Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between An Najaf and Colombo

For one person, living is cheaper in An Najaf: $565 a month against $804 in Colombo, rent and utilities included – about $2,900 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

27

Cost of Living Index in An Najaf
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An Najaf Living Index
39

Cost of Living Index in Colombo
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Colombo Living Index

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An Najaf

🇮🇶 Iraq

$565

/mo nomad

Colombo

🇱🇰 Sri Lanka

$804

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in An Najaf and in Colombo

Real prices from locals and on-the-ground checks – rent, groceries, transit and the daily extras. Here's what a month in An Najaf and in Colombo actually costs, broken down by who's living it.

A single person spends $565 per month in An Najaf vs $804 in Colombo, rent included.

An Najaf $565
Colombo $804

A couple spends around $854 per month in An Najaf vs $1,240 in Colombo, rent included.

An Najaf $854
Colombo $1,240

A family of three spends $1,143 per month in An Najaf vs $1,675 in Colombo, rent included.

An Najaf $1,143
Colombo $1,675

An Najaf is about 30% cheaper than Colombo, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in groceries.

Both An Najaf and Colombo are more affordable than the global median – An Najaf 58% lower, Colombo 41% lower.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$3.88 IQD 5,856

$3.74 LKR 1,243

3.74%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$19.70 IQD 29.8K

$24.72 LKR 8,217

-20.31%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$4.32 IQD 6,528

$7.60 LKR 2,528

-43.16%

Cappuccino

$2.26 IQD 3,416

$2.45 LKR 814

-7.76%

Coke/Pepsi/Fanta/Sprite (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.39 IQD 582

$0.68 LKR 226

-42.65%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.22 IQD 333

$0.27 LKR 89.8

-18.52%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.26 IQD 4,923

$2.22 LKR 739

46.85%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.02 IQD 3,055

$3.07 LKR 1,020

-34.20%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.90 IQD 1,367

$1.57 LKR 520

-42.68%

White Bread (500g)

$0.68 IQD 1,023

$0.54 LKR 178

25.93%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.31 IQD 1,972

$0.80 LKR 266

63.75%

Eggs

$1.68 IQD 2,542

$1.71 LKR 568

-1.75%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$3.28 IQD 4,951

$13.92 LKR 4,626

-76.44%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$3.43 IQD 5,187

$4.78 LKR 1,590

-28.24%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.56 IQD 14.5K

$7.46 LKR 2,480

28.15%

Apples (1kg)

$0.97 IQD 1,458

$6.40 LKR 2,126

-84.84%

Banana (1kg)

$0.91 IQD 1,375

$0.85 LKR 283

7.06%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.94 IQD 1,425

$4.26 LKR 1,416

-77.93%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.68 IQD 1,029

$1.33 LKR 443

-48.87%

Potato (1kg)

$0.56 IQD 841

$1.00 LKR 334

-44.00%

Onion (1kg)

$0.61 IQD 919

$0.81 LKR 270

-24.69%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.58 IQD 877

$0.93 LKR 308

-37.63%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.49 IQD 743

$0.45 LKR 151

8.89%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.63 IQD 2,462

$10.33 LKR 3,435

-84.22%

Wine (Bottle)

$11.93 IQD 18.0K

$12.87 LKR 4,279

-7.30%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.93 IQD 2,919

$1.93 LKR 642

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.91 IQD 2,892

$3.00 LKR 999

-36.33%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.31 IQD 462

$0.18 LKR 59.3

72.22%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$5.96 LKR 1,982

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.31 IQD 1,974

$0.40 LKR 134

227.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.31 IQD 1,975

$0.35 LKR 116

274.29%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$5.38 IQD 8,132

$0.94 LKR 312

472.34%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.41 IQD 625

$1.32 LKR 438

-68.94%

Midsize Hatchback 1.4l (Volkswagen Golf, Toyota Prius, Honda Civic, etc)

$12.1K IQD 18.4M

$43.4K LKR 14.4M

-72.02%

Compact Sedan 1.6l (Toyota Corolla, Mazda3, Kia K4, Hyundai Elantra, etc)

$16.9K IQD 25.5M

$39.7K LKR 13.2M

-57.50%

Utilities for 2 People in 2-bedroom Apartment (Heating, Electricity, Gas, Water, Garbage) (85m2)

$34.87 IQD 52.7K

$58.9 LKR 19.6K

-40.75%

SIM Card Monthly Plan (Calls and 10GB+ Data)

$14.80 IQD 22.4K

$4.20 LKR 1,397

252.38%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.39 IQD 50.5K

$20.61 LKR 6,853

62.01%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$25.35 IQD 38.3K

$19.88 LKR 6,611

27.52%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$5.81 LKR 1,932

Cinema Ticket

$8.44 IQD 12.7K

$4.42 LKR 1,469

90.95%

Preschool or Kindergarten, Full Day, Private, 1 Child (Monthly)

