Cost of living comparison

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

compared to

Baghdad, Iraq

Baghdad vs. Kuala Lumpur Cost of Living Summary

Baghdad is 11.1% cheaper than Kuala Lumpur.

Restaurants: pay 7.6% less in Baghdad
Groceries: pay 35.5% less in Baghdad
Transportation: pay 26.4% more in Baghdad
Housing: pay 29.8% more in Baghdad
Childcare: pay 48.4% less in Baghdad
Entertainment and Sports: pay 12.8% less in Baghdad
Clothing: pay 29.3% less in Baghdad

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

Baghdad vs. Kuala Lumpur Cost Breakdown

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

Display currency: USD

pay 7.6% less for restaurants

	Kuala Lumpur	Baghdad
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$4.54 MYR19.32	$5.31 IQD6,963	+16.9%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$4.54 MYR19.32	$7.59 IQD9,947	+67.1%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$0.84 MYR3.59	$0.42 IQD553	-50.0%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$0.53 MYR2.27	$0.19 IQD249	-64.5%
Average			-7.6%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Baghdad - Cost of restaurants

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 35.5% less for groceries

	Kuala Lumpur	Baghdad
Bread 1 loaf	$0.95 MYR4.03	$0.88 IQD1,148	-7.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$7.58 MYR32.22	$2.38 IQD3,118	-68.6%
Milk (1 gallon)	$7.22 MYR30.69	$5.13 IQD6,722	-28.9%
Eggs 1 dozen	$2.36 MYR10.02	$1.82 IQD2,385	-22.8%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$1.94 MYR8.23	$2.22 IQD2,909	+14.7%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.24 MYR5.27	$0.51 IQD674	-58.5%
Bananas (1 lb)	$0.69 MYR2.94	$0.51 IQD675	-25.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.25 MYR5.32	$0.46 IQD609	-62.9%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$0.63 MYR2.66	$0.31 IQD403	-50.9%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$0.47 MYR1.98	$0.30 IQD389	-36.3%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.51 MYR2.18	$0.29 IQD379	-43.6%
Average			-35.5%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Baghdad - Cost of groceries

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 26.4% more for transportation

	Kuala Lumpur	Baghdad
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$1.77 MYR7.54	$1.78 IQD2,338	+0.6%
Monthly public transit pass	$11.36 MYR48.30	$22.77 IQD29,842	+100.5%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$37,478.71 MYR159,378.19	$18,213.31 IQD23,873,361	-51.4%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$10.22 MYR43.47	$15.94 IQD20,889	+55.9%
Average			+26.4%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Baghdad - Cost of transportation

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 29.8% more for housing

	Kuala Lumpur	Baghdad
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$25.27 MYR107.44	$35.21 IQD46,153	+39.4%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$536.30 MYR2,280.60	$443.62 IQD581,488	-17.3%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$371.69 MYR1,580.61	$264.28 IQD346,406	-28.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$50.02 MYR212.73	$113.01 IQD148,123	+125.9%
Average			+29.8%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Baghdad - Cost of housing

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 48.4% less for childcare

	Kuala Lumpur	Baghdad
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$250.80 MYR1,066.55	$162.43 IQD212,905	-35.2%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$8,920.55 MYR37,934.64	$3,438.23 IQD4,506,706	-61.5%
Average			-48.4%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Baghdad - Cost of childcare

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 12.8% less for entertainment and sports

	Kuala Lumpur	Baghdad
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$4.09 MYR17.39	$2.28 IQD2,984	-44.3%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$2.92 MYR12.41	$2.89 IQD3,792	-0.9%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$4.09 MYR17.39	$2.28 IQD2,984	-44.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$44.75 MYR190.29	$29.60 IQD38,805	-33.8%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$4.77 MYR20.28	$7.59 IQD9,947	+59.1%
Average			-12.8%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Baghdad - Cost of entertainment and sports

Improve prices · Change currency (USD)

pay 29.3% less for clothing

	Kuala Lumpur	Baghdad
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$57.74 MYR245.53	$28.72 IQD37,650	-50.3%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$35.00 MYR148.84	$34.03 IQD44,607	-2.8%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$76.75 MYR326.39	$61.01 IQD79,967	-20.5%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$73.25 MYR311.51	$41.35 IQD54,203	-43.5%
Average			-29.3%

Kuala Lumpur vs. Baghdad - 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: June 2025

More cost comparisons

Kuala Lumpur vs.

London

Kuala Lumpur vs.

Warsaw

Kuala Lumpur vs.

Dodoma

Kuala Lumpur vs.

Washington

Kuala Lumpur vs.

Ankara

Kuala Lumpur vs.

Delhi

Kuala Lumpur vs.

Lima

Kuala Lumpur vs.

Cairo

Share this

Compare countries by overall cost of living

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

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 Kuala Lumpur

Add prices for Baghdad

ASK THE ELSEWHERE COMMUNITY

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