📋Overview

Iraq's economy is one of the most oil-dependent in the Middle East. With a GDP of approximately $279.6 billion at official exchange rates in 2024 (or $585.9 billion in purchasing-power-parity terms), the country's fiscal health rises and falls almost entirely with global crude prices. Industry — overwhelmingly petroleum extraction — accounts for 51.6% of GDP, while services contribute 45.8% and agriculture just 3.4% (2024 est.). Real GDP contracted 1.5% in 2024 after near-stagnation in 2023, reversing an 8% surge in 2022 that was driven by high post-pandemic oil prices. GDP per capita stands at roughly $12,700 (PPP, 2024 est.) or about $5,410 at current exchange rates (World Bank, 2025). A labour force of 12 million carries a 15.6% unemployment rate; youth unemployment reaches 32.1% overall and an alarming 62.7% among young women (2024 est.). Income distribution is comparatively equal by regional standards — a Gini coefficient of 29.8 (2023 est.) — but structural weaknesses persist: endemic corruption, large informal markets, shallow banking access, heavy reliance on imports across most non-oil sectors, and chronic political fragility.

📈Economy

Oil revenues dominate public finances. Exports totalled $107.9 billion in 2023, generating a current-account surplus of $28.4 billion, while imports reached $81.2 billion. Foreign-exchange and gold reserves stood at $100.7 billion at end-2024. External debt is modest at $15.6 billion (2023 est.) and public debt was just 27.4% of GDP as of 2018. The Iraqi dinar trades at roughly 1,300 IQD per US dollar (2024 est.). Electricity generation is almost entirely fossil-fuel-based (98.8%) and grid losses are severe — 79.9 billion kWh lost against 73.5 billion kWh consumed in 2023 — pointing to deep infrastructure deficits. Iraq produced 4.448 million barrels of oil per day in 2023 and holds proven crude reserves of 145 billion barrels, among the world's largest. Inflation, which ran at 4–6% in 2021–2023, had fallen to near zero (0.3%) by 2025 according to World Bank data.

📤Exports

📥Imports

💪Strengths

🔗Dependencies

⚖Trade impact

Iraq's 4.448 million barrels per day of crude output (2023) makes it one of OPEC's largest producers and a swing supplier that directly shapes global oil price benchmarks. China and India together absorb 61% of Iraqi crude exports, meaning supply disruptions in Iraq — whether from infrastructure damage, political instability, or OPEC quota decisions — can materially affect Asian refinery margins and fuel prices across the Indo-Pacific. The USA takes 8% of exports, and Greece and the UAE each take 5%, spreading Iraq's oil-price influence into European and regional markets. On the import side, Iraq is a significant revenue source for UAE traders and re-exporters (32% of Iraq's imports), for Chinese industrial goods suppliers (20%), and for Turkish manufacturers and contractors (18%), creating a web of commercial dependence that gives these neighbours a strategic stake in Iraqi stability. Iraq's large undeveloped natural gas reserves — currently requiring it to import 8.771 bcm per year to meet domestic demand — also represent a potential future export that could reshape regional gas markets, particularly in the Gulf and through pipeline connections to Europe. The country's refinery deficit means it simultaneously exports crude and imports refined products, generating value-added profits for refining nations rather than capturing them domestically.

🏢Top contributors to GDP

• Iraq National Oil Company (INOC) / Oil Ministry operating companiesOil & Gas (State)The state controls upstream oil production through entities such as Basra Oil Company and North Oil Company; with petroleum comprising the dominant share of Iraq's $107.9 billion in 2023 exports, state oil operations are the single largest contributor to GDP and government revenue, though precise co
• Midland Refineries Company (MRC)Petroleum Refining (State)Operates the Daura and Sinjär refineries; Iraq's domestic refined petroleum consumption of 1.043 million bbl/day (2023) underscores the strategic importance of state refining capacity, though it remains insufficient to eliminate refined-product imports.
• State Organisation for Marketing of Oil (SOMO)Oil Marketing (State)The sole government body responsible for marketing and exporting Iraqi crude; directly manages the flow of exports to top partners China, India, and the USA that together account for 69% of export revenues (2023).
• Trade Bank of Iraq (TBI)Banking & Trade Finance (State)Iraq's principal trade-finance institution, facilitating the $81.2 billion import bill (2023) in an economy the Factbook describes as having persistent challenges of banking access; the sources do not provide specific revenue figures for TBI.
• Al-Mansour Pharmaceutical IndustriesPharmaceuticals / ManufacturingOne of the larger private-sector manufacturers; the sources identify chemicals and food processing among Iraq's listed industries but do not provide company-level GDP or revenue data, so this entry reflects well-established public knowledge rather than direct source citation.