Demographics of Iraq

The Iraqi people (Arabic: العراقيون; Kurdish: گه‌لی عیراق; Syriac: ܥܡܐ ܥܝܪܩܝܐ; Turkish: Iraklılar) are people originating from the country of Iraq.[1]

Demographics of Iraq
Population pyramid of Iraq in 2020
Population43,533,592 (2021)
Growth rate2% (2022 est.)
Birth rate34.23 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)
Death rate3.9 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Life expectancy73.18 years
 • male71.3 years
 • female75.15 years
Fertility rate3.25 children born/woman (2022 est.)
Infant mortality rate19.62 deaths/1,000 live births
Net migration rate-0.83 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Age structure
0–14 years37.02%
65 and over3.33%
Sex ratio
Total1.01 male(s)/female (2022 est.)
At birth1.05 male(s)/female
Under 151.04 male(s)/female
65 and over0.65 male(s)/female
Nationality
NationalityIraqi
Language
OfficialArabic, Kurdish
Historical population of Iraq

Iraqi Arabs are the largest ethnic group in Iraq,[2] followed by Iraqi Kurds, then Iraqi Turkmen as the third largest ethnic group in the country.[3][4] Studies indicate that Mesopotamian Arabs, who make up the overwhelming majority of Iraq's population, are genetically distinct from other Arab populations in the Arabs of the Arabian peninsula.[5][6]

The population was estimated to be 43,533,592 in 2021[7] Turkmen (4.5-6 million), Assyrians (0.5 million), Yazidis (500,000), Armenians, Marsh Arabs, and Shabaks (250,000). Other minorities include Mandaeans (3,000), Roma (50,000) and Circassians (2,000).[8] The most spoken languages are Mesopotamian Arabic, Kurdish, Assyrian Syriac and Iraqi Turkmen dialects. The percentages of different ethno-religious groups residing in Iraq vary from source to source due to the last Iraqi census having taken place over 30 years ago. A new census of Iraq was planned to take place in 2020,[9] but this was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[10] It was rescheduled to November 2022[11][12] but was postponed again with an "electronic national population census" planned in the last quarter of 2023.[13]

Population

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
0 1,000,000—    
500 1,005,000+0.00%
1000 2,000,000+0.14%
1500 1,000,000−0.14%
1700 1,000,000+0.00%
1800 1,000,000+0.00%
1901 2,470,000+0.90%
1955 6,502,657+1.81%
1960 7,289,760+2.31%
1965 8,375,790+2.82%
1970 9,917,983+3.44%
1975 11,684,590+3.33%
1980 13,653,354+3.16%
1985 15,555,800+2.64%
1990 17,419,113+2.29%
1995 20,149,338+2.95%
2000 23,497,585+3.12%
2005 26,922,284+2.76%
2010 29,741,976+2.01%
2015 35,572,261+3.64%
2020 40,222,493+2.49%
Sources:before 1955:[14] after 1955:[15]

39,650,145 (2021 estimate),[16] 43,533,592 (2021 estimate),[17][18] up from 31,234,000 (April 2009 IMF estimate)[19]

