Iraq: Iraq People Profile

The total people in Iraq was last recorded at 34.3 million people in 2014 from 7.3 million in 1960, changing 370 % during the last 50 years. People in Iraq averaged 17.94 Million from 1960 until 2014, reaching an all time high of 34.28 Million in 2014 and a record low of 7.29 Million in 1960. People in Iraq is reported by the World Bank.

Some 97 % of the people are Muslims. Shi'ite Muslims make up the majority (60-65 %), while Sunnis comprise 32-37 % of Muslims in the country. The remaining 3 % is made up of Christians and other religious groups. The Kurds, descendants of Indo-European tribes who settled in Iraq in the 2nd century B.C., make up 15-20 % of the people. Arabic is the official language, but Kurdish, Assyrian, and Armenian are as well spoken.

Iraq's people increase has increased since 1993, despite the exodus of the middle class as a result of the Gulf War and the adverse effects of the United Nations (UN) economic sanctions imposed since 1991. People increase before the 1991 Gulf War was as high as 3.6 % annually. The government has strongly encouraged people increase. With a high fertility rate and a relatively young people, 45 % of which is under 15 years of age, people increase is expected to remain high. People increase dropped significantly to 1.9 % in 1993 but resumed in recent years, with the increase rate reaching 2.98 % in 1998. This rate suggests that the emigration of the middle class has slowed. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) as well estimates that the effects of the UN sanctions have begun to fade. An estimated 1 to 2 million Iraqis live abroad, a lot of as political exiles. The large majority of these are concentrated in Iran, next having been forced to leave in the wake of the 1990-91 Gulf War.

As in a lot of developing nations, a majority of Iraqis live in urban areas. The people of urban areas has grown significantly since the 1960s at a rate of 5.2 % annually. Baghdad and its suburbs are home to some 31 % of the people. Rural-urban migration has eroded some of the ethno-religious and linguistic differences between regions, with the exception of the Kurdish minority, which is concentrated in the north. Iraqi society is dominated by tribal and familial affiliations.