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Included Nations/Regions: Iraq [x], Western Asia [x], The World [x]


Religion and State (RAS) Indexes1

Religion Indexes (Iraq)

State Funding of Religion
Summary categories: None (0/3), Low (1/3), Medium (2/3), High (3/3)

Ranking: 13/253
Societal Discrimination of Minority Religions
Summary categories: None (0/3), Low (1/3), Medium (2/3), High (3/3)

Ranking: 3/253
State Regulation of Majority or All Religions
Summary categories: None (0/3), Low (1/3), Medium (2/3), High (3/3)

Ranking: 116/253
State Discrimination of Minority Religions
Summary categories: None (0/3), Low (1/3), Medium (2/3), High (3/3)

Ranking: 40/253
For details on how these indexes were constructed, click here

Iraq: Major World Religions (1900 - 2050) (World Religion Database, 2020)2

The following groups with less than 1% of the population were hidden from this graph: Baha'is, Buddhists, Chinese folk-religionists, Christians, Hindus, Jews, Nonreligious, Sikhs.


Iraq: Largest Religious Groups (1900 - 2050) (World Religion Database, 2020)2

The following groups with less than 1% of the population were hidden from this graph: Agnostics, Atheists, Catholics, doubly-affiliated, Independents, Islamic schismatics, Mahayanists, Orthodox, Protestants, Saktists, Shaivites, unaffiliated Christians.


Religious Adherents (World Religion Database 2020)2

Religion Iraq
[x]
Western Asia
[x]
The World
[x]
Baha'is 0.01% 0.06% 0.11%
Buddhists 0.00% 0.23% 6.83%
--Mahayanists 0.00% 0.06% 4.89%
--Theravadins --- 0.16% 1.72%
--Lamaists --- 0.00% 0.23%
Chinese folk-religionists 0.00% 0.02% 5.98%
Christians 0.46% 5.58% 32.16%
--unaffiliated Christians 0.01% 0.05% 1.46%
--Orthodox 0.15% 2.94% 3.75%
--Catholics 0.25% 2.39% 15.90%
--Protestants 0.02% 0.13% 7.51%
--Independents 0.17% 0.15% 5.00%
Daoists --- --- 0.11%
Confucianists --- --- 0.11%
Ethnic religionists --- 0.03% 3.65%
Hindus 0.01% 0.78% 13.58%
--Vaishnavites --- 0.27% 5.15%
--Shaivites 0.01% 0.29% 4.86%
--Saktists 0.01% 0.21% 3.57%
Jains --- 0.00% 0.08%
Jews 0.00% 2.47% 0.19%
Muslims 97.41% 89.15% 24.20%
--Sunnis 35.34% 62.22% 21.56%
--Shias 61.23% 25.50% 2.44%
--Islamic schismatics 0.84% 1.43% 0.21%
New religionists 1.43% 0.28% 0.85%
Shintoists --- --- 0.04%
Sikhs 0.02% 0.08% 0.34%
Spiritists --- --- 0.19%
Zoroastrians --- 0.00% 0.00%
Non-Religious 0.66% 1.32% 11.57%
--Agnostics 0.48% 1.18% 9.65%
--Atheists 0.18% 0.14% 1.92%

Religious demographics (Iraq)3

Due to increased violence, internal population migration, and lack of governmental capacity, religious demography statistics varied. Numbers are often estimates from nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) rather than census data or other official sources.

The country has an area of 437,072 square miles and a population of 28.2 million. Ninety-five percent of the population is Muslim. Shi'a Muslims – predominantly Arabs, but also including Turkmen, Faili (Shi'a) Kurds, and other groups – constitute a 60 to 65 percent majority. Sunni Muslims make up 32 to 37 percent of the population, where 18 to 20 percent of the population are Sunni Kurds, 12 to 16 percent are Sunni Arabs, and the remaining 1 to 2 percent are Sunni Turkmen. The remaining five percent of the population is comprised of Christians, Yezidis, Sabean-Mandaeans, Baha'is, Shabaks, Kaka'is (sometimes referred to as Ahl-e Haqq), and a very small number Jews. Shi'a, although predominantly located in the south and east, are also a majority in Baghdad and have communities in most parts of the country. Sunnis form the majority in the west, center, and the north of the country.

