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Middle East

Iraq

Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iran and Kuwait.

Muslim population95–98%of the population

Population46.1 millionpeople (current)

CapitalBaghdadUTC+3

Currency1,300 = $1Iraqi dinars (IQD) (2024)

Country basics

Iraq is a federal republic in Western Asia, set along the Tigris and Euphrates river valleys.

Iraq is a republic with Baghdad as its capital and Arabic and Kurdish as official languages, and the Kurdistan Region governs itself in the north. The dinar is the currency, and crude oil supplies nearly all government revenue.

Official name

Republic of Iraq

Region

Asia · Western Asia

Government

Federal parliamentary republic under confessionalism

Time zonesCheck the offset for your own city

UTC+03:00

Driving side

Right

Phone code

+964

Currency

Iraqi dinar (IQD, ع.د)

Member of

Arab League; UN; OPEC

Website

https://www.cabinet.iq

Faith and language

Religions

Muslim (official) 95-98% (Shia 61-64%, Sunni 29-34%), Christian 1% (includes Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, Assyrian Church of the East), other 1-4%

Languages

Arabic; Aramaic; Central Kurdish

People and cities

Population

46.1 million (current)

Median ageHalf the population is younger than this

22.7 years (2025)

Living in cities

71.6% (2023)

Largest cities

Baghdad (capital) 7.711 million · Mosul 1.792 million · Basra 1.448 million · Kirkuk 1.075 million · Najaf 958,000

Money and cost of living

Exchange rateYearly average; check today’s rate before you budget

1,300 Iraqi dinars (IQD) per US dollar (2024)

Income per personGDP per person, adjusted for local prices (2021 dollars)

$12,700 (2024)

InflationHow much prices rose over the year

4.4% (2023)

Unemployment

15.6% (2024)

Spent on foodShare of an average household’s spending

28.7% (2023)

Health and daily life

Life expectancy

73.7 years (2024)

Doctors

1.02 per 1,000 people (2022)

Hospital beds

1.3 per 1,000 people (2021)

Safe drinking water

98.4% of people (2022)

Electricity

100% of people (2022)

Internet users

82% of people (2023)

Literacy

84.1% of adults (2021)

Land and climate

Climate

Mostly desert; mild to cool winters with dry, hot, cloudless summers; northern mountainous regions along Iranian and Turkish borders experience cold winters with occasionally heavy snows that melt in early spring, sometimes causing extensive flooding in central and southern Iraq

SizeSlightly more than three times the size of New York State

438,317 sq km

Natural hazards

Dust storms; sandstorms; floods

National holiday

Independence Day, 3 October (1932); Republic Day, 14 July (1958)