Cost of living comparison

Baghdad, Iraq

compared to

Vientiane, Laos

Vientiane vs. Baghdad Cost of Living Summary

Vientiane is 57.3% more expensive than Baghdad.

Restaurants: pay 6.2% more in Vientiane
Groceries: pay 90.7% more in Vientiane
Transportation: pay 80.6% more in Vientiane
Housing: pay 41.8% more in Vientiane
Childcare: pay 2.4 times more in Vientiane
Entertainment and Sports: pay 24.5% less in Vientiane
Clothing: pay 69.5% more in Vientiane

The cost of childcare, groceries, transportation, clothing, housing, and restaurants in Vientiane are more expensive than in Baghdad. Notably, childcare, groceries, and transportation are significantly more expensive in Vientiane.

Vientiane vs. Baghdad Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 6.2% more for restaurants

	Baghdad	Vientiane
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$5.31 IQD6,962	$1.98 LAK42,814	-62.7%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$7.59 IQD9,945	$2.97 LAK64,221	-60.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.42 IQD553	$0.53 LAK11,418	+25.4%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.19 IQD249	$0.42 LAK9,135	+123.0%
Average			+6.2%

Baghdad vs. Vientiane - Cost of restaurants

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pay 90.7% more for groceries

	Baghdad	Vientiane
Bread 1 loaf	$0.88 IQD1,148	$0.91 LAK19,694	+4.1%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$2.38 IQD3,117	$13.72 LAK296,229	+476.7%
Milk (1 gallon)	$5.13 IQD6,721	$6.42 LAK138,631	+25.2%
Eggs 1 dozen	$1.82 IQD2,385	$1.75 LAK37,803	-3.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$2.22 IQD2,908	$2.95 LAK63,719	+33.0%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.51 IQD673	$0.88 LAK19,044	+71.6%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.51 IQD674	$0.49 LAK10,631	-4.3%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.46 IQD609	$0.92 LAK19,940	+98.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.31 IQD403	$0.60 LAK12,866	+93.6%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.30 IQD389	$0.73 LAK15,676	+144.5%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.29 IQD379	$0.46 LAK9,892	+58.4%
Average			+90.7%

Baghdad vs. Vientiane - Cost of groceries

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pay 80.6% more for transportation

	Baghdad	Vientiane
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$1.78 IQD2,338	$5.00 LAK108,058	+180.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$22.77 IQD29,836	$49.23 LAK1,063,162	+116.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$18,213.31 IQD23,868,624	$28,330.27 LAK611,770,395	+55.5%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$15.94 IQD20,885	$11.18 LAK241,471	-29.8%
Average			+80.6%

Baghdad vs. Vientiane - Cost of transportation

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pay 41.8% more for housing

	Baghdad	Vientiane
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$35.21 IQD46,144	$11.17 LAK241,267	-68.3%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$443.62 IQD581,372	$859.15 LAK18,552,729	+93.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$264.28 IQD346,337	$775.98 LAK16,756,633	+193.6%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$113.01 IQD148,094	$54.31 LAK1,172,744	-51.9%
Average			+41.8%

Baghdad vs. Vientiane - Cost of housing

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pay 2.4 times more for childcare

	Baghdad	Vientiane
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$162.43 IQD212,862	$332.66 LAK7,183,531	+104.8%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$3,438.23 IQD4,505,812	$9,252.41 LAK199,798,618	+169.1%
Average			+136.9%

Baghdad vs. Vientiane - Cost of childcare

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pay 24.5% less for entertainment and sports

	Baghdad	Vientiane
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$2.28 IQD2,984	$0.95 LAK20,485	-58.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.89 IQD3,792	$1.50 LAK32,296	-48.3%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$2.28 IQD2,984	$1.59 LAK34,251	-30.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$29.60 IQD38,797	$49.74 LAK1,074,063	+68.0%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.59 IQD9,945	$3.50 LAK75,664	-53.8%
Average			-24.5%

Baghdad vs. Vientiane - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 69.5% more for clothing

	Baghdad	Vientiane
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$28.72 IQD37,643	$85.86 LAK1,854,016	+198.9%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$34.03 IQD44,598	$62.88 LAK1,357,815	+84.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$61.01 IQD79,951	$57.29 LAK1,237,081	-6.1%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$41.35 IQD54,193	$41.48 LAK895,672	+0.3%
Average			+69.5%

Baghdad vs. Vientiane - 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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See the cost of living in Iraq vs. Laos. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Iraq and Laos.

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