Iraq — People & Society
Literacy
male
90.3% (2021 est.)
female
77.8% (2021 est.)
total population
84.1% (2021 est.)
Languages
Languages
Arabic (official) and Kurdish (official) are the primary languages, while Turkmen (a Turkish dialect) and Syriac (Neo-Aramaic) are recognized as official languages in regions with native speakers.
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.
Religions
Muslim (official) 95-98% (Shia 61-64%, Sunni 29-34%), Christian 1% (comprising Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, and Assyrian Church of the East), other 1-4% (2015 estimate).
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
total population
1.02 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
65 years and over
0.8 male(s)/female
Birth rate
23.26 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Death rate
3.86 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Median age
male
22 years
total
22.7 years (2025 est.)
female
22.7 years
Population
male
21,614,894
total
42,917,742 (2025 est.)
female
21,302,848
Nationality
noun
Iraqi(s)
adjective
Iraqi
Tobacco use
male
36.2% (2025 est.)
total
18.6% (2025 est.)
female
1.3% (2025 est.)
Urbanization
urban population
71.6% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization
2.91% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Age structure
0-14 years
34.6% (male 7,447,266/female 7,130,883)
15-64 years
61.7% (male 13,064,516/female 12,907,702)
65 years and over
3.6% (2024 est.) (male 681,574/female 851,495)
Ethnic groups
Arab 75-80%, Kurdish 15-20%, other 5% (includes Turkmen, Yezidi, Shabak, Kaka'i, Bedouin, Romani, Assyrian, Circassian, Sabaean-Mandaean, Persian)
Child marriage
women married by age 15
7.2% (2018)
women married by age 18
27.9% (2018)
Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio
60.5 (2025 est.)
youth dependency ratio
54.6 (2025 est.)
potential support ratio
16.9 (2025 est.)
elderly dependency ratio
5.9 (2025 est.)
Physician density
1.02 physicians/1,000 population (2022)
Health expenditure
Health expenditure (as % of GDP)
5.2% of GDP (2021)
Health expenditure (as % of national budget)
5.8% of national budget (2022 est.)
Net migration rate
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Hospital bed density
1.3 beds/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Total fertility rate
3.03 children born/woman (2025 est.)
Drinking water source
improved: rural
rural: 94.8% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 98.4% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 99.8% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 5.2% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 1.6% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 0.2% of population (2022 est.)
Education expenditure
4.7% of GDP (2016)
Infant mortality rate
male
20.4 deaths/1,000 live births
total
18.3 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)
female
17 deaths/1,000 live births
Population growth rate
1.94% (2025 est.)
Gross reproduction rate
1.48 (2025 est.)
Population distribution
The population is primarily situated in the northern, central, and eastern regions of the country, with many of the larger urban centers located along the extensive stretches of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers; much of the western and southern regions are either sparsely populated or devoid of inhabitants.
Life expectancy at birth
male
71.9 years
female
75.7 years
total population
73.7 years (2024 est.)
Maternal mortality ratio
66 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)
Sanitation facility access
improved: rural
rural: 97.6% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 98.5% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 98.8% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 2.4% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 1.5% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 1.2% of population (2022 est.)
Alcohol consumption per capita
beer
0.11 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine
0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
total
0.16 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits
0.04 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols
0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 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)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate
30.4% (2016)
Currently married women (ages 15-49)
64.3% (2018 est.)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight
3.9% (2018 est.)