Cost of living comparison

United Arab Emirates

compared to

Iraq

Baghdad vs. Abu Dhabi Cost of Living Summary

Baghdad is 53.6% cheaper than Abu Dhabi.

Restaurants: pay 38.3% less in Baghdad
Groceries: pay 50.0% less in Baghdad
Transportation: pay 21.7% less in Baghdad
Housing: pay 65.0% less in Baghdad
Childcare: pay 77.7% less in Baghdad
Entertainment and Sports: pay 52.2% less in Baghdad
Clothing: pay 46.1% less in Baghdad

Expenses including childcare, housing, entertainment and sports, groceries, clothing, and restaurants are lower in Baghdad.

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Baghdad vs. Abu Dhabi Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Baghdad instead of Abu Dhabi, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 38.3% less for restaurants

	Abu Dhabi	Baghdad
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$8.17 AED30.00	$4.79 IQD7,272	-41.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.53 AED35.00	$7.63 IQD11,589	-19.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.15 AED4.24	$0.38 IQD583	-66.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.42 AED1.53	$0.24 IQD362	-42.7%
Average			-38.3%

Abu Dhabi vs. Baghdad - Cost of restaurants

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pay 50.0% less for groceries

	Abu Dhabi	Baghdad
Bread 1 loaf	$1.62 AED5.94	$0.81 IQD1,223	-50.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.81 AED21.35	$1.93 IQD2,930	-66.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.38 AED27.10	$4.02 IQD6,102	-45.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$3.49 AED12.81	$1.90 IQD2,881	-45.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.40 AED16.16	$2.14 IQD3,254	-51.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.12 AED4.13	$0.52 IQD789	-53.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.95 AED3.48	$0.49 IQD745	-48.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.84 AED3.09	$0.48 IQD730	-42.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 AED2.60	$0.35 IQD526	-51.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.55 AED2.03	$0.30 IQD453	-46.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.53 AED1.96	$0.30 IQD460	-43.2%
Average			-50.0%

Abu Dhabi vs. Baghdad - Cost of groceries

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pay 21.7% less for transportation

	Abu Dhabi	Baghdad
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.63 AED13.32	$2.46 IQD3,729	-32.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$26.55 AED97.49	$22.90 IQD34,768	-13.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$29,949.09 AED110K	$19,083.90 IQD29M	-36.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$7.62 AED28.00	$14.50 IQD22,020	+90.3%
Average			-21.7%

Abu Dhabi vs. Baghdad - Cost of transportation

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pay 65.0% less for housing

	Abu Dhabi	Baghdad
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$88.30 AED324.28	$42.17 IQD64,020	-52.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,966.33 AED7,221.36	$575.90 IQD874K	-70.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,399.56 AED5,139.88	$365.77 IQD555K	-73.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$148.00 AED543.52	$164.12 IQD249K	+10.9%
Average			-65.0%

Abu Dhabi vs. Baghdad - Cost of housing

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pay 77.7% less for childcare

	Abu Dhabi	Baghdad
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$790.93 AED2,904.68	$167.78 IQD255K	-78.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$14,819.26 AED54,423.74	$3,458.96 IQD5M	-76.7%
Average			-77.7%

Abu Dhabi vs. Baghdad - Cost of childcare

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pay 52.2% less for entertainment and sports

	Abu Dhabi	Baghdad
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$11.57 AED42.50	$3.82 IQD5,795	-67.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$5.96 AED21.87	$3.11 IQD4,716	-47.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$6.67 AED24.50	$1.91 IQD2,897	-71.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$95.29 AED349.96	$46.95 IQD71,275	-50.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$14.97 AED54.99	$10.73 IQD16,283	-28.4%
Average			-52.2%

Abu Dhabi vs. Baghdad - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 46.1% less for clothing

	Abu Dhabi	Baghdad
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$61.46 AED225.73	$28.84 IQD43,782	-53.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$49.09 AED180.30	$32.65 IQD49,577	-33.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$111.63 AED409.96	$68.76 IQD104K	-38.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$110.14 AED404.50	$48.35 IQD73,400	-56.1%
Average			-46.1%

Abu Dhabi vs. Baghdad - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

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