Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Papua New Guinea and the United Kingdom

Name: United Kingdom
Address: GB

For one person, living is cheaper in Papua New Guinea: $1,375 a month against $2,462 in the United Kingdom, rent and utilities included – about $13,000 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
119

Cost of Living Index in the United Kingdom
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United Kingdom Living Index

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🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea

$1,375

/mo nomad

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

$2,462

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Papua New Guinea and in the United Kingdom

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 the United Kingdom actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $1,375 per month in Papua New Guinea vs $2,462 in the United Kingdom, rent included.

Papua New Guinea $1,375
United Kingdom $2,462

A couple spends around $2,177 per month in Papua New Guinea vs $3,600 in the United Kingdom, rent included.

Papua New Guinea $2,177
United Kingdom $3,600

A family of three spends $2,979 per month in Papua New Guinea vs $4,738 in the United Kingdom, rent included.

Papua New Guinea $2,979
United Kingdom $4,738

The regional cost range is wider in the United Kingdom ($1,126–$4,646) than in Papua New Guinea ($817–$1,427), so city choice matters more there.

The cost of living in Papua New Guinea is roughly 44% lower than in the United Kingdom on average.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$7.09 PGK 30.77

$21.48 £16.15

-66.99%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$44.44 PGK 193

$85.7 £64.4

-48.17%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.49 PGK 23.84

$10.61 £7.98

-48.26%

Cappuccino

$2.29 PGK 9.97

$4.91 £3.69

-53.36%

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

$0.78 PGK 3.38

$2.66 £2.00

-70.68%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.66 PGK 2.85

$1.87 £1.40

-64.71%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$2.59 PGK 11.24

$6.63 £4.98

-60.94%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$4.04 PGK 17.55

$6.84 £5.14

-40.94%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.86 PGK 8.07

$1.68 £1.26

10.71%

White Bread (500g)

$1.48 PGK 6.42

$1.72 £1.29

-13.95%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.37 PGK 5.93

$2.17 £1.63

-36.87%

Eggs

$3.72 PGK 16.14

$4.00 £3.01

-7.00%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.26 PGK 27.20

$9.42 £7.08

-33.55%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.72 PGK 24.86

$9.19 £6.90

-37.76%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$8.88 PGK 38.57

$14.77 £11.10

-39.88%

Apples (1kg)

$4.00 PGK 17.37

$2.97 £2.23

34.68%

Banana (1kg)

$3.33 PGK 14.47

$1.62 £1.22

105.56%

Oranges (1kg)

$6.08 PGK 26.42

$2.85 £2.15

113.33%

Tomato (1kg)

$5.24 PGK 22.74

$3.52 £2.65

48.86%

Potato (1kg)

$3.18 PGK 13.79

$1.83 £1.38

73.77%

Onion (1kg)

$2.73 PGK 11.86

$1.61 £1.21

69.57%

Lettuce (1 head)

