Shafaq News- Baghdad

Baghdad ranked as the second-largest Arab city by population in 2026, with over 8 million residents, according to new estimates released by World Population Review.

The report places the Iraqi capital’s population at 8,370,410, reflecting an increase of 229,290 people over the past year —an annual growth rate of 2.82%. By comparison, Baghdad had 579,167 residents in 1950.

Cairo topped the list with 23.5 million residents, while Riyadh ranked third with 8.0 million. Khartoum and Alexandria recorded 6.9 million and 5.9 million, respectively, followed by Jeddah with 5.1 million and Casablanca with 4.0 million. Sanaa was listed with 3.6 million residents, Kuwait City with 3.4 million, and Dubai rounded out the top ten with 3.1 million.

Read more: Census shock: Can Iraq’s system absorb its population explosion?