Cost of living comparison

Iraq

compared to

Lesotho

Maseru vs. Baghdad Cost of Living Summary

Maseru is 36.9% cheaper than Baghdad.

Restaurants: pay 72.7% more in Maseru
Groceries: pay 68.7% more in Maseru
Transportation: pay 29.2% more in Maseru
Housing: pay 82.6% less in Maseru
Childcare: pay 67.4% less in Maseru
Entertainment and Sports: pay 34.5% less in Maseru
Clothing: pay 89.1% more in Maseru

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

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Maseru vs. Baghdad Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 72.7% more for restaurants

	Baghdad	Maseru
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.79 IQD7,272	$9.01 LSL148.38	+88.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.63 IQD11,589	$8.41 LSL138.49	+10.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.38 IQD583	$1.07 LSL17.56	+177.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.24 IQD362	$0.84 LSL13.85	+252.6%
Average			+72.7%

Baghdad vs. Maseru - Cost of restaurants

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pay 68.7% more for groceries

	Baghdad	Maseru
Bread 1 loaf	$0.81 IQD1,223	$0.83 LSL13.60	+2.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$1.93 IQD2,930	$3.30 LSL54.39	+71.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.02 IQD6,102	$4.38 LSL72.07	+8.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.90 IQD2,881	$1.54 LSL25.32	-18.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.14 IQD3,254	$2.79 LSL45.98	+30.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.52 IQD789	$0.85 LSL14.02	+64.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.49 IQD745	$1.02 LSL16.71	+107.0%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.48 IQD730	$1.23 LSL20.19	+155.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.35 IQD526	$1.09 LSL17.95	+214.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.30 IQD453	$0.71 LSL11.66	+137.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.30 IQD460	$0.73 LSL12.00	+140.6%
Average			+68.7%

Baghdad vs. Maseru - Cost of groceries

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pay 29.2% more for transportation

	Baghdad	Maseru
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.46 IQD3,729	$4.98 LSL81.93	+102.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$22.90 IQD34,768	$30.04 LSL494.60	+31.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,083.90 IQD29M	$21,030.86 LSL346K	+10.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$14.50 IQD22,020	$6.01 LSL98.92	-58.6%
Average			+29.2%

Baghdad vs. Maseru - Cost of transportation

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pay 82.6% less for housing

	Baghdad	Maseru
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$42.17 IQD64,020	$38.30 LSL630.53	-9.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$575.90 IQD874K	$93.14 LSL1,533.25	-83.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$365.77 IQD555K	$55.58 LSL915.01	-84.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$164.12 IQD249K	??
Average			-82.6%

Baghdad vs. Maseru - Cost of housing

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pay 67.4% less for childcare

	Baghdad	Maseru
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$167.78 IQD255K	$52.06 LSL857.06	-69.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,458.96 IQD5M	$1,181.73 LSL19,454.17	-65.8%
Average			-67.4%

Baghdad vs. Maseru - Cost of childcare

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pay 34.5% less for entertainment and sports

	Baghdad	Maseru
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.82 IQD5,795	$1.80 LSL29.68	-52.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.11 IQD4,716	$2.00 LSL32.97	-35.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.91 IQD2,897	$5.11 LSL84.08	+167.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$46.95 IQD71,275	$23.03 LSL379.19	-50.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.73 IQD16,283	??
Average			-34.5%

Baghdad vs. Maseru - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 89.1% more for clothing

	Baghdad	Maseru
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$28.84 IQD43,782	$46.07 LSL758.38	+59.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$32.65 IQD49,577	$55.58 LSL915.01	+70.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$68.76 IQD104K	$104.15 LSL1,714.61	+51.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$48.35 IQD73,400	$150.22 LSL2,472.99	+210.7%
Average			+89.1%

Baghdad vs. Maseru - 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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