Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Papua New Guinea and Italy

Name: Italy
Address: IT

For one person, living is cheaper in Papua New Guinea: $1,375 a month against $1,843 in Italy, rent and utilities included – about $5,600 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

66

Cost of Living Index in Papua New Guinea
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Papua New Guinea Living Index
88

Cost of Living Index in Italy
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Italy Living Index

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🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea

$1,375

/mo nomad

🇮🇹 Italy

$1,843

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Papua New Guinea and in Italy

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in Papua New Guinea and in Italy actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $1,375 in Papua New Guinea versus $1,843 in Italy.

Papua New Guinea $1,375
Italy $1,843

Estimated couple costs with rent: $2,177 in Papua New Guinea versus $2,816 in Italy.

Papua New Guinea $2,177
Italy $2,816

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $2,979 in Papua New Guinea versus $3,788 in Italy.

Papua New Guinea $2,979
Italy $3,788

Internal cost variation is higher in Italy: monthly costs span $1,038 to $2,555, compared to $817–$1,427 in Papua New Guinea. City choice carries more weight in Italy.

Living in Papua New Guinea costs about 25% less than in Italy on average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.09 PGK 30.77

$20.46 €18.35

-65.35%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.44 PGK 193

$79.5 €71.3

-44.10%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.49 PGK 23.84

$11.15 €10.00

-50.76%

Cappuccino

$2.29 PGK 9.97

$2.04 €1.83

12.25%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.78 PGK 3.38

$3.10 €2.78

-74.84%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.66 PGK 2.85

$1.40 €1.25

-52.86%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.59 PGK 11.24

$5.51 €4.95

-52.99%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.04 PGK 17.55

$5.74 €5.15

-29.62%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.86 PGK 8.07

$1.57 €1.41

18.47%

White Bread (500g)

$1.48 PGK 6.42

$2.38 €2.14

-37.82%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.37 PGK 5.93

$2.90 €2.60

-52.76%

Eggs

$3.72 PGK 16.14

$4.07 €3.65

-8.60%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.26 PGK 27.20

$17.44 €15.64

-64.11%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.72 PGK 24.86

$12.56 €11.26

-54.46%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.88 PGK 38.57

$20.17 €18.09

-55.97%

Apples (1kg)

$4.00 PGK 17.37

$2.58 €2.32

55.04%

Banana (1kg)

$3.33 PGK 14.47

$2.19 €1.96

52.05%

Oranges (1kg)

$6.08 PGK 26.42

$2.68 €2.40

126.87%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.24 PGK 22.74

$3.27 €2.93

60.24%

Potato (1kg)

$3.18 PGK 13.79

$1.90 €1.71

67.37%

Onion (1kg)

