Cost of living comparison

Baghdad, Iraq

compared to

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Kuala Lumpur vs. Baghdad Cost of Living Summary

Kuala Lumpur is 46.9% more expensive than Baghdad.

Restaurants: pay 56.7% more in Kuala Lumpur
Groceries: pay 78.8% more in Kuala Lumpur
Transportation: pay 4.8% more in Kuala Lumpur
Housing: pay 5.6% less in Kuala Lumpur
Childcare: pay 2.1 times more in Kuala Lumpur
Entertainment and Sports: pay 34.8% more in Kuala Lumpur
Clothing: pay 51.7% more in Kuala Lumpur

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

Kuala Lumpur vs. Baghdad Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Kuala Lumpur instead of Baghdad, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 56.7% more for restaurants

	Baghdad	Kuala Lumpur
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.31 IQD6,959	$4.54 MYR19.29	-14.5%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.59 IQD9,941	$4.54 MYR19.29	-40.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.42 IQD552	$0.84 MYR3.58	+100.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.19 IQD249	$0.53 MYR2.27	+181.5%
Average			+56.7%

Baghdad vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of restaurants

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pay 78.8% more for groceries

	Baghdad	Kuala Lumpur
Bread 1 loaf	$0.88 IQD1,148	$0.95 MYR4.02	+8.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.38 IQD3,116	$7.58 MYR32.17	+218.5%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.13 IQD6,718	$7.22 MYR30.65	+40.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.82 IQD2,384	$2.36 MYR10.01	+29.5%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.22 IQD2,907	$1.94 MYR8.22	-12.8%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.51 IQD673	$1.24 MYR5.26	+141.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.51 IQD674	$0.69 MYR2.93	+34.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.46 IQD609	$1.25 MYR5.31	+169.2%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.31 IQD403	$0.63 MYR2.66	+103.5%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.30 IQD389	$0.47 MYR1.98	+57.1%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.29 IQD379	$0.51 MYR2.18	+77.2%
Average			+78.8%

Baghdad vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of groceries

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pay 4.8% more for transportation

	Baghdad	Kuala Lumpur
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$1.78 IQD2,337	$1.77 MYR7.53	-0.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$22.77 IQD29,824	$11.36 MYR48.22	-50.1%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$18,213.31 IQD23,859,432	$37,478.71 MYR159,134.58	+105.8%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$15.94 IQD20,877	$10.22 MYR43.40	-35.9%
Average			+4.8%

Baghdad vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of transportation

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pay 5.6% less for housing

	Baghdad	Kuala Lumpur
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$35.21 IQD46,126	$25.27 MYR107.28	-28.2%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$443.62 IQD581,148	$536.30 MYR2,277.11	+20.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$264.28 IQD346,204	$371.69 MYR1,578.19	+40.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$113.01 IQD148,037	$50.02 MYR212.40	-55.7%
Average			-5.6%

Baghdad vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of housing

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pay 2.1 times more for childcare

	Baghdad	Kuala Lumpur
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$162.43 IQD212,780	$250.80 MYR1,064.92	+54.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,438.23 IQD4,504,076	$8,920.55 MYR37,876.66	+159.5%
Average			+107.0%

Baghdad vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of childcare

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pay 34.8% more for entertainment and sports

	Baghdad	Kuala Lumpur
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.28 IQD2,982	$4.09 MYR17.36	+79.6%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.89 IQD3,790	$2.92 MYR12.39	+0.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.28 IQD2,982	$4.09 MYR17.36	+79.6%
Monthly membership at local gym	$29.60 IQD38,782	$44.75 MYR190.00	+51.1%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.59 IQD9,941	$4.77 MYR20.25	-37.1%
Average			+34.8%

Baghdad vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 51.7% more for clothing

	Baghdad	Kuala Lumpur
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$28.72 IQD37,628	$57.74 MYR245.16	+101.0%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.03 IQD44,581	$35.00 MYR148.61	+2.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$61.01 IQD79,920	$76.75 MYR325.89	+25.8%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$41.35 IQD54,172	$73.25 MYR311.04	+77.1%
Average			+51.7%

Baghdad vs. Kuala Lumpur - Cost of clothing

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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: June 2025

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