Iraq / Middle East
Karbala is an indexed city in Iraq (Middle East), with a metropolitan population of about ~690K. This profile brings together deterministic city-intelligence indicators for Karbala spanning cost of living, climate, safety and quality of life, economy and jobs, education, and healthcare. Karbala is a middle east city of about ~690K in Iraq. On the composite city-intelligence score, Karbala sits at an early stage relative to the indexed set (51/100).
Image credit: Image: SFC Larry E. Johns, USA / Wikimedia Commons, Public Domain
Composite profile
51/100
Use the Karbala profile to compare affordability, livability, and economic indicators against other indexed cities in Iraq and across Middle East, and to explore nearby nature and weekend destinations.
51/100
Composite directional score across affordability, air quality, clean energy, and resilience.
Directional
Directional indicators pending integration of verified city-level data.
See country hub
Emergency, healthcare, and transport verification status appears on the country hub.
The table is part of the initial server-rendered HTML and mirrors the key city score cards.
| Metric | Value | Context |
|---|---|---|
| Overall score | 51/100 | Composite score across major city intelligence modules. |
| Cost of Living | 67/100 | Karbala's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies. |
| Air Quality | 46/100 | Karbala's air-quality profile is a directional indicator framed against WHO and regional benchmarks; verified city-level measurements appear in the dedicated air-quality dataset section once integrated. |
| Energy | 60/100 | Karbala's energy-readiness profile is a directional indicator that combines national policy framing with city-level adaptation context. |
| Safety | 52/100 | Karbala's safety profile is a directional indicator; verified country-level emergency profiles attach via the country hub where available. |
| Internet Speed | 56/100 | Karbala's connectivity profile is a directional indicator combining national digital-readiness context with widely cited speed-test references. |
| Climate Risk | 52/100 | Karbala's climate-risk profile is a directional indicator combining regional hazard categories with national adaptation capacity. |
| Resilience | 52/100 | Climate adaptation and infrastructure continuity context. |
Deterministic safety estimates from our index — planning signals derived from country priors and city data, not official crime statistics.
Karbala has a moderate safety estimate (58/100); standard urban precautions are advised, particularly after dark.
A composite quality-of-life estimate and its component indicators.
Karbala has a moderate quality-of-life estimate (65/100), with notable strengths in green space.
How the city scores for raising a family, with the indicators that drive it.
Karbala scores moderate for family living (66/100), helped by parks and green space.
Suitability for remote workers, based on connectivity, mobility, and livability.
Karbala is moderate for remote workers (64/100), based on connectivity, affordability and walkability and day-to-day amenities.
Suitability for retirement, weighing healthcare, affordability, climate, and environment.
Karbala is moderate for retirement (64/100), appealing for affordability.
Local public safety guidance for Karbala, with the country-level emergency contacts that apply when calling for police, fire, or ambulance.
For the universal emergency contacts that apply in Karbala, including police, fire, and ambulance, see the Iraq emergency profile, which currently lists no verified national contacts.
Methodology and the wider source registry are documented on the scoring methodology and data sources pages.
Healthcare context for Karbala, with national-level information from Iraq where city-specific data is not yet verified. This is informational only and does not provide medical advice.
For the national healthcare and public-health context that applies in Karbala, see the Iraq healthcare profile, which currently lists no verified national healthcare information.
Related sections: emergency and public safety, scoring methodology, and data sources.
Local mobility context for Karbala, with national-level context from Iraq where city-specific data is not yet verified. This is informational only.
For national transport authorities and operators that apply in Karbala, see the Iraq transport profile, which currently lists no verified national transport information.
Related sections: emergency and public safety, healthcare and hospitals, cities directory, countries directory, scoring methodology, data sources.
Source-attributed air-quality dataset for Karbala. Verified measurements are surfaced when published from accepted official datasets; transparent fallback is shown otherwise.
Source-attributed values for Karbala will appear here after the platform integrates verified measurements from accepted official publishers. Until then, structured air-quality module context remains available on the dedicated module page.
| Metric | Value | Data year | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Air quality | Verified air-quality measurements are not yet published for this location. | ||
Global City Intelligence — air-quality dataset
Verified data unavailableThe air-quality dataset begins empty by design. Verified city-level measurements appear here only after they are sourced from accepted publishers (WHO, EEA, US EPA, OpenAQ, OECD, or official national/city environmental agencies).
