Cost of living comparison

compared to

Iraq vs. Malawi Cost of Living Summary

Iraq is 18.5% more expensive than Malawi overall.

Restaurants: pay 34.9% less in Iraq
Groceries: pay 35.5% less in Iraq
Transportation: pay 2.6 times more in Iraq
Housing: pay 54.5% more in Iraq
Childcare: pay 10.2% less in Iraq
Entertainment and Sports: pay 31.5% more in Iraq
Clothing: pay 30.8% less in Iraq

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

Iraq vs. Malawi Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 34.9% less for restaurants

	Malawi	Iraq
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.94 MWK8,560.73	$4.66 IQD6,110	-5.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$9.59 MWK16,626.92	$6.78 IQD8,883	-29.3%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.88 MWK1,523.45	$0.40 IQD522	-54.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.45 MWK788.90	$0.23 IQD298	-50.1%
Average			-34.9%

Malawi vs. Iraq - Cost of restaurants

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pay 35.5% less for groceries

	Malawi	Iraq
Bread 1 loaf	$1.25 MWK2,174.21	$0.76 IQD991	-39.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.83 MWK8,376.49	$2.55 IQD3,344	-47.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.70 MWK6,421.66	$4.46 IQD5,843	+20.4%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.18 MWK3,782.75	$1.69 IQD2,211	-22.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.00 MWK3,464.14	$1.98 IQD2,593	-0.9%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.09 MWK1,881.83	$0.47 IQD621	-56.3%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.81 MWK1,409.75	$0.51 IQD662	-37.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.90 MWK1,554.93	$0.43 IQD562	-52.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.59 MWK1,030.57	$0.31 IQD400	-48.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.61 MWK1,061.08	$0.29 IQD375	-53.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.59 MWK1,014.91	$0.28 IQD369	-51.9%
Average			-35.5%

Malawi vs. Iraq - Cost of groceries

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pay 2.6 times more for transportation

	Malawi	Iraq
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.04 MWK10,469.15	$2.08 IQD2,726	-65.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$4.32 MWK7,495.00	$37.40 IQD49,000	+765.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,205.31 MWK61,052,096.30	$15,792.71 IQD20,690,124	-55.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$20.15 MWK34,947.42	$15.36 IQD20,122	-23.8%
Average			+155.2%

Malawi vs. Iraq - Cost of transportation

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pay 54.5% more for housing

	Malawi	Iraq
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$184.06 MWK319,187.91	$36.30 IQD47,550	-80.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$201.16 MWK348,854.16	$287.91 IQD377,192	+43.1%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$79.07 MWK137,115.86	$193.91 IQD254,047	+145.3%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$31.77 MWK55,101.15	$66.74 IQD87,432	+110.0%
Average			+54.5%

Malawi vs. Iraq - Cost of housing

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pay 10.2% less for childcare

	Malawi	Iraq
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$354.19 MWK614,225.22	$138.70 IQD181,705	-60.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$1,471.60 MWK2,552,004.42	$2,066.25 IQD2,707,011	+40.4%
Average			-10.2%

Malawi vs. Iraq - Cost of childcare

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pay 31.5% more for entertainment and sports

	Malawi	Iraq
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.48 MWK2,564.15	$2.78 IQD3,639	+87.9%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.85 MWK4,943.04	$2.47 IQD3,234	-13.4%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.98 MWK3,434.85	$2.00 IQD2,614	+0.7%
Monthly membership at local gym	$48.41 MWK83,951.90	$34.51 IQD45,213	-28.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.95 MWK6,850.95	$8.34 IQD10,921	+111.0%
Average			+31.5%

Malawi vs. Iraq - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 30.8% less for clothing

	Malawi	Iraq
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$44.72 MWK77,544.27	$25.03 IQD32,796	-44.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.73 MWK60,234.04	$27.73 IQD36,333	-20.2%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$58.69 MWK101,783.88	$50.80 IQD66,555	-13.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$70.38 MWK122,057.39	$38.19 IQD50,032	-45.7%
Average			-30.8%

Malawi 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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