Cost of living comparison

compared to

Colombo vs. Baghdad Cost of Living Summary

Colombo is 9.5% more expensive than Baghdad.

Restaurants: pay 44.8% more in Colombo
Groceries: pay 2.3 times more in Colombo
Transportation: pay 1.7% less in Colombo
Housing: pay 47.8% less in Colombo
Childcare: pay 83.4% less in Colombo
Entertainment and Sports: pay 42.1% more in Colombo
Clothing: pay 19.2% less in Colombo

The cost of groceries, restaurants, and entertainment and sports in Colombo are more expensive than in Baghdad. Expenses including childcare, housing, clothing, and transportation are lower in Colombo. Notably, groceries is significantly more expensive in Colombo.

Colombo vs. Baghdad Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Colombo instead of Baghdad, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 44.8% more for restaurants

	Baghdad	Colombo
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.38 IQD5,730	$4.13 LKR1,274.15	-5.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.58 IQD9,920	$8.26 LKR2,548.30	+8.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.38 IQD498	$0.76 LKR234.18	+99.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.21 IQD269	$0.36 LKR111.87	+76.5%
Average			+44.8%

Baghdad vs. Colombo - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.3 times more for groceries

	Baghdad	Colombo
Bread 1 loaf	$0.83 IQD1,082	$0.52 LKR160.74	-37.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.28 IQD2,976	$6.78 LKR2,092.16	+198.0%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.75 IQD6,207	$6.70 LKR2,068.52	+41.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.69 IQD2,213	$1.95 LKR603.12	+15.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.06 IQD2,700	$2.05 LKR632.42	-0.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.56 IQD734	$3.42 LKR1,056.02	+509.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.50 IQD655	$0.50 LKR152.98	-1.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.46 IQD596	$2.69 LKR830.14	+491.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.33 IQD430	$0.55 LKR169.10	+66.7%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.30 IQD390	$0.51 LKR157.79	+71.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.30 IQD387	$0.58 LKR178.39	+95.6%
Average			+131.8%

Baghdad vs. Colombo - Cost of groceries

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pay 1.7% less for transportation

	Baghdad	Colombo
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.06 IQD2,693	$4.12 LKR1,269.87	+99.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$22.75 IQD29,759	$6.61 LKR2,038.64	-71.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$18,202.83 IQD23,807,546	$26,432.11 LKR8,154,563.05	+45.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$15.93 IQD20,832	$3.04 LKR937.77	-80.9%
Average			-1.7%

Baghdad vs. Colombo - Cost of transportation

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pay 47.8% less for housing

	Baghdad	Colombo
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$41.71 IQD54,559	$14.01 LKR4,323.37	-66.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$412.41 IQD539,390	$360.90 LKR111,341.15	-12.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$284.42 IQD371,993	$177.21 LKR54,672.55	-37.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$152.68 IQD199,686	$38.78 LKR11,963.83	-74.6%
Average			-47.8%

Baghdad vs. Colombo - Cost of housing

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pay 83.4% less for childcare

	Baghdad	Colombo
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$178.78 IQD233,824	$33.87 LKR10,448.03	-81.1%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,548.47 IQD4,641,054	$505.51 LKR155,956.02	-85.8%
Average			-83.4%

Baghdad vs. Colombo - Cost of childcare

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pay 42.1% more for entertainment and sports

	Baghdad	Colombo
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.79 IQD4,960	$2.31 LKR713.52	-39.0%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.15 IQD4,114	$2.67 LKR823.33	-15.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.09 IQD2,728	$10.24 LKR3,159.89	+391.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$44.30 IQD57,943	$13.33 LKR4,113.69	-69.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.58 IQD9,920	$3.30 LKR1,019.32	-56.4%
Average			+42.1%

Baghdad vs. Colombo - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 19.2% less for clothing

	Baghdad	Colombo
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$29.20 IQD38,191	$26.56 LKR8,194.91	-9.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$36.03 IQD47,119	$17.76 LKR5,478.85	-50.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$68.68 IQD89,829	$67.21 LKR20,735.12	-2.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$44.75 IQD58,527	$38.07 LKR11,746.45	-14.9%
Average			-19.2%

Baghdad vs. Colombo - 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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