Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Basra and Barcelona

For one person, living is cheaper in Basra: $652 a month against $2,399 in Barcelona, rent and utilities included – about $21,000 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

32

Cost of Living Index in Basra
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Basra Living Index
116

Cost of Living Index in Barcelona
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Barcelona Living Index

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Basra

🇮🇶 Iraq

$652

/mo nomad

Barcelona

🇪🇸 Spain

$2,399

/mo nomad

Monthly Cost of Living

How much you'll spend in Basra and in Barcelona

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

Monthly costs for one person with rent: $652 in Basra versus $2,399 in Barcelona.

Basra $652
Barcelona $2,399

Estimated couple costs with rent: $1,179 in Basra versus $3,410 in Barcelona.

Basra $1,179
Barcelona $3,410

Monthly costs for a family of three with rent: $1,706 in Basra versus $4,421 in Barcelona.

Basra $1,706
Barcelona $4,421

Living in Basra costs roughly 73% less than in Barcelona, and outside of rent the biggest gap is in eating out.

The two cities straddle the global median: Basra is 52% below, Barcelona is 78% above.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$4.06 IQD 6,134

$17.94 €15.96

-77.37%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$26.00 IQD 39.3K

$68.1 €60.5

-61.80%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$6.42 IQD 9,706

$13.28 €11.81

-51.66%

Cappuccino

$2.21 IQD 3,342

$3.25 €2.89

-32.00%

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

$0.36 IQD 551

$3.01 €2.67

-88.04%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$0.30 IQD 455

$1.87 €1.66

-83.96%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.21 IQD 4,849

$3.85 €3.42

-16.62%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.57 IQD 5,394

$4.48 €3.98

-20.31%

Milk (1 liter)

$0.97 IQD 1,460

$1.29 €1.15

-24.81%

White Bread (500g)

$0.56 IQD 841

$2.04 €1.81

-72.55%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$1.25 IQD 1,895

$1.72 €1.53

-27.33%

Eggs

$1.62 IQD 2,442

$4.77 €4.24

-66.04%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$6.28 IQD 9,486

$16.77 €14.92

-62.55%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$5.33 IQD 8,061

$8.93 €7.94

-40.31%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$12.12 IQD 18.3K

$19.88 €17.68

-39.03%

Apples (1kg)

$0.90 IQD 1,356

$2.98 €2.65

-69.80%

Banana (1kg)

$1.18 IQD 1,787

$2.03 €1.80

-41.87%

Oranges (1kg)

$0.84 IQD 1,266

$2.73 €2.43

-69.23%

Tomato (1kg)

$0.60 IQD 904

$2.68 €2.38

-77.61%

Potato (1kg)

$0.69 IQD 1,044

$2.10 €1.87

-67.14%

Onion (1kg)

$0.53 IQD 802

$2.08 €1.85

-74.52%

Lettuce (1 head)

$0.77 IQD 1,160

$1.45 €1.29

-46.90%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$0.36 IQD 546

$0.89 €0.79

-59.55%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$1.79 IQD 2,705

$6.94 €6.17

-74.21%

Wine (Bottle)

