What is life expectancy in Iraq?

Life expectancy in Iraq was 72.32 years in 2023, according to Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.

What is the highest life expectancy recorded in Iraq?

The highest recorded value was 72.32 years in 2023.

What is the lowest life expectancy recorded in Iraq?

The lowest recorded value was 37.4 years in 1950.

How does Iraq rank for life expectancy?

Iraq ranks 148th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.

Is life expectancy rising or falling in Iraq?

Over the last ten years it is up 4.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.

Where does this Iraq data come from?

The figures come from Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Life expectancy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Life expectancy in Iraq

Name: Life expectancy in Iraq
Creator: Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data
License: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)

Iraq: Life expectancy was 72.32 years in 2023. ▲ Rising

Latest (2023)

72.32 years

Change on year

up 0.4%

World rank

148th

of 236 countries

All-time high

72.32 years

in 2023

All-time low

37.4 years

in 1950

Years of data

1950–2023

Life expectancy in Iraq, 1950–2023

Source: Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in years.

Analysis

In 2023, life expectancy in Iraq stood at 72.32 years. That is the highest value across all 74 years on record.

The figure is up 0.4% on the previous year and up 4.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, life expectancy in Iraq peaked at 72.32 years in 2023 and was at its lowest, 37.4 years, in 1950.

Iraq ranks 148th of 236 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 74 years of available data.

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1950s	44.03 years	37.4 years	49.72 years	10
1960s	55.76 years	51.46 years	59.64 years	10
1970s	62.45 years	60.53 years	64.42 years	10
1980s	59.17 years	56.69 years	60.92 years	10
1990s	63.72 years	57.59 years	65.34 years	10
2000s	65.3 years	64.03 years	67.83 years	10
2010s	69.49 years	68.09 years	71.25 years	10
2020s	71.18 years	69.65 years	72.32 years	4

Countries ranked near Iraq

145 Guatemala 72.6 years compare
146 Venezuela 72.51 years compare
147 Uzbekistan 72.39 years compare
149 Saint Kitts and Nevis 72.14 years compare
150 Syria 72.12 years compare
151 El Salvador 72.1 years compare

See the full ranking of 236 places →

More health data for Iraq

Age population, age 10, male, interpolated 594,756 (2025)
Age population, age 13, male, interpolated 592,422 (2025)
Age population, age 13, female, interpolated 563,847 (2025)
Age population, age 12, male, interpolated 600,873 (2025)
Age population, age 12, female, interpolated 571,725 (2025)
Age population, age 11, male, interpolated 602,661 (2025)
Age population, age 11, female, interpolated 573,313 (2025)
Age population, age 09, female, interpolated 549,973 (2025)
Age population, age 08, female, interpolated 534,652 (2025)
Age population, age 08, male, interpolated 561,958 (2025)

All data for Iraq →

Frequently asked questions

What is life expectancy in Iraq?: Life expectancy in Iraq was 72.32 years in 2023, according to Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest life expectancy recorded in Iraq?: The highest recorded value was 72.32 years in 2023.
What is the lowest life expectancy recorded in Iraq?: The lowest recorded value was 37.4 years in 1950.
How does Iraq rank for life expectancy?: Iraq ranks 148th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
Is life expectancy rising or falling in Iraq?: Over the last ten years it is up 4.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Iraq data come from?: The figures come from Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Life expectancy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 74 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator: Life expectancy
Unit: years
Source: Riley (2005); Zijdeman et al. (2015); HMD (2025); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 236 places, 19,452 data points, 1543–2023
Last refreshed: 06 August 2026

Period life expectancy is the number of years the average person born in a certain year would live if they experienced the same chances of dying at each age as people did that year.