# Iraq and Syria compared Iraq and Syria side by side: 40 shared sourced indicators across 9 domains, their chronicles record no events of each other. Canonical: https://terralore.co/compare/irq-vs-syr 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 - Iraq: 23 August 1921 — The Kingdom of Iraq is established under Faisal I - Syria: 8 March 1920 — The Arab Kingdom of Syria is proclaimed at Damascus ## Economy | Metric | Iraq | Observed | Syria | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | GDP | $280 B | 2024 | $24 B | 2022 | | GDP per capita | $6,074 | 2024 | $1,052 | 2022 | | GDP growth | -1.5% | 2024 | 0.7% | 2022 | | Inflation | -12.3% | 2024 | 13.4% | 2019 | | Trade openness | 70.7% | 2024 | 35.6% | 2022 | ## Society | Metric | Iraq | Observed | Syria | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population | 46 m | 2024 | 25 m | 2024 | | Life expectancy | 72.4 yrs | 2024 | 72.6 yrs | 2024 | | Urban population | 69.9% | 2024 | 72.1% | 2024 | | Fertility rate | 3.2 | 2024 | 2.7 | 2024 | ## Governance | Metric | Iraq | Observed | Syria | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Voice & accountability | 39.0 | 2024 | 24.5 | 2024 | | Political stability | 30.6 | 2024 | 25.4 | 2024 | | Government effectiveness | 29.9 | 2024 | 18.8 | 2024 | | Regulatory quality | 38.6 | 2024 | 23.4 | 2024 | | Rule of law | 33.6 | 2024 | 25.8 | 2024 | | Control of corruption | 23.5 | 2024 | 13.4 | 2024 | ## Health | Metric | Iraq | Observed | Syria | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Health spending | 5.5% | 2023 | 2.7% | 2023 | | Physicians | 1.02 | 2022 | 1.52 | 2021 | | Under-5 mortality | 21.8 | 2024 | 18.4 | 2024 | | Measles immunisation | 91.0% | 2024 | 81.0% | 2024 | | Safe drinking water | 59.8% | 2024 | — | — | ## Education | Metric | Iraq | Observed | Syria | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Adult literacy | 84.1% | 2021 | 94.4% | 2021 | | Primary enrolment | 104.6% | 2007 | 81.4% | 2024 | | Secondary enrolment | 50.6% | 2007 | 38.7% | 2024 | | Tertiary enrolment | 15.6% | 2005 | 43.8% | 2016 | | Education spending | — | — | 5.1% | 2009 | ## Technology | Metric | Iraq | Observed | Syria | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | R&D spending | 0.0% | 2021 | 0.0% | 2022 | | Researchers (per million) | 164 | 2021 | 140 | 2022 | | Internet users | 81.5% | 2024 | 33.8% | 2018 | | Mobile subscriptions | 100 | 2024 | 71 | 2024 | | High-tech exports | — | — | 1.4% | 2010 | ## Geography | Metric | Iraq | Observed | Syria | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Land area | 434,130 km² | 2023 | 183,630 km² | 2023 | | Forest area | 1.9% | 2023 | 2.8% | 2023 | | Agricultural land | 21.8% | 2023 | 74.1% | 2023 | | CO₂ per capita (t) | 5.2 | 2024 | 1.3 | 2024 | | Renewable energy | 1.1% | 2021 | 1.1% | 2021 | ## Resources | Metric | Iraq | Observed | Syria | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Resource rents | 43.4% | 2021 | 6.4% | 2020 | | Oil rents | 42.8% | 2021 | 4.0% | 2020 | | Mineral rents | 0.0% | 2021 | 0.0% | 2020 | | Forest rents | 0.0% | 2021 | 0.0% | 2020 | | Electricity access | 100.0% | 2023 | 88.4% | 2023 | | Phosphate rock | — | — | 800 kt | 2025 | ## Military | Metric | Iraq | Observed | Syria | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Military burden | 2.4% | 2024 | 4.1% | 2010 | | Defense spending | $6.2 B | 2024 | $2.5 B | 2011 | | Armed forces | 459,000 | 2020 | 269,000 | 2020 | Each metric is also ranked across all nations: https://terralore.co/rankings (markdown twins at /rankings/.md). Full dossiers: https://terralore.co/country/IRQ.md and https://terralore.co/country/SYR.md. ## Entangled histories (0 events) Neither nation's sourced chronicle names the other — across both archives, no recorded event crosses between them. That is a fact about the two records as they stand, not a gap filled here. ## 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 - Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) — SIPRI / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://www.sipri.org/databases/milex - 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 Chronicle references are cited inline above and resolve in full at https://terralore.co/country/IRQ/chronicle.md and https://terralore.co/country/SYR/chronicle.md. Citation template: Terralore, "Iraq and Syria compared", terralore.co/compare/irq-vs-syr, retrieved .