Cost of living comparison

Malaysia

compared to

Iraq

Iraq vs. Malaysia Cost of Living Summary

Iraq is 18.7% cheaper than Malaysia overall.

Restaurants: pay 19.0% more in Iraq
Groceries: pay 45.5% less in Iraq
Transportation: pay 7.0% less in Iraq
Housing: pay 6.8% less in Iraq
Childcare: pay 50.5% less in Iraq
Entertainment and Sports: pay 2.8% more in Iraq
Clothing: pay 39.1% less in Iraq

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

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Iraq vs. Malaysia Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 19.0% more for restaurants

	Malaysia	Iraq
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.42 MYR13.98	$4.69 IQD7,116	+36.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.64 MYR18.95	$6.78 IQD10,292	+46.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.75 MYR3.07	$0.46 IQD696	-38.9%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.42 MYR1.72	$0.25 IQD387	-39.6%
Average			+19.0%

Malaysia vs. Iraq - Cost of restaurants

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pay 45.5% less for groceries

	Malaysia	Iraq
Bread 1 loaf	$1.10 MYR4.49	$0.77 IQD1,171	-29.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$6.94 MYR28.32	$2.50 IQD3,803	-63.9%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.18 MYR29.31	$4.14 IQD6,285	-42.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.09 MYR8.53	$1.73 IQD2,627	-17.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.90 MYR7.75	$2.04 IQD3,095	+7.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.35 MYR5.53	$0.46 IQD697	-66.1%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.73 MYR2.97	$0.50 IQD764	-30.9%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.19 MYR4.84	$0.45 IQD680	-62.3%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.69 MYR2.83	$0.31 IQD474	-55.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.57 MYR2.34	$0.30 IQD454	-47.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.61 MYR2.50	$0.28 IQD432	-53.5%
Average			-45.5%

Malaysia vs. Iraq - Cost of groceries

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pay 7.0% less for transportation

	Malaysia	Iraq
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.76 MYR11.29	$2.18 IQD3,310	-21.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$15.28 MYR62.39	$35.81 IQD54,369	+134.4%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$40,802.19 MYR167K	$15,719.55 IQD24M	-61.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$6.46 MYR26.37	$14.95 IQD22,695	+131.4%
Average			-7.0%

Malaysia vs. Iraq - Cost of transportation

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pay 6.8% less for housing

	Malaysia	Iraq
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$27.60 MYR112.71	$35.82 IQD54,388	+29.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$363.41 MYR1,483.90	$299.18 IQD454K	-17.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$265.07 MYR1,082.35	$206.21 IQD313K	-22.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$36.69 MYR149.79	$69.07 IQD105K	+88.3%
Average			-6.8%

Malaysia vs. Iraq - Cost of housing

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pay 50.5% less for childcare

	Malaysia	Iraq
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$231.07 MYR943.51	$167.07 IQD254K	-27.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,043.53 MYR32,843.35	$2,726.78 IQD4M	-66.1%
Average			-50.5%

Malaysia vs. Iraq - Cost of childcare

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pay 2.8% more for entertainment and sports

	Malaysia	Iraq
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.61 MYR14.73	$3.16 IQD4,804	-12.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.76 MYR11.29	$2.65 IQD4,020	-4.2%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.35 MYR17.74	$1.96 IQD2,975	-54.9%
Monthly membership at local gym	$38.82 MYR158.52	$34.60 IQD52,536	-10.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.73 MYR19.31	$9.36 IQD14,218	+98.1%
Average			+2.8%

Malaysia vs. Iraq - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 39.1% less for clothing

	Malaysia	Iraq
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$58.43 MYR238.60	$24.05 IQD36,514	-58.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$30.42 MYR124.22	$24.78 IQD37,621	-18.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$77.72 MYR317.35	$56.42 IQD85,653	-27.4%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$77.79 MYR317.65	$44.01 IQD66,816	-43.4%
Average			-39.1%

Malaysia vs. Iraq - 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: Malaysia vs. Iraq

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Iraq?

Quality of Life Comparison · 22 statistics

Be 4.1 times more likely to be unemployed in Iraq

Size Comparison · See true size

Malaysia is about 1.3 times smaller than Iraq.

Moving from Malaysia to Iraq · Cost, visas & climate

Compare cost of living, salary and climate.

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