Cost of living comparison

Sao Tome and Principe

compared to

North Korea

North Korea vs. Sao Tome and Principe Cost of Living Summary

North Korea is 2.3 times more expensive than Sao Tome and Principe overall.

Restaurants: pay 21.7% more in North Korea
Groceries: pay 22.9% more in North Korea
Housing: pay 66.7% less in North Korea
Entertainment and Sports: pay 6.2 times more in North Korea

The cost of entertainment and sports, groceries, and restaurants in North Korea are more expensive than in Sao Tome and Principe. Notably, entertainment and sports is significantly more expensive in North Korea.

North Korea vs. Sao Tome and Principe Cost Breakdown

If you lived in North Korea instead of Sao Tome and Principe, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 21.7% more for restaurants

	Sao Tome and Principe	North Korea
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$18.76 STD417,914	??
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.11 STD202,987	??
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.76 STD39,244	$2.14 KPW1,929	+21.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.07 STD23,881	$1.07 KPW965
Average			+21.7%

Sao Tome and Principe vs. North Korea - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 22.9% more for groceries

	Sao Tome and Principe	North Korea
Bread 1 loaf	$0.95 STD21,104	$2.20 KPW1,983	+132.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$9.38 STD208,957	??
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.73 STD105,465	$3.40 KPW3,058	-28.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.92 STD87,436	$2.52 KPW2,267	-35.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$8.51 STD189,563	??
Apples (1 lb)	$1.46 STD32,496	??
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.49 STD10,832	??
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.70 STD37,913	??
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.46 STD32,496	??
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.09 STD24,372	??
Onions (1 lb)	$0.85 STD18,956	??
Average			+22.9%

Sao Tome and Principe vs. North Korea - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay (unknown) more for transportation

	Sao Tome and Principe	North Korea
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.74 STD127,914	??
Monthly public transit pass	??	??
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	??	??
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	??	??

Sao Tome and Principe vs. North Korea - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 66.7% less for housing

	Sao Tome and Principe	North Korea
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	??	??
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$321.53 STD7,164,243	$85.74 KPW77,167	-73.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$214.35 STD4,776,162	$85.74 KPW77,167	-60.0%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	??	??
Average			-66.7%

Sao Tome and Principe vs. North Korea - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay (unknown) more for childcare

	Sao Tome and Principe	North Korea
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	??	??
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	??	??

Sao Tome and Principe vs. North Korea - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 6.2 times more for entertainment and sports

	Sao Tome and Principe	North Korea
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.09 STD24,239	$12.86 KPW11,575	+1082.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.61 STD35,821	$1.07 KPW965	-33.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.14 STD47,762	??
Monthly membership at local gym	$34.30 STD764,186	??
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$19.29 STD429,855	??
Average			+524.5%

Sao Tome and Principe vs. North Korea - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay (unknown) more for clothing

	Sao Tome and Principe	North Korea
Regular jeans Levi's brand	??	??
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	??	??
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	??	??
Men's business shoes (leather)	$17.58 STD391,645	??

Sao Tome and Principe vs. North Korea - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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: June 2025

More cost comparisons

Sao Tome and Principe vs.

Greece

Sao Tome and Principe vs.

Ireland

Sao Tome and Principe vs.

Italy

Sao Tome and Principe vs.

Iceland

Sao Tome and Principe vs.

Canada

Sao Tome and Principe vs.

Peru

Sao Tome and Principe vs.

Australia

Sao Tome and Principe vs.

United States

Share this

Compare by city

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Sao Tome and Principe

Add prices for North Korea

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about North Korea or Sao Tome and Principe. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.