Wage bill as a percentage of Public Expenditure in Iraq

Iraq: Wage bill as a percentage of Public Expenditure was 32.3% in 2022. ▲ Rising

Latest (2022)
32.3%
Change on year
down 17.6%
World rank
38th
of 191 countries
All-time high
45.0%
in 2020
All-time low
7.2%
in 2004
Years of data
19
2004–2022

Wage bill as a percentage of Public Expenditure in Iraq, 2004–2022

102030402004201320222004: 7.22005: 14.32006: 17.52007: 21.72008: 19.32009: 30.42010: 28.12011: 28.72012: 26.12013: 24.62014: 26.62015: 36.82016: 38.42017: 41.92018: 44.62019: 41.92020: 452021: 39.32022: 32.3

Source: World Bank.

Analysis

Iraq recorded 32.3% for wage bill as a percentage of public expenditure in 2022.

That represents a change of down 17.6% on the previous year and up 23.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, wage bill as a percentage of public expenditure in Iraq peaked at 45.0% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 7.2%, in 2004.

That places Iraq 38th out of 191 countries with data for 2022, putting it in the top quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 19 years of available data.

Wage bill as a percentage of Public Expenditure in Iraq, year by year

Annual values for Wage bill as a percentage of Public Expenditure in Iraq, 2004 to 2022.
Year Value Change
2004 7.2%
2005 14.3% +99.3%
2006 17.5% +22.9%
2007 21.7% +23.8%
2008 19.3% -10.9%
2009 30.4% +57.2%
2010 28.1% -7.4%
2011 28.7% +2.0%
2012 26.1% -8.9%
2013 24.6% -5.8%
2014 26.6% +7.9%
2015 36.8% +38.5%
2016 38.4% +4.3%
2017 41.9% +9.2%
2018 44.6% +6.3%
2019 41.9% -5.9%
2020 45.0% +7.3%
2021 39.3% -12.7%
2022 32.3% -17.6%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 18.4% 7.2% 30.4% 6
2010s 33.8% 24.6% 44.6% 10
2020s 38.9% 32.3% 45.0% 3

Countries ranked near Iraq

  1. 35 Lao People's Democratic Republic 32.6% compare
  2. 36 Sierra Leone 32.5% compare
  3. 37 Mali 32.4% compare
  4. 39 Qatar 31.8% compare
  5. 40 Zimbabwe 31.8% compare
  6. 41 Panama 31.6% compare

See the full ranking of 191 places →

More reference data data for Iraq

All data for Iraq →

Frequently asked questions

What is wage bill as a percentage of public expenditure in Iraq?
Wage bill as a percentage of public expenditure in Iraq was 32.3% in 2022, according to the World Bank.
What is the highest wage bill as a percentage of public expenditure recorded in Iraq?
The highest recorded value was 45.0% in 2020.
What is the lowest wage bill as a percentage of public expenditure recorded in Iraq?
The lowest recorded value was 7.2% in 2004.
How does Iraq rank for wage bill as a percentage of public expenditure?
Iraq ranks 38th out of 191 countries with data for 2022.
Is wage bill as a percentage of public expenditure rising or falling in Iraq?
Over the last ten years it is up 23.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Iraq data come from?
The figures come from the World Bank, published as part of Wage bill as a percentage of Public Expenditure. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 19 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Wage bill as a percentage of Public Expenditure in Iraq. Statizoid. Retrieved 26 August 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/wage-bill-as-a-percentage-of-public-expenditure/iraq/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/wage-bill-as-a-percentage-of-public-expenditure/iraq/">Wage bill as a percentage of Public Expenditure in Iraq</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Wage bill as a percentage of Public Expenditure
Source
World Bank
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
191 places, 4,119 data points, 2000–2022
Last refreshed