Cost of living comparison

Iraq

compared to

South Korea

Seoul vs. Baghdad Cost of Living Summary

Seoul is 95.3% more expensive than Baghdad.

Restaurants: pay 70.7% more in Seoul
Groceries: pay 3.9 times more in Seoul
Transportation: pay 71.0% more in Seoul
Housing: pay 41.5% more in Seoul
Childcare: pay 8.7 times more in Seoul
Entertainment and Sports: pay 18.8% more in Seoul
Clothing: pay 36.7% more in Seoul

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

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Seoul vs. Baghdad Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 70.7% more for restaurants

	Baghdad	Seoul
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.79 IQD7,272	$8.96 ₩11,955	+87.0%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.63 IQD11,589	$7.46 ₩9,962	-2.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.38 IQD583	$1.58 ₩2,112	+312.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.24 IQD362	$0.79 ₩1,049	+229.5%
Average			+70.7%

Baghdad vs. Seoul - Cost of restaurants

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pay 3.9 times more for groceries

	Baghdad	Seoul
Bread 1 loaf	$0.81 IQD1,223	$3.10 ₩4,134	+284.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$1.93 IQD2,930	$8.84 ₩11,798	+358.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.02 IQD6,102	$7.79 ₩10,403	+93.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.90 IQD2,881	$3.61 ₩4,813	+90.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.14 IQD3,254	$4.74 ₩6,328	+121.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.52 IQD789	$3.46 ₩4,624	+567.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.49 IQD745	$1.57 ₩2,091	+219.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.48 IQD730	$2.59 ₩3,462	+439.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.35 IQD526	$2.83 ₩3,782	+718.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.30 IQD453	$1.66 ₩2,211	+455.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.30 IQD460	$1.16 ₩1,542	+281.3%
Average			+286.3%

Baghdad vs. Seoul - Cost of groceries

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pay 71.0% more for transportation

	Baghdad	Seoul
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.46 IQD3,729	$5.53 ₩7,384	+125.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$22.90 IQD34,768	$46.28 ₩61,767	+102.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$19,083.90 IQD29M	$29,385.60 ₩39M	+54.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$14.50 IQD22,020	$8.51 ₩11,357	-41.3%
Average			+71.0%

Baghdad vs. Seoul - Cost of transportation

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pay 41.5% more for housing

	Baghdad	Seoul
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$42.17 IQD64,020	$20.82 ₩27,787	-50.6%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$575.90 IQD874K	$886.39 ₩1M	+53.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$365.77 IQD555K	$620.25 ₩828K	+69.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$164.12 IQD249K	$162.69 ₩217K	-0.9%
Average			+41.5%

Baghdad vs. Seoul - Cost of housing

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pay 8.7 times more for childcare

	Baghdad	Seoul
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$167.78 IQD255K	$1,927.59 ₩3M	+1048.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,458.96 IQD5M	$22,602.27 ₩30M	+553.4%
Average			+766.4%

Baghdad vs. Seoul - Cost of childcare

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pay 18.8% more for entertainment and sports

	Baghdad	Seoul
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.82 IQD5,795	$3.73 ₩4,981	-2.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.11 IQD4,716	$4.10 ₩5,473	+32.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.91 IQD2,897	$3.36 ₩4,483	+76.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$46.95 IQD71,275	$58.22 ₩77,707	+24.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.73 IQD16,283	$11.20 ₩14,944	+4.4%
Average			+18.8%

Baghdad vs. Seoul - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 36.7% more for clothing

	Baghdad	Seoul
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$28.84 IQD43,782	$57.88 ₩77,255	+100.7%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$32.65 IQD49,577	$32.77 ₩43,743	+0.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$68.76 IQD104K	$69.99 ₩93,417	+1.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$48.35 IQD73,400	$82.45 ₩110K	+70.5%
Average			+36.7%

Baghdad vs. Seoul - 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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