Total fertility rate of Iraq 1925-2020

In 1925, the total fertility rate in Iraq was approximately 7.1 children per woman, meaning that the average woman born in Iraq at this time could expect to have seven children over the course of her reproductive years. This number increased to eight babies per woman by the 1950s, however, modernization and a decline in child mortality led to many families opting to have fewer children from the fifties onwards. This decline was interrupted by a temporary spike throughout the 1960s, which some studies attribute to disruptions in family planning services during the First Iraqi-Kurdish War. From the 1970s onwards, Iraq's fertility rate would continue its decline, falling to just over five children per woman by 2000. While Iraq’s fertility rate remains one of the highest in the region, the rate has continued to fall in the 21^st century, and in 2020, the average woman born in Iraq can expect to have approximately 3.7 children over the course of her reproductive years.