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Population Review

World Bank · 14 metrics compared

Iran, Islamic Rep. vs Iraq

Source·World Bank Open DataUpdated·Reviewed by·Population Review Data Team

Iran, Islamic Rep. and Iraq compared across 14 demographic and economic metrics. Iran, Islamic Rep. leads in 8 of the comparable categories.

MetricIran, Islamic Rep.Iraq
Population90,608,70745,074,049
GDP Per Capita$5,049$5,965
Life Expectancy77.772.3
Population Growth Rate1.202.25
Urban Population76.7%69.9%
Fertility Rate1.703.25
Infant Mortality (per 1000)10.620.7
Literacy Rate88.9%84.1%
Unemployment Rate8.1%15.2%
Internet Users81.7%78.7%
CO2 Per Capita (tonnes)--
Physicians Per 10001.811.02
Gini Index35.929.8
Forest Area6.6%1.9%

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Frequently Asked Questions

Iran, Islamic Rep. has a population of 90,608,707 compared to Iraq's 45,074,049.

Across the metrics compared, Iran, Islamic Rep. leads in 8 categories while Iraq leads in 2. However, "better" depends on what matters most to you, income, cost of living, education, climate, and personal preferences all play a role.

International data from the World Bank Open Data API. Population and economic data are latest available estimates.

Comparison based on World Bank Open Data. Most recent available year used for each metric. Green highlighting indicates favorable values where applicable.

The side-by-side above pulls the the U.S. Census Bureau ACS and decennial files data for both Iran, Islamic Rep. and Iraq. What follows is the interpretation — which specific axes carry the most weight for Iran, Islamic Rep. versus Iraq, and which differences are large enough to influence a real decision.

For households or analysts using this comparison as a decision input, the right framing is usually not "which is better" in aggregate but "which is better for the specific decision in front of you." the U.S. Census Bureau ACS and decennial files captures the raw data; the framing depends on whether the question is investment, residency, planning, or research.

Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS, 2026.