Numeric measurements appear in this section only after they are sourced from accepted official publishers. The dataset is independently validated at build time; malformed records cannot ship to production.
Quick, evidence-based answers about Karbala drawn from this profile's indexed cost, climate, safety, economy, education, healthcare and nearby-nature data. Figures are deterministic estimates for orientation — verify specifics with official sources.
Yes — strong quality of life (65/100), with nearby nature such as Lake Habbaniyah, Lake Tharthar.
Strong (66/100) on safety, schools and green space.
More affordable than average; about 1,090,000 IQD/month for one person (estimate).
Late spring to early autumn; warmest in Jul, coldest in Jan.
Mainly tourism, logistics, hospitality.
A desert climate, averaging about 22.9°C.
Higher education is good (57/100).
Healthcare access is good (54/100).
Retirement suitability is good (61/100).
Within ~170 km: Lake Habbaniyah, Lake Tharthar.
City pages link to module and ranking pages so crawlers can move through the topic cluster naturally.
Karbala's cost-of-living profile is a directional indicator pending integration of verified city-level data; structured benchmark context applies.
Karbala's air-quality profile is a directional indicator framed against WHO and regional benchmarks; verified city-level measurements appear in the dedicated air-quality dataset section once integrated.
Karbala's energy-readiness profile is a directional indicator that combines national policy framing with city-level adaptation context.
Karbala's safety profile is a directional indicator; verified country-level emergency profiles attach via the country hub where available.
Karbala's connectivity profile is a directional indicator combining national digital-readiness context with widely cited speed-test references.
Karbala's climate-risk profile is a directional indicator combining regional hazard categories with national adaptation capacity.
Compare this city against other indexed cities in crawlable ranking tables.
Cost of living estimates for Karbala — monthly budgets, rent, food, and transport in the local currency, plus an affordability score for comparison. Planning estimates derived from country baselines, not live prices.
Climate profile for Karbala — Desert climate, annual average 22.9°C, comfort score 59/100. Month-by-month temperatures, rainfall, sunshine, and the best months to visit. Deterministic planning estimates, not a forecast.
Economy and jobs profile for Karbala — regional center, economy score 54/100, key industries including tourism, logistics, hospitality. Employment, salary, startup, remote-work, and career indicators. Deterministic planning estimates.
Education profile for Karbala — mixed education base, education score 54/100, 3 representative universities, plus research, student life, and international-student indicators. Deterministic dataset, not institutional rankings.
Healthcare and retirement profile for Karbala — mixed healthcare profile, healthcare score 54/100, retirement score 61/100. Medical access, specialist and emergency care, affordability, and retirement suitability. Deterministic planning estimates.
Source-attributed visual context for Karbala using verified Wikimedia imagery from the existing media catalog, alongside structured city intelligence and planning links. Not a tourism guide or attractions ranking.
Weekend trip planning checklist for Karbala — links into arrival planning, Summer 2026 travel context, visual orientation, budget tools, transport, public safety, and healthcare context. Not an itinerary, events calendar, hotel-price guide, restaurant guide, or tourism ranking.
Source-backed nearby place records for local-first weekend planning, with verification status, official source links, Wikidata identity, and visual context.
Estimate a monthly budget for Karbala using your own housing, food, transport, healthcare, and lifestyle inputs. Planning estimator only — not an official cost-of-living measurement.
Plan a trip budget for Karbala using your own accommodation, food, local transport, activities, travel, healthcare buffer, and emergency buffer inputs. Planning estimator only — not an official travel cost estimate.
Where else nearby you could spend a day or a weekend from Karbala. Links are derived from geographic proximity, shared region, shared natural-recreation areas, transport corridors, and country borders — not popularity or tourism rankings.
Nearby city · about 71 km from Karbala. Explore Najaf's city intelligence profile.
Same region · about 84 km from Karbala. Explore Baghdad's city intelligence profile.
Same region · about 176 km from Karbala. Explore Samarra's city intelligence profile.
Same region · about 223 km from Karbala. Explore Tikrit's city intelligence profile.
Same region · about 319 km from Karbala. Explore Kirkuk's city intelligence profile.
Cross-border · about 339 km from Karbala. Explore Kermanshah's city intelligence profile.