$2.73 PGK 11.86

$1.82 €1.63

50.00%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.01 PGK 8.74

$1.57 €1.41

28.03%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 PGK 5.12

$0.55 €0.49

114.55%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.33 PGK 27.47

$6.69 €6.00

-5.38%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.82 PGK 47.00

$7.99 €7.16

35.42%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.43 PGK 10.55

$1.77 €1.59

37.29%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 PGK 15.75

$2.35 €2.11

54.47%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.42 PGK 1.84

$1.91 €1.71

-78.01%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.21 PGK 114

$43.44 €38.96

-39.66%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.04 PGK 21.91

$5.62 €5.04

-10.32%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.16 PGK 9.39

$1.71 €1.54

26.32%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$12.21 PGK 53.0

$33.64 €30.17

-63.70%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.02 PGK 4.45

$2.03 €1.82

-49.75%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$28.1K PGK 122.2K

$35.3K €31.7K

-20.31%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$22.2K PGK 96.5K

$36.7K €33.0K

-39.54%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$94.0 PGK 408

$227 €203

-58.52%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$24.78 PGK 108

$11.59 €10.40

113.81%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$106 PGK 460

$30.38 €27.25

248.52%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.7 PGK 281

$51.8 €46.44

24.94%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.49 PGK 102

$23.70 €21.26

-0.89%

Cinema Ticket

$8.85 PGK 38.45

$10.60 €9.51

-16.51%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$503 PGK 2,186

$568 €509

-11.33%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,538 PGK 24.1K

$11.5K €10.3K

-51.94%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$36.04 PGK 157

$90.5 €81.2

-60.19%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.40 PGK 145

$38.55 €34.58

-13.36%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$61.8 PGK 268

$103 €92.1

-39.81%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.3 PGK 370

$131 €118

-34.90%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,367 PGK 5,939

$826 €740

65.64%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$503 PGK 2,184

$646 €580

-22.17%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,690 PGK 11.7K

$1,400 €1,256

92.13%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,070 PGK 4,647

$1,054 €946

1.48%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,036 PGK 8,843

$3,662 €3,285

-44.40%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,661 PGK 15.9K

$2,301 €2,064

59.10%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$415 PGK 1,803

$1,886 €1,692

-78.00%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.67

3.56

283.99%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for Papua New Guinea: October 26, 2026

Last update for Italy: October 24, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Accommodation & Living

Papua New Guinea

$503 36.6%

Italy

$646 35.1% 28.5% $143

Groceries & Markets

Papua New Guinea

$296 21.6%

Italy

$348 18.9% 17.4% $51

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Papua New Guinea

$225 16.3%

Italy

$269 14.6% 19.5% $44

Eating Out

Papua New Guinea

$127 9.3%

Italy

$279 15.1% 119% $151

Clothing & Footwear

Papua New Guinea

$97 7.1%

Italy

$163 8.9% 67.6% $66

Sport & Entertainment

Papua New Guinea

$82 6%

Italy

$73 4% 11.4% $9.4

Getting Around

Papua New Guinea

$44 3.2%

Italy

$65 3.5% 49.1% $21

Cost Breakdown

National rent averages: $1,741 in Papua New Guinea, $729 in Italy. Capital cities: $1,451 in Port Moresby vs $1,297 in Rome.

National salary averages: $312 in Papua New Guinea, $1,890 in Italy. Higher pay doesn’t always mean more spending money – weigh income against local costs.

Cost Highlights

Rent is 139% higher in Papua New Guinea.

Dining out costs 74% more in Italy.

Public transport is 65% more expensive in Italy.

Salaries are about 6.1 times higher in Italy, and purchasing power comes out stronger in Italy.

Good to know

🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea

🇮🇹 Italy

🕒 Local time

19:48 7:48 PM

10:48 10:48 AM

9 h behind Papua New Guinea

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,935,000

58,850,717

💱 Currency

Papua New Guinean Kina PGK K

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

1 PGK = 0.23 USD

1 PGK = 0.207 EUR

1 EUR = 1.11 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to PGK – Papua New Guinean Kina Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇵🇬 Papua New Guinean Kina (K)

Papua New Guinean Kina exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 4.34 PGK (1 PGK = 0.23 USD). 1 EUR = 4.83 PGK (1 PGK = 0.207 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.897 EUR (1 EUR = 1.11 USD).

USD to PGK in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Papua New Guinea Italy 14,320 km ≈ 18 h nonstop flight

From you

Papua New Guinea
Italy

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

Papua New Guinea vs Italy: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

At $1,843 per month in Italy and $1,375 in Papua New Guinea, there’s a 34% gap. Keep in mind it varies by city – the difference can be bigger or smaller depending on where you settle within each country.

Day-to-day life is cheaper in Papua New Guinea: lower grocery prices, cheaper commutes, and more affordable meals out. Over time, those daily savings make a real difference to your monthly budget and ability to put money away.

It depends on what you’re after: Papua New Guinea wins on affordability; Italy may offer higher salaries, better infrastructure, and different cultural perks. Both attract large expat communities for different reasons.