Cost of living comparison

Zambia

compared to

Iraq

Iraq vs. Zambia Cost of Living Summary

Iraq is 15.4% cheaper than Zambia overall.

Restaurants: pay 3.6% less in Iraq
Groceries: pay 52.3% less in Iraq
Transportation: pay 16.7% less in Iraq
Housing: pay 11.7% more in Iraq
Childcare: pay 55.5% less in Iraq
Entertainment and Sports: pay 13.3% more in Iraq
Clothing: pay 5.9% more in Iraq

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

Planning a move to Iraq? Get up to 5 free, no-obligation quotes from vetted international movers. Get free quotes →

Iraq vs. Zambia Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 3.6% less for restaurants

	Zambia	Iraq
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.53 ZMW110.20	$4.69 IQD7,116	-15.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$5.03 ZMW100.18	$6.78 IQD10,292	+34.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.63 ZMW12.52	$0.46 IQD696	-27.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.36 ZMW7.20	$0.25 IQD387	-29.5%
Average			-3.6%

Zambia vs. Iraq - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 52.3% less for groceries

	Zambia	Iraq
Bread 1 loaf	$1.18 ZMW23.48	$0.77 IQD1,171	-34.6%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$5.15 ZMW102.63	$2.50 IQD3,803	-51.4%
Milk (1 gallon)	$6.37 ZMW126.88	$4.14 IQD6,285	-35.0%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.77 ZMW35.36	$1.73 IQD2,627	-2.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.87 ZMW57.22	$2.04 IQD3,095	-29.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.11 ZMW22.03	$0.46 IQD697	-58.4%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.10 ZMW21.94	$0.50 IQD764	-54.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.65 ZMW32.94	$0.45 IQD680	-72.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.70 ZMW13.88	$0.31 IQD474	-55.2%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.16 ZMW23.20	$0.30 IQD454	-74.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.83 ZMW16.51	$0.28 IQD432	-65.7%
Average			-52.3%

Zambia vs. Iraq - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 16.7% less for transportation

	Zambia	Iraq
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$5.47 ZMW108.98	$2.18 IQD3,310	-60.1%
Monthly public transit pass	$50.15 ZMW999.41	$35.81 IQD54,369	-28.6%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$7,541.11 ZMW150K	$15,719.55 IQD24M	+108.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$14.58 ZMW290.52	$14.95 IQD22,695	+2.5%
Average			-16.7%

Zambia vs. Iraq - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 11.7% more for housing

	Zambia	Iraq
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$54.99 ZMW1,095.72	$35.82 IQD54,388	-34.9%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$280.45 ZMW5,588.55	$299.18 IQD454K	+6.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$165.11 ZMW3,290.10	$206.21 IQD313K	+24.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$61.51 ZMW1,225.74	$69.07 IQD105K	+12.3%
Average			+11.7%

Zambia vs. Iraq - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 55.5% less for childcare

	Zambia	Iraq
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$138.25 ZMW2,754.96	$167.07 IQD254K	+20.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$16,638.36 ZMW332K	$2,726.78 IQD4M	-83.6%
Average			-55.5%

Zambia vs. Iraq - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 13.3% more for entertainment and sports

	Zambia	Iraq
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$1.26 ZMW25.05	$3.16 IQD4,804	+151.8%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.82 ZMW56.21	$2.65 IQD4,020	-6.1%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$3.02 ZMW60.11	$1.96 IQD2,975	-35.0%
Monthly membership at local gym	$54.67 ZMW1,089.46	$34.60 IQD52,536	-36.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$6.03 ZMW120.22	$9.36 IQD14,218	+55.2%
Average			+13.3%

Zambia vs. Iraq - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 5.9% more for clothing

	Zambia	Iraq
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$23.28 ZMW463.85	$24.05 IQD36,514	+3.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$15.45 ZMW307.88	$24.78 IQD37,621	+60.4%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$45.19 ZMW900.42	$56.42 IQD85,653	+24.9%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$72.53 ZMW1,445.30	$44.01 IQD66,816	-39.3%
Average			+5.9%

Zambia vs. Iraq - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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

Compare further: Zambia vs. Iraq

Salary Calculator · Free tool

What salary would you need in Iraq?

Quality of Life Comparison · 23 statistics

Be 4.8 times more likely to have internet access in Iraq

Size Comparison · See true size

Zambia is about 1.7 times bigger than Iraq.

Moving from Zambia to Iraq · Cost, visas & climate

Compare cost of living, salary and climate.

More cost comparisons

Zambia vs.

United Kingdom

Zambia vs.

United States

Zambia vs.

Zimbabwe

Zambia vs.

Malawi

Zambia vs.

South Africa

Zambia vs.

Australia

Zambia vs.

Tanzania

Zambia vs.

Mozambique

Share this

Compare by city

For example, try comparing the cost of living in Lusaka 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 Zambia

Add prices for Iraq

Ask the Elsewhere Community

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