Reported estimates of the Christian population in 2003 range from 800,000 to 1.2 million. Current population estimates range from 550,000 to 800,000. Approximately two-thirds of Christians in the country are Chaldeans (an eastern rite of the Catholic Church), nearly one-third are Assyrians (Church of the East), and the remainder are Syriacs (Eastern Orthodox), Armenians (Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox), Anglicans, and other Protestants. Most Assyrian Christians are found in the north, and most Syriac Christians are split between Baghdad, Kirkuk, and the Ninewa province. It is estimated that as much as 50 percent of the country's Christian population live in Baghdad, and between 30 and 40 percent live in the north, with the largest Christian communities there located in and around Mosul, Erbil, Dohuk, and Kirkuk. The Archbishop of the Armenian Diocese reported that 15,000 to 16,000 Armenian Christians remained in the country, primarily in the cities of Baghdad, Basrah, Kirkuk, and Mosul. It was reported that evangelical Christians number between 5,000 and 6,000. They can be found in the northern part of the country, as well as in Baghdad. A very small number reside in Basrah.

Yezidi leaders reported that most of the country's 500,000 to 600,000 Yezidis resided in the north, near Dohuk and Mosul. Shabak leaders stated there are 200,000 to 500,000 Shabaks, who reside mainly in the north near Mosul. The Sabean-Mandaean community continued to decline; according to Sabean-Mandaean leaders, 3,500 to 5,000 remained in the country, down from an estimated 5,000 to 7,000 in the previous reporting period. The Baha'i leadership reported their members number less than 2,000 and are spread throughout the country in small groups. Fewer than 10 Jews remain in Baghdad; a sizable portion of this community, which once had a significant presence in the country, left in the years immediately following the creation of the State of Israel in 1948.

In June 2008 the International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimated that 2.3 to 2.5 million citizens have fled the country since the spring of 2003. In April 2008 the Office of the U.N High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported that in Syria 55.7 percent of registered Iraqi refugees were Sunni, 20.2 percent were Shi'a, 16 percent were Christian, 4.3 percent were Sabean-Mandaean, and 0.8 percent were Yezidi. For Jordan the UNHCR's figures for registered Iraqi refugees were 47 percent Sunni, 28 percent Shi'a, 16 percent Christian, and 6 percent Sabean-Mandaean. There were no figures provided on the number of Iraqi Yezidis in Jordan. In August 2008 the IOM reported that there are an estimated 2.8 million internally displaced persons in the country, 1.6 million of whom were displaced after the al-Askariya mosque bombing in February 2006. An esti

Summary Information

Iraq
[x]
Western Asia
[x]
The World
[x]
Region Western Asia The World --
Total Population4 36,702,850 262,021,707 7,335,774,068
Area in square miles 169,235 1,865,418 196,939,900
Life Expectancy from birth, in years5 69.6 74.9 71.9
Gross National Income per capita, in current international dollars5 17,240.0 23,220.8 16,101.0
Description of Polity Score6 (weakly democratic) -- --
Judicial Independence Composite Score, as average of scores for higher and lower courts7 -0.1 -- 0.8
Official Religion(s)8 Islam -- --

Iraq - Google Map


Religion and the State

Religion and State Collection (2014)

Iraq
[x]
Is proselytizing Legal?1 Yes
Is religious registration someties denied?1 4
What are the consequences of registration?1 Groups are officially required to register but groups which do not are not in any way restricted, except in that they may be denied status as a legal entity.
Official Support: The formal relationship between religion and state.1 Active State Religion
The extent to which religious education is mandatory in public schools.1 Mandatory for some who have no ability to opt out; the course must be in religion but optional for others or there exists for some the option of taking a non-religious course on topics like ethics, philosophy, or religions of the world.
The extent to which funding is exclusive to one or a few religions.1 Government funding of religion goes primarily to only some religions for which there are a substantial number of adherents in the country, but all religions receive some funds.
The extent to which there are religious requirements and oaths for holding office.1 Some or all officials must take an oath of office which includes mention of God or religion in general.