Iraq fertility rate by region (2006)[20]
  5–6
  4–5
  3–4
  2–3

Vital statistics

UN estimates

Year[21]Live births per yearDeaths per yearNatural changeCBR1CDR1NC1IMR1Total fertility rateLife expectancy (years)
1950  259,000  142,000  117,00045.725.120.6222.06.2038.98
1951  270,000  137,000  133,00046.723.823.0210.26.4040.65
1952  293,000  136,000  157,00049.423.026.4199.16.8442.20
1953  297,000  134,000  163,00048.822.026.8188.56.8443.71
1954  297,000  130,000  167,00047.620.826.7178.56.7645.21
1955  267,000  123,000  144,00041.719.222.5169.06.0046.58
1956  271,000  117,000  154,00041.417.823.6160.16.0047.88
1957  220,000  107,000  113,00032.916.016.9151.64.8049.21
1958  224,000  101,000  123,00032.914.818.1143.74.8050.41
1959  252,000  101,000  151,00036.414.621.8136.35.3051.03
1960  257,00098,000  159,00036.313.922.4129.45.3052.62
1961  289,000  100,000  189,00039.713.826.0123.15.8053.41
1962  352,000  105,000  247,00047.114.033.0117.26.8754.33
1963  363,000  109,000  254,00046.914.032.8111.86.9054.95
1964  373,000  110,000  263,00046.713.832.9107.46.9355.63
1965  384,000  109,000  275,00046.413.233.2102.16.9556.62
1966  395,000  109,000  286,00046.212.833.497.76.9757.35
1967  408,000  108,000  299,00046.112.233.893.57.0058.37
1968  422,000  110,000  312,00046.112.034.189.97.0558.78
1969  438,000  110,000  328,00046.211.634.686.07.1059.32
1970  450,000  110,000  340,00045.811.234.682.67.0860.19
1971  461,000  109,000  352,00045.410.734.779.07.0660.91
1972  471,000  110,000  362,00044.810.434.476.07.0161.39
1973  481,000  109,000  372,00044.310.034.273.06.9662.03
1974  492,000  117,000  375,00043.710.433.470.46.9360.90
1975  500,000  116,000  384,00043.010.033.067.76.8861.46
1976  508,000  108,000  400,00042.39.033.364.66.8163.72
1977  516,000  108,000  408,00041.68.732.962.16.7564.23
1978  525,000  110,000  416,00041.08.532.459.86.6964.40
1979  536,000  110,000  426,00040.48.332.157.76.6364.79
1980  546,000  128,000  418,00040.09.430.655.76.5761.50
1981  560,000  143,000  417,00039.810.129.653.86.5159.33
1982  573,000  143,000  429,00039.59.929.652.16.4559.73
1983  586,000  144,000  442,00039.49.729.750.56.3960.06
1984  607,000  147,000  460,00039.59.629.949.16.3360.22
1985  620,000  148,000  472,00039.19.329.747.76.2560.68
1986  626,000  149,000  477,00038.89.229.646.46.1860.87
1987  642,000  151,000  491,00038.59.029.545.36.1061.18
1988  662,000  184,000  477,00038.810.828.049.26.0257.47
1989  683,000  187,000  495,00039.110.728.453.35.9458.24
1990  708,000  190,000  518,00039.410.628.852.25.8858.44
1991  707,000  153,000  554,00039.58.531.046.25.8162.52
1992  722,000  123,000  599,00039.36.732.641.15.7266.71
1993  744,000  125,000  619,00039.16.632.640.35.6466.90
1994  782,000  133,000  649,00038.76.632.139.75.5366.74
1995  796,000  138,000  658,00038.06.631.439.15.4066.46
1996  810,000  142,000  668,00037.46.630.938.45.2966.39
1997  835,000  150,000  685,00037.46.730.737.95.2465.84
1998  853,000  156,000  697,00037.06.830.336.95.1565.49
1999  873,000  154,000  719,00036.76.530.236.35.0666.18
2000  891,000  152,000  740,00036.36.230.135.64.9566.82
2001  905,000  154,000  752,00035.66.029.634.94.8467.03
2002  916,000  156,000  759,00035.06.029.034.24.7167.08
2003  937,000  175,000  761,00034.66.528.133.64.6265.64
2004  963,000  186,000  776,00034.66.727.932.94.5865.03
2005  975,000  193,000  782,00034.06.727.332.34.4864.84
2006  998,000  213,000  785,00033.87.226.631.64.4463.59
2007  976,000  210,000  766,00033.67.226.430.84.3763.55
2008  972,000  193,000  779,00033.56.726.830.14.3464.94
2009  1,019,000  184,000  836,00033.76.127.629.34.3666.45
2010  1,071,000  183,000  888,00034.35.928.428.64.4367.06
2011  1,132,000  182,000  950,00035.15.629.427.74.5467.66
2012  1,159,000  184,000  974,00034.65.529.126.94.4868.02
2013  1,192,000  191,000  1,001,00033.85.428.426.24.3868.25
20141,216,000  190,0001,026,00033.15.227.925.24.2868.91
2015  1,193,000  187,000  1,006,00031.65.026.624.54.0969.44
2016  1,168,000  199,000  970,00030.25.125.023.73.9068.99
2017  1,146,000  184,000  962,00028.94.624.323.03.7370.41
2018  1,154,000  174,000  980,00028.44.324.122.43.6671.51
2019  1,168,000  179,000  989,00028.14.323.821.83.6071.58
2020  1,179,000223,000  957,00027.75.222.521.03.5569.12
2021  1,192,000  207,000  985,00027.44.822.620.33.5070.38
1 CBR = crude birth rate (per 1,000); CDR = crude death rate (per 1,000); NC = natural change (per 1,000); IMR = infant mortality rate per 1,000 births

