Country Report - Browse a full set of economic indicators

Iraq

Country Report - Includes Iraq real Gross Domestic Product growth rate, with latest forecasts and historical data, GDP per capita, GDP composition and breakdown by sector.

Browse additional economic indicators and data sets, selected by Global Finance editors, to learn more about Iraq economic outlook, debt to GDP ratio, international trade performance and population trends. Rankings of Iraq best banks and safest banks are also available.

Basic Information

Government Type: Federal parliamentary republic

Capital City: Baghdad

GDP & Economic Information

Macroeconomy & Sovereign Data

Central Bank Central Bank of Iraq

Currency USD 54.42 billion (2020)

International Reserves USD 201.47 billion (2021 estimate)

Gross Domestic Product – GDP USD 428.86 billion (2021 estimate)

GDP (Purchasing Power Parity) USD 10,415.31 (2021 estimate)

GDP Data

Real GDP growth 2017 -3.4%
2018 4.7%
2019 5.8%
2020* -15.7%
2021* 3.6%
*Estimate
GDP per capita – current prices USD 4,892.96 (2021 estimate)

GDP per capita – PPP USD 10,415.31 (2021 estimate)

GDP (PPP) – share of world total USD 0.30% (2021 estimate)

GDP – composition by sector aagriculture: 6.1%
industry: 44.4%
services: 50.8%
Gross domestic expenditure on R&D; (% of GDP) N/A
Inflation 2017 0.2%
2018 0.4%
2019 -0.2%
2020* 0.6%
2021* 0.64%
*Estimate

Inflation & Debt

Inflation 2017 0.2%
2018 0.4%
2019 -0.2%
2020* 0.6%
2021* 0.64%
*Estimate
Government Bond Ratings Standard & Poor’s: B–

Moody’s: Caa1

Standard & Poor’s / Moody’s (Updated January 2017)
Unemployment rate N/A
Household saving rates N/A
Public debt (General government gross debt as a % of GDP) 2017 59.1%
2018 47.8%
2019 45.1%
2020* 84.2%
2021* 59.4%
*Estimate
Public deficit (General government net lending/borrowing as a % of GDP) 2017 -0.5%
2018 9.1%
2019 1.8%
2020* -11.52%
2021* -0.5%
*Estimate
Market value of publicly traded shares N/A
Largest Companies N/A

Import/Export

Exports as percent of GDP (Exports of goods and services) 5.9% (2017)

Shares in world total merchandising export 0.004% (2018)

Shares in world total commercial services export 0.008% (2018)

Total exports USD 1.6 billion (2018 estimate)

Export commodities Opium, fruits and nuts, handwoven carpets, wool, cotton, hides and pelts, precious and semi-precious gems, and medical herbs

Total imports USD 8.3 billion (2018 estimate)

Import commodities Machinery and other capital goods, food, textiles, petroleum products

Exports – major partners India 56.5%, Pakistan 29.6% (2017)

Imports – major partners China 21%, Iran 20.5%, Pakistan 11.8%, Kazakhstan 11%, Uzbekistan 6.8%, Malaysia 5.3%(2017)

Competitiveness & Trade

Current account balance USD 12.4 billion (2021 estimate)

Current account balance by percentage of GDP 6.2% (2021 estimate)

FDI inflows 2018 USD -4,885 million
2019 USD -3,076 million
2020 USD -2,896 million
FDI Outflows 2018 USD 188 million
2019 USD 194 million
2020 USD 149 million
Value of cross-border M&A, by country of purchaser N/A


United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) – World Investment Report
Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2014 N/A
Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2015 N/A
Best countries for doing business
Economies are ranked on their ease of doing business. A high ease of doing business ranking means the regulatory environment is more conducive to the starting and operation of a local firm.

Overall ranking: 172 out of 190 countries (2020)

Subcategories:

Starting a Business: 154 out of 190 countries

Dealing with Construction Permits: 103 out of 190 countries

Getting Electricity: 131 out of 190 countries

Registering Property: 121 out of 190 countries

Getting Credit: 186 out of 190 countries

Protecting Minority Investors: 111 out of 190 countries

Paying Taxes: 131 out of 190 countries

Trading across Borders: 181 out of 190 countries

Enforcing Contracts: 147 out of 190 countries

Resolving Insolvency: 168 out of 190 countries
Global competitiveness ranking N/A
Index of Economic Freedom N/A

Population & Geographic Data

Total Area 438,317 sq km



Total Population 1990 N/A
2000 N/A
2010 30.962 million
2015* 36.067 million
2020* 40.959 million
*Estimate
Urban population as % of total population 1960 43%
1980 66%
2000 69%
2015 70%

Population median age 19.9 years (2016 estimate)



CIA World Factbook / Population median age
Population growth rate 2.87% (2016 estimate)

Life expectancy 74.9 years (2016 estimate)



CIA World Factbook / Life expectancy
% of population living on less than $3.10 a day 0.1% (2013)

Inequality of wealth distribution (Gini index) N/A
Freedom House rating Political Rights: 5
Civil Liberties: 6 (2017)

(1 represents the most free, 7 the least free rating)
Total telephone subscribers as % of population Fixed 5.58% Mobile 93.83% (2015)
(fixed-telephone subscribers and mobile-cellular subscribers)
Internet users as % of total population 17.22% (2015)

Language & Religon

Languages Arabic (official), Kurdish (official), Turkmen (a Turkish dialect), Syriac (Neo-Aramaic), and Armenian are official in areas where native speakers of these languages constitute a majority of the population
Literacy
Total population: 79.7%
Male: 85.7%
Female: 73.7% (2015 est.)

(age 15 and over can read and write)
Religions
Muslim (official) 95-98% (Shia 61-64%, Sunni 29-34%), Christian 1% (includes Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, Assyrian Church of the East), other 1-4% (2015 est.)

World Rankings

Population 2.8 M
Mercer Cost of living index N/A
C02 Emissions per capita 1.9 metric tons per capita (2018)

Global Finance Rankings & Awards: Iraq

Global Finance Magazine holds several conferences and awards ceremonies throughout the year to recognize the winning financial institutions and companies in a host of categories including World’s Best Trade Finance Banks, World's Biggest Banks, World's Safest Banks, World's Best Developed & Emerging Markets Banks, World's Best Internet Banks, and World’s Best Investment Banks.


Data Sources:

IMF World Economic Outlook

UN World Population Prospects

World Inequality Report

S&P Global Ratings

Moody’s

Fitch Ratings

IMF Direction of Trade Statistics (DOTS)

UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)

CIA The World Factbook

World Bank’s World Integrated Trade Solution

Forbes Global 2000

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