Home

Saudi Arabia vs. Iraq

Demographics

Saudi ArabiaIraq
Population34,783,757 (July 2021 est.)

note: immigrants make up 38.3% of the total population, according to UN data (2019)
39,650,145 (July 2021 est.)
Age structure0-14 years: 24.84% (male 4,327,830/female 4,159,242)

15-24 years: 15.38% (male 2,741,371/female 2,515,188)

25-54 years: 50.2% (male 10,350,028/female 6,804,479)

55-64 years: 5.95% (male 1,254,921/female 778,467)

65 years and over: 3.63% (male 657,395/female 584,577) (2020 est.)
0-14 years: 37.02% (male 7,349,868/female 7,041,405)

15-24 years: 19.83% (male 3,918,433/female 3,788,157)

25-54 years: 35.59% (male 6,919,569/female 6,914,856)

55-64 years: 4.23% (male 805,397/female 839,137)

65 years and over: 3.33% (male 576,593/female 719,240) (2020 est.)
Median agetotal: 30.8 years

male: 33 years

female: 27.9 years (2020 est.)
total: 21.2 years

male: 20.8 years

female: 21.6 years (2020 est.)
Population growth rate1.62% (2021 est.)2.06% (2021 est.)
Birth rate14.56 births/1,000 population (2021 est.)25.21 births/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Death rate3.39 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.)3.92 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Net migration rate5.04 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.)-0.68 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Sex ratioat birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female

15-24 years: 1.09 male(s)/female

25-54 years: 1.52 male(s)/female

55-64 years: 1.61 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 1.12 male(s)/female

total population: 1.3 male(s)/female (2020 est.)
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female

15-24 years: 1.03 male(s)/female

25-54 years: 1 male(s)/female

55-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female

total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2020 est.)
Infant mortality ratetotal: 12.58 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 13.86 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 11.24 deaths/1,000 live births (2021 est.)
total: 20.08 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 21.84 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 18.24 deaths/1,000 live births (2021 est.)
Life expectancy at birthtotal population: 76.4 years

male: 74.81 years

female: 78.07 years (2021 est.)
total population: 72.9 years

male: 71.01 years

female: 74.89 years (2021 est.)
Total fertility rate1.95 children born/woman (2021 est.)3.32 children born/woman (2021 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate<.1% (2020 est.)NA
Nationalitynoun: Saudi(s)

adjective: Saudi or Saudi Arabian
noun: Iraqi(s)

adjective: Iraqi
Ethnic groupsArab 90%, Afro-Asian 10%Arab 75-80%, Kurdish 15-20%, other 5% (includes Turkmen, Yezidi, Shabak, Kaka'i, Bedouin, Romani, Assyrian, Circassian, Sabaean-Mandaean, Persian)

note: data is a 1987 government estimate; no more recent reliable numbers are available
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS12,000 (2020 est.)NA
ReligionsMuslim (official; citizens are 85-90% Sunni and 10-15% Shia), other (includes Eastern Orthodox, Protestant, Roman Catholic, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, and Sikh) (2012 est.)

note: despite having a large expatriate community of various faiths (more than 30% of the population), most forms of public religious expression inconsistent with the government-sanctioned interpretation of Sunni Islam are restricted; non-Muslims are not allowed to have Saudi citizenship and non-Muslim places of worship are not permitted (2013)
Muslim (official) 95-98% (Shia 64-69%, Sunni 29-34%), Christian 1% (includes Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, Assyrian Church of the East), other 1-4% (2015 est.)

note: while there has been voluntary relocation of many Christian families to northern Iraq, the overall Christian population has decreased at least 50% and perhaps as high as 90% since the fall of the SADDAM Husayn regime in 2003, according to US Embassy estimates, with many fleeing to Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon
HIV/AIDS - deaths<200 (2020 est.)NA
LanguagesArabic (official)

major-language sample(s):
???? ????? ??????? ?????? ???? ?? ???? ????????? ??? ????????? ???????? (Arabic)

The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Arabic (official), Kurdish (official), Turkmen (a Turkish dialect), Syriac (Neo-Aramaic), and Armenian are official in areas where native speakers of these languages constitute a majority of the population

major-language sample(s):
???? ????? ??????? ???? ???? ????????? ???????? (Arabic)

The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Literacydefinition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 95.3%

male: 97.1%

female: 92.7% (2017)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 50.1%

male: 56.2%

female: 44% (2018)
Education expendituresNANA
Urbanizationurban population: 84.5% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization: 1.69% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
urban population: 71.1% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization: 2.91% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Drinking water sourceimproved: total: 100% of population

unimproved: total: 0% of population (2017 est.)
improved: urban: 98.8% of population

rural: 95% of population

total: 97.9% of population

unimproved: urban: 1.2% of population

rural: 5% of population

total: 2.1% of population (2017 est.)
Sanitation facility accessimproved: total: 100% of population

unimproved: total: 0% of population (2017 est.)
improved: urban: 96.7% of population

rural: 89.7% of population

total: 95.2% of population

unimproved: urban: 3.3% of population

rural: 10.3% of population

total: 4.8% of population (2017 est.)
Major cities - population7.388 million RIYADH (capital), 4.697 million Jeddah, 2.079 million Mecca, 1.518 million Medina, 1.279 million Ad Dammam, 1.279 million Hufuf-Mubarraz (2021)7.323 million BAGHDAD (capital), 1.683 million Mosul, 1.382 million Basra, 1.031 million Kirkuk, 901,000 Najaf, 861,000 Erbil (2021)
Maternal mortality rate17 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)79 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)
Health expenditures6.4% (2018)4.1% (2018)
Physicians density2.61 physicians/1,000 population (2018)0.71 physicians/1,000 population (2018)
Hospital bed density2.2 beds/1,000 population (2017)1.3 beds/1,000 population (2017)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate35.4% (2016)30.4% (2016)
Contraceptive prevalence rate24.6% (2016)52.8% (2018)
Dependency ratiostotal dependency ratio: 39.3

youth dependency ratio: 34.4

elderly dependency ratio: 4.9

potential support ratio: 20.5 (2020 est.)
total dependency ratio: 69.9

youth dependency ratio: 64.1

elderly dependency ratio: 5.9

potential support ratio: 17.1 (2020 est.)

Source: CIA Factbook