Iraqi salary bill set to soar, economist warns

Shafaq News/ Iraqi government spending on salaries is set to surge, potentially doubling to 5% over the next five years and putting the country’s economy at serious risk, economist Manar al-Obaidi, head of the Iraq Future Foundation, warned on Tuesday.

In a Facebook post, al-Obaidi forecast a 27% increase in Iraq’s public sector salaries in 2024, surpassing 60 trillion IQD ($42.37 billion) for the first time—an amount equal to 40% of total government expenditures.

“Salaries have reached dangerous levels that will have catastrophic consequences for Iraq’s economy,” he cautioned.

He noted that salary expenses have risen by 50% over the past five years, without a corresponding increase in non-oil revenues or improvements in public services, questioning, “What’s the benefit of raising the salary bill?”

Meanwhile, the ongoing salary dispute between Baghdad and Erbil has fueled persistent tension, with the federal government’s recent decision to halt salary disbursements to the Region’s employees sparking criticism in Kurdistan.

The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) condemned the federal government’s decision calling it a violation of constitutional rights and a form of political exploitation.