Population of Iraq 1800-2020
In 1800, the region of present-day Iraq had an estimated population of just over one million people. The population of Iraq would grow slowly throughout the 19th century, reaching just over two million by the beginning of the 20th century. However, Iraq’s population would begin to rise rapidly in the 1920s, as modernization programs implemented by the British administration, aided by the discovery of oil in 1927, would see mortality rates fall and living standards rise for much of the country. As a result, Iraq would grow to have a population of just under seven million by the time of the Iraqi Republic's establishment in 1958. Population growth would continue to increase following the creation of the republic, doubling to fourteen million by the 1980s; according to these estimates, the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s did little to change the trajectory of Iraq's population growth, nor did the Gulf War of 1990-1991, despite Iraq suffering up to half a million fatalities in these conflicts. Iraq's population growth did slow in the early 2000s however, with the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003. While the initial invasion would see relatively few casualties (compared to previous conflicts), the resulting economic turmoil and political instability, combined with the rise of the Iraqi insurgency and civil war in the region, would cause population growth to slow for several years. Population growth would recover starting in the 2010s, and by 2020, Iraq is estimated to have a population of just over forty million.
