Iraq — Country Profile
Population, GDP, natural resources, leaders and history of Iraq: the Magna Factbook country file, with its Magna Power score (--/100, ranked #-- of 195).
Last updated: October 2026
Iraq — in Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iran and Kuwait. Political status: federal parliamentary republic. It covers 438,317 sq km. Terrain: mostly broad plains; reedy marshes along Iranian border in south with large flooded areas; mountains along borders with Iran and Turkey. Climate: mostly desert; mild to cool winters with dry, hot, cloudless summers; northern mountainous regions along Iranian and Turkish borders experience cold winters with occasionally heavy snows that melt in early spring, sometimes causing extensive flooding in central and so…
| Capital | Baghdad |
|---|---|
| Population | 42,917,742 (2025 est.) |
| GDP (PPP) | $585.887 billion (2024 est.) |
| GDP per capita (PPP) | $12,700 (2024 est.) |
| Real GDP growth | -1.5% (2024 est.) |
| Inflation | 4.4% (2023 est.) |
| Unemployment | 15.6% (2024 est.) |
| Public debt | 27.4% of GDP (2018 est.) |
| Exports | $107.852 billion (2023 est.) |
| Imports | $81.179 billion (2023 est.) |
| Life expectancy | 73.7 years (2024 est.) |
| Median age | 22.7 years (2025 est.) |
| Urbanization | 71.6% of total population (2023) |
| Government | federal parliamentary republic |
| Independence | 3 October 1932 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration) |
| Languages | Arabic (official), Kurdish (official); Turkmen (a Turkish dialect) and Syriac (Neo-Aramaic) are recognized as official languages where native speakers of these languages are present |
Iraq’s GDP is $585.887 billion (2024 est.) in purchasing-power-parity terms. At official exchange rates it stands at $279.641 billion (2024 est.). Real GDP grew -1.5% (2024 est.). See where Iraq ranks among all 195 countries by GDP.
POWER --/100 — The Magna Power score is our 0–100 composite of structural national power — nine components, 135 indicators. It is the Bureau's own assessment, not a mirror of World Bank or CIA figures.
Momentum 0 — Quarterly momentum: the Bureau's read on the country's trajectory over the last quarter, from −10 (deteriorating fast) to +10 (accelerating).
A quiet quarter: no major shocks, no breakthroughs. The country's trajectory is set by structural forces larger than any single season.
The honest reading is steadiness — neither crisis nor windfall — with the long currents of demography, trade and institutions deciding more than any three months.
- What our model rewards: public debt under 27% of GDP — room to maneuver; a current-account surplus of $28 billion — the world pays it more than it pays out
- What drags it down: only 1% of electricity from low-carbon sources; unemployment at 15.6%
Oil, Natural gas, Phosphates, Sulfur.
Energy is the physical base of economic power — what a country can generate, move and burn decides what it can build, sell and defend.
| Electricity access | 100% (2022 est.) |
|---|---|
| Installed capacity mix (CIA) | fossil fuels: 98.8% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); solar: 0.3% of total installed capacity (2023 est.); hydroelectricity: 0.9% of total installed capacity (2023 est.) |
| Energy consumption per capita (CIA) | 64.311 million Btu/person (2023 est.) |
| Primary energy consumption (OWID) | 736.8 TWh (2024) |
| Electricity generation (OWID) | 169.5 TWh (2024) |
| Energy per capita (OWID) | 16,002 kWh per person (2024) |
| Electricity generation mix (OWID) | Hydro 0.8%, Solar 0.2% (2024) |
| Low-carbon share of electricity (OWID) | 1.0% (2024) |
Sources: CIA World Factbook, Energy section; Our World in Data (IEA/Ember), 2024.
Trade shows what the world buys from a country and what the country must buy from the world — the balance between the two is a direct measure of economic leverage.
| Exports | $107.852 billion (2023 est.) |
|---|---|
| Imports | $81.179 billion (2023 est.) |
| Trade balance (calculated) | Surplus of $26.7 billion (2023), calculated from the CIA export and import figures above. |
| Key industries | petroleum, chemicals, textiles, leather, construction materials, food processing, fertilizer, metal fabrication/processing |
Source: CIA World Factbook, Economy section.
Ali al-Zaidi — Prime Minister. President Latif RASHID (since 13 October 2022)
Iraq maintains 59 embassies and 34 consulates abroad, hosts 58 foreign diplomatic missions. The breadth of a diplomatic network is a direct measure of diplomatic power — it shows how far a country’s influence, alliances and interests reach.
| Embassies abroad | 59 |
|---|---|
| Consulates abroad | 34 |
| Foreign missions hosted | 58 |
Source: Outbound: Consular Affairs Center (Yonsei Univ.), diplomatic & consular networks database, January 2026 report (Zenodo). Hosted: Wikipedia 'List of diplomatic missions in Iraq' as quoted in search results (58 embassies in Baghdad).
Transport networks are economic power made physical — ports, runways, railways and pipelines decide what a country can move, sell and defend.
| Sea access | Coastal — 58 km of coastline. |
|---|---|
| Airports (total) | 73 + 10 heliports (registration prefix YI) |
| Major seaports | Al Basrah, Al-Basra Oil Terminal, Khawr Al Amaya, Khawr Al Zubair, Umm Qasr |
| Railways | 2272 km |
Major airports
Al Najaf International Airport (NJF) — Najaf; Baghdad International Airport / New Al Muthana Air Base (BGW) — Baghdad; Basra International Airport (BSR) — Basra; Erbil International Airport (EBL) — Arbil; Kirkuk International Airport (KIK) — Kirkuk; Mosul International Airport (OSM) — Mosul; Jalal Talabani International Airport (ISU) — Sulaymaniyah.
Sources: OurAirports public-domain extract (2026-10-02); per-entry Wikipedia links included; CIA World Factbook via cia_factbook snapshot (2026-09-28)
| Political system | federal parliamentary republic |
|---|---|
| Next election | No election currently scheduled. |
POWER --/100 Ranked #-- of 195 countries in the Magna Country Rankings. Full ranking breakdown for Iraq.
This profile covers the population, economy, natural resources, leaders, and history of Iraq — with the Bureau’s live national-power score of --/100, ranking #-- of 195 countries.
What is Iraq's power score?
Iraq has a Magna Power score of --/100. The score measures structural power — the proven capacity to shape events — across nine components.