$10.93 IQD 16.5K

$7.78 €6.92

40.49%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.46 IQD 2,204

$1.45 €1.29

0.69%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.73 IQD 2,617

$2.57 €2.29

-32.68%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$0.50 IQD 756

$2.99 €2.66

-83.28%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$16.76 IQD 25.3K

$25.20 €22.41

-33.49%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$1.95 IQD 2,946

$3.12 €2.77

-37.50%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.94 IQD 2,930

$1.44 €1.28

34.72%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$6.35 IQD 9,594

$33.50 €29.80

-81.04%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$0.56 IQD 849

$1.79 €1.59

-68.72%

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

$11.7K IQD 17.7M

$34.6K €30.8K

-66.12%

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

$19.5K IQD 29.5M

$30.1K €26.7K

-35.10%

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

$44.55 IQD 67.3K

$178 €158

-74.95%

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

$22.24 IQD 33.6K

$13.32 €11.85

66.97%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$33.88 IQD 51.2K

$34.88 €31.03

-2.87%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$30.91 IQD 46.7K

$53.3 €47.37

-41.95%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.94 IQD 18.0K

$16.01 €14.24

-25.42%

Cinema Ticket

$6.55 IQD 9,898

$11.06 €9.84

-40.78%

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

$109 IQD 164.7K

$957 €851

-88.61%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$3,250 IQD 4.9M

$16.6K €14.7K

-80.38%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$43.34 IQD 65.5K

$88.2 €78.4

-50.85%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$17.27 IQD 26.1K

$39.49 €35.12

-56.27%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$67.0 IQD 101.2K

$103 €91.5

-34.86%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$35.95 IQD 54.3K

$121 €108

-70.40%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$409 IQD 617.4K

$1,653 €1,470

-75.28%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$129 IQD 195.6K

$1,302 €1,158

-90.06%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$748 IQD 1.1M

$2,557 €2,275

-70.76%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$539 IQD 814.7K

$1,915 €1,703

-71.84%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$1,363 IQD 2.1M

$7,286 €6,481

-81.29%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$688 IQD 1.0M

$5,080 €4,519

-86.45%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$648 IQD 979.0K

$2,281 €2,029

-71.59%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

3.33

3.28

1.52%

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

Last update for Basra: October 11, 2026

Last update for Barcelona: October 11, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Groceries & Markets

Basra

$170 26%

Barcelona

$320 13.3% 88.7% $150

Accommodation & Living

Basra

$129 19.9%

Barcelona

$1.3K 54.3% 906% $1.2K

Eating Out

Basra

$104 16%

Barcelona

$270 11.3% 159% $166

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Basra

$101 15.4%

Barcelona

$226 9.4% 125% $125

Clothing & Footwear

Basra

$74 11.3%

Barcelona

$158 6.6% 115% $85

Sport & Entertainment

Basra

$44 6.8%

Barcelona

$75 3.1% 71.3% $31

Getting Around

Basra

$30 4.7%

Barcelona

$47 2% 56.1% $17

Cost Breakdown

A one-bedroom apartment in the center runs $409 in Basra and $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing cost is often the main lever when comparing two cities.

Barcelona pays 252% more on average. The extra income cushions the higher costs, though housing choices and lifestyle decide how much of the gap is truly closed.

Dining out: $26.00 in Basra vs $68.0 in Barcelona for a mid-range dinner for two. Groceries echo the gap at $170 vs $320 per month, with Basra cheaper across the board.

Good to know

🇮🇶 Basra

🇪🇸 Barcelona

🕒 Local time

01:40 1:40 AM

00:40 12:40 AM

1 h behind Basra

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

2,150,000

1,660,122

💱 Currency

Iraqi Dinar IQD ع.د

Euro EUR €

📈 Exchange rate

10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD

10,000 IQD = 5.89 EUR

1 EUR = 1.12 USD

Exchange rates and currency converter

EUR, USD to IQD – Iraqi Dinar Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇮🇶 Iraqi Dinar (ع.د)

Iraqi Dinar exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 1,511 IQD (10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD). 1 EUR = 1,699 IQD (10,000 IQD = 5.89 EUR).

Euro exchange rates as of October 18, 2026: 1 USD = 0.889 EUR (1 EUR = 1.12 USD).

USD to IQD in detail →

On the map

Lowest

Highest

Between locations

Basra Barcelona 4,230 km ≈ 6 h nonstop flight

From you

Basra
Barcelona

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

Basra vs Barcelona: Cost of Living - Frequently Asked Questions

Basra and Barcelona differ by about 268% in total monthly costs ($652 vs $2,399 including rent). Basra is meaningfully more affordable – a gap that matters a lot on a fixed or modest income.

On paper, salaries run 252% lower in Barcelona. That's worth factoring in alongside costs, though remote workers earning in a stronger currency may not notice the difference at all.

Rent for a central apartment: $409 in Basra versus $1,653 in Barcelona. Housing is usually the single largest factor when comparing overall living costs between the two.

Childcare runs $109 in Basra versus $957 in Barcelona. Over years of preschool, even a modest monthly gap compounds into a major financial factor for families.

Supermarket bills run roughly 89% higher in Barcelona. For households that cook at home regularly, that difference adds up over a month.

At $652 in Basra versus $2,399 in Barcelona, a $2,000 budget is realistic in Basra but tight or insufficient in Barcelona. The gap between the two cities makes Basra the clear choice for anyone on this budget.

Both cities offer a good standard of living with different trade-offs. Neither is objectively better – the right pick depends on what matters most: affordability, career, cultural scene, or climate.

Safety-wise, Basra and Barcelona are on par. Petty crime is typical for cities this size, and most residents feel comfortable going about their daily routines in either place.

Expats usually find Basra gentler on the wallet – expenses run 268% less than in Barcelona. Beyond cost, consider language, visa policies, and how big the international community is in each city.