Cost of living comparison

Iraq

compared to

Laos

Laos vs. Iraq Cost of Living Summary

Laos is 66.3% more expensive than Iraq overall.

Restaurants: pay 26.2% less in Laos
Groceries: pay 83.7% more in Laos
Transportation: pay 66.9% more in Laos
Housing: pay 2.2 times more in Laos
Childcare: pay 3.1 times more in Laos
Entertainment and Sports: pay 31.7% less in Laos
Clothing: pay 57.2% more in Laos

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

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Laos vs. Iraq Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Laos instead of Iraq, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 26.2% less for restaurants

	Iraq	Laos
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.69 IQD7,097	$2.23 LAK50,105	-52.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.78 IQD10,264	$5.35 LAK120K	-21.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.46 IQD694	$0.79 LAK17,741	+72.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.25 IQD386	$0.46 LAK10,416	+81.9%
Average			-26.2%

Iraq vs. Laos - Cost of restaurants

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pay 83.7% more for groceries

	Iraq	Laos
Bread 1 loaf	$0.77 IQD1,168	$1.14 LAK25,683	+48.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.50 IQD3,793	$12.87 LAK289K	+413.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.14 IQD6,268	$6.94 LAK156K	+67.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.73 IQD2,620	$1.87 LAK42,012	+8.0%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.04 IQD3,086	$2.81 LAK63,196	+37.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.46 IQD695	$0.84 LAK18,935	+83.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.50 IQD762	$0.52 LAK11,638	+2.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.45 IQD678	$1.19 LAK26,775	+166.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.31 IQD472	$0.69 LAK15,606	+122.4%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.30 IQD453	$0.66 LAK14,886	+121.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.28 IQD430	$0.49 LAK10,972	+71.6%
Average			+83.7%

Iraq vs. Laos - Cost of groceries

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pay 66.9% more for transportation

	Iraq	Laos
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.18 IQD3,301	$5.01 LAK113K	+130.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$35.81 IQD54,221	$52.98 LAK1M	+48.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$15,719.55 IQD24M	$27,872.00 LAK627M	+77.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$14.95 IQD22,633	$9.14 LAK205K	-38.9%
Average			+66.9%

Iraq vs. Laos - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.2 times more for housing

	Iraq	Laos
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$35.82 IQD54,239	$9.51 LAK214K	-73.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$299.18 IQD453K	$885.68 LAK20M	+196.0%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$206.21 IQD312K	$631.74 LAK14M	+206.4%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$69.07 IQD105K	$65.79 LAK1M	-4.7%
Average			+124.4%

Iraq vs. Laos - Cost of housing

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pay 3.1 times more for childcare

	Iraq	Laos
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$167.07 IQD253K	$435.49 LAK10M	+160.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$2,726.78 IQD4M	$9,982.68 LAK224M	+266.1%
Average			+208.9%

Iraq vs. Laos - Cost of childcare

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pay 31.7% less for entertainment and sports

	Iraq	Laos
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.16 IQD4,791	$1.32 LAK29,749	-58.2%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.65 IQD4,009	$1.66 LAK37,287	-37.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.96 IQD2,967	$1.78 LAK40,084	-9.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$34.60 IQD52,393	$64.54 LAK1M	+86.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$9.36 IQD14,179	$3.32 LAK74,592	-64.6%
Average			-31.7%

Iraq vs. Laos - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 57.2% more for clothing

	Iraq	Laos
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$24.05 IQD36,414	$48.46 LAK1M	+101.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$24.78 IQD37,519	$62.95 LAK1M	+154.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$56.42 IQD85,419	$64.36 LAK1M	+14.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$44.01 IQD66,634	$46.02 LAK1M	+4.6%
Average			+57.2%

Iraq vs. Laos - 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 November 2026). How we calculate this

Compare further: Iraq vs. Laos

Salary Calculator · Free tool

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Quality of Life Comparison · 21 statistics

Be 92.3% less likely to be unemployed in Laos

Size Comparison · See true size

Iraq is about 1.9 times bigger than Laos.

Moving from Iraq to Laos · Cost, visas & climate

Compare cost of living, salary and climate.

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