Cost of living comparison

Bhutan

compared to

Iraq

Baghdad vs. Thimphu Cost of Living Summary

Baghdad is 2.1 times more expensive than Thimphu.

Restaurants: pay 54.2% more in Baghdad
Groceries: pay 10.2% less in Baghdad
Transportation: pay 46.2% more in Baghdad
Housing: pay 4.4 times more in Baghdad
Childcare: pay 4.8 times more in Baghdad
Entertainment and Sports: pay 64.5% more in Baghdad
Clothing: pay 27.9% more in Baghdad

The cost of childcare, housing, entertainment and sports, restaurants, transportation, and clothing in Baghdad are more expensive than in Thimphu. Notably, childcare and housing are significantly more expensive in Baghdad.

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Baghdad vs. Thimphu Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 54.2% more for restaurants

	Thimphu	Baghdad
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.58 BTN245.01	$4.79 IQD7,252	+85.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.91 BTN465.51	$7.63 IQD11,558	+55.4%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.50 BTN47.37	$0.38 IQD581	-23.2%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.18 BTN17.15	$0.24 IQD361	+31.8%
Average			+54.2%

Thimphu vs. Baghdad - Cost of restaurants

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pay 10.2% less for groceries

	Thimphu	Baghdad
Bread 1 loaf	$1.07 BTN101.68	$0.81 IQD1,220	-24.9%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$1.88 BTN178.04	$1.93 IQD2,922	+2.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.03 BTN287.51	$4.02 IQD6,086	+32.5%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.88 BTN178.37	$1.90 IQD2,873	+0.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.79 BTN170.03	$2.14 IQD3,245	+19.5%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.15 BTN108.91	$0.52 IQD786	-54.8%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.69 BTN65.57	$0.49 IQD743	-29.1%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.73 BTN68.90	$0.48 IQD728	-33.8%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.33 BTN31.67	$0.35 IQD524	+3.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.26 BTN24.45	$0.30 IQD451	+15.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.31 BTN29.45	$0.30 IQD459	-2.5%
Average			-10.2%

Thimphu vs. Baghdad - Cost of groceries

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pay 46.2% more for transportation

	Thimphu	Baghdad
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$2.79 BTN264.07	$2.46 IQD3,719	-11.8%
Monthly public transit pass	$5.17 BTN490.01	$22.90 IQD34,673	+343.0%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$16,591.53 BTN2M	$19,083.90 IQD29M	+15.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$13.18 BTN1,249.54	$14.50 IQD21,960	+10.0%
Average			+46.2%

Thimphu vs. Baghdad - Cost of transportation

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pay 4.4 times more for housing

	Thimphu	Baghdad
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$24.17 BTN2,291.23	$42.17 IQD63,845	+74.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$127.00 BTN12,037.68	$575.90 IQD872K	+353.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$86.02 BTN8,153.18	$365.77 IQD554K	+325.2%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$25.81 BTN2,445.97	$164.12 IQD248K	+536.0%
Average			+343.3%

Thimphu vs. Baghdad - Cost of housing

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pay 4.8 times more for childcare

	Thimphu	Baghdad
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$44.98 BTN4,263.06	$167.78 IQD254K	+273.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$568.68 BTN53,901.57	$3,458.96 IQD5M	+508.2%
Average			+376.3%

Thimphu vs. Baghdad - Cost of childcare

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pay 64.5% more for entertainment and sports

	Thimphu	Baghdad
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.58 BTN245.01	$3.82 IQD5,779	+47.7%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.28 BTN120.87	$3.11 IQD4,703	+143.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.88 BTN367.51	$1.91 IQD2,889	-50.8%
Monthly membership at local gym	$46.53 BTN4,410.13	$46.95 IQD71,080	+0.9%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$3.10 BTN294.01	$10.73 IQD16,239	+245.8%
Average			+64.5%

Thimphu vs. Baghdad - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 27.9% more for clothing

	Thimphu	Baghdad
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$49.97 BTN4,736.73	$28.84 IQD43,663	-42.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$24.99 BTN2,368.37	$32.65 IQD49,441	+30.7%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$67.21 BTN6,370.19	$68.76 IQD104K	+2.3%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$13.96 BTN1,323.04	$48.35 IQD73,200	+246.4%
Average			+27.9%

Thimphu 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 November 2026). How we calculate this

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