# Iran and Iraq compared

Iran and Iraq side by side: 41 shared sourced indicators across 9 domains, and the 7 events their chronicles record of each other.

Canonical: https://terralore.co/compare/irn-vs-irq
Updated: 2026-08-10 (latest of the two dossiers' refreshes and the two chronicles' verification dates)

Two sourced records set beside each other — nothing on this page was written for the pair. Every figure is the same observation, with the same source, as on the two national dossiers; every event is the same record, with the same sources, as on its own chronicle. Figures are compared, never graded. A "—" is an absence in the source data, never a zero; each value shows its own observation year — vintages differ by indicator and nation.

## Formation

- Iran: 550 BCE — Cyrus the Great founds the Achaemenid Empire
- Iraq: 23 August 1921 — The Kingdom of Iraq is established under Faisal I

## Economy

| Metric | Iran | Observed | Iraq | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GDP | $475 B | 2024 | $280 B | 2024 |
| GDP per capita | $5,190 | 2024 | $6,074 | 2024 |
| GDP growth | 3.7% | 2024 | -1.5% | 2024 |
| Inflation | 32.5% | 2024 | -12.3% | 2024 |
| Trade openness | 52.1% | 2024 | 70.7% | 2024 |

## Society

| Metric | Iran | Observed | Iraq | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 92 m | 2024 | 46 m | 2024 |
| Life expectancy | 77.9 yrs | 2024 | 72.4 yrs | 2024 |
| Urban population | 77.0% | 2024 | 69.9% | 2024 |
| Fertility rate | 1.7 | 2024 | 3.2 | 2024 |

## Governance

| Metric | Iran | Observed | Iraq | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Voice & accountability | 29.7 | 2024 | 39.0 | 2024 |
| Political stability | 38.9 | 2024 | 30.6 | 2024 |
| Government effectiveness | 37.6 | 2024 | 29.9 | 2024 |
| Regulatory quality | 31.0 | 2024 | 38.6 | 2024 |
| Rule of law | 35.7 | 2024 | 33.6 | 2024 |
| Control of corruption | 24.6 | 2024 | 23.5 | 2024 |

## Health

| Metric | Iran | Observed | Iraq | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Health spending | 6.0% | 2023 | 5.5% | 2023 |
| Physicians | 1.81 | 2023 | 1.02 | 2022 |
| Under-5 mortality | 11.3 | 2024 | 21.8 | 2024 |
| Measles immunisation | 99.0% | 2024 | 91.0% | 2024 |
| Safe drinking water | 94.4% | 2024 | 59.8% | 2024 |

## Education

| Metric | Iran | Observed | Iraq | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adult literacy | 88.9% | 2023 | 84.1% | 2021 |
| Education spending | 2.8% | 2023 | — | — |
| Primary enrolment | 102.0% | 2023 | 104.6% | 2007 |
| Secondary enrolment | 85.1% | 2023 | 50.6% | 2007 |
| Tertiary enrolment | 58.7% | 2022 | 15.6% | 2005 |

## Technology

| Metric | Iran | Observed | Iraq | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| R&D spending | 0.7% | 2021 | 0.0% | 2021 |
| Researchers (per million) | 2,240 | 2021 | 164 | 2021 |
| Internet users | 85.3% | 2024 | 81.5% | 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptions | 174 | 2024 | 100 | 2024 |
| High-tech exports | 0.8% | 2022 | — | — |

## Geography

| Metric | Iran | Observed | Iraq | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Land area | 1,622,500 km² | 2023 | 434,130 km² | 2023 |
| Forest area | 6.6% | 2023 | 1.9% | 2023 |
| Agricultural land | 29.0% | 2023 | 21.8% | 2023 |
| CO₂ per capita (t) | 9.1 | 2024 | 5.2 | 2024 |
| Renewable energy | 0.9% | 2021 | 1.1% | 2021 |

