Cost of living comparison

compared to

Iraq vs. Sri Lanka Cost of Living Summary

Iraq is 80.7% more expensive than Sri Lanka overall.

Restaurants: pay 16.4% less in Iraq
Groceries: pay 28.4% less in Iraq
Transportation: pay 2.4 times more in Iraq
Housing: pay 75.5% more in Iraq
Childcare: pay 4.3 times more in Iraq
Entertainment and Sports: pay 50.9% more in Iraq
Clothing: pay 13.2% more in Iraq

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

Iraq vs. Sri Lanka Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Iraq instead of Sri Lanka, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 16.4% less for restaurants

	Sri Lanka	Iraq
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$3.63 LKR1,121.25	$4.66 IQD6,100	+28.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.90 LKR2,436.18	$6.78 IQD8,868	-14.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.73 LKR225.20	$0.40 IQD521	-45.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.35 LKR106.57	$0.23 IQD297	-34.2%
Average			-16.4%

Sri Lanka vs. Iraq - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 28.4% less for groceries

	Sri Lanka	Iraq
Bread 1 loaf	$0.48 LKR147.65	$0.76 IQD989	+58.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.72 LKR1,764.95	$2.55 IQD3,338	-55.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.01 LKR1,854.87	$4.46 IQD5,833	-25.8%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.94 LKR599.72	$1.69 IQD2,207	-13.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.05 LKR632.42	$1.98 IQD2,588	-3.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$2.40 LKR739.83	$0.47 IQD620	-80.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.44 LKR137.02	$0.51 IQD661	+13.7%
Oranges (1 lb)	$2.17 LKR668.54	$0.43 IQD561	-80.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.55 LKR169.10	$0.31 IQD399	-44.3%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.45 LKR140.33	$0.29 IQD375	-37.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.51 LKR156.59	$0.28 IQD368	-44.5%
Average			-28.4%

Sri Lanka vs. Iraq - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.4 times more for transportation

	Sri Lanka	Iraq
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$4.12 LKR1,269.87	$2.08 IQD2,722	-49.4%
Monthly public transit pass	$10.74 LKR3,312.79	$37.40 IQD48,917	+248.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$24,680.98 LKR7,614,323.25	$15,792.71 IQD20,655,336	-36.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$3.00 LKR925.54	$15.36 IQD20,089	+412.0%
Average			+143.7%

Sri Lanka vs. Iraq - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 75.5% more for housing

	Sri Lanka	Iraq
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$12.84 LKR3,959.91	$36.30 IQD47,470	+182.8%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$289.17 LKR89,212.31	$287.91 IQD376,558	-0.4%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$178.38 LKR55,032.97	$193.91 IQD253,619	+8.7%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$31.64 LKR9,761.22	$66.74 IQD87,285	+110.9%
Average			+75.5%

Sri Lanka vs. Iraq - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 4.3 times more for childcare

	Sri Lanka	Iraq
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$33.87 LKR10,448.03	$138.70 IQD181,400	+309.5%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$466.09 LKR143,792.13	$2,066.25 IQD2,702,459	+343.3%
Average			+326.4%

Sri Lanka vs. Iraq - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 50.9% more for entertainment and sports

	Sri Lanka	Iraq
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.08 LKR642.17	$2.78 IQD3,633	+33.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.39 LKR738.64	$2.47 IQD3,229	+3.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$9.25 LKR2,854.10	$2.00 IQD2,610	-78.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$15.04 LKR4,638.51	$34.51 IQD45,137	+129.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.12 LKR963.26	$8.34 IQD10,903	+167.0%
Average			+50.9%

Sri Lanka vs. Iraq - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 13.2% more for clothing

	Sri Lanka	Iraq
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$25.05 LKR7,728.15	$25.03 IQD32,741	-0.1%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$17.03 LKR5,252.90	$27.73 IQD36,272	+62.9%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$62.69 LKR19,340.26	$50.80 IQD66,443	-19.0%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$35.07 LKR10,819.36	$38.19 IQD49,948	+8.9%
Average			+13.2%

Sri Lanka 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

Sri Lanka vs.

United Kingdom

Sri Lanka vs.

Russia

Sri Lanka vs.

Thailand

Sri Lanka vs.

Italy

Sri Lanka vs.

Vietnam

Sri Lanka vs.

Peru

Sri Lanka vs.

United States

Sri Lanka vs.

Ecuador

Share this

Compare by city

For example, try comparing the cost of living in Colombo 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 Sri Lanka

Add prices for Iraq

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

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