Cost of living comparison

compared to

Iraq vs. Malaysia Cost of Living Summary

Iraq is 4.6% cheaper than Malaysia overall.

Restaurants: pay 2.8% more in Iraq
Groceries: pay 40.8% less in Iraq
Transportation: pay 59.2% more in Iraq
Housing: pay 22.1% more in Iraq
Childcare: pay 42.8% less in Iraq
Entertainment and Sports: pay 1.6% less in Iraq
Clothing: pay 31.3% less in Iraq

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

Iraq vs. Malaysia Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 2.8% more for restaurants

	Malaysia	Iraq
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.22 MYR13.31	$4.66 IQD6,092	+44.8%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.41 MYR18.24	$6.78 IQD8,857	+53.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.73 MYR3.01	$0.40 IQD521	-45.3%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.39 MYR1.63	$0.23 IQD297	-42.2%
Average			+2.8%

Malaysia vs. Iraq - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 40.8% less for groceries

	Malaysia	Iraq
Bread 1 loaf	$1.02 MYR4.21	$0.76 IQD988	-25.7%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.79 MYR32.19	$2.55 IQD3,334	-67.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.67 MYR27.55	$4.46 IQD5,826	-33.1%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.99 MYR8.21	$1.69 IQD2,204	-15.1%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.93 MYR7.99	$1.98 IQD2,585	+2.3%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.28 MYR5.29	$0.47 IQD619	-63.0%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.67 MYR2.75	$0.51 IQD660	-24.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.29 MYR5.34	$0.43 IQD560	-66.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.73 MYR3.03	$0.31 IQD399	-58.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.53 MYR2.20	$0.29 IQD374	-46.2%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.59 MYR2.42	$0.28 IQD368	-51.9%
Average			-40.8%

Malaysia vs. Iraq - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 59.2% more for transportation

	Malaysia	Iraq
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$1.86 MYR7.67	$2.08 IQD2,718	+12.2%
Monthly public transit pass	$15.26 MYR63.08	$37.40 IQD48,857	+145.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,849.31 MYR148,147.28	$15,792.71 IQD20,629,879	-55.9%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$6.52 MYR26.93	$15.36 IQD20,064	+135.7%
Average			+59.2%

Malaysia vs. Iraq - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 22.1% more for housing

	Malaysia	Iraq
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$27.18 MYR112.33	$36.30 IQD47,412	+33.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$349.73 MYR1,445.27	$287.91 IQD376,094	-17.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$247.40 MYR1,022.40	$193.91 IQD253,307	-21.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$34.37 MYR142.05	$66.74 IQD87,177	+94.1%
Average			+22.1%

Malaysia vs. Iraq - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 42.8% less for childcare

	Malaysia	Iraq
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$170.62 MYR705.09	$138.70 IQD181,176	-18.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$6,229.51 MYR25,743.43	$2,066.25 IQD2,699,129	-66.8%
Average			-42.8%

Malaysia vs. Iraq - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 1.6% less for entertainment and sports

	Malaysia	Iraq
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$3.72 MYR15.38	$2.78 IQD3,628	-25.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.63 MYR10.85	$2.47 IQD3,225	-6.0%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.18 MYR17.26	$2.00 IQD2,606	-52.2%
Monthly membership at local gym	$36.40 MYR150.42	$34.51 IQD45,081	-5.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.62 MYR19.07	$8.34 IQD10,890	+80.6%
Average			-1.6%

Malaysia vs. Iraq - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 31.3% less for clothing

	Malaysia	Iraq
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$59.37 MYR245.35	$25.03 IQD32,700	-57.8%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$29.69 MYR122.68	$27.73 IQD36,227	-6.6%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$70.68 MYR292.07	$50.80 IQD66,361	-28.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$56.86 MYR234.98	$38.19 IQD49,886	-32.8%
Average			-31.3%

Malaysia vs. Iraq - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

More cost comparisons

Malaysia vs.

Greece

Malaysia vs.

Poland

Malaysia vs.

France

Malaysia vs.

Egypt

Malaysia vs.

Germany

Malaysia vs.

Italy

Malaysia vs.

Austria

Malaysia vs.

Ireland

Share this

Compare by city

For example, try comparing the cost of living in Kuala Lumpur vs. Baghdad

Help us improve these prices

MyLifeElsewhere is a collaborative project. Please enter price information for your location to help assist us in making these comparisons more accurate. Learn more

Add prices for Malaysia

Add prices for Iraq

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

Join the Elsewhere community and ask a question about Iraq or Malaysia. It's a free, question-and-answer based forum to discuss what life is like in countries and cities around the world.