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🇮🇶 Iraq vs 🇸🇾 Syria

Iraq has 21.4M more people — 47,020,774 against 25,620,427. Below, 35 indicators both countries publish, side by side.

🇮🇶 Iraq
47,020,774
Asia · rank #34 · +2.10%
World Bank, 2025
🇸🇾 Syria
25,620,427
Asia · rank #57 · +3.77%
World Bank, 2025

Every Shared Indicator

35 indicators published for both countries. Ranks are out of the countries that report each indicator.

Values are each country's most recent published observation, so the two sides of a row may be from different years — the country pages show the year for each.
IndicatorIraqSyria
Population47,020,77434th of 24025,620,42757th of 240
Annual Growth Rate+2.10%46th of 240+3.77%6th of 240
Population Density/km²104/km²111th of 240128/km²94th of 240
Land Areakm²434,130 km²57th of 240183,630 km²89th of 240
Urban Population69.9%105th of 24072.1%95th of 240
GDP per Capita$5,410158th of 240$1,057224th of 240
GDP Growth−2.2%204th of 210−0.2%193rd of 210
Life Expectancyyears72.4 years153rd of 24072.6 years151st of 240
Fertility Ratebirths per woman3.22 births per woman51st of 2402.70 births per woman69th of 240
Birth Rateper 1,00025.6 per 1,00048th of 21323.2 per 1,00058th of 213
Death Rateper 1,0004.2 per 1,000203rd of 2134.9 per 1,000191st of 213
Infant Mortalityper 1,000 live births20.1 per 1,000 live births69th of 19417.7 per 1,000 live births72nd of 194
Unemployment Rate15.5%15th of 18613.6%20th of 186
Inflation Rate0.3%170th of 19113.4%18th of 191
Poverty Rate17.5%103rd of 16435.2%45th of 164
Gini Index29.8139th of 17026.4161st of 170
Health Spendingof GDP5.5% of GDP116th of 1922.7% of GDP183rd of 192
Physiciansper 1,0001.02 per 1,000127th of 2061.52 per 1,000107th of 206
Hospital Bedsper 1,0001.06 per 1,000151st of 1991.43 per 1,000136th of 199
Literacy Rate84.1%120th of 17594.4%87th of 175
Education Spendingof GDP3.6% of GDP127th of 2025.1% of GDP62nd of 202
School Enrollmentgross, secondary50.6% gross, secondary174th of 20738.7% gross, secondary189th of 207
Renewable Energyof final consumption1.1% of final consumption186th of 2111.1% of final consumption186th of 211
Forest Coverageof land area1.9% of land area185th of 2112.8% of land area182nd of 211
Internet Penetration81.5%104th of 21133.8%177th of 211
Mobile Subscriptionsper 100 people100.1 per 100 people137th of 21271.2 per 100 people175th of 212
Maternal Mortalityper 100,000 live births66 per 100,000 live births83rd of 19320 per 100,000 live births120th of 193
Military Spendingof GDP2.36% of GDP48th of 1634.06% of GDP19th of 163
Protected Areasof land area1.5% of land area201st of 2110.7% of land area204th of 211
Median Ageyears20.8 years192nd of 24023.3 years180th of 240
Mean Years of Schoolingyears8.3 years98th of 1487.9 years105th of 148
Human Development Index0.695125th of 1920.564161st of 192
Happiness Index/ 105.21/ 10101st of 1643.46/ 10158th of 164
CO₂ Emissionstonnes per capita5.07 tonnes per capita66th of 2121.29 tonnes per capita148th of 212
Obesity Rate36.8%32nd of 19829.9%69th of 198

Population, 1950–2100

Observed to 2024, then the UN medium-variant projection.

IraqSyria
020M40M60M80M100M19501971199320142036205720792100projected →
Source: UN World Population Prospects 2024. Values from 2025 onward are projections, not observations.
Iraq and Syria population, 1950 to 2100
SeriesYearValue
Iraq19505.65M
Iraq197511.5M
Iraq200024.4M
Iraq202547M
Iraq205071.9M
Iraq207591.1M
Iraq2100100.6M
Syria19503.61M
Syria19757.55M
Syria200016.6M
Syria202525.6M
Syria205037.8M
Syria207543.6M
Syria210043.7M

Reading This Comparison

Size is not the same as rate

Totals and per-capita measures answer different questions. A country can have a far larger economy and a far lower GDP per capita at the same time — both facts are in the table.

Mind the vintages

Each value is the latest available for that country, which is not always the same year on both sides. For indicators that move slowly this rarely matters; for inflation or GDP growth it can.

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