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 considerable population of Iraq, 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 year Deaths per year Natural change CBR1 CDR1 NC1 IMR1 Total fertility rate Life expectancy (years)
1950   259,000   142,000   117,000 45.7 25.1 20.6 222.0 6.20 38.98
1951   270,000   137,000   133,000 46.7 23.8 23.0 210.2 6.40 40.65
1952   293,000   136,000   157,000 49.4 23.0 26.4 199.1 6.84 42.20
1953   297,000   134,000   163,000 48.8 22.0 26.8 188.5 6.84 43.71
1954   297,000   130,000   167,000 47.6 20.8 26.7 178.5 6.76 45.21
1955   267,000   123,000   144,000 41.7 19.2 22.5 169.0 6.00 46.58
1956   271,000   117,000   154,000 41.4 17.8 23.6 160.1 6.00 47.88
1957   220,000   107,000   113,000 32.9 16.0 16.9 151.6 4.80 49.21
1958   224,000   101,000   123,000 32.9 14.8 18.1 143.7 4.80 50.41
1959   252,000   101,000   151,000 36.4 14.6 21.8 136.3 5.30 51.03
1960   257,000 98,000   159,000 36.3 13.9 22.4 129.4 5.30 52.62
1961   289,000   100,000   189,000 39.7 13.8 26.0 123.1 5.80 53.41
1962   352,000   105,000   247,000 47.1 14.0 33.0 117.2 6.87 54.33
1963   363,000   109,000   254,000 46.9 14.0 32.8 111.8 6.90 54.95
1964   373,000   110,000   263,000 46.7 13.8 32.9 107.4 6.93 55.63
1965   384,000   109,000   275,000 46.4 13.2 33.2 102.1 6.95 56.62
1966   395,000   109,000   286,000 46.2 12.8 33.4 97.7 6.97 57.35
1967   408,000   108,000   299,000 46.1 12.2 33.8 93.5 7.00 58.37
1968   422,000   110,000   312,000 46.1 12.0 34.1 89.9 7.05 58.78
1969   438,000   110,000   328,000 46.2 11.6 34.6 86.0 7.10 59.32
1970   450,000   110,000   340,000 45.8 11.2 34.6 82.6 7.08 60.19
1971   461,000   109,000   352,000 45.4 10.7 34.7 79.0 7.06 60.91
1972   471,000   110,000   362,000 44.8 10.4 34.4 76.0 7.01 61.39
1973   481,000   109,000   372,000 44.3 10.0 34.2 73.0 6.96 62.03
1974   492,000   117,000   375,000 43.7 10.4 33.4 70.4 6.93 60.90
1975   500,000   116,000   384,000 43.0 10.0 33.0 67.7 6.88 61.46
1976   508,000   108,000   400,000 42.3 9.0 33.3 64.6 6.81 63.72
1977   516,000   108,000   408,000 41.6 8.7 32.9 62.1 6.75 64.23
1978   525,000   110,000   416,000 41.0 8.5 32.4 59.8 6.69 64.40
1979   536,000   110,000   426,000 40.4 8.3 32.1 57.7 6.63 64.79
1980   546,000   128,000   418,000 40.0 9.4 30.6 55.7 6.57 61.50
1981   560,000   143,000   417,000 39.8 10.1 29.6 53.8 6.51 59.33
1982   573,000   143,000   429,000 39.5 9.9 29.6 52.1 6.45 59.73
1983   586,000   144,000   442,000 39.4 9.7 29.7 50.5 6.39 60.06
1984   607,000   147,000   460,000 39.5 9.6 29.9 49.1 6.33 60.22
1985   620,000   148,000   472,000 39.1 9.3 29.7 47.7 6.25 60.68
1986   626,000   149,000   477,000 38.8 9.2 29.6 46.4 6.18 60.87
1987   642,000   151,000   491,000 38.5 9.0 29.5 45.3 6.10 61.18
1988   662,000   184,000   477,000 38.8 10.8 28.0 49.2 6.02 57.47
1989   683,000   187,000   495,000 39.1 10.7 28.4 53.3 5.94 58.24
1990   708,000   190,000   518,000 39.4 10.6 28.8 52.2 5.88 58.44
1991   707,000   153,000   554,000 39.5 8.5 31.0 46.2 5.81 62.52
1992   722,000   123,000   599,000 39.3 6.7 32.6 41.1 5.72 66.71
1993   744,000   125,000   619,000 39.1 6.6 32.6 40.3 5.64 66.90
1994   782,000   133,000   649,000 38.7 6.6 32.1 39.7 5.53 66.74
1995   796,000   138,000   658,000 38.0 6.6 31.4 39.1 5.40 66.46
1996   810,000   142,000   668,000 37.4 6.6 30.9 38.4 5.29 66.39
1997   835,000   150,000   685,000 37.4 6.7 30.7 37.9 5.24 65.84
1998   853,000   156,000   697,000 37.0 6.8 30.3 36.9 5.15 65.49
1999   873,000   154,000   719,000 36.7 6.5 30.2 36.3 5.06 66.18
2000   891,000   152,000   740,000 36.3 6.2 30.1 35.6 4.95 66.82
2001   905,000   154,000   752,000 35.6 6.0 29.6 34.9 4.84 67.03
2002   916,000   156,000   759,000 35.0 6.0 29.0 34.2 4.71 67.08
2003   937,000   175,000   761,000 34.6 6.5 28.1 33.6 4.62 65.64
2004   963,000   186,000   776,000 34.6 6.7 27.9 32.9 4.58 65.03
2005   975,000   193,000   782,000 34.0 6.7 27.3 32.3 4.48 64.84
2006   998,000   213,000   785,000 33.8 7.2 26.6 31.6 4.44 63.59
2007   976,000   210,000   766,000 33.6 7.2 26.4 30.8 4.37 63.55
2008   972,000   193,000   779,000 33.5 6.7 26.8 30.1 4.34 64.94
2009   1,019,000   184,000   836,000 33.7 6.1 27.6 29.3 4.36 66.45
2010   1,071,000   183,000   888,000 34.3 5.9 28.4 28.6 4.43 67.06
2011   1,132,000   182,000   950,000 35.1 5.6 29.4 27.7 4.54 67.66
2012   1,159,000   184,000   974,000 34.6 5.5 29.1 26.9 4.48 68.02
2013   1,192,000   191,000   1,001,000 33.8 5.4 28.4 26.2 4.38 68.25
2014 1,216,000   190,000 1,026,000 33.1 5.2 27.9 25.2 4.28 68.91
2015   1,193,000   187,000   1,006,000 31.6 5.0 26.6 24.5 4.09 69.44
2016   1,168,000   199,000   970,000 30.2 5.1 25.0 23.7 3.90 68.99
2017   1,146,000   184,000   962,000 28.9 4.6 24.3 23.0 3.73 70.41
2018   1,154,000   174,000   980,000 28.4 4.3 24.1 22.4 3.66 71.51
2019   1,168,000   179,000   989,000 28.1 4.3 23.8 21.8 3.60 71.58
2020   1,179,000 223,000   957,000 27.7 5.2 22.5 21.0 3.55 69.12
2021   1,192,000   207,000   985,000 27.4 4.8 22.6 20.3 3.50 70.38
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] 1997 2006
15–19 56.2 68
20–24 210 187
25–29 276.2 221
30–34 257.9 188
35–39 196.5 136
40–44 101.4 56
45–49 31 9
Total 1,128.2 865
TFR 4.3

