Cost of living comparison

compared to

Iraq vs. Costa Rica Cost of Living Summary

Iraq is 50.0% cheaper than Costa Rica overall.

Restaurants: pay 61.7% less in Iraq
Groceries: pay 57.7% less in Iraq
Transportation: pay 38.0% less in Iraq
Housing: pay 37.6% less in Iraq
Childcare: pay 75.8% less in Iraq
Entertainment and Sports: pay 27.1% less in Iraq
Clothing: pay 52.3% less in Iraq

Expenses including childcare, restaurants, groceries, clothing, transportation, and housing are lower in Iraq.

Iraq vs. Costa Rica Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Iraq instead of Costa Rica, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 61.7% less for restaurants

	Costa Rica	Iraq
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.77 CRC4,829.83	$4.66 IQD6,092	-52.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.53 CRC4,712.68	$6.78 IQD8,856	-28.9%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.00 CRC989.56	$0.40 IQD520	-80.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$1.57 CRC776.98	$0.23 IQD297	-85.5%
Average			-61.7%

Costa Rica vs. Iraq - Cost of restaurants

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pay 57.7% less for groceries

	Costa Rica	Iraq
Bread 1 loaf	$2.54 CRC1,255.62	$0.76 IQD988	-70.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.50 CRC2,225.24	$2.55 IQD3,334	-43.3%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.52 CRC3,719.11	$4.46 IQD5,826	-40.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.80 CRC1,381.85	$1.69 IQD2,204	-39.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$3.83 CRC1,891.97	$1.98 IQD2,585	-48.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.78 CRC881.78	$0.47 IQD619	-73.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.62 CRC304.00	$0.51 IQD660	-17.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.65 CRC814.36	$0.43 IQD560	-74.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.24 CRC613.95	$0.31 IQD399	-75.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.28 CRC631.64	$0.29 IQD374	-77.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$1.10 CRC544.02	$0.28 IQD368	-74.4%
Average			-57.7%

Costa Rica vs. Iraq - Cost of groceries

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pay 38.0% less for transportation

	Costa Rica	Iraq
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.47 CRC2,703.80	$2.08 IQD2,718	-62.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$54.59 CRC26,983.82	$37.40 IQD48,853	-31.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$36,444.91 CRC18M	$15,792.71 IQD21M	-56.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$15.68 CRC7,750.25	$15.36 IQD20,062	-2.0%
Average			-38.0%

Costa Rica vs. Iraq - Cost of transportation

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pay 37.6% less for housing

	Costa Rica	Iraq
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$49.17 CRC24,307.37	$36.30 IQD47,408	-26.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$805.28 CRC398K	$287.91 IQD376K	-64.2%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$555.89 CRC275K	$193.91 IQD253K	-65.1%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$63.57 CRC31,423.35	$66.74 IQD87,170	+5.0%
Average			-37.6%

Costa Rica vs. Iraq - Cost of housing

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pay 75.8% less for childcare

	Costa Rica	Iraq
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$517.09 CRC256K	$138.70 IQD181K	-73.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,552.94 CRC5M	$2,066.25 IQD3M	-78.4%
Average			-75.8%

Costa Rica vs. Iraq - Cost of childcare

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pay 27.1% less for entertainment and sports

	Costa Rica	Iraq
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.59 CRC1,278.51	$2.78 IQD3,628	+7.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.84 CRC1,897.55	$2.47 IQD3,224	-35.7%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.70 CRC2,322.99	$2.00 IQD2,606	-57.5%
Monthly membership at local gym	$58.68 CRC29,006.04	$34.51 IQD45,078	-41.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$9.11 CRC4,501.68	$8.34 IQD10,889	-8.5%
Average			-27.1%

Costa Rica vs. Iraq - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 52.3% less for clothing

	Costa Rica	Iraq
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$58.22 CRC28,777.00	$25.03 IQD32,698	-57.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$44.70 CRC22,096.89	$27.73 IQD36,224	-38.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$112.79 CRC55,754.11	$50.80 IQD66,356	-55.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$93.41 CRC46,172.18	$38.19 IQD49,883	-59.1%
Average			-52.3%

Costa Rica vs. Iraq - Cost of clothing

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The statistics used to build this comparison are calculated using data from users just like you. We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Learn more about our data sources. Page last updated: February 2026

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