Population living in slums in Iraq
Iraq: Population living in slums was 49.3% in 2022. ▲ Rising
Population living in slums in Iraq, 2000–2022
Source: Urban Indicators Database, UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat). Measured in % of urban population.
Analysis
The most recent figure for population living in slums in Iraq is 49.3%, measured in 2022. That is the highest value across all 12 years on record.
The figure is up 14.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, population living in slums in Iraq peaked at 49.3% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 33.9%, in 2000.
That places Iraq 31st out of 174 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 12 years of available data.
Population living in slums in Iraq, year by year
| Year | % of urban population | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 33.9% | — |
| 2002 | 35.4% | +4.6% |
| 2004 | 37.0% | +4.4% |
| 2006 | 38.5% | +4.2% |
| 2008 | 40.1% | +4.0% |
| 2010 | 41.6% | +3.9% |
| 2012 | 43.2% | +3.7% |
| 2014 | 44.7% | +3.6% |
| 2016 | 46.2% | +3.5% |
| 2018 | 47.8% | +3.3% |
| 2020 | 49.3% | +3.2% |
| 2022 | 49.3% | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 37.0% | 33.9% | 40.1% | 5 |
| 2010s | 44.7% | 41.6% | 47.8% | 5 |
| 2020s | 49.3% | 49.3% | 49.3% | 2 |
Countries ranked near Iraq
More poverty & inequality data for Iraq
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 1 surveys (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per person (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Fertility rate vs. share living in extreme poverty 3.25 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 2,749 kg per hectare (2023)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, annual growth rate -7.71 % change on previous year (2023)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Gender Inequality Index 0.558 (2023)
- Share of government consumption in GDP vs. share of population living in extreme poverty 20.3% (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is population living in slums in Iraq?
- Population living in slums in Iraq was 49.3% in 2022, according to Urban Indicators Database, UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat).
- What is the highest population living in slums recorded in Iraq?
- The highest recorded value was 49.3% in 2020.
- What is the lowest population living in slums recorded in Iraq?
- The lowest recorded value was 33.9% in 2000.
- How does Iraq rank for population living in slums?
- Iraq ranks 31st out of 174 countries with data for 2022.
- Is population living in slums rising or falling in Iraq?
- Over the last ten years it is up 14.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Iraq data come from?
- The figures come from Urban Indicators Database, UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-Habitat), published as part of Population living in slums (% of urban population). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 12 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Population living in slums is the proportion of the urban population living in slum households. A slum household is defined as a group of individuals living under the same roof lacking one or more of the following conditions: access to improved water, access to improved sanitation, sufficient living area, housing durability, and security of tenure, as adopted in the Millennium Development Goal Target 7.D. The successor, the Sustainable Development Goal 11.1.1, considers inadequate housing (housing affordability) to complement the above definition of slums/informal settlements.