Cost of living comparison

Iraq

compared to

Saudi Arabia

Riyadh vs. Baghdad Cost of Living Summary

Riyadh is 70.1% more expensive than Baghdad.

Restaurants: pay 42.8% more in Riyadh
Groceries: pay 2.0 times more in Riyadh
Transportation: pay 36.0% more in Riyadh
Housing: pay 71.8% more in Riyadh
Childcare: pay 3.0 times more in Riyadh
Entertainment and Sports: pay 35.6% more in Riyadh
Clothing: pay 81.2% more in Riyadh

The cost of childcare, groceries, clothing, housing, restaurants, and transportation in Riyadh are more expensive than in Baghdad. Notably, childcare, groceries, and clothing are significantly more expensive in Riyadh.

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Riyadh vs. Baghdad Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 42.8% more for restaurants

	Baghdad	Riyadh
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.79 IQD7,272	$7.99 SAR30.00	+66.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.63 IQD11,589	$7.99 SAR30.00	+4.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.38 IQD583	$0.87 SAR3.28	+127.7%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.24 IQD362	$0.31 SAR1.18	+31.4%
Average			+42.8%

Baghdad vs. Riyadh - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.0 times more for groceries

	Baghdad	Riyadh
Bread 1 loaf	$0.81 IQD1,223	$1.29 SAR4.83	+59.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$1.93 IQD2,930	$5.27 SAR19.78	+173.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.02 IQD6,102	$6.76 SAR25.39	+68.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.90 IQD2,881	$3.08 SAR11.57	+62.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.14 IQD3,254	$4.34 SAR16.27	+102.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.52 IQD789	$1.30 SAR4.88	+150.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.49 IQD745	$0.87 SAR3.28	+78.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.48 IQD730	$1.13 SAR4.23	+134.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.35 IQD526	$0.80 SAR2.99	+129.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.30 IQD453	$0.54 SAR2.04	+82.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.30 IQD460	$0.59 SAR2.21	+94.5%
Average			+100.1%

Baghdad vs. Riyadh - Cost of groceries

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pay 36.0% more for transportation

	Baghdad	Riyadh
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.46 IQD3,729	$2.35 SAR8.82	-4.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$22.90 IQD34,768	$37.31 SAR140.01	+62.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,083.90 IQD29M	$34,642.08 SAR130K	+81.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$14.50 IQD22,020	$18.12 SAR68.00	+24.9%
Average			+36.0%

Baghdad vs. Riyadh - Cost of transportation

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pay 71.8% more for housing

	Baghdad	Riyadh
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$42.17 IQD64,020	$71.73 SAR269.20	+70.1%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$575.90 IQD874K	$1,186.87 SAR4,454.14	+106.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$365.77 IQD555K	$833.69 SAR3,128.72	+127.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$164.12 IQD249K	$81.86 SAR307.20	-50.1%
Average			+71.8%

Baghdad vs. Riyadh - Cost of housing

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pay 3.0 times more for childcare

	Baghdad	Riyadh
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$167.78 IQD255K	$530.73 SAR1,991.76	+216.3%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,458.96 IQD5M	$10,105.80 SAR37,925.40	+192.2%
Average			+204.0%

Baghdad vs. Riyadh - Cost of childcare

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pay 35.6% more for entertainment and sports

	Baghdad	Riyadh
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.82 IQD5,795	$2.13 SAR8.00	-44.1%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.11 IQD4,716	$4.28 SAR16.07	+37.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.91 IQD2,897	$7.73 SAR29.00	+304.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$46.95 IQD71,275	$89.94 SAR337.52	+91.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.73 IQD16,283	$13.32 SAR50.00	+24.2%
Average			+35.6%

Baghdad vs. Riyadh - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 81.2% more for clothing

	Baghdad	Riyadh
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$28.84 IQD43,782	$58.30 SAR218.78	+102.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$32.65 IQD49,577	$54.26 SAR203.65	+66.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$68.76 IQD104K	$102.59 SAR385.02	+49.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$48.35 IQD73,400	$103.93 SAR390.02	+115.0%
Average			+81.2%

Baghdad vs. Riyadh - 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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