Fertility ages average in 1997–2006

Age groups[22][23]19972006
15–1956.268
20–24210187
25–29276.2221
30–34257.9188
35–39196.5136
40–44101.456
45–49319
Total1,128.2865
TFR4.3

Life expectancy at birth

Average life expectancy at age 0 of the total population.[24]

Life expectancy at birth in Iraq
PeriodLife expectancy in
Years
PeriodLife expectancy in
Years
1950–195537.91985–199064.3
1955–196044.91990–199567.4
1960–196550.91995–200069.1
1965–197056.42000–200568.9
1970–197559.52005–201068.0
1975–198061.72010–201569.2
1980–198559.0

Structure of the population

Structure of the population (1 July 2013) (Estimates):[25]

Age groupMaleFemaleTotal%
Total17,710,75017,083,44434,794,194100
0–42,495,1312,405,8624,900,99314.09
5–92,374,9082,191,8074,566,71413.12
10–142,232,7122,048,8914,281,60312.31
15–191,937,7141,825,9633,763,67710.82
20–241,701,8841,593,6793,295,5639.47
25–291,424,7391,316,4622,741,2017.88
30–341,176,4331,134,8822,311,3166.64
35–39983,5701,044,3252,027,8955.83
40–44933,785897,9361,831,7225.26
45–49746,884763,3111,510,1954.34
50–54508,498562,2741,070,7723.08
55–59356,581393,511750,0932.16
60–64345,830378,456724,2852.08
65–69187,626218,991406,6171.17
70–74133,277138,375271,6510.78
75–7981,74290,630172,3730.50
80+89,43678,087167,5230.48
Age groupMaleFemaleTotalPercent
0–148,005,3277,674,80215,680,12939.01
15–243,976,0853,829,0867,805,17119.24
25–546,900,9846,752,79713,653,78133.97
55–64788,602839,2911,627,8934.05
65+632,753794,4891,427,2423.55

Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.VII.2020):[26]

Age GroupMaleFemaleTotal%
Total20 135 40719 719 02539 854 432100
0–43 001 9382 845 6305 847 56814.67
5–92 801 5932 637 3235 438 91513.65
10–142 503 8022 337 3804 841 18312.15
15–192 196 8372 075 6474 272 48410.72
20–241 918 9651 770 9963 689 9619.26
25–291 505 0981 463 4222 968 5207.45
30–341 317 9181 356 2302 674 1486.71
35–391 123 3501 184 3382 307 6885.79
40–441 059 2981 073 4422 132 7415.35
45–49782 854806 0971 588 9513.99
50–54461 586574 8161 036 4012.60
55–59524 741549 1311 073 8722.69
60–64361 381394 984756 3651.90
65-69237 890247 820485 7101.22
70-74155 203156 175311 3780.78
75-7981 74998 501180 2500.45
80+101 202147 093248 2960.62
Age groupMaleFemaleTotalPercent
0–148 307 3337 820 33316 127 66640.47
15–6411 252 03011 249 10322 501 13356.46
65+576 044649 5891 225 6333.08

Ethnicity

  Sunni Arabs
  Shiite Arabs
  Sunni Kurds
  Assyrians
  Yazidis
  Turkmen

Iraq's dominant ethnic group are Arabs, who account for more than three-quarters of the population.

