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MacroIraq

Unemployment rate in Iraq

How hard is it to have a job there?

Iraq's unemployment rate is 15.48 % — #119 of 124 countries on the atlas (lower is better). Period 2025.

15.48%

Checked 8 Sept 2026Period 2025

Source: World Bank open data (GDP growth, GDP/capita, unemployment, government debt)

Unemployment rate in Iraq over time

16.17 %12.07 %7.96 %16.17 % · 20217.96 % · 20122000: 8.04 %2001: 8.25 %2002: 8.62 %2003: 8.96 %2004: 8.71 %2005: 8.57 %2006: 8.41 %2007: 8.65 %2008: 8.47 %2009: 8.41 %2010: 8.27 %2011: 8.19 %2012: 7.96 %2013: 9.22 %2014: 10.59 %2015: 10.87 %2016: 10.82 %2017: 13.02 %2018: 13.46 %2019: 14.10 %2020: 15.77 %2021: 16.17 %2022: 15.41 %2023: 15.24 %2024: 15.29 %2025: 15.48 %20002012202515.48 %
26 official observations, 2000 → 2025. Every point is a published value — never interpolated.
Rank
#119 of 124
lower is better
Ranked behind
4 %
5 of 124 countries
Latest move
▲ 0.19 pp
since 2024
Below its peak
0.69 pp
peak 16.17 % in 2021
Full series
▲ 7.45 pp
since 2000

In Asia: #35 of 36vs median 5.25 %: +10.23 pp (worse)

Among 124 countries

6 of 124 countries between 0.78 % and 1.53 %6 of 124 countries between 1.53 % and 2.28 %12 of 124 countries between 2.28 % and 3.03 %16 of 124 countries between 3.03 % and 3.78 %7 of 124 countries between 3.78 % and 4.53 %15 of 124 countries between 4.53 % and 5.28 %14 of 124 countries between 5.28 % and 6.02 %7 of 124 countries between 6.02 % and 6.77 %6 of 124 countries between 6.77 % and 7.52 %2 of 124 countries between 7.52 % and 8.27 %10 of 124 countries between 8.27 % and 9.02 %3 of 124 countries between 9.02 % and 9.77 %3 of 124 countries between 9.77 % and 10.52 %2 of 124 countries between 10.52 % and 11.27 %3 of 124 countries between 11.27 % and 12.02 %1 of 124 countries between 12.02 % and 12.77 %1 of 124 countries between 12.77 % and 13.51 %2 of 124 countries between 13.51 % and 14.26 %1 of 124 countries between 14.26 % and 15.01 %2 of 124 countries between 15.01 % and 15.76 %1 of 124 countries between 16.51 % and 17.26 %4 of 124 countries between 18.01 % and 18.76 %median 5.23 %Iraq: ahead of 4 % of the 124 countries with a published unemploymentIraq 15.48 %0.78 %18.76 %
Half of all 124 countries sit between 3.30 % and 8.30 %. Iraq is ahead of 4 % of them. Axis trimmed to the 2nd–98th percentile; 5 values beyond it sit in the end bars.

The neighbourhood

#CountryUnemploymentvs Iraq
117 Haiti14.94 %−0.54 pp
118 Tunisia15.11 %−0.38 pp
119 Iraq15.48 %—
120 Jordan16.54 %+1.05 pp
121 Libya18.76 %+3.27 pp

Unemployment, share of the labour force (World Bank / ILO estimate).

How to read this figure

Share of the labour force without work but actively seeking it (World Bank / ILO harmonised estimate). People outside the labour force — students, carers, the discouraged — are not counted.

Next, about Iraq

GDP growthGDP per capita
Unemployment rate, all countries ranked →Compare Iraq with another country →Everything about Iraq →
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