Population:

28,221,181 (July 2008 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years: 39.2% (male 5,613,420/female 5,438,770)
15-64 years: 57.9% (male 8,270,573/female 8,057,423)
65 years and over: 3% (male 396,751/female 444,244) (2008 est.)

Median age:

total: 20.2 years
male: 20.1 years
female: 20.2 years (2008 est.)

Population growth rate:

2.562% (2008 est.)

Birth rate:

30.77 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate:

5.14 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Net migration rate:

NA

Sex ratio:

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female
total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate:

total: 45.43 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 51.06 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 39.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:

total population: 69.62 years
male: 68.32 years
female: 70.99 years (2008 est.)

Total fertility rate:

3.97 children born/woman (2008 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:

less than 0.1% (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:

fewer than 500 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:

NA

Major infectious diseases:

degree of risk: intermediate
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
note: highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has been identified in this country; it poses a negligible risk with extremely rare cases possible among US citizens who have close contact with birds (2008)

Nationality:

noun: Iraqi(s)
adjective: Iraqi

Ethnic groups:

Arab 75%-80%, Kurdish 15%-20%, Turkoman, Assyrian, or other 5%

Religions:

Muslim 97% (Shi'a 60%-65%, Sunni 32%-37%), Christian or other 3%

Languages:

Arabic, Kurdish (official in Kurdish regions), Turkoman (a Turkish dialect), Assyrian (Neo-Aramaic), Armenian

Literacy:

definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 74.1%
male: 84.1%
female: 64.2% (2000 est.)