Life expectancy at birth

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

Life expectancy at birth in Iraq
Period Life expectancy in
Years		 Period Life expectancy in
Years
1950–1955 37.9 1985–1990 64.3
1955–1960 44.9 1990–1995 67.4
1960–1965 50.9 1995–2000 69.1
1965–1970 56.4 2000–2005 68.9
1970–1975 59.5 2005–2010 68.0
1975–1980 61.7 2010–2015 69.2
1980–1985 59.0

Structure of the population

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

Age group Male Female Total %
Total 17,710,750 17,083,444 34,794,194 100
0–4 2,495,131 2,405,862 4,900,993 14.09
5–9 2,374,908 2,191,807 4,566,714 13.12
10–14 2,232,712 2,048,891 4,281,603 12.31
15–19 1,937,714 1,825,963 3,763,677 10.82
20–24 1,701,884 1,593,679 3,295,563 9.47
25–29 1,424,739 1,316,462 2,741,201 7.88
30–34 1,176,433 1,134,882 2,311,316 6.64
35–39 983,570 1,044,325 2,027,895 5.83
40–44 933,785 897,936 1,831,722 5.26
45–49 746,884 763,311 1,510,195 4.34
50–54 508,498 562,274 1,070,772 3.08
55–59 356,581 393,511 750,093 2.16
60–64 345,830 378,456 724,285 2.08
65–69 187,626 218,991 406,617 1.17
70–74 133,277 138,375 271,651 0.78
75–79 81,742 90,630 172,373 0.50
80+ 89,436 78,087 167,523 0.48
Age group Male Female Total Percent
0–14 8,005,327 7,674,802 15,680,129 39.01
15–24 3,976,085 3,829,086 7,805,171 19.24
25–54 6,900,984 6,752,797 13,653,781 33.97
55–64 788,602 839,291 1,627,893 4.05
65+ 632,753 794,489 1,427,242 3.55

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

Age Group Male Female Total %
Total 20 135 407 19 719 025 39 854 432 100
0–4 3 001 938 2 845 630 5 847 568 14.67
5–9 2 801 593 2 637 323 5 438 915 13.65
10–14 2 503 802 2 337 380 4 841 183 12.15
15–19 2 196 837 2 075 647 4 272 484 10.72
20–24 1 918 965 1 770 996 3 689 961 9.26
25–29 1 505 098 1 463 422 2 968 520 7.45
30–34 1 317 918 1 356 230 2 674 148 6.71
35–39 1 123 350 1 184 338 2 307 688 5.79
40–44 1 059 298 1 073 442 2 132 741 5.35
45–49 782 854 806 097 1 588 951 3.99
50–54 461 586 574 816 1 036 401 2.60
55–59 524 741 549 131 1 073 872 2.69
60–64 361 381 394 984 756 365 1.90
65-69 237 890 247 820 485 710 1.22
70-74 155 203 156 175 311 378 0.78
75-79 81 749 98 501 180 250 0.45
80+ 101 202 147 093 248 296 0.62
Age group Male Female Total Percent
0–14 8 307 333 7 820 333 16 127 666 40.47
15–64 11 252 030 11 249 103 22 501 133 56.46
65+ 576 044 649 589 1 225 633 3.08

