Shafaq News – Baghdad

Iraq’s rapid population growth is outstripping the country’s capacity to generate jobs and expand basic services, former Planning Minister Nouri al-Dulaimi warned on Wednesday.

Al-Dulaimi told Shafaq News that the state can no longer rely on “traditional methods” to manage accelerating demographic pressure. Population growth is not inherently harmful, he said, but becomes a burden when public spending remains concentrated on consumption rather than investment.

According to previous assessments cited by Shafaq News, most of Iraq’s current spending goes to salaries, pensions, and subsidies, leaving limited room for investment projects.

He urged the government to redirect expenditure toward housing and infrastructure. Ignoring census findings, he cautioned, will deepen unemployment, widen the housing deficit, and increase pressure on health, education, electricity, and water services.

“Iraq can still turn its demographic rise into an economic advantage if it invests in young people and builds a productive environment,” he said, “but failing to act risks turning growth from a potential strength into a prolonged crisis.”

Final census results released earlier today put Iraq’s population at 46.1 million. People aged 15 to 45 make up about 60 percent of the total, creating a large youth cohort facing shrinking opportunities, with more than 36 percent of those aged 18 to 35 unemployed or underemployed.

Earlier this year, our agency found that millions of young Iraqis move between temporary, informal, or intermittent work, with many saying they have never held a stable job despite belonging to the largest workforce in Iraq’s modern history.

Read more: Youth in despair, no jobs to share: Iraq’s workforce hanging in the air