Cost of living comparison

P'yongyang, North Korea

compared to

Ottawa, Canada

Ottawa vs. P'yongyang Cost of Living Summary

Ottawa is 5.2 times more expensive than P'yongyang.

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 P'yongyang. Notably, housing, entertainment and sports, and groceries are significantly more expensive in Ottawa.

Ottawa vs. P'yongyang Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 22.0% more for restaurants

	P'yongyang	Ottawa
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	??	$17.96 CA$25.83
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	??	$10.78 CA$15.50
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.14 KPW1,929	$2.17 CA$3.12	+1.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.07 KPW965	$1.53 CA$2.20	+42.8%
Average			+22.0%

P'yongyang vs. Ottawa - Cost of restaurants

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pay 81.3% more for groceries

	P'yongyang	Ottawa
Bread 1 loaf	$2.20 KPW1,983	$2.65 CA$3.81	+20.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	??	$6.28 CA$9.03
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.40 KPW3,058	$9.92 CA$14.27	+192.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.52 KPW2,267	$3.31 CA$4.77	+31.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	??	$5.89 CA$8.47
Apples (1 lb)	??	$1.93 CA$2.78
Bananas (1 lb)	??	$0.64 CA$0.92
Oranges (1 lb)	??	$1.44 CA$2.07
Tomatoes (1 lb)	??	$1.69 CA$2.43
Potatoes (1 lb)	??	$1.20 CA$1.73
Onions (1 lb)	??	$1.31 CA$1.88
Average			+81.3%

P'yongyang vs. Ottawa - Cost of groceries

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pay (unknown) more for transportation

	P'yongyang	Ottawa
Gasoline (1 gallon)	??	$4.15 CA$5.97
Monthly public transit pass	??	$92.50 CA$133.04
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	??	$24,412.64 CA$35,109.04
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	??	$18.80 CA$27.03

P'yongyang vs. Ottawa - Cost of transportation

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pay 15.7 times more for housing

	P'yongyang	Ottawa
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	??	$50.21 CA$72.22
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$85.74 KPW77,167	$1,425.51 CA$2,050.10	+1562.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$85.74 KPW77,167	$1,269.57 CA$1,825.83	+1380.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	??	$131.33 CA$188.88
Average			+1471.7%

P'yongyang vs. Ottawa - Cost of housing

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pay (unknown) more for childcare

	P'yongyang	Ottawa
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	??	$999.72 CA$1,437.75
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	??	$19,936.07 CA$28,671.06

P'yongyang vs. Ottawa - Cost of childcare

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pay 95.4% more for entertainment and sports

	P'yongyang	Ottawa
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$12.86 KPW11,575	$5.75 CA$8.27	-55.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.07 KPW965	$3.71 CA$5.34	+246.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	??	$12.93 CA$18.60
Monthly membership at local gym	??	$46.27 CA$66.54
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	??	$10.78 CA$15.50
Average			+95.4%

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

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pay (unknown) more for clothing

	P'yongyang	Ottawa
Regular jeans Levi's brand	??	$57.20 CA$82.26
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	??	$44.39 CA$63.84
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	??	$97.78 CA$140.62
Men's business shoes (leather)	??	$110.86 CA$159.43

P'yongyang 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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