Last update: Oct 2026

Cost of Living Comparison Between Cape Town and Iraq

Name: Iraq
Address: IQ

For one person, living is cheaper in Iraq: $810 a month against $1,568 in Cape Town, rent and utilities included – about $9,100 less a year. Rent and utilities account for most of the difference.

76

Cost of Living Index in Cape Town
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Cape Town Living Index
40

Cost of Living Index in Iraq
Learn more

Iraq Living Index

Jump to prices

Cape Town

🇿🇦 South Africa

$1,568

/mo nomad

🇮🇶 Iraq

$810

/mo nomad

😐 Solo nomad: Cape Town is 52.5% more expensive than Iraq without rent, and 93.5% more expensive with rent.

😐 Family of 3: Cape Town is 54.9% more expensive than Iraq without rent, and 101.4% more expensive with rent.

Meal at Budget Restaurant

$11.78 R 194

$4.50 IQD 6,796

161.78%

Three-Course Dinner for Two, Mid-Range

$46.55 R 768

$24.34 IQD 36.8K

91.25%

Fast Food Meal (McDonalds, etc)

$5.96 R 98.4

$7.53 IQD 11.4K

-20.85%

Cappuccino

$2.47 R 40.80

$2.79 IQD 4,219

-11.47%

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

$1.33 R 21.91

$0.46 IQD 689

189.13%

Water (0.33 liter bottle)

$1.03 R 16.99

$0.22 IQD 330

368.18%

Local Beer (0.5 liter draught)

$3.01 R 49.72

$3.00 IQD 4,535

0.33%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$3.66 R 60.4

$3.84 IQD 5,796

-4.69%

Milk (1 liter)

$1.39 R 22.96

$1.19 IQD 1,794

16.81%

White Bread (500g)

$1.19 R 19.60

$0.85 IQD 1,288

40.00%

Rice (white) (1kg)

$2.11 R 34.84

$1.51 IQD 2,275

39.74%

Eggs

$3.01 R 49.58

$1.70 IQD 2,567

77.06%

Local Cheese (1kg)

$8.96 R 148

$4.77 IQD 7,208

87.84%

Chicken Fillets (1kg)

$6.65 R 110

$4.31 IQD 6,510

54.29%

Beef Round Steak (1kg)

$9.29 R 153

$12.91 IQD 19.5K

-28.04%

Apples (1kg)

$1.83 R 30.13

$1.01 IQD 1,523

81.19%

Banana (1kg)

$1.90 R 31.31

$1.18 IQD 1,790

61.02%

Oranges (1kg)

$1.75 R 28.83

$0.93 IQD 1,408

88.17%

Tomato (1kg)

$2.09 R 34.41

$0.69 IQD 1,035

202.90%

Potato (1kg)

$1.55 R 25.64

$0.63 IQD 947

146.03%

Onion (1kg)

$1.49 R 24.53

$0.61 IQD 916

144.26%

Lettuce (1 head)

$1.30 R 21.41

$0.60 IQD 907

116.67%

Water (1.5 liter bottle)

$1.16 R 19.19

$0.55 IQD 834

110.91%

Cigarettes 20 Pack (Marlboro, Camel)

$3.71 R 61.2

$1.89 IQD 2,863

96.30%

Wine (Bottle)

$6.06 R 100

$11.83 IQD 17.9K

-48.77%

Local Beer (0.5 liter bottle)

$1.39 R 22.85

$1.97 IQD 2,976

-29.44%

Imported Beer (0.33 liter bottle)

$2.20 R 36.32

$2.15 IQD 3,256

2.33%

One-way Ticket (Public Transport)

$1.51 R 24.98

$0.37 IQD 559

308.11%

Public Transport Monthly Pass (Regular Price)

$61.0 R 1,006

$24.16 IQD 36.5K

152.32%

Taxi Start (Normal Tariff)

$0.63 R 10.33

$2.32 IQD 3,506

-72.84%

Taxi (Normal Tariff) (1km)

$1.53 R 25.29

$1.57 IQD 2,378

-2.55%

Taxi 1hour Waiting (Normal Tariff)

$4.81 R 79.4

$5.91 IQD 8,925

-18.61%

Gasoline (1 liter)

