• Crisis Severity ?
    3.9
    0 Very low
    Very high 5
  • Impact ?
    4.2
    0 Very low
    Very high 5
  • Humanitarian Conditions ?
    3.6
    0 Very low
    Very high 5
  • Complexity ?
    4.1
    0 Very low
    Very high 5
  • Access Constraints ?
    4.0
    No constraints
    Extreme constraints
See all indicators

Key figures

  • 41,191,000 Total population [?]
  • 2,994,000 People in Need [?]
  • 253,000 Syrian Refugees [?]

Overview

02/06/2022

The people of Iraq have endured consecutive crises over the past two decades, including the US-led invasion, incidents of sectarian violence, the conflict with IS that created significant internal displacement, and most recently the COVID-19 outbreak and subsequent economic slowdown. The situation in Iraq is characterised by economic and social decline and political and security volatility. ?

Iraq hosts more than 250,000 Syrian refugees and 37,000 refugees of other nationalities, mostly Turks, Iranians, and Palestinians. Around 99% of the refugees reside in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, with about one-third living in camps. More than 230,000 host community members have been impacted by this displacement.?

INFORM measures Iraq’s risk of humanitarian crisis and disaster to be very high at 6.6/10. ?

Latest Developments

26/04/2023

On 18 April 2023, the Iraqi Government closed the Jeddah 5 IDP camp in Ninewa Governorate, forcing the 342 families (1,566 residents, almost two thirds of whom are children) to leave the camp. The closure is part of a government plan that began in 2019 to close all IDP camps in the country. Jeddah 5 was one of the last two remaining IDP camps in areas under the control of the Iraqi Federal Government.

Both the residents and humanitarian responders in the camp were only notified two days in advance. In previous camp closures, the majority of IDPs returned to their homes, but almost half live in inadequate conditions.

There are currently around 1.2 million people internally displaced in Iraq, with the vast majority living in host communities in Dahuk, Erbil, Kirkuk, Ninewa, and Sulaymaniyah governorates.

IDPs' most urgent needs include healthcare, food, livelihoods, shelter, and protection. ?

Humanitarian Access

19/12/2022

very High constraints

Iraq faced Very High humanitarian access constraints in the past six months, scoring 4/5 in ACAPS Humanitarian Access Index. The humanitarian access situation remained unchanged from the last assessment. 

For more information you can consult our latest Global Humanitarian Access Overview – December 2022.

Registered protests and riots in 2020 & 2021

Source : ACLED


Information Gaps and Needs

18/11/2022
  • The tracking of IDPs that became refugees and the numbers of refugee returnees is lacking. Their needs and their whereabouts remain mostly unknown. 
  • Different delineations of administrative borders between central and regional governments (especially the KR-I) impacts on the accuracy of displacement tracking.
  • The number of IS fighters currently in Iraq is unknown and more recent estimates are lacking. 

Drought

18/11/2022

In 2022, Iraq witnessed a drought for two consecutive years and a record low rainfall (the rainy season occurs during December–February for most of the country and November–April in the north and northeast). ? By 2050, water availability may decline by up to 20% because of climate change.? Iraq has already passed the sustainable water withdrawal level and is currently facing water deficits that are expected to reach 10.9 billion cubic metres by 2035. 60% of Iraq’s renewable water resources (mainly the Tigris and Euphrates rivers) are generated outside of its borders. Because of the drought and the extensive building of dams in upstream countries, the water level of both rivers has been declining. This puts at least seven million people at risk of losing access to water.? It is also estimated that over 50% of all crops were lost in 2021 as a result of drought.? A 2021 survey carried out by the Iraqi Government found that 37% of wheat farmers and 30% of barley farmers suffered crop failure.? This year, one survey found that nearly one quarter of farming communities received food assistance for challenges in producing crops and supplementing their incomes.? 

The drop in agricultural production has already led to an increase in food prices. It is estimated that a 10% increase in prices would increase monetary poverty (estimated at 25.5% in 2020) by 1.6 percentage points. ? Climate and environmental insecurity, compounded by security and economic vulnerabilities, has led to the migration of rural populations to cities. By the end of 2021, an estimated 20,000 people had been displaced due to water scarcity and drought effects, mainly in southern Iraq.?Climate migration often results in insecure tenure arrangements, exclusion from public services, and challenges in obtaining means or opportunities of livelihood.? The drought is causing long-term problems and needs, mainly in the health, WASH, and food security sectors. Overall, its effects are expected to further aggravate the socioeconomic, humanitarina and ecological conditions in the country.?