## Resources

| Metric | Iran | Observed | Iraq | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Resource rents | 30.4% | 2021 | 43.4% | 2021 |
| Oil rents | 18.3% | 2021 | 42.8% | 2021 |
| Mineral rents | 3.4% | 2021 | 0.0% | 2021 |
| Forest rents | 0.0% | 2021 | 0.0% | 2021 |
| Electricity access | 100.0% | 2023 | 100.0% | 2023 |
| Iron ore | 93 Mt | 2025 | — | — |

## Military

| Metric | Iran | Observed | Iraq | Observed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Military burden | 2.0% | 2024 | 2.4% | 2024 |
| Defense spending | $7.9 B | 2024 | $6.2 B | 2024 |
| Armed forces | 650,000 | 2020 | 459,000 | 2020 |

Each metric is also ranked across all nations: https://terralore.co/rankings (markdown twins at /rankings/<metric>.md). Full dossiers: https://terralore.co/country/IRN.md and https://terralore.co/country/IRQ.md.

## Entangled histories (7 events)

Events in which either nation's sourced chronicle names the other — including under earlier names of the same state. Each is the record exactly as its own chronicle carries it, with that chronicle's sources.

- 539 BCE: **Cyrus the Great captures Babylon** — The Persian king Cyrus the Great takes Babylon, ending the Neo-Babylonian Empire and bringing Mesopotamia into the Achaemenid Persian realm as one of its richest provinces. (from the Iraq chronicle; sources: History of Mesopotamia; Iraq — History)
- c. 636–637 CE: **Battle of al-Qadisiyyah and the Arab conquest** — Arab Muslim armies of the Rashidun Caliphate defeat the Sasanians at al-Qadisiyyah near al-Hira and take Ctesiphon, ending Persian rule in Mesopotamia and beginning the region's Islamisation. (from the Iraq chronicle; sources: Battle of al-Qādisiyyah; Iraq — History)
- 9th century CE: **The House of Wisdom and the Golden Age** — Under Harun al-Rashid and al-Ma'mun, Baghdad's scholars — associated with the Bayt al-Hikmah, the 'House of Wisdom' — translate and advance Greek, Persian and Indian learning during the Islamic Golden Age. (from the Iraq chronicle; sources: Hārūn al-Rashīd — Abbasid caliph; Bayt al-Ḥikmah — House of Wisdom)
- 1638 CE: **Ottoman conquest of Baghdad** — The Ottoman Empire takes definitive control of Baghdad from Safavid Persia, ruling Mesopotamia for nearly three centuries as the provinces of Mosul, Baghdad and Basra. (from the Iraq chronicle; sources: Iraq — History)
- 1980–1988: **The Iran–Iraq War** — Iraq invades in September 1980, igniting a devastating eight-year war; Iran accepts UN Security Council Resolution 598 and a ceasefire takes effect on 20 August 1988. (from the Iran chronicle; sources: Iran–Iraq War; United Nations Security Council Resolution 598)
- 1980–1988: **The Iran–Iraq War** — Iraq invades Iran in September 1980, beginning an eight-year war of attrition that kills an estimated several hundred thousand to over a million people on both sides before a UN-mediated ceasefire takes effect in 1988. (from the Iraq chronicle; sources: Iran–Iraq War)
- 1990–1991: **Invasion of Kuwait and the Persian Gulf War** — Iraq invades and annexes Kuwait in August 1990; a United States-led coalition of many nations expels Iraqi forces in early 1991, after which Iraq is placed under severe international sanctions. (from the Iraq chronicle; sources: Persian Gulf War)

## Sources

- World Development Indicators — World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://data.worldbank.org
- Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) — Worldwide Governance Indicators / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators
- Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) — WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.who.int/data/gho
- Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) — UNICEF and WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://childmortality.org
- R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) — UNESCO Institute for Statistics / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://uis.unesco.org
- ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) — ITU / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics
- Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 — U.S. Geological Survey · Public domain (U.S. Government work) · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center
- Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) — SIPRI / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://www.sipri.org/databases/milex

Chronicle references are cited inline above and resolve in full at https://terralore.co/country/IRN/chronicle.md and https://terralore.co/country/IRQ/chronicle.md.

Citation template: Terralore, "Iran and Iraq compared", terralore.co/compare/irn-vs-irq, retrieved <YYYY-MM-DD>.