Poverty Rate In Iraq Down But Still Higher Than Pre-War Level

Iraq’s Planning Ministry announced that poverty had declined over the last two years, but it was still above the level seen before the 2014 war against the Islamic State. There were also huge variances in the percentage of people below the poverty line depending upon the province they lived in.

The Planning Ministry released the results of a 2018 survey that found poverty had gone from 22.5% in 2014 to 20% in 2018. The rate varied across provinces however. The four southern provinces of Muthanna, 52%, Diwaniya, 48%, Maysan, 45%, and Dhi Qar, 44% did the worse, followed by Ninewa at 37.7% and Diyala at 22.5%. Dohuk, 8.5%, Kirkuk, 7.6%, Irbil, 6.7%, and Sulaymaniya at 4.5% did the best, all with under 10% of people living below the poverty level. The regional differences have been true for quite some time. Much of the south for instance has been systematically neglected compared to the Kurdistan Regional Government that has been heavily investing in its areas.

Poverty By Province 2018

Muthanna 52%

Diwaniya 48%

Maysan 45%

Dhi Qar 44%

Ninewa 37.7%

Diyala 22.5%

Wasit 19%

Salahaddin 18%

Anbar 17%

Basra 16%

Najaf 12.5%

Karbala 12%

Babil 11%

Baghdad 10%

Dohuk 8.5%

Kirkuk 7.6%

Irbil 6.7%

Sulaymaniya 4.5%

Despite the reduction, the figures are still above the pre-war level. In 2012 (1) and 2013 the poverty level was at 19%. It rose to as high as 30% in 2015 and 2016 during the war. The country has still not recovered from the conflict. More importantly it has not set its priorities on developing the country. The vast majority of the budget each year goes into salaries and pensions to maintain patronage networks so that the ruling parties can stay in power. They in turn, have ignored the needs of the people because oil makes them not answerable to them despite the country being a democratic system. That means the disparities in poverty will continue into the foreseeable future.

FOOTNOTE

1. World Bank, “Republic of Iraq Public Expenditure Review, Toward More Efficient Spending For Better Service Delivery,” 2014

SOURCES

Al-Jaffal, Omar, “Security situation weighs on Iraq’s economy,” Al Monitor, 6/30/15

Ministry of Planning, “The Ministry of Planning, announces the decline in poverty rates in Iraq,” Facebook, 2/16/20

New Sabah, “Planning Ministry: poverty rate in 2014 22.5%,” 8/21/15

Al-Salhy, Suadad, “Poverty in Iraq grows as budgets squeezed by war with IS,” Middle East Eye, 9/25/15

Sotaliraq, “High rate of poverty and unemployment in Iraq,” 12/19/16

World Bank, “Republic of Iraq Public Expenditure Review, Toward More Efficient Spending For Better Service Delivery,” 2014