Demographics of Iraq

Further information: Iraqi people

This article is about the demographic features of the population of Iraq, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

The 2009 IMF population estimate of Iraq is 31,234,000.

Background

See also: History of Iraq

Iraq is the region known outside the Islamic world as Mesopotamia, the population estimate in 1920 was 3 million. The ruins of Ur, Babylon, and other ancient cities are situated in Iraq, as is the legendary location of the Garden of Eden. Almost 75% of Iraq's population lives in the flat, alluvial plain stretching southeast from Tikrit to the Persian Gulf. The Tigris and the Euphrates carry about 70 million cubic meters of silt annually from this plain down to the delta. The water from these two great rivers, and the fertility of the soil in the alluvial plain and the delta allowed early agriculture to sustain a stable population as far back as the 7th millennium BC.

Population

31,234,000. (April 2009 IMF est.)

Vital statistics

UN estimates

Period	Live births per year	Deaths per year	Natural change per year	CBR1	CDR1	NC1	TFR1	IMR1
1950-1955	327 000	158 000	169 000	53.2	25.8	27.5	7.30	197.6
1955-1960	297 000	133 000	164 000	42.6	19.1	23.5	6.20	152.9
1960-1965	343 000	122 000	221 000	43.3	15.4	27.9	6.60	120.7
1965-1970	430 000	121 000	309 000	46.5	13.1	33.4	7.40	96.0
1970-1975	475 000	121 000	354 000	43.6	11.1	32.5	7.15	76.4
1975-1980	526 000	124 000	402 000	41.2	9.8	31.5	6.80	60.4
1980-1985	571 000	185 000	387 000	39.1	12.6	26.5	6.35	48.9
1985-1990	638 000	132 000	505 000	38.8	8.0	30.8	6.15	41.8
1990-1995	719 000	105 000	614 000	38.2	5.6	32.6	5.80	43.4
1995-2000	836 000	119 000	717 000	37.9	5.4	32.5	5.40	38.1
2000-2005	960 000	144 000	816 000	37.5	5.6	31.9	5.12	35.9
2005-2010	1 079 000	187 000	892 000	36.6	6.3	30.2	4.86	34.6
1 CBR = crude birth rate (per 1000); CDR = crude death rate (per 1000); NC = natural change (per 1000); TFR = total fertility rate (number of children per woman); IMR = infant mortality rate per 1000 births

Ethnic groups

Ethnic and religious groups in Iraq

  Shia Arabs

  Sunni Arabs

  Kurds

  Assyrians

  Yazidis

  Turkmen

Iraq's dominant ethnic group are the Iraqi or Mesopotamian Arabs, who account for around three-quarters of the population. They are a fusion of old Mesopotamian, Arabian, Iranian, and other populations, who now speak Mesopotamian Arabic.

Iraqi Arabs 75%, Kurds 17%, Turkmen 3%, Assyrians 2%, Persians 2%,
Other 1% (Armenians, Chechens, Circassians, Egyptians, Palestinians, Shabaks).

Languages

See also: Languages of Iraq

Arabic, Kurdish, Aramaic, Turkmen, Persian

Arabic is the official language of Iraq, and is spoken or understood by almost all the population. Iraq has a unique dialect of Arabic which is rich with Aramaic features.

Kurdish is the largest minority language, and has regional language status in Iraqi Kurdistan. Aramaic, once spoken by the whole country, is now only spoken by the Christian minority.

Azerbaijani is spoken in pockets of northern Iraq, and Persian is spoken in pockets of southern Iraq. Numerous languages of the Caucasus are also spoken by minorities across the country.

Religions

Islam 97% (Shi'a 65%, Sunni 35%), Christianity, Mandaeism and other 3%.

Demographic statistics

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

Age structure

0-14 years: 37.6% (male 5,959,562/ female 5,751,970)

15-64 years: 59.3% (male 9,355,176/ female 9,094,953)

65 years and over: 3% (male 376,700; female 423,295) (2006 est.)

Median age

total: 21.1 years

male: 21 years

female: 21.2 years (2012 est.)

Crude birth rate

28.19 births/1,000 population (2012 est.)

Crude death rate

4.73 deaths/1,000 population (July 2012 est.)

Total fertility rate

3.58 children born/woman (2012 est.)

Population growth rate

2.345% (2012 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.87 male(s)/female

total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2011 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 70.85 years

male: 69.41 years

female: 72.35 years (2012 est.)

Nationality

noun: Iraqi(s)

adjective: Iraqi

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 78.2%

male: 86%

female: 70.6% (2010 est.)

See also

• Iraqi people
• Iraqi diaspora
• Refugees of Iraq
• Persians in Iraq
• Armenians in Iraq
• Circassians in Iraq
• Palestinians in Iraq
• History of the Jews in Iraq

External links

• Iraq Inter-Agency Information & Analysis Unit Reports, Maps and Assessments of Iraq's Governorates from the UN Inter-Agency Information & Analysis Unit
• CIA World Fact Book
• Linguist List partial inventory of languages and dialects of Iraq
• The Iraq DNA project