Cost of living comparison

Malaysia

compared to

Iraq

Baghdad vs. Kuala Lumpur Cost of Living Summary

Baghdad is 15.3% cheaper than Kuala Lumpur.

Restaurants: pay 0.6% more in Baghdad
Groceries: pay 47.1% less in Baghdad
Transportation: pay 13.5% less in Baghdad
Housing: pay 19.2% more in Baghdad
Childcare: pay 61.5% less in Baghdad
Entertainment and Sports: pay 7.1% more in Baghdad
Clothing: pay 40.4% less in Baghdad

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

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Baghdad vs. Kuala Lumpur Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 0.6% more for restaurants

	Kuala Lumpur	Baghdad
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.89 MYR19.98	$4.79 IQD7,272	-2.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.89 MYR19.98	$7.63 IQD11,589	+56.0%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.81 MYR3.30	$0.38 IQD583	-52.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.46 MYR1.88	$0.24 IQD362	-48.2%
Average			+0.6%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Baghdad - Cost of restaurants

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pay 47.1% less for groceries

	Kuala Lumpur	Baghdad
Bread 1 loaf	$1.09 MYR4.47	$0.81 IQD1,223	-26.4%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.00 MYR28.58	$1.93 IQD2,930	-72.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.96 MYR32.51	$4.02 IQD6,102	-49.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.53 MYR10.32	$1.90 IQD2,881	-24.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.02 MYR8.25	$2.14 IQD3,254	+6.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.55 MYR6.32	$0.52 IQD789	-66.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.82 MYR3.34	$0.49 IQD745	-40.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.04 MYR4.23	$0.48 IQD730	-53.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.71 MYR2.91	$0.35 IQD526	-51.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.59 MYR2.41	$0.30 IQD453	-49.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.62 MYR2.54	$0.30 IQD460	-51.2%
Average			-47.1%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Baghdad - Cost of groceries

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pay 13.5% less for transportation

	Kuala Lumpur	Baghdad
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$3.22 MYR13.14	$2.46 IQD3,729	-23.7%
Monthly public transit pass	$12.24 MYR49.96	$22.90 IQD34,768	+87.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$41,736.41 MYR170K	$19,083.90 IQD29M	-54.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$11.01 MYR44.96	$14.50 IQD22,020	+31.7%
Average			-13.5%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Baghdad - Cost of transportation

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pay 19.2% more for housing

	Kuala Lumpur	Baghdad
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$26.27 MYR107.27	$42.17 IQD64,020	+60.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$617.87 MYR2,522.90	$575.90 IQD874K	-6.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$371.37 MYR1,516.38	$365.77 IQD555K	-1.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$47.56 MYR194.21	$164.12 IQD249K	+245.1%
Average			+19.2%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Baghdad - Cost of housing

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pay 61.5% less for childcare

	Kuala Lumpur	Baghdad
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$299.09 MYR1,221.23	$167.78 IQD255K	-43.9%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$13,124.70 MYR53,590.76	$3,458.96 IQD5M	-73.6%
Average			-61.5%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Baghdad - Cost of childcare

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pay 7.1% more for entertainment and sports

	Kuala Lumpur	Baghdad
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.40 MYR17.99	$3.82 IQD5,795	-13.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.10 MYR12.64	$3.11 IQD4,716	+0.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.40 MYR17.99	$1.91 IQD2,897	-56.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$48.89 MYR199.62	$46.95 IQD71,275	-4.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$5.02 MYR20.48	$10.73 IQD16,283	+113.8%
Average			+7.1%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Baghdad - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 40.4% less for clothing

	Kuala Lumpur	Baghdad
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$71.46 MYR291.78	$28.84 IQD43,782	-59.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$41.92 MYR171.18	$32.65 IQD49,577	-22.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$86.22 MYR352.05	$68.76 IQD104K	-20.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$96.07 MYR392.29	$48.35 IQD73,400	-49.7%
Average			-40.4%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Baghdad - 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

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