Cost of Living inSulaymaniyah, Iraq
Image credit: User:Zirguezi
Purchasing Power vs. United States
Based on GDP per capita (PPP). Iraq: $12,725/capita.
How Far Your Money Goes
Prices are 72% lower than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).
Using the country-level NYC comparison for now. We do not have a defensible city-level aggregate cost index for this city yet.
Income Category
Happiness
5.2 / 10
#90 globally
GDP per Capita
City Population
Child Education
Public-school quality, expat access, instruction language, and homeschool legality for relocating families.
Public schools
Public-schooling rules are set nationally for Iraq; Sulaymaniyah-specific enrollment notes are still being verified.
Quality
Limited public-school fit
Expat access
Possible, but difficult in practice
hardInstruction
Arabic / Kurdish
Language fit is more manageable.
PISA / outcomes
Qualitative only
Using curated quality notes for now.
Why this quality rating
Iraq's public-school path is highly situational and not generally the default option for expat families seeking stability and broad support.
Why the expat-access rating looks like this
Resident enrollment may be possible, but the local-language environment and uneven system conditions make the public route difficult for most expat families.
❓ Homeschooling
Not specifically addressedIraq requires compulsory education but does not have a specific homeschooling framework. The ongoing security situation and limited institutional capacity mean enforcement is inconsistent. Not a practical destination for worldschooling families.
Homeschool legality in Iraq — check current regulations before committing.
Source: User-curated family relocation research (initial seed) (2026-04-14)
Childcare & Domestic Help
Estimate-only country fallback for the family-support costs we track in Iraq.
Full-time nanny (5 days)
$500-$700
Estimate-only country fallback
Live-in / 24-7 nanny
$900-$1,200
Estimate-only country fallback
Source: curated family relocation research(derived country fallback)
Getting Around
Neighborhood mobility profiles are rolling out city by city.Sulaymaniyah is still missing a verified walkability, transit, airport, and rideshare profile.
Healthcare
System strength, outcome signals, facility coverage, and self-pay visibility in Iraq.
Method: country metrics come from public system indicators, facility coverage reflects mapped providers we can inventory, direct pricing only reflects observed self-pay pages, and relative care cost can fall back to broad cost-of-living healthcare indices. Sparse pricing does not imply sparse healthcare availability.
Healthcare system
LimitedCoverage looks thinner, hospital capacity looks tighter, and households still pay a large share themselves weigh on this rating.
Public care
LimitedA visible public hospital footprint help, but public coverage looks thinner and patients still shoulder a meaningful share of costs.
Private care
GoodA large tracked hospital and clinic network and a clearly private facility base help, but self-pay pricing transparency is still sparse.
UHC coverage
64/100
2023
Physicians
1.02/1k
2022
Hospital beds
1.06/1k
2018
Out of pocket
54%
2023
Outcome signals
Life expectancy
72.4 yrs
2024
Maternal mortality
66/100k
2023
Neonatal mortality
12.5/1k
2024
International patient readiness
MixedA visible private hospital base and there is visible specialty depth help, but price transparency is still sparse and headline outcomes are less reassuring.
Pricing transparency
LimitedPublished self-pay prices are scarce weigh on this rating.
Facility coverage
Self-pay pricing visibility
No verified self-pay prices are published for the tracked facilities in Iraq yet.
This usually reflects low online price transparency rather than a lack of healthcare providers.
Notable facilities
System metrics: World Bank WDI · Updated 2026-06-01
Safety & Governance
Street Safety
Source: Numbeo where a city row is matched; otherwise World Bank WGI and country-level safety context.
Political Stability
World Bank WGI scale: -2.5 to +2.5.
Wages by Sector
| Sector | Median |
|---|---|
| Administrative & Support Services | — |
| Agriculture & Farming | — |
| Arts, Entertainment & Recreation | — |
| Construction | — |
| Education | — |
| Finance & Insurance | — |
| Healthcare & Social Work | — |
| Hospitality & Food Service | — |
| Information & Technology | — |
| Manufacturing | — |
| Mining & Quarrying | — |
| Other Services | — |
| Professional & Scientific Services | — |
| Public Administration & Defence | — |
| Real Estate | — |
| Retail & Wholesale Trade | — |
| Transport & Logistics | — |
| Utilities | — |
2024 annual wages in Sulaymaniyah, Iraq · Source: GDP-derived estimate (national)
Price Comparison vs. US
Visa Information (US passport)
Short-stay entry
US passport holders can obtain a visa on arrival.
Quick comparison FAQ
Structured from the deltas already shown on this page — no invented facts, no extra data sources.
How far does your money go in Sulaymaniyah compared with the US?
Your money goes about 2.6x further in Sulaymaniyah than in the US, based on the current PPP estimate. We are using the country-level cost index for Iraq here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
Is Sulaymaniyah cheaper or more expensive overall than New York City?
Sulaymaniyah is cheaper overall than New York City — overall living costs are about 72% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City) for Sulaymaniyah. We are using the country-level cost index for Iraq here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
How does rent in Sulaymaniyah compare with New York City?
Rent in Sulaymaniyah is about 93% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City). We are using the country-level cost index for Iraq here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
How expensive are groceries and restaurants in Sulaymaniyah?
Groceries in Sulaymaniyah are about 72% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City), and restaurant prices are about 75% cheaper than the same benchmark. We are using the country-level cost index for Iraq here because a defensible city-level aggregate index is not available yet.
About Sulaymaniyah
Sulaymaniyah is a city of about 878,000 in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, sitting at around 880 meters elevation in the foothills of the Zagros mountains near the Iranian border. It is the cultural capital of Iraqi Kurdistan, with a more secular and politically pluralist register than Erbil to the northwest. The local economy mixes regional government, the American University of Iraq Sulaimani, oil services, and cross-border trade with Iran. Climate is moderated by elevation, with cool snowy winters and hot dry summers. Kurdish Sorani dominates daily life, Arabic is limited in the Kurdish region, English presence is meaningful in academic and NGO contexts. Relocators get a more accessible Iraqi environment than the south, with Kurdistan Region visas issued separately from federal Iraqi ones.
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