Shafaq News- Baghdad

Private sector building and renovation permits in Iraq dropped to 25,934 in 2025, an 11.4% decline from 29,729 issued the previous year, according to data released Tuesday by the Commission of Statistics and GIS.

The figure extends a sustained contraction that began after the sector peaked in 2022 at 37,442 permits, following a recovery from a historic low of 17,665 recorded in 2020. Permits eased to 34,373 in 2023 and 29,279 in 2024 before declining further last year.

Baghdad led all provinces in new residential construction permits, accounting for 17.5% of the national total. Basra followed at 12% and Karbala at 9%. Al-Anbar, Babil, and Wasit each recorded 7%, while Diyala, Dhi Qar, Al-Diwaniyah (Al-Qadisiyyah), and Najaf each held 6%. Al-Muthanna registered 5%, Kirkuk and Maysan 4% each, and Nineveh 3%. Saladin posted the lowest share nationally, at 1%.

The Iraqi Ministry of Construction and Housing, Municipalities and Public Works, revealed earlier that the country aims to reduce its housing shortage by at least 50% by 2030, relying on partnerships with private developers to accelerate construction at scale.

Iraq's first national census in nearly four decades, conducted in November 2024, recorded 46.1 million residents across more than eight million households, with an annual population growth rate of approximately 2.6%. Iraq needs to add at least 250,000 housing units per year to keep pace with demand.

Despite legislative frameworks intended to address the crisis, practical implementation has drawn criticism, with the Iraqi Business Council noting that residential investment projects have increasingly catered to wealthy buyers rather than low- and middle-income groups.