Shafaq News- Baghdad
Rising living costs and changing attitudes toward marriage and parenthood are leading more Iraqis to favor smaller families, as women weigh childcare expenses, work demands, health concerns, and the ability to provide a stable life for their children, experts and parents told Shafaq News.
United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) adviser Mahdi Al-Alaq put Iraq’s current population growth rate at 2.51% earlier this month, down from about 3% over the past two decades but still above the global average of 1.1%.
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Gynecologist Dr. Nidal Al-Baghdadi told Shafaq News that women averaged six to seven births in the 1980s, compared with around three today, linking the decline to later marriages and greater awareness among women of the responsibilities involved in raising children and meeting their needs. Birth rates nevertheless remain relatively high in rural areas, she noted, partly because of prevailing social traditions.
Medical conditions can also hinder pregnancy, including polycystic ovary syndrome, endometriosis, blocked fallopian tubes, and pelvic congestion. Psychological problems can contribute to delayed marriage, she added, while dietary factors and obesity may affect women’s reproductive health and require treatment programs and broader health strategies.
For working mothers, employment adds another layer of pressure. “The burdens of life today do not allow for more than two children,” government employee Zainab Al-Rikabi told Shafaq News, citing exhaustion, limited time, and the challenge of combining work with childcare.
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Al-Rikabi put the monthly cost of caring for a one-year-old at more than 500,000 Iraqi dinars ($380). Her 18-month-old child’s nursery costs 400,000 dinars ($304) a month, with another 100,000 dinars ($76) for transportation, before expenses for milk, clothing, and other needs.
Beyond the financial burden, raising children now requires greater attention amid their exposure to screens and influences outside the home and at schools, according to Al-Rikabi.
Economic considerations have also shaped decisions for Saif Al-Sarrai, a father of two, who told Shafaq News that he had reconsidered expanding his family as the costs of nursery, education, food, clothing, and healthcare mount.
“Many Iraqi families are now looking at the quality of life they can provide their children, not just the number of children,” he said, arguing that smaller families allow parents to devote greater attention and resources to each child.
Social psychology researcher Manahil Al-Saleh attributed the preference for smaller families to psychological pressure, anxiety about the future, and difficulties balancing work and family life. These factors are prompting many couples to delay marriage or have fewer children.
For a broad segment of families, having children has become a “calculated decision” tied to their ability to provide an adequate standard of living, Al-Saleh explained, adding that continued pressures could further entrench the smaller-family model in Iraqi society.
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From an economic perspective, slower population growth can reduce pressure on the state budget, economic expert Hassan Al-Attabi told Shafaq News, although he stressed that Iraq’s recent decline remains too limited to noticeably ease demands on public finances and resources.
Al-Attabi argued that if the decline continues steadily over the next decade, it could ease future economic and service pressures. With public spending currently outpacing resources in Iraq’s oil-dependent economy, he stressed that slower population growth would need to be accompanied by genuine development of other sectors, including industry, agriculture, tourism, and border crossings.
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