Cost of living comparison

Laos

compared to

Iraq

Baghdad vs. Vientiane Cost of Living Summary

Baghdad is 15.4% cheaper than Vientiane.

Restaurants: pay 32.3% more in Baghdad
Groceries: pay 46.4% less in Baghdad
Transportation: pay 41.7% less in Baghdad
Housing: pay 10.1% more in Baghdad
Childcare: pay 71.1% less in Baghdad
Entertainment and Sports: pay 73.8% more in Baghdad
Clothing: pay 6.9% less in Baghdad

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

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Baghdad vs. Vientiane Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 32.3% more for restaurants

	Vientiane	Baghdad
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$2.67 LAK60,126	$4.79 IQD7,252	+79.1%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.35 LAK120K	$7.63 IQD11,558	+42.7%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.71 LAK16,034	$0.38 IQD581	-46.1%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.37 LAK8,393	$0.24 IQD361	-36.1%
Average			+32.3%

Vientiane vs. Baghdad - Cost of restaurants

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pay 46.4% less for groceries

	Vientiane	Baghdad
Bread 1 loaf	$1.14 LAK25,683	$0.81 IQD1,220	-29.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$13.59 LAK306K	$1.93 IQD2,922	-85.8%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.61 LAK171K	$4.02 IQD6,086	-47.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.87 LAK42,012	$1.90 IQD2,873	+1.6%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.81 LAK63,196	$2.14 IQD3,245	-23.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.09 LAK24,412	$0.52 IQD786	-52.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.52 LAK11,638	$0.49 IQD743	-5.2%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.19 LAK26,775	$0.48 IQD728	-59.6%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.69 LAK15,606	$0.35 IQD524	-50.1%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.66 LAK14,886	$0.30 IQD451	-55.0%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.49 LAK10,972	$0.30 IQD459	-37.9%
Average			-46.4%

Vientiane vs. Baghdad - Cost of groceries

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pay 41.7% less for transportation

	Vientiane	Baghdad
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.62 LAK126K	$2.46 IQD3,719	-56.3%
Monthly public transit pass	$48.44 LAK1M	$22.90 IQD34,673	-52.7%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$28,190.13 LAK634M	$19,083.90 IQD29M	-32.3%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$8.47 LAK190K	$14.50 IQD21,960	+71.3%
Average			-41.7%

Vientiane vs. Baghdad - Cost of transportation

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pay 10.1% more for housing

	Vientiane	Baghdad
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$12.33 LAK277K	$42.17 IQD63,845	+242.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$643.47 LAK14M	$575.90 IQD872K	-10.5%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$414.50 LAK9M	$365.77 IQD554K	-11.8%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$69.22 LAK2M	$164.12 IQD248K	+137.1%
Average			+10.1%

Vientiane vs. Baghdad - Cost of housing

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pay 71.1% less for childcare

	Vientiane	Baghdad
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$625.02 LAK14M	$167.78 IQD254K	-73.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$11,083.07 LAK249M	$3,458.96 IQD5M	-68.8%
Average			-71.1%

Vientiane vs. Baghdad - Cost of childcare

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pay 73.8% more for entertainment and sports

	Vientiane	Baghdad
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.36 LAK30,564	$3.82 IQD5,779	+180.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$1.79 LAK40,251	$3.11 IQD4,703	+73.5%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.78 LAK40,084	$1.91 IQD2,889	+7.1%
Monthly membership at local gym	$47.54 LAK1M	$46.95 IQD71,080	-1.2%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.23 LAK95,200	$10.73 IQD16,239	+153.3%
Average			+73.8%

Vientiane vs. Baghdad - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 6.9% less for clothing

	Vientiane	Baghdad
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$26.74 LAK601K	$28.84 IQD43,663	+7.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$66.85 LAK2M	$32.65 IQD49,441	-51.1%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$56.75 LAK1M	$68.76 IQD104K	+21.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$41.00 LAK922K	$48.35 IQD73,200	+17.9%
Average			-6.9%

Vientiane 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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