$147 IQD 222.0K

$38.13 LKR 12.7K

285.34%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$797 IQD 1.2M

$1,214 LKR 403.5K

-34.37%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$15.04 IQD 22.7K

$17.77 LKR 5,907

-15.36%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$23.28 IQD 35.2K

$16.62 LKR 5,525

40.07%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$60.3 IQD 91.2K

$77.8 LKR 25.9K

-22.41%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$41.51 IQD 62.7K

$42.22 LKR 14.0K

-1.68%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$234 IQD 353.4K

$586 LKR 194.7K

-60.07%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$125 IQD 188.4K

$275 LKR 91.4K

-54.67%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$311 IQD 469.6K

$1,677 LKR 557.5K

-81.47%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$189 IQD 286.0K

$490 LKR 163.0K

-61.39%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,097 IQD 1.7M

$3,636 LKR 1.2M

-69.84%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$445 IQD 672.6K

$1,158 LKR 385.0K

-61.56%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$670 IQD 1.0M

$259 LKR 86.0K

159.18%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

4.12

12.69

-67.53%

CityCost data is based on AI and user input – minor inaccuracies may occur.

Last update for An Najaf: October 27, 2026

Last update for Colombo: October 25, 2026

Monthly budget structure

Share of the monthly basket for one person, rent included.

Groceries & Markets

An Najaf

$149 26.4%

Colombo

$235 29.2% 57.4% $86

Accommodation & Living

An Najaf

$125 22.1%

Colombo

$275 34.2% 121% $150

Eating Out

An Najaf

$94 16.6%

Colombo

$103 12.8% 9.9% $9.3

Monthly Utilities & Internet

An Najaf

$83 14.7%

Colombo

$84 10.4% 0.7% $0.6

Clothing & Footwear

An Najaf

$63 11.2%

Colombo

$69 8.6% 10.1% $6.4

Sport & Entertainment

An Najaf

$42 7.5%

Colombo

$29 3.6% 32% $14

Getting Around

An Najaf

$9.1 * 1.6%

Colombo

$8.8 1.1% 2.5% $0.2

Categories marked with * are only partly priced – their share counts the items that do have prices.

Cost Breakdown

A central one-bedroom costs $234 in An Najaf versus $586 in Colombo. Rent is usually the largest line item in a monthly budget, so the gap here sets the tone for the overall comparison.

Salaries in An Najaf are about 2.6 times higher, which reinforces the cost advantage – you earn more and spend less. Purchasing power leans clearly in its favor.

A mid-range dinner for two costs $20 in An Najaf versus $25 in Colombo. Monthly groceries follow the same trend: $149 vs $235 – making An Najaf the more affordable choice for daily food spending.

Good to know

🇮🇶 An Najaf

🇱🇰 Colombo

🕒 Local time

20:47 8:47 PM

23:17 11:17 PM

2 h 30 min ahead of An Najaf

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

1,221,248

753,000

💱 Currency

Iraqi Dinar IQD ع.د

Sri Lankan Rupee LKR Rs

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD

10,000 IQD = 5.95 EUR

1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD

1,000 LKR = 2.7 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

LKR, USD, EUR to IQD – Iraqi Dinar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇶 Iraqi Dinar (ع.د)

Iraqi Dinar exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 1,511 IQD (10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD). 1 EUR = 1,682 IQD (10,000 IQD = 5.95 EUR).

Sri Lankan Rupee exchange rates as of October 28, 2026: 1 USD = 332 LKR (1,000 LKR = 3.01 USD). 1 EUR = 370 LKR (1,000 LKR = 2.7 EUR).

USD to IQD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

An Najaf Colombo 4,610 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

An Najaf
Colombo

Distances are measured in a straight line. Your location is detected approximately.

City Median Internet Speeds Comparison (Updated April 2026)

The chart highlights the Precision Threshold for mobile and fixed broadband internet speeds, updated quarterly.

Digital Nomad Cost of Living Index

An Najaf vs Colombo: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Colombo costs about 42% more than An Najaf, and outside of rent the gap comes mainly from groceries. That’s enough to noticeably affect everyday spending and lifestyle for anyone choosing between the two.

For a comfortable life, plan on about $848 per month in An Najaf and $1,206 in Colombo. That covers rent, food, utilities, transport, and enough left over to feel settled – not just surviving.

Rent is clearly cheaper in An Najaf, especially for central apartments: a one-bedroom in the center costs $234 there versus $586 in Colombo.

Monthly expenses with rent come to $565 in An Najaf and $804 in Colombo. That’s a gap of about 42%.

Kindergarten costs $147 per month in An Najaf and $38 in Colombo. For families with young kids, this one expense can tip the scales when choosing between the two cities.

A $800 monthly budget goes further in An Najaf, where all-in costs run around $565, than in Colombo at $804. In An Najaf it covers expenses comfortably, while in Colombo it requires careful planning or may not stretch far enough.

It depends on your priorities. Colombo has an edge in some lifestyle areas, with costs from $565 in An Najaf to $804 in Colombo. Climate, culture, job market, and personal taste all factor in.