ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Iraq’s planning ministry on Wednesday estimated the country’s population to be over 46 million, including the Kurdistan Region and foreign nationals. 

“The total number of households in Iraq reached about 8,054,385, while the total population of Iraqis and non-Iraqis present in Iraq reached 46,118,793 individuals at the time of conducting the census,” Minister Mohammed Ali Tamim said in a Baghdad press conference. 

The population excluding foreigners stands at approximately 45,778,000, according to Tamim, with a near-even split of males and females. 

Individuals between 15 and 64 years old make up 60.4 percent of the population, while those aged above 65 amount to 3.6 percent, the minister noted. 

The average household size in Iraq stands at five individuals, and the country is experiencing a population growth of 2.5 percent, according to the statistics. 

Iraq conducted its first population census in 27 years from November 20 to 22, a significant milestone initially planned for 2020 but delayed by the COVID-19 pandemic. Notably, it was the first time in 37 years that the Kurdistan Region participated. The last census, in 1997, excluded the Kurdistan Region.

The 2024 census excluded questions on ethnicity and religious sect, leaving the precise demographic composition unknown.