$2.01 PGK 8.74

$1.25 £0.94

60.80%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.18 PGK 5.12

$1.66 £1.25

-28.92%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$6.33 PGK 27.47

$23.65 £17.77

-73.23%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.82 PGK 47.00

$10.50 £7.89

3.05%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$2.43 PGK 10.55

$2.98 £2.24

-18.46%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.63 PGK 15.75

$3.51 £2.64

3.42%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.42 PGK 1.84

$3.98 £2.99

-89.45%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$26.21 PGK 114

$107 £80.7

-75.60%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$5.04 PGK 21.91

$5.18 £3.89

-2.70%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$2.16 PGK 9.39

$2.35 £1.76

-8.09%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$12.21 PGK 53.0

$26.84 £20.17

-54.51%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.02 PGK 4.45

$1.99 £1.49

-48.74%

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

$28.1K PGK 122.2K

$39.4K £29.6K

-28.67%

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

$22.2K PGK 96.5K

$40.5K £30.4K

-45.12%

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

$94.0 PGK 408

$327 £246

-71.28%

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

$24.78 PGK 108

$18.21 £13.69

36.08%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$106 PGK 460

$43.60 £32.77

142.84%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$64.7 PGK 281

$42.36 £31.83

52.69%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$23.49 PGK 102

$18.22 £13.69

28.92%

Cinema Ticket

$8.85 PGK 38.45

$13.85 £10.41

-36.10%

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

$503 PGK 2,186

$1,868 £1,404

-73.06%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$5,538 PGK 24.1K

$22.6K £17.0K

-75.53%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$36.04 PGK 157

$92.9 £69.8

-61.22%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$33.40 PGK 145

$45.92 £34.51

-27.26%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$61.8 PGK 268

$102 £76.4

-39.22%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$85.3 PGK 370

$102 £76.8

-16.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,367 PGK 5,939

$1,342 £1,009

1.86%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$503 PGK 2,184

$1,073 £807

-53.14%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$2,690 PGK 11.7K

$2,231 £1,677

20.56%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,070 PGK 4,647

$1,742 £1,309

-38.58%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,036 PGK 8,843

$5,601 £4,210

-63.65%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$3,661 PGK 15.9K

$4,265 £3,205

-14.16%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$415 PGK 1,803

$3,349 £2,517

-87.61%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

13.67

5.32

156.95%

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 the United Kingdom: October 26, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Papua New Guinea

$503 36.6%

United Kingdom

$1.1K 43.6% 113% $570

Groceries & Markets

Papua New Guinea

$296 21.6%

United Kingdom

$307 12.5% 3.7% $11

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Papua New Guinea

$225 16.3%

United Kingdom

$389 15.8% 73.2% $164

Eating Out

Papua New Guinea

$127 9.3%

United Kingdom

$328 13.3% 157% $200

Clothing & Footwear

Papua New Guinea

$97 7.1%

United Kingdom

$154 6.3% 58.3% $57

Sport & Entertainment

Papua New Guinea

$82 6%

United Kingdom

$70 2.9% 15% $12

Getting Around

Papua New Guinea

$44 3.2%

United Kingdom

$140 5.7% 220% $96

Cost Breakdown

Average rent: $1,741 in Papua New Guinea vs $1,287 in the United Kingdom. For reference, capital cities sit at $1,451 in Port Moresby and $2,811 in London.

Average salary: $312 in Papua New Guinea vs $3,251 in the United Kingdom. The income gap affects purchasing power and how far your budget stretches in each country.

Cost Highlights

Rent is 35% higher in Papua New Guinea.

Dining out costs 98% more in the United Kingdom.

Public transport is 288% more expensive in the United Kingdom.

Salaries are about 10 times higher in the United Kingdom, and purchasing power comes out stronger in the United Kingdom.

Good to know

🇵🇬 Papua New Guinea

🇬🇧 United Kingdom

🕒 Local time

19:44 7:44 PM

09:44 9:44 AM

10 h behind Papua New Guinea

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

8,935,000

67,326,569

💱 Currency

Papua New Guinean Kina PGK K

British Pound GBP £

📈 Exchange rate

1 PGK = 0.23 USD

1 PGK = 0.207 EUR

1 GBP = 1.33 USD

1 GBP = 1.2 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

GBP, USD, EUR 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).

British Pound exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 0.752 GBP (1 GBP = 1.33 USD). 1 EUR = 0.836 GBP (1 GBP = 1.2 EUR).

USD to PGK in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Papua New Guinea United Kingdom 14,480 km ≈ 19 h nonstop flight

From you

Papua New Guinea
United Kingdom

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 United Kingdom: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Papua New Guinea is the cheaper option – living costs run roughly 44% lower on average.

Groceries, public transport, and eating out all cost less in Papua New Guinea, adding to the overall 79% price gap.

Papua New Guinea is the budget-friendly choice for expats. But cost isn’t everything: visa policies, language, healthcare quality, and job markets all weigh in too.