Urban population growth in Iraq
Iraq: Urban population growth was 2.2% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Urban population growth in Iraq, 1961–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in annual %.
Analysis
In 2025, urban population growth in Iraq stood at 2.2%.
The figure is up 1.4% on the previous year and down 29.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, urban population growth in Iraq peaked at 6.6% in 1963 and was at its lowest, -0.6%, in 2007.
Iraq ranks 64th of 215 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 65 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 5.9% | 5.4% | 6.6% | 9 |
| 1970s | 4.9% | 4.5% | 5.4% | 10 |
| 1980s | 3.5% | 2.3% | 4.5% | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.7% | 0.5% | 4.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.6% | -0.6% | 3.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.3% | 2.2% | 5.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.2% | 2.2% | 2.3% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Iraq
More climate change data for Iraq
- Population growth 2.1% (2025)
- Population, total 47.02 million (2025)
- Urban population 32.89 million (2025)
- Urban population 69.9% (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million 24.6% (2025)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 42.42 billion cubic meters (2022)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 120.5% (2022)
- Terrestrial protected areas 1.5% (2025)
- Terrestrial and marine protected areas 1.5% (2025)
- Marine protected areas 0.0% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is urban population growth in Iraq?
- Urban population growth in Iraq was 2.2% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest urban population growth recorded in Iraq?
- The highest recorded value was 6.6% in 1963.
- What is the lowest urban population growth recorded in Iraq?
- The lowest recorded value was -0.6% in 2007.
- How does Iraq rank for urban population growth?
- Iraq ranks 64th out of 215 countries with data for 2025.
- Is urban population growth rising or falling in Iraq?
- Over the last ten years it is down 29.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Iraq data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Urban population growth (annual %). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 65 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Annual urban population growth rate for year t is the exponential rate of growth of midyear urban population from year t-1 to t, expressed as a percentage. Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated using World Bank total population estimates and urban ratios from the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects.