Compare
Iraq vs Saudi Arabia
How Iraq and Saudi Arabia compare on 38 measures, from 1789 to 2025. The main differences:
- Life expectancy · In 2023, Saudi Arabia was higher: 78.7 years against 72.3 years
- GDP per person · In 2025, Saudi Arabia was higher: $25,070 against $4,005
- Population · In 2023, Iraq was higher: 45.1 million people against 33.3 million people
- Military spending · In 2025, Saudi Arabia was higher: 6.48% of GDP against 2.45% of GDP
- CO₂ per person · In 2024, Saudi Arabia was higher: 18.48 tonnes against 5.18 tonnes
Every measure
Health
- Life expectancyIraq: 72.3 years in 2023Saudi Arabia: 78.7 years in 2023
- Child mortalityIraq: 2.2 per 100 live births in 2024Saudi Arabia: 0.6 per 100 live births in 2024
- Infant mortalityIraq: 19 per 1,000 live births in 2023Saudi Arabia: 5.1 per 1,000 live births in 2023
- DepressionIraq: 3.89% in 2017Saudi Arabia: 3.54% in 2017
- Suicide rateIraq: 4.1 per 100,000 people in 2017Saudi Arabia: 2.9 per 100,000 people in 2017
People
- PopulationIraq: 45.1 million people in 2023Saudi Arabia: 33.3 million people in 2023
- Population growthIraq: 2.15% a year in 2023Saudi Arabia: 2.39% a year in 2023
- Fertility rateIraq: 3.25 births per woman in 2023Saudi Arabia: 2.28 births per woman in 2023
- Urban populationIraq: 69.9% in 2025Saudi Arabia: 84.6% in 2025
- Median ageIraq: 20.4 years in 2023Saudi Arabia: 29.3 years in 2023
- People aged 65 and overIraq: 3.4% in 2023Saudi Arabia: 2.8% in 2023
- Net migration rateIraq: -0.1 per 1,000 people in 2023Saudi Arabia: 9.8 per 1,000 people in 2023
Economy
Education
Politics
Conflict
Military
- Military spendingIraq: 2.45% of GDP in 2025Saudi Arabia: 6.48% of GDP in 2025
- Military spending in US dollarsIraq: $6.4B in 2025Saudi Arabia: $81.5B in 2025
- Military spending per personIraq: $139 in 2025Saudi Arabia: $2,428 in 2025
- Military share of state spendingIraq: 5.5% of government spending in 2025Saudi Arabia: 23.5% of government spending in 2025
- Armed forces personnelIraq: 459,000 people in 2020Saudi Arabia: 282,000 people in 2020
- National powerIraq: 0.54% of world capability in 2022Saudi Arabia: 1.34% of world capability in 2022
- Armed forces, share of workersIraq: 4.4% of the labour force in 2020Saudi Arabia: 1.92% of the labour force in 2020
- Arms importsIraq: 55 million TIV in 2025Saudi Arabia: 3.04 billion TIV in 2025
- Arms exportsIraq: 20 million TIV in 1989Saudi Arabia: 3 million TIV in 2023
Climate
Technology and environment
Each country on its own
Good to know
- Sources: UN, Gapminder and UN IGME, 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