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Iraq — Labor participation
Labor Force Participation Rate for Iraq, 1990–2025.
Latest value · 2025
41.53%
Labor Force Participation Rate · % of population ages 15+ · -2.2% since 1990
Labor participation for Iraq was 41.53% in 2025, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 36 years, from 1990 to 2025. The highest recorded value was 43.15% in 2016. The lowest was 39.66% in 2021 (about 1.0× the low point). Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to -0.06% per year.
Iraq ranks 174 of 187 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 93%. The median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan is 44.99%, so Iraq sits below it. It peaked in 2016 and has fallen 4% since. Over the last decade (2015–2025) the figure moved down 4%.
Key figures
Latest (2025)
41.53%
First (1990)
42.46%
Change
-2.2%
Highest
43.15%
in 2016
Lowest
39.66%
in 2021
Average
41.83%
Annual growth (CAGR)
-0.06%
Years of data
36
Recent years
| Year | % of population ages 15+ |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 41.53% |
| 2024 | 41.56% |
| 2023 | 41.63% |
| 2022 | 41.48% |
| 2021 | 39.66% |
| 2020 | 40.31% |
| 2019 | 40.52% |
| 2018 | 41.24% |
| 2017 | 41.89% |
| 2016 | 43.15% |
| 2015 | 43.04% |
| 2014 | 42.93% |
Reading this correctly. Proportion of the population aged 15 and above that is economically active: supplying labor for the production of goods and services. Figures are in % of population ages 15+. Comparing this series with a different measure of the same concept (for example a nominal figure against a purchasing-power-parity figure) will give misleading results.
Related data
Source. World Bank Open Data, indicator
SL.TLF.CACT.ZS — Labor Force Participation Rate. Data licensed under CC BY 4.0. Values are reproduced as published; this page computes the summary statistics (change, CAGR, extremes) from the underlying annual series. View the original dataset on data.worldbank.org.