IraqDeep Insight
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Understanding Iraq

Economy & living

Connect oil, public finance, jobs, trade and infrastructure.

Shatt al-Arab, Basra · historical photograph
Shatt al-Arab, Basra · historical photograph · 2004user:aziz1005 ↗Public domain

GDP · current US dollars

254,367,293,538USD

2025 · Iraq

Current World Bank series; revisions may differ from the older guide.

Sources & licences · 1

GDP per capita · current US dollars

5,409.68USD/person

2025 · Iraq

Current World Bank series; revisions may differ from the older guide.

Sources & licences · 1

Understanding GDP and GDP per capita

GDP measures production over a period, while GDP per capita combines that aggregate with a population definition. Current-dollar values reflect quantities, prices and exchange rates; real growth uses comparable prices. Fact cards retain year and source. GDP is not household disposable income or a travel budget, and a national average does not describe income distributions within particular cities or regions.

Sources & licences · 2

How oil affects the wider economy

Oil and gas are central to production and exports. Output, exports, prices, fiscal receipts and sectoral value added are distinct measures rather than one interchangeable “oil share”. Price or production changes affect public resources and then spending, investment and employment elsewhere. Basra’s fields, ports and service networks illustrate the connection, without implying that every resident works in petroleum.

Sources & licences · 2

Employment and non-oil development

Diversification requires more than a longer industry list: business conditions, skills, finance, infrastructure and work opportunities matter. Agriculture, trade, construction, transport, tourism and services operate under different regional conditions. Public and private employment, youth and women’s employment need their own definitions and samples. National unemployment is not a city or subgroup rate, and growth need not translate immediately into better employment.

Sources & licences · 2

Electricity, transport and digital systems

Infrastructure shapes production, circulation and everyday life. The guide covers power, roads, railways, airports, ports and communication networks, alongside development plans. Generation capacity, available electricity and service hours differ; mobile connections are not unique users. National projects explain development context, while the capabilities of a particular place require facility or local evidence.

Shatt al-Arab, Basra · historical photograph
Shatt al-Arab, Basra · historical photograph · 2004user:aziz1005 ↗Public domain
Sources & licences · 2

Trade, ports and China–Iraq ties

Foreign trade links crude exports with imports of food, equipment and consumer goods. Southern ports, land crossings and domestic transport explain its geography. China–Iraq ties include goods, direct investment, contracted projects and services. Trade, investment flows, stocks, new contracts and completed turnover have different definitions and cannot be added into a single cooperation total. The guide’s tables retain their reporting years and institutions.

Al-Ashar Canal, Basra · 2025
Al-Ashar Canal, Basra · 2025 · 2025-12-01Clemens Schmillen ↗CC BY-SA 4.0
Sources & licences · 1

Currency, payments and living costs

Iraq uses the dinar. Official and market exchange rates, banking and cash transactions, and price indices versus individual prices are distinct. Food prices in the guide refer to a place and month, not a live nationwide price list. Housing, transport, power arrangements and service choices shape living costs. GDP per capita is not used to infer hotel or restaurant prices; quotations need place, currency, date and inclusions.

Sources & licences · 2