Rural population in Iraq
Iraq: Rural population was 14.13 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
14.13 million
Change on year
up 1.9%
World rank
42nd
of 218 countries
All-time high
14.13 million
in 2025
All-time low
3.92 million
in 1961
Years of data
66
1960–2025
Rural population in Iraq, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
In 2025, rural population in Iraq stood at 14.13 million. That is the highest value across all 66 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.9% on the previous year and up 25.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in Iraq peaked at 14.13 million in 2025 and was at its lowest, 3.92 million, in 1961.
Iraq ranks 42nd of 218 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Rural population in Iraq, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 3.93 million | — |
| 1961 | 3.92 million | -0.3% |
| 1962 | 3.93 million | +0.1% |
| 1963 | 3.94 million | +0.4% |
| 1964 | 3.96 million | +0.5% |
| 1965 | 3.99 million | +0.7% |
| 1966 | 4.03 million | +0.9% |
| 1967 | 4.07 million | +1.0% |
| 1968 | 4.11 million | +1.0% |
| 1969 | 4.15 million | +1.0% |
| 1970 | 4.19 million | +1.0% |
| 1971 | 4.23 million | +1.0% |
| 1972 | 4.28 million | +1.0% |
| 1973 | 4.32 million | +1.1% |
| 1974 | 4.37 million | +1.0% |
| 1975 | 4.41 million | +1.0% |
| 1976 | 4.45 million | +1.0% |
| 1977 | 4.50 million | +1.1% |
| 1978 | 4.56 million | +1.1% |
| 1979 | 4.59 million | +0.8% |
| 1980 | 4.62 million | +0.6% |
| 1981 | 4.64 million | +0.4% |
| 1982 | 4.65 million | +0.3% |
| 1983 | 4.68 million | +0.6% |
| 1984 | 4.73 million | +1.0% |
| 1985 | 4.76 million | +0.7% |
| 1986 | 4.82 million | +1.2% |
| 1987 | 4.92 million | +2.2% |
| 1988 | 5.04 million | +2.4% |
| 1989 | 5.21 million | +3.3% |
| 1990 | 5.32 million | +2.2% |
| 1991 | 5.44 million | +2.2% |
| 1992 | 5.68 million | +4.3% |
| 1993 | 6.04 million | +6.3% |
| 1994 | 6.41 million | +6.2% |
| 1995 | 6.70 million | +4.5% |
| 1996 | 6.97 million | +4.0% |
| 1997 | 7.21 million | +3.5% |
| 1998 | 7.44 million | +3.2% |
| 1999 | 7.67 million | +3.1% |
| 2000 | 7.91 million | +3.0% |
| 2001 | 8.13 million | +2.8% |
| 2002 | 8.35 million | +2.8% |
| 2003 | 8.56 million | +2.6% |
| 2004 | 8.76 million | +2.4% |
| 2005 | 8.98 million | +2.5% |
| 2006 | 9.00 million | +0.2% |
| 2007 | 8.88 million | -1.3% |
| 2008 | 9.02 million | +1.6% |
| 2009 | 9.33 million | +3.4% |
| 2010 | 9.61 million | +3.0% |
| 2011 | 9.93 million | +3.4% |
| 2012 | 10.36 million | +4.3% |
| 2013 | 10.78 million | +4.1% |
| 2014 | 11.09 million | +2.8% |
| 2015 | 11.30 million | +1.9% |
| 2016 | 11.57 million | +2.4% |
| 2017 | 11.84 million | +2.3% |
| 2018 | 12.13 million | +2.4% |
| 2019 | 12.41 million | +2.3% |
| 2020 | 12.69 million | +2.2% |
| 2021 | 12.98 million | +2.3% |
| 2022 | 13.28 million | +2.3% |
| 2023 | 13.58 million | +2.3% |
| 2024 | 13.87 million | +2.1% |
| 2025 | 14.13 million | +1.9% |
Iraq compared with similar countries
- Iraq's 14.13 million is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 1.53 million, 9.3× the median. (59 countries reporting)
- Iraq's 14.13 million is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 1.62 million, 8.7× the median. (23 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 4.00 million | 3.92 million | 4.15 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 4.39 million | 4.19 million | 4.59 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 4.81 million | 4.62 million | 5.21 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 6.49 million | 5.32 million | 7.67 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 8.69 million | 7.91 million | 9.33 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 11.10 million | 9.61 million | 12.41 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 13.42 million | 12.69 million | 14.13 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Iraq
More agriculture & rural data for Iraq
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual -8.53 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.0341 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 184.67 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 1.94 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.3006 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 3.4% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 3.4% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.0% (2016)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.1% (2014)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in Iraq?
- Rural population in Iraq was 14.13 million in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in Iraq?
- The highest recorded value was 14.13 million in 2025.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in Iraq?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.92 million in 1961.
- How does Iraq rank for rural population?
- Iraq ranks 42nd out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in Iraq?
- Over the last ten years it is up 25.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Iraq data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Rural population. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 66 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Rural population refers to people living in rural areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated as the difference between total population and urban population. Aggregation of urban and rural population may not add up to total population because of different country coverages.