Ethnicity
Main articles: Iraqi people and Minorities in Iraq
  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
See also: Languages of Iraq

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
Main articles: Religion in Iraq, Islam in Iraq, and Christianity in Iraq

Religion in Iraq (2017)[29]

  Shia Islam (61%)
  Sunni Islam (34%)
  Christianity (3%)
  Other (2%)

According to the CIA World Factbook, 98-99% of Iraqis follow Islam: 61-64% Shia and 29-34% Sunni.[30] Christianity accounts for 1–2%, and the rest practice Yazidis, Mandaeism, and other religions.

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 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%
Kurd: 15-25%
Turkoman: 7-9%
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
  1. "Iraqi – a native or inhabitant of Iraq". Reference.com. Retrieved 2010-12-10.
  2. Office, Great Britain Foreign (1958). Documents on British Foreign Policy, 1919-1939. H.M. Stationery Office.
  3. "Minorities in Iraq: EU Research Service" (PDF).
  4. Mitchell, T. F. (1990–1993). Pronouncing Arabic. Oxford [England]: Clarendon Press. p. 37. ISBN 0198151519. OCLC 18020063.
  5. Nadia Al-Zahery; Maria Pala; Vincenza Battaglia; Viola Grugni; Mohammed A. Hamod; Baharak Hooshiar Kashani; Anna Olivieri; Antonio Torroni; Augusta S. Santachiara-Benerecetti; Ornella Semino (2011). "In search of the genetic footprints of Sumerians: a survey of genetic variation in the Arabs of Iraq". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 11: 288. doi:10.1186/1471-2148-11-288. PMC 3215667. PMID 21970613.
  6. Cavalli-Sforza, L. Luca; Menozzi, Paolo; Piazza, Alberto (2018-06-05). The History and Geography of Human Genes. Princeton University Press. doi:10.2307/j.ctv301gjp. ISBN 9780691187266. S2CID 242032876.
  7. "Population, total - Iraq". data.worldbank.org. World Bank. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
  8. "Minorities in Iraq - European Research Service" (PDF).
  9. "Iraq prepping to conduct a census in 2020". rudaw.net. Retrieved 2019-05-01.
  10. "COVID-19 postpones Iraq's Census for the current year". shafaq.com. Retrieved 2021-08-21.
  11. "Iraq Planning National Census for End of 2022". Bas News. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  12. "IRAQ AIMS TO START CENSUS IN NOVEMBER 2022: OFFICIAL". NRT. 4 November 2021. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  13. "Iraq to hold National Census next year | Iraq Business News". iraq-business news. 13 June 2022. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  14. "Iraq Population - Our World in Data". www.ourworldindata.org.
  15. "Iraq Population - Worldometer". www.worldometers.info.
  16. "Middle East :: Iraq — The World Factbook – Central Intelligence Agency". cia.gov. Retrieved 15 May 2021.
  17. "World Population Prospects 2022". population.un.org. United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  18. "World Population Prospects 2022: Demographic indicators by region, subregion and country, annually for 1950-2100" (XSLX). population.un.org ("Total Population, as of 1 July (thousands)"). United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division. Retrieved July 17, 2022.
  19. "Iraq". International Monetary Fund. Retrieved 2009-04-27.
  20. "Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 2006 – unicef statistics" (PDF). Unicef. Retrieved 2016-03-20.
  21. "World Population Prospects: The 2022 Revision".
  22. "الجهاز المركزي للاحصاء - Demographic Statistics". Archived from the original on 2014-03-05. Retrieved 2014-03-05.
  23. "UNICEF DATA - Child Statistics" (PDF).
  24. "World Population Prospects – Population Division – United Nations". esa.un.org. Retrieved 2018-08-26.
  25. "United Nations Statistics Division - Demographic and Social Statistics". Archived from the original on 2004-09-21.
  26. "UNSD — Demographic and Social Statistics".
  27. "Iraq". The World Factbook. 22 June 2014.
  28. "Turkey and the Iraqi Kurds: Conflict or Cooperation?" (PDF). International Crisis Group. 2008. p. 16. Archived from the original (PDF) on 8 August 2019. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  29. "CIA Factbook". 27 April 2022.
  30. "Iraq - the World Factbook". 27 April 2022.
  31. "MINORITIES IN IRAQ: EU Research Service" (PDF).
  32. "Who are the Iraqi Kurds?".
  33. "Religious Neutrality in Iraqi Kurdistan". HuffPost. 18 June 2012.
  34. "Middle East :: IRAQ". CIA The World Factbook. Retrieved 2019-04-08.

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