Cost of living comparison

 Damascus, Syria
compared to
 Vientiane, Laos
Vientiane vs. Damascus Cost of Living Summary

Vientiane is 2.3 times more expensive than Damascus.

Restaurants
pay 43.2% less in Vientiane
Groceries
pay 2.1 times more in Vientiane
Transportation
pay 44.0% more in Vientiane
Housing
pay 2.4 times more in Vientiane
Childcare
pay 6.2 times more in Vientiane
Entertainment and Sports
pay 47.4% more in Vientiane
Clothing
pay 2.1 times more in Vientiane

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

Vientiane vs. Damascus Cost Breakdown

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

pay 43.2% less for restaurants

 
Damascus
Vientiane
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant $5.00
SYP65,010
$1.98
LAK42,952
Fast food combo meal
McDonalds, or similar
$5.00
SYP65,010
$2.97
LAK64,428
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz) $1.05
SYP13,652
$0.53
LAK11,455

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pay 2.1 times more for groceries

 
Damascus
Vientiane
Bread
1 loaf
$0.63
SYP8,217
$0.91
LAK19,758
Local cheese (8 oz) $1.67
SYP21,752
$13.72
LAK297,182
Milk (1 gallon) $4.05
SYP52,594
$6.42
LAK139,077

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pay 44.0% more for transportation

 
Damascus
Vientiane
Gasoline (1 gallon) $15.92
SYP207,051
$5.00
LAK108,406
Monthly public transit pass $17.00
SYP221,034
$49.23
LAK1,066,583
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition) $18,500.00
SYP240,537,000
$28,330.27
LAK613,738,867

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pay 2.4 times more for housing

 
Damascus
Vientiane
Internet connection
50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl
$66.75
SYP867,884
$11.17
LAK242,043
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area $282.23
SYP3,669,607
$859.15
LAK18,612,425
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center $145.72
SYP1,894,661
$775.98
LAK16,810,550

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pay 6.2 times more for childcare

 
Damascus
Vientiane
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly $48.33
SYP628,430
$332.66
LAK7,206,645
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters $1,650.00
SYP21,453,300
$9,252.41
LAK200,441,503

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pay 47.4% more for entertainment and sports

 
Damascus
Vientiane
Domestic/local beer (1 pint) $1.25
SYP16,252
$0.95
LAK20,550
Cappuccino in mid-range area $1.27
SYP16,578
$1.50
LAK32,400
Pack of cigarettes
Marlboro or similar
$3.00
SYP39,006
$1.59
LAK34,361

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pay 2.1 times more for clothing

 
Damascus
Vientiane
Regular jeans
Levi's brand
$22.00
SYP286,044
$85.86
LAK1,859,982
Regular dress
from H&M or similar store
$23.50
SYP305,547
$62.88
LAK1,362,184
Running shoes
Nike or Adidas
$47.50
SYP617,595
$57.29
LAK1,241,062

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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: April 2025
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See the cost of living in Syria vs. Laos. This provides a comparison of the average cost of living from cities within Syria and Laos.

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