Constitutional Features [ View Excerpts]

Constitution

Iraq
[x]
Constitution Year10 2005
Last Amended10 (n/a)
Source10 Constitute Project
Translation10 Source is an English translation.
Current as of10 September 19, 2018

Public Opinion (Iraq)

(Calculated by the ARDA from the World Values Survey)11
2004 2005 2012
Religious Affiliation/Identification
Percent belonging to a religious denomination. 100 --- 100
Percent identifying as a religious person. 86.7 54.7 83.5
Religious Behaviors
Percent attending religious services at least once a month. 35.9 35.9 42.5
Percent praying to God more than once per week. 94 --- 82.7
Percent that meditate or pray. --- --- 7
Religious Beliefs
Percent believing in God. 99.8 --- 99.5
Percent believing in heaven. 99.7 --- ---
Percent believing in hell. 99.3 --- 99.4
Percent believing in life after death. 97.3 --- ---
Percent believing that there are clear guidelines on good and evil. 86.8 87 ---
Percent believing that politicians who do not believe in God are unfit for public office. 51.1 52.4 ---
Percent believing that religious leaders should not influence people's vote. 63.7 51.7 ---
Percent believing that things would be better if there are more people with strong religious beliefs. --- 89.9 75
Percent that think that religious faith is an important quality in children --- --- 19.2
Percent that agree: We depend too much on science and not enough on faith 79.1 83.7 ---
Percent believing church gives answers to people's spiritual needs. --- --- 66.2
Percent that do not trust people of other religions 71.5 67.9 ---
Percent believing church gives answers on family life problems. 76.3 77.3 ---
Percent believing churches give answers to moral problems. --- 46.7 32.4
Percent that often think about meaning and purpose of life 77.2 78.9 ---
Percent believing churches give answers to social problems. 96.4 --- ---
Percent believing that religious leaders should influence the government. --- --- 50.7
Percent believing that people have a soul. --- --- 56
Percent believing in the concept of sin. --- --- 90.3
Percent believing religious services are important for deaths. --- --- 83.7
Percent believing religious services are important for births. --- --- 44.7
Percent believing religious services are important for marriages. --- --- 60.9
Percent believing in a personal God. --- --- 21
Religious Experiences
Percent finding comfort and strength from religion. 98.1 --- ---
Attitudes
Percent considering religion important. 99.2 99.4 97.5
Percent considering that God is not at all important in their life. 0.3 0.1 0.1
Percent confident in religious organizations. 77 80.8 77
Percent agreeing that nurses can refuse to assist with an abortion on moral grounds. 79.1 --- ---
Politics
Percent thinking that churches have an influence on national politics. 54.6 --- ---
Percent agreeing that the government protects personal freedom. --- --- 48.5

Socio-Economic Measures

Military Measures

Iraq
[x]
Western Asia
[x]
The World
[x]
Composite Index of National Capability, in fraction of 118 0.0062019 0.003493871 0.005162584
2012 Military expenditure (% of GDP)5 2.8 4.1 --

Other Measures on Religion, State, and Society


Constitution Clauses Related to Religion


Constitution Excerpts (clauses that reference religion) (Iraq)10

Preamble

In the name of God, the Most merciful, the Most compassionate

"We have honored the sons of Adam"

... Mesopotamia, the homeland of the apostles and prophets, resting place of the virtuous imams ... upon our soil the saints and companions of the Prophet prayed ...

Acknowledging God’s right over us ... and in a response to the call of our religious and national leaderships ... the Iraq of the future, free from sectarianism ...

