The ruling parties in Iraq use government jobs as a way to battle unemployment and to maintain the support of their followers by handing out positions in their patronage networks. This has led to an explosion in the civil service which has become a major drain upon the budget. Al Mada recently reported on how much the public sector has dramatically increased.
Al Mada talked with economist Manar al-Obeidi about how much the government has expanded from 2019-24. Obeidi noted that 7 agencies take up 93% of public salaries. The Interior Ministry is the largest with 22% of salaries. They went from 10.5 trillion dinars in 2019 to 13 trillion in 2024. Next is the Education Ministry that accounts for 18% of salaries. Its payroll went from 1.75 trillion dinars in 2019 to 10.7 trillion in 2024 a 600%+ increase. The Kurdistan Regional Government’s salaries went from 4.58 trillion dinars in 2019 to 9.2 trillion in 2024. The Health Ministry’s payroll grew from 1 trillion to 5.9 trillion dinars in that same time frame. Finally, the cabinet spent 3.5 trillion on its workforce in 2019 going up to 6.34 trillion in 2024.
In total, government wages were 60 trillion dinars in 2024 a 27% increase from 2023. They were 40 trillion dinars in 2019. They account for 40% of all public expenditures. Obeidi pointed out there has been no increase in oil revenues, which overwhelmingly accounts for the vast majority of the government’s funds, to cover this rising cost.
The reason for the ever expanding civil service is the country’s ruling parties. They have consistently failed at providing services and a growing non-oil economy to win over the public and employ them. They have turned to handing out public jobs as the only means to maintain support. Every year they add more and more workers. Thousands of ghost employees are also created so that the parties can steal from the state.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) warned about Iraq’s precarious situation. International oil prices are dropping which means that the government’s employment policies are unsustainable. To make things worse Iraq has increased its oil dependency when it is already the most petroleum dependent country in the world. This means nothing to the elite however who are largely ignorant of economics and will do nearly anything to stay in power.
SOURCES
Al Mada, “Economist: Only seven entities absorb 93% of the total state salaries,” 6/5/25
- “Economist warns of rapidly rising government wage bill,” 6/4/25
Nair, Deepthi, “Falling oil prices have taken toll on Iraqi economic activity, IMF says,” The National, 5/15/25
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