Share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days in Iraq
Iraq: Share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days was 20.6% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days in Iraq, 2000–2020
Source: World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2020, share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days in Iraq stood at 20.6%.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.5% on the previous year and down 0.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days in Iraq peaked at 21.7% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 12.5%, in 2002.
Iraq ranks 177th of 187 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 21 years of available data.
Share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days in Iraq, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 21.7% | — |
| 2001 | 21.1% | -3.0% |
| 2002 | 12.5% | -40.6% |
| 2003 | 16.2% | +29.3% |
| 2004 | 18.1% | +12.1% |
| 2005 | 19.7% | +8.8% |
| 2006 | 19.2% | -2.5% |
| 2007 | 19.9% | +3.3% |
| 2008 | 20.3% | +2.0% |
| 2009 | 20.5% | +1.3% |
| 2010 | 20.7% | +0.8% |
| 2011 | 20.9% | +1.2% |
| 2012 | 20.7% | -1.1% |
| 2013 | 20.4% | -1.5% |
| 2014 | 20.3% | -0.6% |
| 2015 | 20.8% | +2.6% |
| 2016 | 20.8% | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 20.8% | +0.1% |
| 2018 | 20.7% | -0.4% |
| 2019 | 20.5% | -1.0% |
| 2020 | 20.6% | +0.5% |
Iraq compared with similar countries
- Iraq's 20.6% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 40.3%, 51% of the median. (55 countries reporting)
- Iraq's 20.6% is below the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 22.3%, 93% of the median. (22 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days in Iraq changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | -40.6% | 21.1% | 12.5% |
| 2003 | +29.3% | 12.5% | 16.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 18.9% | 12.5% | 21.7% | 10 |
| 2010s | 20.7% | 20.3% | 20.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 20.6% | 20.6% | 20.6% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Iraq
More reference data data for Iraq
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.2116 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 3.19 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 7.23 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.3911 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 7.23 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.7096 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.235 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 13.21 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 30.36 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 2.13 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days in Iraq?
- Share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days in Iraq was 20.6% in 2020, according to World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days recorded in Iraq?
- The highest recorded value was 21.7% in 2000.
- What is the lowest share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days recorded in Iraq?
- The lowest recorded value was 12.5% in 2002.
- How does Iraq rank for share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days?
- Iraq ranks 177th out of 187 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days rising or falling in Iraq?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Iraq data come from?
- The figures come from World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of drinkers who have had a heavy drinking session in past 30 days. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 21 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Heavy episodic drinking (drinkers only) is defined as the proportion of adult drinkers (15+ years) who have had at least 60 grams or more of pure alcohol on at least one occasion in the past 30 days. A consumption of 60 grams of pure alcohol corresponds approximately to 6 standard alcoholic drinks.