Cost of living comparison

Iraq

compared to

Pakistan

Islamabad vs. Baghdad Cost of Living Summary

Islamabad is 28.3% cheaper than Baghdad.

Restaurants: pay 23.5% less in Islamabad
Groceries: pay 20.1% less in Islamabad
Transportation: pay 62.1% more in Islamabad
Housing: pay 56.8% less in Islamabad
Childcare: pay 19.7% less in Islamabad
Entertainment and Sports: pay 31.5% less in Islamabad
Clothing: pay 2.0% more in Islamabad

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

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Islamabad vs. Baghdad Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 23.5% less for restaurants

	Baghdad	Islamabad
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.79 IQD7,272	$3.61 PKR1,001.00	-24.6%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.63 IQD11,589	$5.42 PKR1,501.50	-29.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.38 IQD583	$0.34 PKR94.38	-11.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.24 IQD362	$0.22 PKR60.62	-8.3%
Average			-23.5%

Baghdad vs. Islamabad - Cost of restaurants

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pay 20.1% less for groceries

	Baghdad	Islamabad
Bread 1 loaf	$0.81 IQD1,223	$0.75 PKR208.08	-6.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$1.93 IQD2,930	$3.07 PKR851.66	+59.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.02 IQD6,102	$3.63 PKR1,006.51	-9.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.90 IQD2,881	$1.24 PKR343.64	-34.7%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.14 IQD3,254	$1.41 PKR390.48	-34.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.52 IQD789	$0.59 PKR163.19	+13.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.49 IQD745	$0.38 PKR106.19	-21.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.48 IQD730	$0.47 PKR131.67	-1.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.35 IQD526	$0.25 PKR68.12	-29.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.30 IQD453	$0.13 PKR35.52	-57.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.30 IQD460	$0.17 PKR46.29	-44.9%
Average			-20.1%

Baghdad vs. Islamabad - Cost of groceries

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pay 62.1% more for transportation

	Baghdad	Islamabad
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.46 IQD3,729	$5.11 PKR1,415.96	+107.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$22.90 IQD34,768	$21.66 PKR6,006.00	-5.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,083.90 IQD29M	$54,159.34 PKR15M	+183.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$14.50 IQD22,020	$7.04 PKR1,951.95	-51.5%
Average			+62.1%

Baghdad vs. Islamabad - Cost of transportation

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pay 56.8% less for housing

	Baghdad	Islamabad
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$42.17 IQD64,020	$17.07 PKR4,732.00	-59.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$575.90 IQD874K	$273.02 PKR75,692.28	-52.6%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$365.77 IQD555K	$139.79 PKR38,755.38	-61.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$164.12 IQD249K	$77.95 PKR21,609.82	-52.5%
Average			-56.8%

Baghdad vs. Islamabad - Cost of housing

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pay 19.7% less for childcare

	Baghdad	Islamabad
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$167.78 IQD255K	$74.62 PKR20,687.33	-55.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,458.96 IQD5M	$5,015.34 PKR1M	+45.0%
Average			-19.7%

Baghdad vs. Islamabad - Cost of childcare

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pay 31.5% less for entertainment and sports

	Baghdad	Islamabad
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.82 IQD5,795	$3.61 PKR1,001.00	-5.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.11 IQD4,716	$2.65 PKR734.15	-14.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.91 IQD2,897	$2.30 PKR637.64	+20.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$46.95 IQD71,275	$28.23 PKR7,826.00	-39.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.73 IQD16,283	$4.33 PKR1,201.20	-59.6%
Average			-31.5%

Baghdad vs. Islamabad - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 2.0% more for clothing

	Baghdad	Islamabad
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$28.84 IQD43,782	$24.82 PKR6,881.88	-13.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$32.65 IQD49,577	$34.87 PKR9,666.47	+6.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$68.76 IQD104K	$96.43 PKR26,735.16	+40.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$48.35 IQD73,400	$40.62 PKR11,261.25	-16.0%
Average			+2.0%

Baghdad vs. Islamabad - 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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