Accusations of being infidels ... Sectarianism ... have not stopped us ...

Article 2.

(First) Islam is the official religion of the State and is a foundation source of legislation:

(a) No law may be enacted that contradicts the established provisions of Islam

...

(Second) This Constitution guarantees the Islamic identity of the majority of the Iraqi people and guarantees the full religious rights to freedom of religious belief and practice of all individuals such as Christians, Yazidis, and Mandean Sabeans.

Article 3.

Iraq is a country of multiple ... religions, and sects. ... it is part of the Islamic world.

Article 7.

(First) Any entity or program that adopts, incites, facilitates, glorifies, promotes, or justifies ... accusations of being an infidel (takfir) ... shall be prohibited.

...

Article 10.

The holy shrines and religious sites in Iraq are religious and civilizational entities. The State is committed to assuring and maintaining their sanctity, and to guaranteeing the free practice of rituals in them.

Article 12.

...

(Second) A law shall regulate ... religious ... occasions and the Hijri and Gregorian calendar.

Article 14.

Iraqis are equal before the law without discrimination based on ... religion, sect, belief ...

Article 17.

(First) Every individual shall have the right to personal privacy so long as it does not contradict ... public morals.

...

Article 29.

(First) (a) The family is the foundation of society; the State shall preserve it and its religious ... values.

...

...

Article 37.

...

(Second) The State shall guarantee protection of the individual from ... religious coercion.

...

Article 38.

The State shall guarantee in a way that does not violate public ... morality:

[freedoms of expression, press, assembly]

Article 41.

Iraqis are free in their commitment to their personal status according to their religions, sects, beliefs, or choices, and this shall be regulated by law.

Article 42.

Each individual shall have the freedom of thought, conscience, and belief.

Article 43.

(First) The followers of all religions and sects are free in the:

(a) Practice of religious rites, including the Husseini rituals.

(b) Management of religious endowments (waqf), their affairs, and their religious institutions, and this shall be regulated by law.

(Second) The State shall guarantee freedom of worship and the protection of places of worship.

Article 45.

...

(Second) The State shall seek the advancement of the Iraqi clans and tribes, shall attend to their affairs in a manner that is consistent with religion ... The State shall prohibit the tribal traditions that are in contradiction with human rights.

Article 92.

...

(Second) The Federal Supreme Court shall be made up of ... experts in Islamic jurisprudence [among others] ...

Variable Details

  • For more details on State Funding of Religion (FUN_4CAT) see this document.
  • For more details on Societal Discrimination of Minority Religions (SOC_4CAT) see this document.
  • For more details on State Regulation of Majority or All Religions (NXX_4CAT) see this document.
  • For more details on State Discrimination of Minority Religions (MXX_4CAT) see this document.
  • Sources

    1 The Religion and State (RAS) Project is a university-based project located at Bar Ilan University in Ramat Gan, Israel and is directed by Jonathan Fox. Round 3 of the RAS includes all countries with populations of 250,000 or more as well as a sampling of smaller states and offers annual measures from 1990 to 2014. The methods used for conducting the RAS3 collection and the complete codebook can be reviewed online. Or, the codebook and data file can be downloaded free of charge here. For details on how the RAS indexes reported on the ARDA’s National Profiles were coded, constructed, and placed into categories, click here.

    2 Todd M. Johnson and Brian J. Grim, eds. World Religion Database (Leiden/Boston: Brill, 2022).

    3 The U.S. State Department's International Religious Freedom Report is submitted to Congress annually by the Department of State in compliance with Section 102(b) of the International Religious Freedom Act (IRFA) of 1998. This report supplements the most recent Human Rights Reports by providing additional detailed information with respect to matters involving international religious freedom. It includes individual country chapters on the status of religious freedom worldwide. A dataset with these and the other international measures highlighted on the country pages can be downloaded from this website. These State Department reports are open source.

