Iraq People - 2024

Population

41,266,109 (2023 est.)

Nationality

noun: Iraqi(s)

adjective: Iraqi

Ethnic groups

Arab 75-80%, Kurdish 15-20%, other 5% (includes Turkmen, Yezidi, Shabak, Kaka'i, Bedouin, Romani, Assyrian, Circassian, Sabaean-Mandaean, Persian)

note: data is a 1987 government estimate; no more recent reliable numbers are available

Languages

Arabic (official), Kurdish (official); Turkmen (a Turkish dialect) and Syriac (Neo-Aramaic) are recognized as official languages where native speakers of these languages are present; Iraqis have the right to be educated in their native language

major-language sample(s):
كتاب حقائق العالم، أحسن مصدر للمعلومات الأساسية (Arabic)

ڕاستییەکانی جیهان، باشترین سەرچاوەیە بۆ زانیارییە بنەڕەتییەکان (Kurdish)

The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.

Arabic audio sample:
Kurdish audio sample:

Religions

Muslim (official) 95-98% (Shia 61-64%, Sunni 29-34%), Christian 1% (includes Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, Assyrian Church of the East), other 1-4% (2015 est.)

note: the last census in Iraq was in 1997; while there has been voluntary relocation of many Christian families to northern Iraq, the overall Christian population has decreased at least 50% and perhaps as much as 90% since 2003, according to US Embassy estimates, with many fleeing to Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon

Age structure

0-14 years: 35.24% (male 7,428,445/female 7,113,723)

15-64 years: 61.17% (male 12,692,897/female 12,548,936)

65 years and over: 3.59% (2023 est.) (male 658,844/female 823,264)

2023 population pyramid:

Dependency ratios

total dependency ratio: 71

youth dependency ratio: 65.2

elderly dependency ratio: 5.8

potential support ratio: 17.1 (2021 est.)

Median age

total: 22.1 years (2023 est.)

male: 21.7 years

female: 22.4 years

Population growth rate

1.94% (2023 est.)

Birth rate

24.2 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Death rate

3.9 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Net migration rate

-1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Population distribution

population is concentrated in the north, center, and eastern parts of the country, with many of the larger urban agglomerations found along extensive parts of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers; much of the western and southern areas are either lightly populated or uninhabited

Urbanization

urban population: 71.6% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization: 2.91% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Major urban areas - population

7.711 million BAGHDAD (capital), 1.792 million Mosul, 1.448 million Basra, 1.075 million Kirkuk, 958,000 Najaf, 897,000 Erbil (2023)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female

total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2023 est.)

Maternal mortality ratio

76 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)

Infant mortality rate

total: 19.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)

male: 20.9 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 17.4 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 73.5 years (2023 est.)

male: 71.6 years

female: 75.4 years

Total fertility rate

3.17 children born/woman (2023 est.)

Gross reproduction rate

1.55 (2023 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

52.8% (2018)

Drinking water source

improved: urban: 100% of population

rural: 97.4% of population

total: 99.3% of population

unimproved: urban: 0% of population

rural: 2.6% of population

total: 0.7% of population (2020 est.)

Current health expenditure

5.1% of GDP (2020)

Physicians density

0.97 physicians/1,000 population (2020)

Hospital bed density

1.3 beds/1,000 population (2017)

Sanitation facility access

improved: urban: 100% of population

rural: 100% of population

total: 100% of population

unimproved: urban: 0% of population

rural: 0% of population

total: 0% of population (2020 est.)

Major infectious diseases

degree of risk: intermediate (2023)

food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

Obesity - adult prevalence rate

30.4% (2016)

Alcohol consumption per capita

total: 0.16 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

beer: 0.11 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

wine: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

spirits: 0.04 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

other alcohols: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

Tobacco use

total: 18.5% (2020 est.)

male: 35.1% (2020 est.)

female: 1.8% (2020 est.)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

3.9% (2018)

Currently married women (ages 15-49)

65.5% (2023 est.)

Child marriage

women married by age 15: 7.2%

women married by age 18: 27.9% (2018 est.)

Education expenditures

4.7% of GDP (2016)

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 85.6%

male: 91.2%

female: 79.9% (2017)