Iraq population expected to near 49 million by 2028, planning ministry says

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s population is projected to reach nearly 49 million by 2028, according to the Ministry of Planning, which said the estimate aligns with results from the national population and housing census conducted in November 2024.

“Iraq is characterized by a youthful demographic structure with high fertility rates,” ministry spokesperson Abdul Zahra Al-Hindawi told the state-run Al-Sabah newspaper. “Despite the noticeable gradual decline in these rates and the demographic shift that is beginning to appear with a steady increase in the working-age population, Iraq remains among the countries with the highest population growth rates in the world.”

Al-Hindawi said Iraq’s growth rate declined slightly from 2.6% in 2018 to 2.5% in 2022, with an annual increase of around 840,000 people. The country’s population, including the Kurdistan Region, rose from 38.1 million in 2018 to an estimated 42.3 million in 2022.

The population is expected to increase from 46.18 million in 2024 to 48.9 million in 2028, at a projected growth rate of 2.4%. Al-Hindawi said the rise underscores the need to integrate demographic trends into planning and to expand investment in human capital.

“One of the main challenges facing the plan is the continued rise in the population growth rate due to high fertility,” he said. “This will double the pressure on resource consumption and the need to expand infrastructure and ensure comprehensive service coverage for all residents.”

He also pointed to internal migration as a key factor driving overcrowding in cities, straining urban services, and fueling the spread of informal housing and other social issues.

Al-Hindawi said the public sector employed more than 4 million people in 2023, according to the federal budget law, while the number of private sector workers registered with social security stood at 370,470.