    4 The Religious Characteristics of States Dataset Project: Demographics reports the estimates of religious demographics, both country by country and region by region. The RCS was created to fulfill the unmet need for a dataset on the religious dimensions of countries of the world, with the state-year as the unit of observation. It estimates populations and percentages of adherents of 100 religious denominations including second level subdivision within Christianity and Islam. The RCS Data Project would like to acknowledge, recognize, and express our deepest gratitude for the significant contributions of Todd M. Johnson the co-principal investigator of the World Religion Database.

    5 Relying on agencies from each country, as well as a synthesis of data from United Nations divisions, Eurostate Demographic statistics, the U.S. Census international database, and its own data collection, the World Bank's Open Data site offers free and open access to data about development in countries around the globe.

    6 The Center for Systemic Peace (CSP) is engaged in innovative research on the problem of political violence within the structural context of the dynamic global system. The Center supports scientific research and quantitative analysis in many issue areas related to the fundamental problems of violence in both human relations and societal-systemic development processes. The Center continually monitors political behavior in each of the world's major states and reports on emerging issues and persisting conditions related to the problems of political violence and "state failure." A dataset with these and other international measures can be downloaded from here. Used with permission. *Note: Polity Scores range from -10 to 10 and include the following categories: -10 to -9: strongly autocratic, -8 to -7 autocratic, -6 to -4 weakly autocratic, -3 to +3 anocratic, +4 to +6 weakly democratic, +7 to +8 democratic, +9 to +10 strongly democratic.

    7 Varieties of Democracy (V-Dem) is a new approach to conceptualizing and measuring democracy. V-Dem provides a multidimensional and disaggregated dataset that reflects the complexity of the concept of democracy as a system of rule that goes beyond simple presence of elections. The V-Dem project distinguishes between seven high-level principles of democracy: electoral, liberal, participatory, deliberative, egalitarian, majoritarian, and consensual, and collects data to measure these principles. A dataset with these and other international measures can be downloaded from here. Used with permission.

    8 The Religious Characteristics of States Dataset Project: Government Religious Preference (GRP) measures government-level favoritism toward, and disfavor against, 30 religious denominations. A series of ordered categorical variables index the state's institutional favoritism in 28 different ways. The variables are combined to form five composite indices for five broad components of state-religion: official status, religious education, financial support, regulatory burdens, and freedom of practice. The five components' composites in turn are further combined into a single composite score, the GRP score. The RCS Data Project would like to acknowledge, recognize, and express our deepest gratitude for the significant contributions of Todd M. Johnson, the principal investigator of the World Christian Database, the co-principal investigator of the World Religion Database, and co-author of the World Christian Encyclopedia series.

    9 Data under the "Features of Constitution" heading are drawn from coding of the U.S. State Department's 2008 International Religious Freedom Reports conducted by researchers at the Association of Religion Data Archives. The article by Brian Grim and Roger Finke describes the coding of the International Religious Freedom reports. A dataset with these and the other international measures highlighted on the country pages can be downloaded from this website. Used with permission.

    10 Text from country constitutions was copied from primary documents obtained online using a variety of sources, including the Constitute Project, World Constitutions Illustrated, and government sources. When the text was in a language other than English, it was translated to English by ARDA staff or with web-based translation utilities such as Google Translate. Emphases were added to the text by ARDA staff to differentiate religious content from non-religious content. Text is current to the date listed in the "Current as of" field shown above. Please contact us at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. if you are aware of any incorrect information provided on this page.

    11 The World Values Survey is a worldwide investigation of socio-cultural and political change. It is conducted by a network of social scientists at leading universities around the world. Interviews have been carried out with nationally representative samples of the publics of more than 80 societies. A total of four waves have been carried out since 1981. The ARDA has averaged the weighted responses across the waves for each country surveyed. The average responses for all countries have been placed in a single file and can be previewed and downloaded here. See the World Values Survey website for further information and to download the original survey data: http://www.worldvaluessurvey.org/.