$1.58 R 26.08

$0.63 IQD 947

150.79%

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

$35.5K R 585.7K

$17.2K IQD 26.0M

106.68%

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

$31.7K R 523.8K

$19.5K IQD 29.4M

63.09%

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

$116 R 1,920

$112 IQD 169.1K

3.98%

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

$28.37 R 468

$15.21 IQD 23.0K

86.52%

Internet (50+ Mbps, Unlimited Data)

$40.69 R 671

$33.31 IQD 50.3K

22.16%

Gym Membership (Monthly)

$48.85 R 806

$35.31 IQD 53.3K

38.35%

Tennis Court (1 Hour on Weekend)

$11.13 R 184

$18.86 IQD 28.5K

-40.99%

Cinema Ticket

$8.83 R 146

$7.69 IQD 11.6K

14.82%

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

$261 R 4,314

$178 IQD 269.6K

46.53%

International Primary School, 1 Child (Yearly)

$6,702 R 110.6K

$2,762 IQD 4.2M

142.68%

Jeans (Levis 501 Or Similar)

$55.4 R 914

$21.50 IQD 32.5K

157.67%

Summer Dress (H&M, Zara, etc)

$32.27 R 532

$25.96 IQD 39.2K

24.31%

Sport Shoes (Adidas, Nike)

$118 R 1,939

$60.0 IQD 90.7K

95.72%

Men's Leather Business Shoes

$107 R 1,766

$45.63 IQD 68.9K

134.60%

1-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,015 R 16.7K

$307 IQD 463.8K

230.66%

1-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$715 R 11.8K

$212 IQD 320.0K

237.85%

3-bedroom Apartment, City Center (Monthly)

$1,801 R 29.7K

$548 IQD 827.3K

228.92%

3-bedroom Apartment, Outside City Center (Monthly)

$1,330 R 22.0K

$406 IQD 614.0K

227.42%

Buy Apartment in City Center (m2)

$2,331 R 38.5K

$1,646 IQD 2.5M

41.59%

Buy Apartment Outside City Center (m2)

$1,513 R 25.0K

$759 IQD 1.1M

99.43%

Average Monthly Net Salary (After Tax)

$1,636 R 27.0K

$568 IQD 857.6K

188.28%

20-Year Fixed Mortgage Interest Rate (Annual %)

10.97

6.32

73.58%

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

Last update for Cape Town: October 4, 2026

Last update for Iraq: October 6, 2026

Monthly budget structure

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

Accommodation & Living

Cape Town

$715 45.3%

Iraq

$212 25.8% 70.4% $504

Groceries & Markets

Cape Town

$222 14.1%

Iraq

$177 21.5% 20.4% $45

Monthly Utilities & Internet

Cape Town

$185 11.7%

Iraq

$160 19.5% 13.5% $25

Eating Out

Cape Town

$174 11%

Iraq

$117 14.3% 32.4% $56

Clothing & Footwear

Cape Town

$141 8.9%

Iraq

$69 8.4% 51% $72

Getting Around

Cape Town

$75 4.8%

Iraq

$36 4.4% 52.4% $39

Sport & Entertainment

Cape Town

$67 4.2%

Iraq

$51 6.2% 23.8% $16

Good to know

🇿🇦 Cape Town

🇮🇶 Iraq

🕒 Local time

12:13 12:13 PM

13:13 1:13 PM

1 h ahead of Cape Town

🌤 Weather

👥 Population

3,740,026 Capital

38,274,618

💱 Currency

South African Rand ZAR R

Iraqi Dinar IQD ع.د

📈 Exchange rate

100 ZAR = 6.06 USD

100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR

10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD

10,000 IQD = 5.91 EUR

Exchange rates and currency converter

IQD, USD, EUR to ZAR – South African Rand Converter

🇺🇸 United States Dollar ($)

🇿🇦 South African Rand (R)

South African Rand exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 16.5 ZAR (100 ZAR = 6.06 USD). 1 EUR = 18.49 ZAR (100 ZAR = 5.41 EUR).

Iraqi Dinar exchange rates as of October 10, 2026: 1 USD = 1,511 IQD (10,000 IQD = 6.62 USD). 1 EUR = 1,693 IQD (10,000 IQD = 5.91 EUR).

USD to ZAR in detail →

On the map

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Highest

Between locations

Cape Town Iraq 7,950 km ≈ 10 h nonstop flight

From you

Cape Town
Iraq

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

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