Middle East & North Africa
A life that begins in Iraq
One in every 112 babies in the world is born here: about 1,202,791 a year, 2.3 a minute.
- Population
- 47,020,774
- Births a year
- 1,202,791
- Life expectancy
- 72.3
- Children who die before 5 (per 1,000)
- 21.8
Health and survival
Life expectancy, women (years)
74.2
World: 75.9
Life expectancy, men (years)
70.5
World: 71
Babies who die before 1 (per 1,000)
20.1
World: 27.8
Children who die before 5 (per 1,000)
21.8
World: 37.6
Mothers who die in childbirth (per 100,000 births)
66
World: 189
Adults living with HIV (%)
0.1
World: 0.7
Adults who smoke (%)
20
World: 20
Alcohol per adult (litres a year)
0.24
World: 4.6
Road deaths (per 100,000)
27.3
World: 17
Homicides (per 100,000)
9.5
World: 4.7
Family and school
Children per woman
3.22
World: 2.85
Women married before 18 (%)
28
World: 18
Children in primary school (%)
93
World: 89
Secondary school enrolment (%)
51
World: 81
Higher education enrolment (%)
16
World: 48
Children aged 7–14 who work (%)
6.4
World: 11.9
Money and work
Income per person (PPP)
$12,192
World: $21,797
Income inequality (Gini, 0–100)
30
World: 34
Living on under $3 a day (%)
0.5
World: 9.9
Unemployment (%)
15.5
World: 5.1
Jobs in farming (%)
8
World: 27
Women in the workforce (%)
11
World: 48
Health costs paid out of pocket (%)
54
World: 37
Home and connection
Living in cities (%)
70
World: 58
Access to electricity (%)
100
World: 92
Safe drinking water (%)
98
World: 91
Internet users (%)
81
World: 72
Peace and wellbeing
Life satisfaction (0–10)
5.21
World: 5.4
Deaths in armed conflict (per 100,000 a year)
0.91
World: 2.43
Refugees abroad (% of population)
0.58
World: 0.34
From 1960 to 2050
How life here has changed, and where UN projections expect it to go. The dashed part is a projection.
1960: 51.5 → 2026: 71.7 → 2050: 75.3
World
1960: 190 → 2026: 21 → 2050: 10
World
1960: 5.3 → 2026: 3.2 → 2050: 2.5
World
1960: 44 → 2026: 70 → 2050: 82
World
Nobody chooses where they are born
In the game, the country is drawn by the real share of births: Iraq comes up about once in every 112 lives.
Be born nowOther countries in Middle East & North Africa
All 178 countries →Sources: World Bank (WDI), UN World Population Prospects, Our World in Data, World Happiness Report, UCDP and PRIO. Updated 2026-10-18.