Cost of living comparison

compared to

Laos vs. Iraq Cost of Living Summary

Laos is 89.3% more expensive than Iraq overall.

Restaurants: pay 33.7% more in Laos
Groceries: pay 2.2 times more in Laos
Transportation: pay 55.9% more in Laos
Housing: pay 2.2 times more in Laos
Childcare: pay 3.3 times more in Laos
Entertainment and Sports: pay 10.1% less in Laos
Clothing: pay 72.7% more in Laos

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

Laos vs. Iraq Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 33.7% more for restaurants

	Iraq	Laos
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.66 IQD6,100	$2.08 LAK44,966	-55.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.78 IQD8,868	$5.54 LAK119,908	-18.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.40 IQD521	$0.76 LAK16,442	+90.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.23 IQD297	$0.50 LAK10,718	+117.9%
Average			+33.7%

Iraq vs. Laos - Cost of restaurants

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pay 2.2 times more for groceries

	Iraq	Laos
Bread 1 loaf	$0.76 IQD989	$1.13 LAK24,563	+50.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.55 IQD3,338	$13.26 LAK287,030	+419.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.46 IQD5,833	$6.91 LAK149,595	+55.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.69 IQD2,207	$2.11 LAK45,582	+24.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.98 IQD2,588	$2.10 LAK45,369	+5.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.47 IQD620	$0.76 LAK16,404	+60.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.51 IQD661	$0.75 LAK16,237	+48.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.43 IQD561	$0.97 LAK20,984	+126.0%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.31 IQD399	$1.30 LAK28,220	+327.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.29 IQD375	$0.70 LAK15,259	+146.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.28 IQD368	$0.46 LAK9,907	+62.5%
Average			+120.5%

Iraq vs. Laos - Cost of groceries

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pay 55.9% more for transportation

	Iraq	Laos
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.08 IQD2,722	$4.72 LAK102,223	+126.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$37.40 IQD48,917	$54.89 LAK1,188,021	+46.8%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$15,792.71 IQD20,655,336	$28,639.89 LAK619,905,563	+81.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$15.36 IQD20,089	$10.51 LAK227,430	-31.6%
Average			+55.9%

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	$36.30 IQD47,470	$9.16 LAK198,182	-74.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$287.91 IQD376,558	$1,004.64 LAK21,745,269	+248.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$193.91 IQD253,619	$817.42 LAK17,693,017	+321.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$66.74 IQD87,285	$59.90 LAK1,296,616	-10.2%
Average			+121.4%

Iraq vs. Laos - Cost of housing

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pay 3.3 times more for childcare

	Iraq	Laos
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$138.70 IQD181,400	$296.67 LAK6,421,270	+113.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$2,066.25 IQD2,702,459	$9,267.93 LAK200,602,878	+348.5%
Average			+231.2%

Iraq vs. Laos - Cost of childcare

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pay 10.1% less for entertainment and sports

	Iraq	Laos
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.78 IQD3,633	$1.42 LAK30,724	-48.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.47 IQD3,229	$1.66 LAK35,847	-32.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.00 IQD2,610	$1.98 LAK42,881	-0.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$34.51 IQD45,137	$67.50 LAK1,461,034	+95.6%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$8.34 IQD10,903	$3.02 LAK65,425	-63.7%
Average			-10.1%

Iraq vs. Laos - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 72.7% more for clothing

	Iraq	Laos
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$25.03 IQD32,741	$50.20 LAK1,086,669	+100.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$27.73 IQD36,272	$65.21 LAK1,411,421	+135.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$50.80 IQD66,443	$66.39 LAK1,436,936	+30.7%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$38.19 IQD49,948	$47.52 LAK1,028,648	+24.4%
Average			+72.7%

Iraq vs. Laos - 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: December 2025

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