Iraq in the Lead

• 💵 Minimal Interest Payments

  Interest payments represented just 0.58% of revenue and 0.82% of expenses in 2019, indicating low financial burdens from interest.

  Public Sector

• ⛽ Fuel Dominates Export Portfolio

  In 2016, fuel exports constituted 99.99% of Iraq's merchandise exports, showcasing the country's heavy reliance on the oil sector for economic activity.

  Energy & Mining Private Sector Trade

Iraq Following Behind

• 🏢 Low Business Insolvency Scores

  Iraq scored 6.74 in overall business insolvency and 20.22 in quality of regulations for judicial insolvency proceedings in 2024, highlighting regulatory challenges.

• 🔌 Most Power Lost in Transmission

  In 2022, Iraq experienced the highest electric power transmission and distribution losses in the world, with 59.25% of its output lost. This highlights significant inefficiencies in the country's power infrastructure.

  Energy & Mining Infrastructure

• 🎁 High Gift Expectations in Tax Meetings

  In 2022, 51.2% of firms in Iraq reported expectations to give gifts during meetings with tax officials, indicating a prevalent culture of informal payments in the business environment.

  Private Sector

• 💸 Negative Financial Flows

  In 2022, Iraq experienced a net financial outflow of $293 million from IMF concessional sources, indicating financial challenges. Additionally, in 2021, the country saw a negative flow of $108,770 from UN agencies.

  External Debt

• 🏦 Limited Bank Financing for Firms

  In 2022, only 2.1% of firms used banks for working capital, and 0.9% for investment, indicating limited access to bank financing.

  Private Sector Energy & Mining

• 👩‍💼 Low Female Participation in Business

  In 2022, only 1.6% of firms had female top managers, and 3.8% had female ownership, indicating significant gender disparities in business leadership.

  Private Sector Gender

• 📦 Minimal High-Tech Exports

  In 2022, medium and high-tech exports constituted only 0.037% of manufactured exports, indicating a need for technological advancement.

  Private Sector Trade

• 👩‍🎓 Low Female Youth Employment

  In 2021, the employment to population ratio for females aged 15-24 was just 2.58%, highlighting challenges in youth employment.

  Social Protection & Labor

• 💰 Grants and Other Revenue Dominate

  In 2019, grants and other revenue sources made up 96.52% of Iraq's total revenue, indicating a strong dependence on external financial support and non-tax revenue streams.

  Public Sector

• 📉 High Liability Incurrence

  In 2019, Iraq's net incurrence of liabilities reached a staggering -1,017 trillion LCU, highlighting significant debt challenges.

  Public Sector

• 🛡️ Low Social Contributions

  Social contributions accounted for a mere 0.00045% of revenue in 2019, indicating limited social safety nets.

  Public Sector

• 💰 Low Tax Revenue from Goods and Services

  In 2019, taxes on goods and services contributed only 0.35% to revenue, reflecting inefficiencies in tax collection.

  Public Sector