Cost of living comparison

South Africa

compared to

Iraq

Baghdad vs. Pretoria Cost of Living Summary

Baghdad is 22.5% cheaper than Pretoria.

Restaurants: pay 32.5% less in Baghdad
Groceries: pay 34.5% less in Baghdad
Transportation: pay 60.0% less in Baghdad
Housing: pay 12.0% more in Baghdad
Childcare: pay 46.7% less in Baghdad
Entertainment and Sports: pay 33.7% more in Baghdad
Clothing: pay 29.8% less in Baghdad

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

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Baghdad vs. Pretoria Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Baghdad instead of Pretoria, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 32.5% less for restaurants

	Pretoria	Baghdad
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$9.01 ZAR148.66	$4.79 IQD7,272	-46.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.41 ZAR89.20	$7.63 IQD11,589	+41.2%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$1.06 ZAR17.48	$0.38 IQD583	-63.8%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.85 ZAR14.04	$0.24 IQD362	-72.0%
Average			-32.5%

Pretoria vs. Baghdad - Cost of restaurants

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pay 34.5% less for groceries

	Pretoria	Baghdad
Bread 1 loaf	$1.10 ZAR18.21	$0.81 IQD1,223	-27.0%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.18 ZAR68.94	$1.93 IQD2,930	-53.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$4.45 ZAR73.36	$4.02 IQD6,102	-9.6%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.47 ZAR40.74	$1.90 IQD2,881	-23.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.23 ZAR36.86	$2.14 IQD3,254	-4.1%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.79 ZAR13.10	$0.52 IQD789	-34.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.74 ZAR12.22	$0.49 IQD745	-33.8%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.79 ZAR13.11	$0.48 IQD730	-39.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.72 ZAR11.92	$0.35 IQD526	-52.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.50 ZAR8.18	$0.30 IQD453	-39.9%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.54 ZAR8.93	$0.30 IQD460	-44.1%
Average			-34.5%

Pretoria vs. Baghdad - Cost of groceries

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pay 60.0% less for transportation

	Pretoria	Baghdad
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.75 ZAR94.81	$2.46 IQD3,729	-57.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$177.56 ZAR2,928.68	$22.90 IQD34,768	-87.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$35,391.94 ZAR584K	$19,083.90 IQD29M	-46.1%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$6.55 ZAR108.03	$14.50 IQD22,020	+121.4%
Average			-60.0%

Pretoria vs. Baghdad - Cost of transportation

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pay 12.0% more for housing

	Pretoria	Baghdad
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$36.83 ZAR607.50	$42.17 IQD64,020	+14.5%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$454.27 ZAR7,492.67	$575.90 IQD874K	+26.8%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$405.14 ZAR6,682.45	$365.77 IQD555K	-9.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$115.49 ZAR1,904.94	$164.12 IQD249K	+42.1%
Average			+12.0%

Pretoria vs. Baghdad - Cost of housing

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pay 46.7% less for childcare

	Pretoria	Baghdad
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$260.78 ZAR4,301.35	$167.78 IQD255K	-35.7%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$7,821.75 ZAR129K	$3,458.96 IQD5M	-55.8%
Average			-46.7%

Pretoria vs. Baghdad - Cost of childcare

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pay 33.7% more for entertainment and sports

	Pretoria	Baghdad
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.55 ZAR42.12	$3.82 IQD5,795	+49.5%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.25 ZAR37.17	$3.11 IQD4,716	+37.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.25 ZAR53.60	$1.91 IQD2,897	-41.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$31.49 ZAR519.46	$46.95 IQD71,275	+49.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.21 ZAR118.93	$10.73 IQD16,283	+48.7%
Average			+33.7%

Pretoria vs. Baghdad - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 29.8% less for clothing

	Pretoria	Baghdad
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$53.03 ZAR874.71	$28.84 IQD43,782	-45.6%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$32.00 ZAR527.89	$32.65 IQD49,577	+2.0%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$91.85 ZAR1,515.02	$68.76 IQD104K	-25.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$82.87 ZAR1,366.87	$48.35 IQD73,400	-41.7%
Average			-29.8%

Pretoria 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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