Cost of living comparison

compared to

Iraq vs. Afghanistan Cost of Living Summary

Iraq is 78.1% more expensive than Afghanistan overall.

Restaurants: pay 41.1% more in Iraq
Groceries: pay 57.9% more in Iraq
Transportation: pay 52.0% more in Iraq
Housing: pay 2.1 times more in Iraq
Childcare: pay 2.2 times more in Iraq
Entertainment and Sports: pay 95.2% more in Iraq
Clothing: pay 74.2% more in Iraq

The cost of childcare, housing, entertainment and sports, clothing, groceries, and transportation in Iraq are more expensive than in Afghanistan. Notably, childcare, housing, and entertainment and sports are significantly more expensive in Iraq.

Iraq vs. Afghanistan Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Iraq instead of Afghanistan, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 41.1% more for restaurants

	Afghanistan	Iraq
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.44 AFN161	$4.66 IQD6,100	+91.4%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$3.89 AFN257	$6.78 IQD8,868	+74.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.45 AFN30	$0.40 IQD521	-12.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.21 AFN14	$0.23 IQD297	+10.6%
Average			+41.1%

Afghanistan vs. Iraq - Cost of restaurants

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pay 57.9% more for groceries

	Afghanistan	Iraq
Bread 1 loaf	$0.20 AFN13	$0.76 IQD989	+274.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.26 AFN149	$2.55 IQD3,338	+13.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$2.59 AFN171	$4.46 IQD5,833	+72.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.53 AFN101	$1.69 IQD2,207	+10.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.65 AFN109	$1.98 IQD2,588	+19.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.26 AFN17	$0.47 IQD620	+85.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.41 AFN27	$0.51 IQD661	+24.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.34 AFN23	$0.43 IQD561	+25.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.24 AFN16	$0.31 IQD399	+27.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.21 AFN14	$0.29 IQD375	+35.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.19 AFN12	$0.28 IQD368	+49.6%
Average			+57.9%

Afghanistan vs. Iraq - Cost of groceries

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pay 52.0% more for transportation

	Afghanistan	Iraq
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.06 AFN268	$2.08 IQD2,722	-48.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$16.25 AFN1,073	$37.40 IQD48,917	+130.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$9,043.81 AFN597,505	$15,792.71 IQD20,655,336	+74.6%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$10.12 AFN668	$15.36 IQD20,089	+51.8%
Average			+52.0%

Afghanistan vs. Iraq - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.1 times more for housing

	Afghanistan	Iraq
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$194.20 AFN12,831	$36.30 IQD47,470	-81.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$87.87 AFN5,805	$287.91 IQD376,558	+227.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$51.69 AFN3,415	$193.91 IQD253,619	+275.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$63.00 AFN4,162	$66.74 IQD87,285	+5.9%
Average			+106.8%

Afghanistan vs. Iraq - Cost of housing

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pay 2.2 times more for childcare

	Afghanistan	Iraq
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$46.37 AFN3,064	$138.70 IQD181,400	+199.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$1,476.83 AFN97,571	$2,066.25 IQD2,702,459	+39.9%
Average			+119.5%

Afghanistan vs. Iraq - Cost of childcare

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pay 95.2% more for entertainment and sports

	Afghanistan	Iraq
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.87 AFN322	$2.78 IQD3,633	-43.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.11 AFN73	$2.47 IQD3,229	+122.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.92 AFN127	$2.00 IQD2,610	+3.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$10.12 AFN668	$34.51 IQD45,137	+241.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.32 AFN220	$8.34 IQD10,903	+150.9%
Average			+95.2%

Afghanistan vs. Iraq - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 74.2% more for clothing

	Afghanistan	Iraq
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$11.08 AFN732	$25.03 IQD32,741	+126.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$17.72 AFN1,171	$27.73 IQD36,272	+56.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$33.97 AFN2,244	$50.80 IQD66,443	+49.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$23.20 AFN1,533	$38.19 IQD49,948	+64.6%
Average			+74.2%

Afghanistan vs. Iraq - 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: December 2025

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