Cost of living comparison

Syria

compared to

Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur vs. Damascus Cost of Living Summary

Kuala Lumpur is 28.0% more expensive than Damascus.

Restaurants: pay 45.7% less in Kuala Lumpur
Groceries: pay 86.0% more in Kuala Lumpur
Transportation: pay 16.0% less in Kuala Lumpur
Housing: pay 21.3% more in Kuala Lumpur
Childcare: pay 5.8 times more in Kuala Lumpur
Entertainment and Sports: pay 32.9% more in Kuala Lumpur
Clothing: pay 57.8% more in Kuala Lumpur

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

Planning a move to Malaysia? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Kuala Lumpur vs. Damascus Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 45.7% less for restaurants

	Damascus	Kuala Lumpur
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$10.00 SYP130K	$4.89 MYR19.98	-51.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.00 SYP91,014	$4.89 MYR19.98	-30.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.25 SYP29,254	$0.81 MYR3.30	-64.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.85 SYP11,008	$0.46 MYR1.88	-45.6%
Average			-45.7%

Damascus vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 86.0% more for groceries

	Damascus	Kuala Lumpur
Bread 1 loaf	$0.40 SYP5,199	$1.09 MYR4.47	+173.8%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$1.96 SYP25,477	$7.00 MYR28.58	+257.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.03 SYP52,433	$7.96 MYR32.51	+97.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.59 SYP20,653	$2.53 MYR10.32	+59.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.59 SYP33,645	$2.02 MYR8.25	-21.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.47 SYP6,174	$1.55 MYR6.32	+226.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.63 SYP8,218	$0.82 MYR3.34	+29.6%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.51 SYP6,582	$1.04 MYR4.23	+104.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.47 SYP6,154	$0.71 MYR2.91	+50.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.35 SYP4,563	$0.59 MYR2.41	+68.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.35 SYP4,608	$0.62 MYR2.54	+75.3%
Average			+86.0%

Damascus vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 16.0% less for transportation

	Damascus	Kuala Lumpur
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$13.98 SYP182K	$3.22 MYR13.14	-77.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$10.00 SYP130K	$12.24 MYR49.96	+22.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$15,000.00 SYP195M	$41,736.41 MYR170K	+178.2%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$13.15 SYP171K	$11.01 MYR44.96	-16.3%
Average			-16.0%

Damascus vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 21.3% more for housing

	Damascus	Kuala Lumpur
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$46.25 SYP601K	$26.27 MYR107.27	-43.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$523.33 SYP7M	$617.87 MYR2,522.90	+18.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$186.00 SYP2M	$371.37 MYR1,516.38	+99.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$107.06 SYP1M	$47.56 MYR194.21	-55.6%
Average			+21.3%

Damascus vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 5.8 times more for childcare

	Damascus	Kuala Lumpur
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$66.67 SYP867K	$299.09 MYR1,221.23	+348.6%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$1,780.73 SYP23M	$13,124.70 MYR53,590.76	+637.0%
Average			+475.0%

Damascus vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 32.9% more for entertainment and sports

	Damascus	Kuala Lumpur
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.00 SYP26,004	$4.40 MYR17.99	+120.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.71 SYP48,293	$3.10 MYR12.64	-16.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.77 SYP36,000	$4.40 MYR17.99	+59.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$28.00 SYP364K	$48.89 MYR199.62	+74.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.50 SYP71,511	$5.02 MYR20.48	-8.8%
Average			+32.9%

Damascus vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 57.8% more for clothing

	Damascus	Kuala Lumpur
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$28.60 SYP372K	$71.46 MYR291.78	+149.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$40.00 SYP520K	$41.92 MYR171.18	+4.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$60.00 SYP780K	$86.22 MYR352.05	+43.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$58.33 SYP758K	$96.07 MYR392.29	+64.7%
Average			+57.8%

Damascus vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

Compare further: Damascus vs. Kuala Lumpur

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Kuala Lumpur?

More cost comparisons

Damascus vs.

Dublin

Damascus vs.

Bangkok

Damascus vs.

Rome

Damascus vs.

Moscow

Damascus vs.

New York City

Damascus vs.

Toronto

Damascus vs.

Athens

Damascus vs.

Berlin

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Syria vs. Malaysia. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Syria and Malaysia.

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Damascus

Add prices for Kuala Lumpur

Ask the Elsewhere Community

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Kuala Lumpur or Damascus. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.