According to the CIA World Factbook, citing a 1987 Iraqi government estimate,[27] the population of Iraq is formed of 70-80% Arabs followed by 15-20% Kurds.[27] and also Marsh Arabs.

in addition, the estimate claims that other minorities form 5% of the country's population, including the Turkmen, Kaka'i, Bedouins, Roma, Assyrians/Chaldeans/Syriacs, Circassians, Mandaeans, and Persians.[27] However, the International Crisis Group points out that figures from the 1987 census, as well as the 1967, 1977, and 1997 censuses, "are all considered highly problematic, due to suspicions of regime manipulation" because Iraqi citizens were only allowed to indicate belonging to either the Arab or Kurdish ethnic groups;[28] consequently, this skewed the number of other ethnic minorities, such as Iraq's third largest ethnic group – the Turkmen.[28]

Languages

Arabic and Kurdish are the two official languages of Iraq. Arabic is taught across all schools in Iraq, however in the north the Kurdish language is the most spoken. Eastern Aramaic languages, such as Syriac and Mandaic are spoken, as well as the Iraqi Turkmen language, and various other indigenous languages.

Kurdish, including several dialects, is the second largest language and has regional language status in the north of the country. Aramaic, in antiquity spoken throughout the whole country, is now only spoken by the Assyrian Chaldean minority. The Iraqi Turkmen dialect is spoken in parts of northern iraq, numerous languages of the Caucasus are also spoken by minorities, notably the Chechen community.

Religions

Religion in Iraq (2015 CIA estimate)[29]

  Shia Islam (61%)
  Sunni Islam (34%)
  Christianity (1%)
  Other (4%)

The CIA World Factbook estimated in 2015 that between 95-98% of Iraqis followed Islam, with 61-64% being Shia and 29-34% being Sunni. Christianity accounted for 1%, and the rest (1-4%) practiced Yazidism, Mandaeism, and other religions.[30]

While there has been voluntary relocation of many Christian families to northern Iraq, recent reporting indicates that the overall Christian population may have dropped by as much as 50 percent since the fall of Saddam Hussein in 2003, with many fleeing to Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon (2010 estimate).[27] The percentage of Christians has fallen from 6% in 1991 or 1.5 million to about one third of this. Estimates say there are 500,000 Christians in Iraq.[31]

Nearly all Iraqi Kurds identify as Sunni Muslims. A 2014 survey in Iraq concluded that "98% of Kurds in Iraq identified themselves as Sunnis and only 2% identified as Shias".[32] The religious differences between Sunni Arabs and Sunni Kurds are small. While 98 percent of Shia Arabs believe that visiting the shrines of saints is acceptable, 71 percent of Sunni Arabs did and 59 percent of Sunni Kurds support this practice.[32] About 94 percent of the population in Iraqi Kurdistan is Muslim.[33]

Demographic statistics

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.[34]

Age structure

0–14 years: 39.01% (male 8,005,327/female 7,674,802)
15-24 years: 19.42% (male 3,976,085/female 3,829,086)
25-54 years: 33.97% (male 6,900,984/female 6,752,797)
55-64 years: 4.05% (male 788,602/female 839,291)
65 years and over: 3.55% (male 632,753/female 794,489) (2018 est.)

Ethnic groups

Arab: 70-80%
Kurd: 15-25%
Turkoman: 9-13%
Assyrian/Chaldean and Other: 2%

Languages

Arabic (official)
Kurdish (official)
Iraqi Turkmen dialect (official only in majority speaking area)
Assyrian dialect (Neo-Aramaic) (official only in majority speaking area)

Median age

total: 20.2 years
male: 20 years
female: 20.5 years (2019 est.)

Population growth rate

2.5% (2018 est.)

Crude birth rate

30 births/1,000 population (2018 est.)

Crude death rate

3.8 deaths/1,000 population (2018 est.)

Total fertility rate

3.94 children born/woman (2018 est.)

Net migration rate

−1.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2018 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 70.5% of total population (2018)
rate of urbanization: 3.06% annual rate of change (2015–20 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
0–14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
55–64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female
total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2017 est.)

Maternal mortality rate

50 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)

Infant mortality rate

total population: 37.5 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 40.6 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 34.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2018 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 74.9 years
male: 72.6 years
female: 77.2 years (2018 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

51.5% (2011)

Health expenditures

5.5% of GDP (2011)

Physicians density

0.85 physicians/1,000 population (2014)

Hospital bed density

1.4 beds/1,000 population (2014)

Obesity – adult prevalence rate

30.4% (2016)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

8.5% (2011)

Nationality

noun: Iraqi(s)
adjective: Iraqi

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 79.7%
male: 85.7%
female: 73.7% (2015 est.)

See also

References

Further reading

External links