Population:
39,192,111 (July 2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 35
[see also: Population country ranks ]

Nationality:
noun: Iraqi(s)
adjective: Iraqi

Ethnic groups:
Arab 75-80%, Kurdish 15-20%, other 5% (includes Turkmen, Yezidi, Shabak, Kaka'i, bedouin, Romani, Assyrian, Circassian, Sabaean-Mandaean, Persian)
note: data is a 1987 government estimate; no more recent reliable numbers are available

Languages:
Arabic (official), Kurdish (official), Turkmen (a Turkish dialect), Syriac (Neo-Aramaic), and Armenian are official in areas where native speakers of these languages constitute a majority of the population)

Religions:
Muslim (official) 95-98% (Shia 64-69%, Sunni 29-34%), Christian 1% (includes Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, Assyrian Church of the East), other 1-4%
note: while there has been voluntary relocation of many Christian families to northern Iraq, recent reporting indicates that the overall Christian population may have dropped by as much as 50% since the fall of the SADDAM Husayn regime in 2003, with many fleeing to Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon (2015 est.)
religious affiliation:
A population pyramid illustrates the age and sex structure of a country's population and may provide insights about political and social stability, as well as economic development. The population is distributed along the horizontal axis, with males shown on the left and females on the right. The male and female populations are broken down into 5-year age groups represented as horizontal bars along the vertical axis, with the youngest age groups at the bottom and the oldest at the top. The shape of the population pyramid gradually evolves over time based on fertility, mortality, and international migration trends.

For additional information, please see the entry for Population pyramid on the Definitions and Notes page under the References tab.

Dependency ratios:
total dependency ratio: 77.7
[see also: Dependency ratios - total dependency ratio country ranks ]
youth dependency ratio: 72.3
[see also: Dependency ratios - youth dependency ratio country ranks ]
elderly dependency ratio: 5.5
[see also: Dependency ratios - elderly dependency ratio country ranks ]
potential support ratio: 18.3 (2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - potential support ratio country ranks ]

Median age:
total: 20 years
[see also: Median age - total country ranks ]
male: 19.8 years
[see also: Median age - male country ranks ]
female: 20.3 years (2017 est.)
[see also: Median age - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 191

Population growth rate:
2.55% (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 17
[see also: Population growth rate country ranks ]

Birth rate:
30.4 births/1,000 population (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 37
[see also: Birth rate country ranks ]

Death rate:
3.8 deaths/1,000 population (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 212
[see also: Death rate country ranks ]

Net migration rate:
-1.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 142
[see also: Net migration rate country ranks ]

Population distribution:
population is concentrated in the north, center, and eastern parts of the country, with many of the larger urban agglomerations found along extensive parts of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers; much of the western and southern areas are either lightly populated or uninhabited

Urbanization:
urban population: 69.7% of total population (2017)
[see also: Urbanization - urban population country ranks ]
rate of urbanization: 2.97% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.)
[see also: Urbanization - rate of urbanization country ranks ]

Major urban areas - population:
BAGHDAD (capital) 6.643 million; Mosul 1.694 million; Erbil 1.166 million; Basra 1.019 million; As Sulaymaniyah 1.004 million; Najaf 889,000 (2015)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.04 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - at birth country ranks ]
0-14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 0-14 years country ranks ]
15-24 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 15-24 years country ranks ]
25-54 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 25-54 years country ranks ]
55-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 55-64 years country ranks ]
65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 65 years and over country ranks ]
total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - total population country ranks ]

Maternal mortality ratio:
50 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 96
[see also: Maternal mortality ratio country ranks ]

Infant mortality rate:
total: 37.5 deaths/1,000 live births
[see also: Infant mortality rate - total country ranks ]
male: 40.6 deaths/1,000 live births
[see also: Infant mortality rate - male country ranks ]
female: 34.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2017 est.)
[see also: Infant mortality rate - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 48

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 74.9 years
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - total population country ranks ]
male: 72.6 years
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - male country ranks ]
female: 77.2 years (2017 est.)
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 117
[See also: Healthy Life Expectancy ]
[See also: Health Performance ]

Total fertility rate:
4 children born/woman (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 35
[see also: Total fertility rate country ranks ]

Contraceptive prevalence rate:
52.5% (2011)
[see also: Contraceptive prevalence rate country ranks ]

Health expenditures:
5.5% of GDP (2014)
country comparison to the world: 124
[see also: Health expenditures country ranks ]

Physicians density:
0.85 physicians/1,000 population (2014)
[see also: Physicians density country ranks ]

Hospital bed density:
1.3 beds/1,000 population (2012)
[see also: Hospital bed density country ranks ]

Drinking water source:
improved: urban: 93.8% of population rural: 70.1% of population total: 86.6% of population
unimproved: urban: 6.1% of population rural: 31.5% of population total: 14.6% of population (2015 est.)

Sanitation facility access:
improved: urban: 86.4% of population rural: 83.8% of population total: 85.6% of population
unimproved: urban: 13.6% of population rural: 16.2% of population total: 14.4% of population (2015 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
NA
[see also: HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate country ranks ]

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
NA
[see also: HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS country ranks ]

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
NA
[see also: HIV/AIDS - deaths country ranks ]

Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk: intermediate
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever (2016)

Obesity - adult prevalence rate:
30.4% (2016)
country comparison to the world: 23
[see also: Obesity - adult prevalence rate country ranks ]

Children under the age of 5 years underweight:
8.5% (2011)
country comparison to the world: 74
[see also: Children under the age of 5 years underweight country ranks ]

Education expenditures:
NA

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 79.7%
[see also: Literacy - total population country ranks ]
male: 85.7%
[see also: Literacy - male country ranks ]
female: 73.7% (2015 est.)