	Lusaka
Regular jeans Levi's brand	??	$18.43 ZMW529.60
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	??	$18.78 ZMW539.63
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	??	$90.18 ZMW2,590.59
Men's business shoes (leather)	??	$82.76 ZMW2,377.57

P'yongyang vs. Lusaka - 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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