Same region · about 351 km from Karbala. Explore Sulaymaniyah's city intelligence profile.
Same region · about 397 km from Karbala. Explore Erbil's city intelligence profile.
Same region · about 425 km from Karbala. Explore Mosul's city intelligence profile.
Same region · about 427 km from Karbala. Explore Basra's city intelligence profile.
Regional discovery collections that include Karbala — named natural regions grouping nearby nature, parks, lakes, coasts, and mountains for local-first day and weekend planning.
Weekend escapes · 28 places across 10 cities.
Theme-first discovery collections that include Karbala — grouped by outdoor interest (mountains, lakes, coasts, forests, national parks) rather than geography.
Weekend Nature Retreats · 40 places across 10 cities.
Common questions about living in, visiting, working in, studying in and retiring to Karbala, answered from the indexed cost-of-living, climate, safety, economy, education, healthcare and nearby-nature data on this profile.
Karbala has a moderate quality-of-life estimate (65/100), with notable strengths in green space. Visitors can also reach nature such as Lake Habbaniyah, Lake Tharthar and Sawa Lake within weekend range.
Karbala has a moderate quality-of-life estimate (65/100), with notable strengths in green space. It indexes 65/100 for overall quality of life.
A single resident of Karbala spends roughly 1,090,000 IQD per month, with a one-bedroom rent near 580,000 IQD. Overall the city is more affordable than average for Iraq. These are modelled estimates, not live quotes — verify locally.
Plan for below-average living costs and check current rents before relocating. Karbala is moderate for remote workers (64/100), based on connectivity, affordability and walkability and day-to-day amenities.
Karbala's labour market is developing, with opportunities concentrated in tourism and hospitality, technology and education and research. Karbala has a regional economy with strengths in tourism, logistics and hospitality.
Karbala offers solid infrastructure and amenities for remote professionals, with a remote-work score of 58/100.
Karbala is a developing education base with a mix of universities and research activity in our dataset, spanning fields such as Law, Mathematics and Economics.
Karbala offers a moderate student environment, supported by walkable neighborhoods and relatively affordable living.
Karbala has a mixed healthcare profile, supported by hospitals, specialist services, and public-health infrastructure, with a healthcare score of 54/100. Residents have solid access to healthcare across primary, specialist, and emergency care.
Karbala offers a combination of healthcare access, safety, and amenities that may appeal to retirees, with a retirement score of 61/100. Residents benefit from parks and green space and walkable streets and day-to-day services.
Karbala has a desert climate, averaging about 22.9°C annually with roughly 149 mm of rain. The hottest month is Jul and the coldest Jan. The driest is typically Jul.
Karbala has a moderate safety estimate (58/100); standard urban precautions are advised, particularly after dark.
Karbala indexes a walkability score of 75 and a cycling score of 54 out of 100. Check the local operator for live transit routes and fares.
Nature destinations within about 170 km of Karbala include Lake Habbaniyah, Lake Tharthar and Sawa Lake. Each is linked with its official source on the profile.
Karbala scores moderate for family living (66/100), helped by parks and green space.
Karbala rates 47/100 for outdoor lifestyle and 86/100 for green space. Nearby nature such as Lake Habbaniyah, Lake Tharthar and Sawa Lake supports day hikes, water activities and weekend trips.
Use the Karbala profile to compare affordability, livability, and economic indicators against other indexed cities in Iraq and across Middle East, and to explore nearby nature and weekend destinations. Its standout dimensions are cost of living (67/100) and energy (60/100). The area most worth watching is air quality (46/100), where the model registers practical gaps. Data year 2025; last updated 2026-05-16. Drawn from 4 institutional references.
Country context is available on the Iraq country page. Related rankings include Overall Intelligence, Quality of Life, Remote Work. See where Karbala appears in global rankings or read the scoring methodology.
Structured indicators on this page are directional and intended for orientation. Verified datasets are being integrated; official sources should be used for critical decisions.
4 institutional references inform this view, listed below with reliability notes. Structured indicators on this page are directional and intended for orientation; verified datasets are being integrated and official sources should be used for critical decisions.
Used as a policy and methodology reference for urban exposure and resilience signals.
Used as an energy-resource and weather-normalization reference.
Used to normalize air-quality indicators toward health-protective benchmarks.
Used to explain urban climate vulnerability and adaptation scoring logic.