Demographics of Iraq

Demographics of Iraq
Population pyramid of Iraq in 2020
Population46,041,962 (2024)
Growth rate2% (2022 est.)
Birth rate34.23 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)
Death rate3.9 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Life expectancy73.18 years
 • male71.3 years
 • female75.15 years
Fertility rate3.25 children born/woman (2022 est.)
Infant mortality rate19.62 deaths/1,000 live births
Net migration rate-0.83 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Age structure
0–14 years37.02%
65 and over3.33%
Sex ratio
Total1.01 male(s)/female (2022 est.)
At birth1.05 male(s)/female
Under 151.04 male(s)/female
65 and over0.65 male(s)/female
Nationality
NationalityIraqi
Major ethnicArabs
Minor ethnic
Language
OfficialArabic, Kurdish
Historical population of Iraq

The Iraqi people (Arabic: العراقيون; Kurdish: گه‌لی عێراق; Syriac: ܥܡܐ ܥܝܪܩܝܐ; Turkish: Iraklılar) are people originating from the country of Iraq.[1]

Iraqi Arabs are the largest ethnic group in Iraq,[2] followed by Iraqi Kurds, then Iraqi Turkmen as the third largest ethnic group in the country.[3][4] Studies indicate that Mesopotamian Arabs, who make up the overwhelming majority of Iraq's population, are genetically distinct from other Arab populations in the Arabs of the Arabian peninsula.[5][6]

The population was estimated to be 43,533,592 in 2021[7] Turkmens (3 million), Assyrians (0.5 million), Yazidis (500,000), Armenians, Marsh Arabs, and Shabaks (250,000). Other minorities include Mandaeans (3,000), Roma (50,000) and Circassians (2,000).[8] The most spoken languages are Mesopotamian Arabic, Kurdish, Assyrian Syriac and Iraqi Turkmen dialects. The percentages of different ethno-religious groups residing in Iraq vary from source to source due to the last Iraqi census having taken place over 30 years ago. A new census of Iraq was planned to take place in 2020,[9] but this was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[10] It was rescheduled to November 2022[11][12] but was postponed again with an "electronic national population census" planned in the last quarter of 2023.[13]

A new comprehensive national census is planned to be held on 20 and 21 November 2024, with a total number of 120,000 field researchers who will execute the census in all governorates on the set date.[14]

  1. ^ "Iraqi – a native or inhabitant of Iraq". Reference.com. Retrieved 2010-12-10.
  2. ^ Office, Great Britain Foreign (1958). Documents on British Foreign Policy, 1919-1939. H.M. Stationery Office.
  3. ^ "Minorities in Iraq: EU Research Service" (PDF).
  4. ^ Mitchell, T. F. (1990–1993). Pronouncing Arabic. Oxford [England]: Clarendon Press. p. 37. ISBN 0198151519. OCLC 18020063.
  5. ^ Nadia Al-Zahery; Maria Pala; Vincenza Battaglia; Viola Grugni; Mohammed A. Hamod; Baharak Hooshiar Kashani; Anna Olivieri; Antonio Torroni; Augusta S. Santachiara-Benerecetti; Ornella Semino (2011). "In search of the genetic footprints of Sumerians: a survey of genetic variation in the Arabs of Iraq". BMC Evolutionary Biology. 11: 288. doi:10.1186/1471-2148-11-288. PMC 3215667. PMID 21970613.
  6. ^ Cavalli-Sforza, L. Luca; Menozzi, Paolo; Piazza, Alberto (2018-06-05). The History and Geography of Human Genes. Princeton University Press. doi:10.2307/j.ctv301gjp. ISBN 9780691187266. S2CID 242032876.
  7. ^ "Population, total - Iraq". data.worldbank.org. World Bank. Retrieved 3 November 2019.
  8. ^ "Minorities in Iraq - European Research Service" (PDF).
  9. ^ "Iraq prepping to conduct a census in 2020". rudaw.net. Retrieved 2019-05-01.
  10. ^ "COVID-19 postpones Iraq's Census for the current year". shafaq.com. Archived from the original on 2021-08-21. Retrieved 2021-08-21.
  11. ^ "Iraq Planning National Census for End of 2022". Bas News. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  12. ^ "IRAQ AIMS TO START CENSUS IN NOVEMBER 2022: OFFICIAL". NRT. 4 November 2021. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
  13. ^ "Iraq to hold National Census next year". Iraq Business News. 13 June 2022. Retrieved 4 October 2022.
  14. ^ "Iraq launches extensive population census plan with 120,000 researchers". Iraqi News Agency.