Cost of living comparison

Iraq

compared to

Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia vs. Iraq Cost of Living Summary

Saudi Arabia is 74.5% more expensive than Iraq overall.

Restaurants: pay 26.3% more in Saudi Arabia
Groceries: pay 76.0% more in Saudi Arabia
Transportation: pay 45.0% more in Saudi Arabia
Housing: pay 95.0% more in Saudi Arabia
Childcare: pay 2.8 times more in Saudi Arabia
Entertainment and Sports: pay 58.4% more in Saudi Arabia
Clothing: pay 82.7% more in Saudi Arabia

The cost of childcare, housing, clothing, groceries, entertainment and sports, and transportation in Saudi Arabia are more expensive than in Iraq. Notably, childcare, housing, and clothing are significantly more expensive in Saudi Arabia.

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Saudi Arabia vs. Iraq Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Saudi Arabia instead of Iraq, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 26.3% more for restaurants

	Iraq	Saudi Arabia
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.69 IQD7,116	$6.43 SAR24.15	+37.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.78 IQD10,292	$7.60 SAR28.53	+12.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.46 IQD696	$0.77 SAR2.90	+68.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.25 IQD387	$0.25 SAR0.94	-1.6%
Average			+26.3%

Iraq vs. Saudi Arabia - Cost of restaurants

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pay 76.0% more for groceries

	Iraq	Saudi Arabia
Bread 1 loaf	$0.77 IQD1,171	$0.98 SAR3.69	+27.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.50 IQD3,803	$3.80 SAR14.25	+51.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.14 IQD6,285	$6.70 SAR25.16	+61.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.73 IQD2,627	$2.67 SAR10.01	+54.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.04 IQD3,095	$3.42 SAR12.84	+67.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.46 IQD697	$0.98 SAR3.66	+112.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.50 IQD764	$0.78 SAR2.93	+55.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.45 IQD680	$0.80 SAR2.99	+78.1%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.31 IQD474	$0.75 SAR2.81	+139.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.30 IQD454	$0.62 SAR2.32	+106.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.28 IQD432	$0.60 SAR2.27	+112.7%
Average			+76.0%

Iraq vs. Saudi Arabia - Cost of groceries

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pay 45.0% more for transportation

	Iraq	Saudi Arabia
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.18 IQD3,310	$2.35 SAR8.83	+7.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$35.81 IQD54,369	$35.96 SAR134.94	+0.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$15,719.55 IQD24M	$44,549.24 SAR167K	+183.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$14.95 IQD22,695	$20.52 SAR77.00	+37.3%
Average			+45.0%

Iraq vs. Saudi Arabia - Cost of transportation

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pay 95.0% more for housing

	Iraq	Saudi Arabia
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$35.82 IQD54,388	$68.86 SAR258.41	+92.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$299.18 IQD454K	$633.54 SAR2,377.57	+111.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$206.21 IQD313K	$465.22 SAR1,745.88	+125.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$69.07 IQD105K	$73.68 SAR276.52	+6.7%
Average			+95.0%

Iraq vs. Saudi Arabia - Cost of housing

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pay 2.8 times more for childcare

	Iraq	Saudi Arabia
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$167.07 IQD254K	$419.94 SAR1,575.96	+151.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$2,726.78 IQD4M	$8,565.65 SAR32,145.50	+214.1%
Average			+181.0%

Iraq vs. Saudi Arabia - Cost of childcare

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pay 58.4% more for entertainment and sports

	Iraq	Saudi Arabia
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.16 IQD4,804	$1.91 SAR7.18	-39.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.65 IQD4,020	$3.43 SAR12.86	+29.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.96 IQD2,975	$6.94 SAR26.04	+254.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$34.60 IQD52,536	$98.19 SAR368.47	+183.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$9.36 IQD14,218	$15.24 SAR57.19	+62.7%
Average			+58.4%

Iraq vs. Saudi Arabia - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 82.7% more for clothing

	Iraq	Saudi Arabia
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$24.05 IQD36,514	$44.17 SAR165.75	+83.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$24.78 IQD37,621	$55.80 SAR209.42	+125.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$56.42 IQD85,653	$89.45 SAR335.69	+58.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$44.01 IQD66,816	$74.85 SAR280.89	+70.1%
Average			+82.7%

Iraq vs. Saudi Arabia - 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

Compare further: Iraq vs. Saudi Arabia

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Saudi Arabia?

Quality of Life Comparison · 18 statistics

Make 6.4 times more money in Saudi Arabia

Size Comparison · See true size

Iraq is about 4.9 times smaller than Saudi Arabia.

Moving from Iraq to Saudi Arabia · UN DESA 2020

6,075 people born in Iraq live in Saudi Arabia.

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