Cost of living comparison

Iraq

compared to

Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur vs. Baghdad Cost of Living Summary

Kuala Lumpur is 18.0% more expensive than Baghdad.

Restaurants: pay 0.6% less in Kuala Lumpur
Groceries: pay 89.0% more in Kuala Lumpur
Transportation: pay 15.6% more in Kuala Lumpur
Housing: pay 16.1% less in Kuala Lumpur
Childcare: pay 2.6 times more in Kuala Lumpur
Entertainment and Sports: pay 6.6% less in Kuala Lumpur
Clothing: pay 67.8% more in Kuala Lumpur

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

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Kuala Lumpur vs. Baghdad Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Kuala Lumpur instead of Baghdad, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 0.6% less for restaurants

	Baghdad	Kuala Lumpur
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.79 IQD7,272	$4.89 MYR19.98	+2.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.63 IQD11,589	$4.89 MYR19.98	-35.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.38 IQD583	$0.81 MYR3.30	+110.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.24 IQD362	$0.46 MYR1.88	+93.1%
Average			-0.6%

Baghdad vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of restaurants

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pay 89.0% more for groceries

	Baghdad	Kuala Lumpur
Bread 1 loaf	$0.81 IQD1,223	$1.09 MYR4.47	+35.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$1.93 IQD2,930	$7.00 MYR28.58	+262.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.02 IQD6,102	$7.96 MYR32.51	+98.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.90 IQD2,881	$2.53 MYR10.32	+33.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.14 IQD3,254	$2.02 MYR8.25	-5.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.52 IQD789	$1.55 MYR6.32	+198.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.49 IQD745	$0.82 MYR3.34	+66.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.48 IQD730	$1.04 MYR4.23	+115.4%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.35 IQD526	$0.71 MYR2.91	+105.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.30 IQD453	$0.59 MYR2.41	+98.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.30 IQD460	$0.62 MYR2.54	+105.1%
Average			+89.0%

Baghdad vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of groceries

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pay 15.6% more for transportation

	Baghdad	Kuala Lumpur
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.46 IQD3,729	$3.22 MYR13.14	+31.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$22.90 IQD34,768	$12.24 MYR49.96	-46.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,083.90 IQD29M	$41,736.41 MYR170K	+118.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$14.50 IQD22,020	$11.01 MYR44.96	-24.1%
Average			+15.6%

Baghdad vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of transportation

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pay 16.1% less for housing

	Baghdad	Kuala Lumpur
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$42.17 IQD64,020	$26.27 MYR107.27	-37.7%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$575.90 IQD874K	$617.87 MYR2,522.90	+7.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$365.77 IQD555K	$371.37 MYR1,516.38	+1.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$164.12 IQD249K	$47.56 MYR194.21	-71.0%
Average			-16.1%

Baghdad vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of housing

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pay 2.6 times more for childcare

	Baghdad	Kuala Lumpur
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$167.78 IQD255K	$299.09 MYR1,221.23	+78.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,458.96 IQD5M	$13,124.70 MYR53,590.76	+279.4%
Average			+160.1%

Baghdad vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of childcare

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pay 6.6% less for entertainment and sports

	Baghdad	Kuala Lumpur
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.82 IQD5,795	$4.40 MYR17.99	+15.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.11 IQD4,716	$3.10 MYR12.64	-0.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.91 IQD2,897	$4.40 MYR17.99	+130.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$46.95 IQD71,275	$48.89 MYR199.62	+4.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.73 IQD16,283	$5.02 MYR20.48	-53.2%
Average			-6.6%

Baghdad vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 67.8% more for clothing

	Baghdad	Kuala Lumpur
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$28.84 IQD43,782	$71.46 MYR291.78	+147.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$32.65 IQD49,577	$41.92 MYR171.18	+28.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$68.76 IQD104K	$86.22 MYR352.05	+25.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$48.35 IQD73,400	$96.07 MYR392.29	+98.7%
Average			+67.8%

Baghdad vs. Kuala Lumpur - 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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