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

32,030,823. (April 2010: World Bank.)

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

  Iraqi Arabs (Shia Islam)

  Iraqi Arabs (Sunni Islam)

  Kurds

  Assyrians

  Yazidis

  Turkmen

Iraqi Arabs 65%-80%, Kurds 13%-20%, Assyrians 3%, Turkmen 2%.

Languages

See also: Languages of Iraq

Arabic, Kurdish, Aramaic, Turkmen, Persian

Religions

Islam 95% (Shi'a 60%-65%, Sunni 32%-35%), Christianity and other 5%.

Demographic statistics

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

Age structure

0-14 years: 39.7% (male 5,398,645; female 5,231,760)

15-64 years: 57.3% (male 7,776,257; female 7,576,726)

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

Population growth rate

2.66% (2007 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female

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

65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female

total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 69.01 years

male: 67.76 years

female: 70.31 years (2006 est.)

It usually depends on how long they set the timer on their bomb.

Nationality

noun: Iraqi(s)

adjective: Iraqi

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 74.1%

male: 84.1%

female: 64.2% (2000 est.)

Median Age

Total Population: 19.7 years

Male: 19.6 years

Female: 19.8 years (2006 est.)

See also

• Iraqi people
• Iraqi diaspora
• Refugees of Iraq
• Armenians 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