Demographics of Iraq

Further information: Iraqi people

Ethnic and religious groups in Iraq

  Iraqi Arabs (Shia Islam)

  Iraqi Arabs (Sunni Islam)

  Kurds

  Assyrians

  Yazidis

  Turkmen

This article is about the demographic features of the population of Iraq, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

The 2009 IMF population estimate of Iraq is 31,234,000.^[1]

Background

See also: History of Iraq

Iraq is the region known outside the Islamic world as Mesopotamia, the population estimate in 1920 was 3 million. The ruins of Ur, Babylon, and other ancient cities are situated in Iraq, as is the legendary location of the Garden of Eden. Almost 75% of Iraq's population lives in the flat, alluvial plain stretching southeast from Tikrit to the Persian Gulf. The Tigris and the Euphrates carry about 70 million cubic meters of silt annually from this plain down to the delta. The water from these two great rivers, and the fertility of the soil in the alluvial plain and the delta, allowed early agriculture to sustain a stable population as far back as the 7th millennium BC.

Demographic statistics

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.

Population

31,234,000.^[1] (April 2009 IMF est.)

Age structure

0-14 years: 39.7% (male 5,398,645; female 5,231,760)

15-64 years: 57.3% (male 7,776,257; female 7,576,726)

65 years and over: 3% (male 376,700; female 423,295) (2006 est.)

Population growth rate

2.66% (2007 est.)

Birth rate

31.45 births/1,000 population (2006 est)

Death rate

5.37 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female

total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate

48.64 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 69.01 years

male: 67.76 years

female: 70.31 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate

4.28 children born/woman (2005 est.)

3.76 children born/woman (2010 est.)

Nationality

noun: Iraqi(s)

adjective: Iraqi

Ethnic groups

Iraqi Arabs 75%-80%, Kurds 15%-20%, Assyrians 2%, Turkmen 1%.

Religions

Islam 97% (Shi'a 60%-65%, Sunni 32%-37%), Christianity and other 3%.

Languages

See also: Languages of Iraq

Arabic, Kurdish, Aramaic, Turkmen, Persian

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 74.1%

male: 84.1%

female: 64.2% (2000 est.)

Median Age

Total Population: 19.7 years

Male: 19.6 years

Female: 19.8 years (2006 est.)

See also

• Iraqi people
• Iraqi diaspora
• Refugees of Iraq
• Armenians in Iraq
• Palestinians in Iraq
• History of the Jews in Iraq

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "Iraq". International Monetary Fund. http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2009/01/weodata/weorept.aspx?sy=2006&ey=2009&scsm=1&ssd=1&sort=country&ds=.&br=1&c=433&s=NGDPD%2CNGDPDPC%2CPPPGDP%2CPPPPC%2CLP&grp=0&a=&pr.x=83&pr.y=17. Retrieved 2009-04-27. 

External links

• Iraq Inter-Agency Information & Analysis Unit Reports, Maps and Assessments of Iraq's Governorates from the UN Inter-Agency Information & Analysis Unit
• CIA World Fact Book
• Linguist List partial inventory of languages and dialects of Iraq
• The Iraq DNA project