Afghanistan vs Iraq: Has the population peaked?

Afghanistan
41.45 million people
in 2023
Iraq
45.07 million people
in 2023
Afghanistan rank
36th
Iraq rank
35th

Has the population peaked? over time

  • Afghanistan
  • Iraq
10.0M20.0M30.0M40.0M50.0M195019862023

How they compare

Iraq currently reports 45.07 million people against 41.45 million people in Afghanistan, a difference of 3.62 million people.

That makes Iraq's figure about 1.1 times Afghanistan's.

The two have swapped places 1 time across 74 shared years of data; in 1950 it was Afghanistan ahead.

Afghanistan ranks 36th and Iraq ranks 35th of 236 countries.

Across the 8 decades both report, Afghanistan averaged higher in 3 and Iraq in 5.

Head to head by decade

Decade Afghanistan Iraq Difference Ahead
1950s 8.29 million people 6.27 million people 2.02 million people Afghanistan
1960s 9.97 million people 8.12 million people 1.85 million people Afghanistan
1970s 12.58 million people 11.39 million people 1.18 million people Afghanistan
1980s 11.58 million people 15.47 million people 3.89 million people Iraq
1990s 16.11 million people 20.40 million people 4.29 million people Iraq
2000s 23.78 million people 27.45 million people 3.67 million people Iraq
2010s 33.14 million people 36.55 million people 3.41 million people Iraq
2020s 40.28 million people 43.58 million people 3.31 million people Iraq

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher has the population peaked?, Afghanistan or Iraq?
Iraq, at 45.07 million people against 41.45 million people in Afghanistan as of 2023.
What is the difference in has the population peaked? between Afghanistan and Iraq?
3.62 million people, with Iraq ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Afghanistan and Iraq?
74 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2023.
How do Afghanistan and Iraq rank globally for has the population peaked??
Afghanistan ranks 36th and Iraq ranks 35th of 236 countries.
Where does this data come from?
UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Has the population peaked?. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

About this data

Indicator
Has the population peaked?
Unit
people
Source
UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
236 places, 17,464 data points, 1950–2023
Last refreshed

The total population, measured on 1 July of the year shown.