Demographic profile
Iraq is the 34th most populous of the 238 countries and territories tracked on this site, home to about 0.58% of everyone alive. Within Middle East, it ranks 2 of 18.
Each day brings roughly 3,424 births and 592 deaths, adding about 1,034,366 people over a year. At the current natural-increase rate of 2.15% annually, the population would double in roughly 33 years if the rate held. Real trajectories bend as fertility, mortality and migration shift, which is why the chart below shows both history and projection.
Among its first-level divisions, the largest by our modelled allocation is Kirkuk, holding an estimated 23.2% of the national population. The full breakdown of all 19 states and regions is in the table below — regional figures outside Sudan are modelled estimates built on real region names, and are flagged as such.
Literacy stands near 85.6% and adult smoking prevalence around 18.9%, with life expectancy at about 66.5 years. Baselines come from UN World Population Prospects, the World Bank, WHO surveys, WorldPop and HDX; the counters project them forward in real time — the method, and every caveat, is documented on our data sources page.
Quick answers
What is the population of Iraq in 2026? Approximately 48,100,266 people (live projection; the counter above updates every second).
How fast is Iraq growing? About 2.15% per year — roughly 3,424 births and 592 deaths every day.
What share of the world lives in Iraq? Around 0.58% — ranked 34 worldwide by population.