Statizoid

Afghanistan vs Iraq: The global population hockey stick

Afghanistan
41.45 million people
in 2023
Iraq
45.07 million people
in 2023
Afghanistan rank
37th
Iraq rank
36th

The global population hockey stick over time

  • Afghanistan
  • Iraq
010.0M20.0M30.0M40.0M50.0M100015112023

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 241 shared years of data; in 1000 it was Afghanistan ahead.

Afghanistan ranks 37th and Iraq ranks 36th of 239 countries.

Across the 40 decades both report, Afghanistan averaged higher in 35 and Iraq in 5.

Head to head by decade

Decade Afghanistan Iraq Difference Ahead
1000s 2.25 million people 2.00 million people 250,000 people Afghanistan
1100s 2.38 million people 1.75 million people 625,000 people Afghanistan
1200s 2.50 million people 1.38 million people 1.12 million people Afghanistan
1300s 1.75 million people 1.00 million people 750,000 people Afghanistan
1400s 1.88 million people 1.00 million people 875,000 people Afghanistan
1500s 2.00 million people 1.00 million people 1.00 million people Afghanistan
1600s 2.50 million people 1.25 million people 1.25 million people Afghanistan
1700s 2.50 million people 1.00 million people 1.50 million people Afghanistan
1710s 2.56 million people 1.00 million people 1.56 million people Afghanistan
1720s 2.62 million people 1.00 million people 1.62 million people Afghanistan
1730s 2.68 million people 1.00 million people 1.68 million people Afghanistan
1740s 2.74 million people 1.00 million people 1.74 million people Afghanistan
1750s 2.80 million people 1.00 million people 1.80 million people Afghanistan
1760s 2.87 million people 1.00 million people 1.87 million people Afghanistan
1770s 2.93 million people 1.00 million people 1.93 million people Afghanistan
1780s 3.00 million people 1.00 million people 2.00 million people Afghanistan
1790s 3.07 million people 1.00 million people 2.06 million people Afghanistan
1800s 3.28 million people 1.02 million people 2.26 million people Afghanistan
1810s 3.28 million people 1.07 million people 2.21 million people Afghanistan
1820s 3.35 million people 1.12 million people 2.23 million people Afghanistan
1830s 3.50 million people 1.17 million people 2.33 million people Afghanistan
1840s 3.66 million people 1.22 million people 2.44 million people Afghanistan
1850s 3.83 million people 1.28 million people 2.55 million people Afghanistan
1860s 4.00 million people 1.45 million people 2.55 million people Afghanistan
1870s 4.18 million people 1.67 million people 2.52 million people Afghanistan
1880s 4.37 million people 1.77 million people 2.60 million people Afghanistan
1890s 4.57 million people 2.08 million people 2.49 million people Afghanistan
1900s 4.96 million people 2.60 million people 2.36 million people Afghanistan
1910s 7.54 million people 3.12 million people 4.42 million people Afghanistan
1920s 8.65 million people 3.68 million people 4.96 million people Afghanistan
1930s 6.44 million people 4.00 million people 2.44 million people Afghanistan
1940s 6.88 million people 4.76 million people 2.12 million people Afghanistan
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 the global population hockey stick, Afghanistan or Iraq?
Iraq, at 45.07 million people against 41.45 million people in Afghanistan as of 2023.
What is the difference in the global population hockey stick between Afghanistan and Iraq?
3.62 million people, with Iraq ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Afghanistan and Iraq?
241 years are reported by both, from 1000 to 2023.
How do Afghanistan and Iraq rank globally for the global population hockey stick?
Afghanistan ranks 37th and Iraq ranks 36th of 239 countries.
Where does this data come from?
HYDE (2023); Gapminder (2022); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as The global population hockey stick. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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Afghanistan vs Iraq: The global population hockey stick. Statizoid, drawing on HYDE (2023); Gapminder (2022); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Retrieved 08 September 2026, from https://population.statizoid.com/compare/world-population-over-the-last-12000-years-and-un-projection-until-2100/afghanistan/iraq/

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About this data

Indicator
The global population hockey stick
Unit
people
Source
HYDE (2023); Gapminder (2022); UN WPP (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
239 places, 51,002 data points, 1000–2023
Last refreshed

Population by country, available from 10,000 BCE to 2023, based on data and estimates from different sources.