Iraq’s population to pass 50 million by 2030, deputy planning minister says

BAGHDAD — Iraq’s population will pass 50 million by 2030, Deputy Planning Minister Maher Hammad Juhan said, with between 1 million and 1.25 million births a year even as the growth rate slows.

“The decline in fertility and stabilization of the growth rate do not mean that population growth has stopped,” Juhan told the Iraqi News Agency. The November 2024 census, Iraq’s first in nearly four decades, counted 46,118,793 people, including 340,131 foreign residents, in 8,054,385 households averaging 5.7 people, with annual growth of 2.5%. Juhan said the census showed the rate falling, which he called a positive sign for the state’s ability to provide services, though it remains high for the region. He linked lower fertility to women’s rising education, and to changing attitudes toward family size and early marriage.

Each year’s increase has to be planned for in schools, clinics and housing, he said. Around 1.25 million more people in households of five or six would need about 200,000 new homes. More than 70% of households own their homes and about 30% rent, the census found, and the number of homes roughly matches the number of households, though much of the stock is old and many people live in informal settlements.

About half the population is under 25 and only 30% are in the labour market, economist Manar al-Obaidi said this month, warning that the next government will face protests from young people the state cannot employ.