Iraq's population figures: World Population Review and Iraqi ministry present varying estimates

Shafaq News/ Iraq's population has surpassed the 45-million mark in 2023, US-based World Population Review said in a recent report, highlighting a gradual decline in the population growth rate.

As per the report accessed by Shafaq News Agency, Iraq's population reached 45,262,225 as of February 2023, reflecting a growth rate of 2.31%.

By the end of 2022, the population was registered at 44,496,122, according to the report.

Notably, these figures stand in stark contrast to the estimates proffered by the Iraqi Ministry of Planning, which had estimated the population at 42,248,883 by the conclusion of 2022.

The World Population Review's report elucidated that Iraq's population growth rate has been experiencing a steady decline, presently registering at 2.31%—a reduction from 2.35% in 2022, 2.39% in 2020, and 3.85% in 2015.

Projections based on the current growth rate anticipate that Iraq's population will exceed 52 million by 2030.

According to the report, the average number of daily births stands at 3,329, while the daily death rate registers at 529.

The country, the report said, is home to 24,894,724 individuals aged 18 and above, with a life expectancy of 74.9 years.

Iraq's most recent census, conducted in 1997, unveiled a population of nearly 19 million across the nation, excluding the governorates of the Iraqi Kurdistan region. During that period, regional officials approximated the Kurdish region's population to be around three million citizens.