Compare
Iran vs Iraq
How Iran and Iraq compare on 39 measures, from 1789 to 2025. The main differences:
- Life expectancy · In 2023, Iran was higher: 77.7 years against 72.3 years
- GDP per person · In 2025, Iran was higher: $5,617 against $4,005
- Population · In 2023, Iran was higher: 90.6 million people against 45.1 million people
- Military spending · In 2025, Iraq was higher: 2.45% of GDP against 2.09% of GDP
- CO₂ per person · In 2024, Iran was higher: 9.05 tonnes against 5.18 tonnes
Every measure
Health
- Life expectancyIran: 77.7 years in 2023Iraq: 72.3 years in 2023
- Child mortalityIran: 1.1 per 100 live births in 2024Iraq: 2.2 per 100 live births in 2024
- Infant mortalityIran: 9.9 per 1,000 live births in 2023Iraq: 19 per 1,000 live births in 2023
- Safe drinking waterIran: 94.2% in 2022Iraq: 59.7% in 2022
- DepressionIran: 5.12% in 2017Iraq: 3.89% in 2017
- Suicide rateIran: 5.4 per 100,000 people in 2017Iraq: 4.1 per 100,000 people in 2017
People
- PopulationIran: 90.6 million people in 2023Iraq: 45.1 million people in 2023
- Population growthIran: 1.12% a year in 2023Iraq: 2.15% a year in 2023
- Fertility rateIran: 1.7 births per woman in 2023Iraq: 3.25 births per woman in 2023
- Urban populationIran: 77.4% in 2025Iraq: 69.9% in 2025
- Median ageIran: 32.9 years in 2023Iraq: 20.4 years in 2023
- People aged 65 and overIran: 7.9% in 2023Iraq: 3.4% in 2023
- Net migration rateIran: 2.9 per 1,000 people in 2023Iraq: -0.1 per 1,000 people in 2023
Economy
Education
Politics
Conflict
Military
- Military spendingIran: 2.09% of GDP in 2025Iraq: 2.45% of GDP in 2025
- Military spending in US dollarsIran: $7.45B in 2025Iraq: $6.4B in 2025
- Military spending per personIran: $80 in 2025Iraq: $139 in 2025
- Military share of state spendingIran: 11.2% of government spending in 2025Iraq: 5.5% of government spending in 2025
- Armed forces personnelIran: 650,000 people in 2020Iraq: 459,000 people in 2020
- National powerIran: 1.64% of world capability in 2022Iraq: 0.54% of world capability in 2022
- Armed forces, share of workersIran: 2.35% of the labour force in 2020Iraq: 4.4% of the labour force in 2020
- Arms importsIran: 42 million TIV in 2024Iraq: 55 million TIV in 2025
- Arms exportsIran: 80 million TIV in 2025Iraq: 20 million TIV in 1989
Climate
Technology and environment
Each country on its own
Good to know
- Sources: UN, Gapminder and UN IGME, WHO/UNICEF, IHME, World Bank, IMF, UNESCO, Our World in Data, V-Dem, UCDP, SIPRI, IISS, Correlates of War, ERA5, CMIP6, EDGAR, ITU and FAO. Each measure’s page names its own and what it counts.
- Values are drawn on today’s borders. Years without a published value are left empty, never filled in.
How the layers work, where their data comes from and what they can’t tell you: Countries through time