    12 Freedom House is an independent non-governmental organization that offers measures of the extent to which governments are accountable to their own people; the rule of law prevails; and freedoms of expression, association, belief and respect for the rights of minorities and women are guaranteed. A dataset with these and the other international measures highlighted on the country pages can be downloaded from this website. Used with permission.

    13 The CIA's World Factbook was created as an annual summary and update to the now defunct National Intelligence Survey (NIS) studies. The first classified Factbook was published in August 1962, and the first unclassified version was published in June 1971. The NIS program was terminated in 1973 except for the Factbook, map, and gazetteer components. The 1975 Factbook was the first to be made available to the public with sales through the US Government Printing Office (GPO). The year 2010 marks the 67th year of the World Factbook and its predecessor programs. The maps and flags are also from the World Factbook, which is an open source.

    14 Relying on agencies from each country, as well as a synthesis of data from United Nations divisions, Eurostate Demographic statistics, the U.S. Census international database, and its own data collection, the World Bank's Open Data site offers free and open access to data about development in countries around the globe.

    15 The Heritage Foundation/Wall Street Journal Index of Economic Freedom is a systematic, empirical measurement of economic freedom in countries throughout the world. A set of objective economic criteria are used to study and grade various countries for the annual publication of the Index of Economic Freedom. A dataset with these and the other international measures highlighted on the country pages can be downloaded from this website. Used with permission.

    16 The United Nations Human Development Reports provide data and statistical analysis in various areas of human development. The Human Development Report (HDR) presents two types of statistics: the human development indicator tables, which provide a global assessment of country achievements in different areas of human development, and thematic statistical analysis. A dataset with these and the other international measures highlighted on the country pages can be downloaded from this website. Used with permission.

    17 The 2013 Gender Inequality Index is a composite measure reflecting inequality in achievements between women and men in three dimensions: reproductive health, empowerment and the labor market. It varies between zero (when women and men fare equally) and one (when men or women fare poorly compared to the other in all dimensions). The health dimension is measured by two indicators: maternal mortality ratio and the adolescent fertility rate. The empowerment dimension is also measured by two indicators: the share of parliamentary seats held by each sex and by secondary and higher education attainment levels. The labor dimension is measured by women’s participation in the work force. Source: The United Nations Human Development Reports provide data and statistical analysis in various areas of human development. The Human Development Report (HDR) presents two types of statistics: the human development indicator tables, which provide a global assessment of country achievements in different areas of human development, and thematic statistical analysis. A dataset with these and the other international measures highlighted on the country pages can be downloaded from this website. Used with permission.

    18 Military data is drawn from the National Material Capabilities (v4.0) dataset, which is a component of and hosted by the Correlates of War Project. The Correlates of War Project seeks to facilitate the collection, dissemination, and use of accurate and reliable quantitative data in international relations. Correlates of War data may be accessed through the above link. Used with permission.

    19 The article by Brian Grim and Roger Finke describes the coding of the U.S. State Department's International Religious Freedom reports. The 2003, 2005, and 2008 reports were coded by researchers at the Association of Religion Data Archives. The GRI, GFI and SRI values reported on the National Profiles are averages from the 2003, 2005, and 2008 International Religious Freedom reports, while the Religious Persecution measure is an average from the 2005 and 2008 reports. All other measures derived from the International Religious Freedom reports were coded from the reports 2008. A data file with all of the 2008 coding, as well as data files with other cross national collections are available for preview and download from the data archive on this site. Used with permission.

    20 The Cingranelli-Richards (CIRI) Human Rights Dataset contains standards-based quantitative information on government respect for 15 internationally recognized human rights for 202 countries, annually from 1981-2011. It is designed for use by scholars and students who seek to test theories about the causes and consequences of human rights violations, as well as policy makers and analysts who seek to estimate the human rights effects of a wide variety of institutional changes and public policies including democratization, economic aid, military aid, structural adjustment, and humanitarian intervention. The full CIRI Human Rights Dataset can be accessed through the above link. Used with permission.

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