Forcibly displaced people in Iraq
Iraq: Forcibly displaced people was 1.34 million in 2025. ▼ Falling
Forcibly displaced people in Iraq, 2010–2025
Source: Refugee Population Statistics Database, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Analysis
The most recent figure for forcibly displaced people in Iraq is 1.34 million, measured in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 16 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.7% on the previous year and down 62.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, forcibly displaced people in Iraq peaked at 3.58 million in 2015 and was at its lowest, 1.34 million, in 2025.
That places Iraq 27th out of 180 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 16 years of available data.
Forcibly displaced people in Iraq, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 2.84 million | — |
| 2011 | 2.64 million | -7.0% |
| 2012 | 2.20 million | -16.5% |
| 2013 | 2.35 million | +6.7% |
| 2014 | 3.56 million | +51.2% |
| 2015 | 3.58 million | +0.5% |
| 2016 | 3.31 million | -7.5% |
| 2017 | 2.91 million | -12.1% |
| 2018 | 2.26 million | -22.3% |
| 2019 | 1.82 million | -19.4% |
| 2020 | 1.51 million | -17.2% |
| 2021 | 1.48 million | -1.9% |
| 2022 | 1.45 million | -1.7% |
| 2023 | 1.42 million | -2.1% |
| 2024 | 1.37 million | -4.0% |
| 2025 | 1.34 million | -1.7% |
Iraq compared with similar countries
- Iraq's 1.34 million is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 61,510, 21.8× the median. (49 countries reporting)
- Iraq's 1.34 million is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 184,265, 7.3× the median. (23 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Forcibly displaced people in Iraq changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | +51.2% | 2.35 million | 3.56 million |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 2.75 million | 1.82 million | 3.58 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.43 million | 1.34 million | 1.51 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Iraq
More social development data for Iraq
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 322,345 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 270,671 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 5 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 5 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0058 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 270,671 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0069 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is forcibly displaced people in Iraq?
- Forcibly displaced people in Iraq was 1.34 million in 2025, according to Refugee Population Statistics Database, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
- What is the highest forcibly displaced people recorded in Iraq?
- The highest recorded value was 3.58 million in 2015.
- What is the lowest forcibly displaced people recorded in Iraq?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.34 million in 2025.
- How does Iraq rank for forcibly displaced people?
- Iraq ranks 27th out of 180 countries with data for 2025.
- Is forcibly displaced people rising or falling in Iraq?
- Over the last ten years it is down 62.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Iraq data come from?
- The figures come from Refugee Population Statistics Database, UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), published as part of Forcibly displaced people. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 16 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Forcibly displaced people are represented by the sum of (1) refugees (and people in a refugee-like situation) under the mandate of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), (2) refugees under the mandate of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), (3) asylum-seekers, (4) other people in need of international protection, and (5) internally displaced people (IDPs). Situations in which people are reported in more than one of these categories are accounted for, to the extent possible.