Cost of living comparison

compared to

Iraq vs. Laos Cost of Living Summary

Iraq is 8.9% cheaper than Laos overall.

Restaurants: pay 11.3% more in Iraq
Groceries: pay 43.2% less in Iraq
Transportation: pay 21.6% less in Iraq
Housing: pay 40.0% more in Iraq
Childcare: pay 65.5% less in Iraq
Entertainment and Sports: pay 54.5% more in Iraq
Clothing: pay 37.7% less in Iraq

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

Iraq vs. Laos Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 11.3% more for restaurants

	Laos	Iraq
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.08 LAK44,969	$4.66 IQD6,092	+124.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.54 LAK119,918	$6.78 IQD8,857	+22.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.76 LAK16,444	$0.40 IQD521	-47.5%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.50 LAK10,719	$0.23 IQD297	-54.1%
Average			+11.3%

Laos vs. Iraq - Cost of restaurants

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pay 43.2% less for groceries

	Laos	Iraq
Bread 1 loaf	$1.13 LAK24,565	$0.76 IQD988	-33.3%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$13.26 LAK287,052	$2.55 IQD3,334	-80.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.91 LAK149,607	$4.46 IQD5,826	-35.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.11 LAK45,585	$1.69 IQD2,204	-19.9%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.10 LAK45,372	$1.98 IQD2,585	-5.6%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.76 LAK16,405	$0.47 IQD619	-37.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.75 LAK16,239	$0.51 IQD660	-32.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.97 LAK20,985	$0.43 IQD560	-55.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$1.30 LAK28,222	$0.31 IQD399	-76.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.70 LAK15,261	$0.29 IQD374	-59.4%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.46 LAK9,907	$0.28 IQD368	-38.5%
Average			-43.2%

Laos vs. Iraq - Cost of groceries

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pay 21.6% less for transportation

	Laos	Iraq
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.72 LAK102,231	$2.08 IQD2,718	-55.9%
Monthly public transit pass	$54.89 LAK1,188,115	$37.40 IQD48,857	-31.9%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$28,639.89 LAK619,954,342	$15,792.71 IQD20,629,879	-44.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$10.51 LAK227,448	$15.36 IQD20,064	+46.2%
Average			-21.6%

Laos vs. Iraq - Cost of transportation

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pay 40.0% more for housing

	Laos	Iraq
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$9.16 LAK198,197	$36.30 IQD47,412	+296.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,004.64 LAK21,746,980	$287.91 IQD376,094	-71.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$817.42 LAK17,694,410	$193.91 IQD253,307	-76.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$59.90 LAK1,296,718	$66.74 IQD87,177	+11.4%
Average			+40.0%

Laos vs. Iraq - Cost of housing

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pay 65.5% less for childcare

	Laos	Iraq
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$296.67 LAK6,421,775	$138.70 IQD181,176	-53.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$9,267.93 LAK200,618,663	$2,066.25 IQD2,699,129	-77.7%
Average			-65.5%

Laos vs. Iraq - Cost of childcare

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pay 54.5% more for entertainment and sports

	Laos	Iraq
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.42 LAK30,727	$2.78 IQD3,628	+95.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.66 LAK35,850	$2.47 IQD3,225	+49.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.98 LAK42,885	$2.00 IQD2,606	+0.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$67.50 LAK1,461,149	$34.51 IQD45,081	-48.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.02 LAK65,430	$8.34 IQD10,890	+175.8%
Average			+54.5%

Laos vs. Iraq - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 37.7% less for clothing

	Laos	Iraq
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$50.20 LAK1,086,754	$25.03 IQD32,700	-50.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$65.21 LAK1,411,532	$27.73 IQD36,227	-57.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$66.39 LAK1,437,049	$50.80 IQD66,361	-23.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$47.52 LAK1,028,728	$38.19 IQD49,886	-19.6%
Average			-37.7%

Laos vs. Iraq - 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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