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This article is about the demographic features of the population of Iraq, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
The 2009 IMF population estimate of Iraq is 31,234,000.[1]
Iraq is the region known outside the Islamic world as Mesopotamia, the population estimate in 1920 was 3 million. The ruins of Ur, Babylon, and other ancient cities are situated in Iraq, as is the legendary location of the Garden of Eden. Almost 75% of Iraq's population lives in the flat, alluvial plain stretching southeast from Baghdad to Basra and the Persian Gulf. The Tigris River and the Euphrates River carry about 70 million cubic meters of silt annually from this plain down to the delta. The water from these two great rivers, and the fertility of the soil in the alluvial plain and the delta, allowed early agriculture to sustain a stable population as far back as the 6th millennium BC.
Over its long history, many civilizations grew and flourished in the region. Following the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, Iraq was formed by the League of Nations from three Ottoman vilayets (regions), gaining independence in 1932.
Iraq is home to several ethnic groups, the most numerous being Arabic speakers, followed by Kurds, Iraqi Turkmen and Assyrians. Other distinct groups are Armenians, Persians, Adyghe,[2][3] Shabaks and Lurs. Arabic is the most commonly spoken language. Kurdish, Iraqi Turkish and Syriac are spoken in the north, and English is the most commonly spoken European language. [4]
The Semitic Iraqis today are an overall indigenous Mesopotamian people, who are closely related to the indigenous ancient people, much like the case with the people of the Levant. While modern-day Iraqi Arabs form part of the Arab collective by virtue of their modern-day language and bonds to Arab culture and history — they are in fact largely a blend of the various Aramaic speaking groups indigenous to the region, as well as other groups like the Kurds and Turks, and not the direct descendants of the tribes of Arabia. However, during the Arab expansion period, Muslim Arabs from Arabia controlled the area and there was some amount of immigration.
Shia Islam is the predominant religion, followed by Sunni Islam and Christianity. Small communities of Bahá'ís, Mandaeans, and Yezidis also exist. Until 1948, there was also a 150,000 strong community of Jews, but the community has dwindled down to no more than a handful today. Most Kurds are Sunni Muslim, with about 10% being Shi'a Faili Kurds in central Iraq.
The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.
Arabs 75-80%, Kurds 15%-20%, Turkmen, Assyrian and other 5%.[5]
Muslim 97% (Shi'a 60%-65%, Sunni 32%-37%), Christian and other 3%.[1]
Arabic, Kurdish, Persian, Turkish, Aramaic; Assyrian Neo-Aramaic, Chaldean Neo-Aramaic, and Armenian
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   | Kurdish Institute - Institut kurde de Paris |
| | UN press briefing on the demographics of Iraq - PRESS BRIEFING ON IRAQ DEMOGRAPHICS |
| | Linguist List partial inventory of languages and dialects of Iraq - Linguist List - Show languages in a Country |
| | BBC page with population density map, and a religious breakdown map - BBC NEWS | Middle East | Iraq Body Count: War dead figures |
| | CIA World Fact Book - CIA - The World Factbook |
| | CIA World Fact Book - World Factbook Redirect — Central Intelligence Agency |
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