Iraq Economy - 2024

Economic overview

oil-dependent Middle Eastern economy; COVID-19 disruption and domestic economy fragility post-US presence; poverty increases; currency devaluation leading to inflation; import-dependent for most sectors; evaluating fiscal and monetary restructuring

Real GDP (purchasing power parity)

$390.165 billion (2021 est.)
$379.6 billion (2020 est.)
$428.076 billion (2019 est.)

note: data are in 2017 dollars

Real GDP growth rate

2.78% (2021 est.)
-11.32% (2020 est.)
5.51% (2019 est.)

Real GDP per capita

$9,000 (2021 est.)
$8,900 (2020 est.)
$10,300 (2019 est.)

note: data are in 2017 dollars

GDP (official exchange rate)

$231.994 billion (2019 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

6.04% (2021 est.)
0.57% (2020 est.)
-0.2% (2019 est.)

Credit ratings

Fitch rating: B- (2015)

Moody's rating: Caa1 (2017)

Standard & Poors rating: B- (2015)

note: The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained.

GDP - composition, by sector of origin

agriculture: 3.3% (2017 est.)

industry: 51% (2017 est.)

services: 45.8% (2017 est.)

GDP - composition, by end use

household consumption: 50.4% (2013 est.)

government consumption: 22.9% (2016 est.)

investment in fixed capital: 20.6% (2016 est.)

investment in inventories: 0% (2016 est.)

exports of goods and services: 32.5% (2016 est.)

imports of goods and services: -40.9% (2016 est.)

Agricultural products

wheat, barley, dates, tomatoes, rice, maize, grapes, potatoes, watermelons

Industries

petroleum, chemicals, textiles, leather, construction materials, food processing, fertilizer, metal fabrication/processing

Industrial production growth rate

-1.14% (2021 est.)

Labor force

11.184 million (2021 est.)

Unemployment rate

14.19% (2021 est.)
14.09% (2020 est.)
12.86% (2019 est.)

Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24)

total: 27.2% (2021 est.)

male: 23.5%

female: 65.2%

Population below poverty line

23% (2014 est.)

Gini Index coefficient - distribution of family income

29.5 (2012 est.)

Average household expenditures

on food: 30.1% of household expenditures (2018 est.)

on alcohol and tobacco: 4.2% of household expenditures (2018 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: 3.6%

highest 10%: 25.7% (2007 est.)

Remittances

0.35% of GDP (2020 est.)
0.37% of GDP (2019 est.)
0.33% of GDP (2018 est.)

Budget

revenues: $51.534 billion (2020 est.)

expenditures: $85.546 billion (2020 est.)

Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)

-4.2% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Public debt

27.44% of GDP (2018 est.)
35.86% of GDP (2017 est.)
29.48% of GDP (2016 est.)

Taxes and other revenues

1.34% (of GDP) (2019 est.)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Current account balance

$24.563 billion (2021 est.)
-$6.198 billion (2020 est.)
$15.763 billion (2019 est.)

Exports

$78.261 billion (2021 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$50.632 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$88.903 billion (2019 est.) note: data are in current year dollars

Exports - partners

China 26%, India 24%, South Korea 9%, United States 8%, Italy 6%, Greece 6% (2019)

Exports - commodities

crude petroleum, refined petroleum, gold, petroleum coke, natural gas (2021)

Imports

$50.707 billion (2021 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$54.722 billion (2020 est.) note: data are in current year dollars
$72.283 billion (2019 est.) note: data are in current year dollars

Imports - partners

United Arab Emirates 28%, Turkey 21%, China 19% (2019)

Imports - commodities

refined petroleum, broadcasting equipment, cars, jewelry, cigarettes (2019)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

$64.231 billion (31 December 2021 est.)
$54.424 billion (31 December 2020 est.)
$68.018 billion (31 December 2019 est.)

Debt - external

$73.02 billion (31 December 2017 est.)
$64.16 billion (31 December 2016 est.)

Exchange rates

Iraqi dinars (IQD) per US dollar -

Exchange rates:
1,450 (2021 est.)
1,192 (2020 est.)
1,182 (2019 est.)
1,182.75 (2018 est.)
1,184 (2017 est.)