Iraq’s healthcare system is under growing strain. In the country’s crowded public hospitals, the pressure is no longer measured only in numbers, but in waiting rooms packed beyond capacity — where doctors often see more than 150 patients a day and specialist appointments can take weeks, if not months, to secure.

Rapid population growth is placing mounting pressure on Iraq’s health sector, stretching its infrastructure and pushing demand for hospitals and primary care centers to new highs, amid structural gaps that have accumulated over decades.

Those pressures are reflected in key indicators. Iraq has fewer than 1.4 doctors per 1,000 people, well below the World Health Organization’s benchmark of 2.3. Hospital bed density stands at around 1.3 beds per 1,000 people, compared with a regional average of nearly two beds, while bed occupancy rates in major urban hospitals frequently exceed 90%, particularly during peak periods.

Against this backdrop, the Iraqi government is racing to craft long-term strategies that balance population growth with healthcare capacity, aiming not only to improve quality of life but also to position public health as a pillar of economic growth.

The challenge has become more urgent following the latest population census, which put Iraq’s population at 46 million, growing at an estimated 2.3% annually. Around 60% of Iraqis are aged between 15 and 32, with a median age of just 21 years, making Iraq one of the youngest countries in the region.