Cost of living comparison

compared to

Beijing vs. Basra Cost of Living Summary

Beijing is 2.4 times more expensive than Basra.

Restaurants: pay 10.2% less in Beijing
Groceries: pay 38.5% more in Beijing
Transportation: pay 19.1% more in Beijing
Housing: pay 49.2% more in Beijing
Childcare: pay 8.6 times more in Beijing
Entertainment and Sports: pay 21.1% more in Beijing
Clothing: pay 2.2 times more in Beijing

The cost of childcare, clothing, housing, groceries, entertainment and sports, and transportation in Beijing are more expensive than in Basra. Notably, childcare and clothing are significantly more expensive in Beijing.

Beijing vs. Basra Cost Breakdown

If you lived in Beijing instead of Basra, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 10.2% less for restaurants

	Basra	Beijing
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.55 IQD5,991	$4.17 CN¥30.61	-8.3%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$6.83 IQD8,987	$5.57 CN¥40.81	-18.5%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.47 IQD624	$0.50 CN¥3.64	+4.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.38 IQD499	$0.31 CN¥2.27	-18.5%
Average			-10.2%

Basra vs. Beijing - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 38.5% more for groceries

	Basra	Beijing
Bread 1 loaf	$1.04 IQD1,365	$1.43 CN¥10.52	+38.2%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$3.44 IQD4,531	$7.31 CN¥53.58	+112.2%
Milk (1 gallon)	$3.59 IQD4,725	$7.17 CN¥52.58	+99.7%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.05 IQD2,696	$1.74 CN¥12.75	-15.2%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.30 IQD5,651	$1.53 CN¥11.23	-64.4%
Apples (1 lb)	$0.63 IQD833	$0.92 CN¥6.73	+44.9%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.71 IQD941	$0.71 CN¥5.22	-0.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$0.49 IQD646	$0.89 CN¥6.50	+80.7%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.38 IQD499	$0.58 CN¥4.27	+53.8%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.32 IQD419	$0.37 CN¥2.70	+15.6%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.30 IQD391	$0.47 CN¥3.45	+58.5%
Average			+38.5%

Basra vs. Beijing - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 19.1% more for transportation

	Basra	Beijing
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$1.92 IQD2,532	$4.36 CN¥31.97	+126.5%
Monthly public transit pass	$28.46 IQD37,444	$33.40 CN¥244.88	+17.3%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$18,972.19 IQD24,962,734	$20,872.18 CN¥153,049.43	+10.0%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$20.49 IQD26,960	$4.59 CN¥33.67	-77.6%
Average			+19.1%

Basra vs. Beijing - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 49.2% more for housing

	Basra	Beijing
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$37.94 IQD49,925	$13.28 CN¥97.40	-65.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$344.54 IQD453,334	$929.88 CN¥6,818.52	+169.9%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$259.93 IQD342,003	$492.44 CN¥3,610.93	+89.5%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$41.06 IQD54,028	$42.04 CN¥308.27	+2.4%
Average			+49.2%

Basra vs. Beijing - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 8.6 times more for childcare

	Basra	Beijing
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$151.78 IQD199,702	$763.49 CN¥5,598.47	+403.0%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$1,897.22 IQD2,496,273	$22,913.01 CN¥168,014.26	+1107.7%
Average			+755.4%

Basra vs. Beijing - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 21.1% more for entertainment and sports

	Basra	Beijing
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$7.59 IQD9,985	$1.11 CN¥8.16	-85.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.66 IQD3,495	$3.60 CN¥26.42	+35.6%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$1.90 IQD2,496	$3.48 CN¥25.51	+83.4%
Monthly membership at local gym	$40.47 IQD53,254	$65.46 CN¥479.97	+61.7%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$7.59 IQD9,985	$8.35 CN¥61.22	+10.0%
Average			+21.1%

Basra vs. Beijing - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 2.2 times more for clothing

	Basra	Beijing
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$34.15 IQD44,933	$62.65 CN¥459.43	+83.5%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$18.97 IQD24,963	$34.69 CN¥254.35	+82.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$56.92 IQD74,888	$83.45 CN¥611.94	+46.6%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$30.36 IQD39,940	$107.64 CN¥789.27	+254.6%
Average			+116.9%

Basra vs. Beijing - Cost of clothing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

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: January 2025

More cost comparisons

Basra vs.

Nairobi

Basra vs.

Moscow

Basra vs.

Dodoma

Basra vs.

Manila

Basra vs.

Phnom Penh

Basra vs.

Washington

Basra vs.

Rome

Basra vs.

Ottawa

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

See the cost of living in Iraq vs. China. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Iraq and China.

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 Basra

Add prices for Beijing

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

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