Iraq vs Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia is 5.15 times larger than Iraq. Iraq would fit into Saudi Arabia about 5.1 times.
IraqSaudi ArabiaIraq moved onto Saudi Arabia · Equal-area projection
0.19×
Iraq is 0.19× the area of Saudi Arabia. Put the other way, Saudi Arabia is 5.15× the size of Iraq.
 Iraq |  Saudi Arabia | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaSaudi Arabia: 5.15× the area | 437,072 km²#58 of 194 | 2,250,000 km²#12 of 194 |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Has a coast |
| Land neighbours | 6 | 7 |
| People | ||
| PopulationIraq: 1.27× the population | 47,020,774#34 of 194 · 2025 | 36,973,555#43 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityIraq: 6.55× the density | 108 / km²#82 of 194 | 16 / km²#176 of 194 |
| Urban populationSaudi Arabia: 1.21× the urban share | 70%#74 of 192 · 2025 | 85%#32 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateIraq: 1.39× the births per woman | 3.22 per woman#48 of 192 · 2024 | 2.31 per woman#79 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthSaudi Arabia: 2.53 points higher | +2.10%#42 of 192 · 2025 | +4.63%#2 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateIraq: 1.55× the birth rate | 25.6 per 1,000#47 of 192 · 2024 | 16.5 per 1,000#88 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateIraq: 1.83× the death rate | 4.2 per 1,000#184 of 192 · 2024 | 2.3 per 1,000#187 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Iraq: 12.4 points higher | 36.0%#48 of 192 · 2025 | 23.6%#101 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65Iraq: 0.3 points higher | 3.4%#156 of 192 · 2025 | 3.1%#166 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationSaudi Arabia: 3.2 per 1,000 higher | 0.0 per 1,000#73 of 192 · 2025 | +3.2 per 1,000#29 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadIraq: 96× the refugees for its size | 5.76 per 1,000#25 of 190 · 2025 | 0.06 per 1,000#129 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancySaudi Arabia: 6.6 years longer | 72.4 years#110 of 192 · 2024 | 79.0 years#45 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityIraq: 4.28× the infant mortality | 20.1 per 1,000 births#69 of 191 · 2024 | 4.7 per 1,000 births#144 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsSaudi Arabia: 3.34× the doctors per person | 1.02 per 1,000#107 of 178 · 2022 | 3.41 per 1,000#48 of 178 · 2023 |
| University enrolment | — | 83.9%#18 of 145 · 2024 |
| Human Development IndexSaudi Arabia: 0.205 higher | 0.695#125 of 190 · 2023 | 0.900#36 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capitaSaudi Arabia: 6.34× the income per person | $5,690#107 of 185 · 2025 | $36,070#33 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDPSaudi Arabia: 5.02× the economy | $254.37B2025 | $1.28T2025 |
| Income group | Upper-middle income | High income |
| GDP per capita (PPP)Saudi Arabia: 5.17× the output per person | $14,267#111 of 184 · 2025 | $73,784#19 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growthSaudi Arabia: 6.7 points higher | −2.2%#183 of 187 · 2025 | +4.5%#55 of 187 · 2025 |
| InflationSaudi Arabia: 1.7 points higher | +0.3%#156 of 176 · 2025 | +2.0%#120 of 176 · 2025 |
| UnemploymentIraq: 5.17× the unemployment | 15.5%#14 of 178 · 2025 | 3.0%#138 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme poverty | 0.5%#103 of 149 · 2023 | — |
| Income inequality (Gini) | 29.8#121 of 149 · 2023 | — |
| Jobs in agricultureIraq: 5.7 points higher | 8.2% of jobs#117 of 178 · 2025 | 2.5% of jobs#152 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industryIraq: 3.4 points higher | 26.5% of jobs#30 of 178 · 2025 | 23.1% of jobs#54 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesSaudi Arabia: 9.1 points higher | 65.3% of jobs#70 of 178 · 2025 | 74.4% of jobs#31 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investmentSaudi Arabia: 5.6 points higher | -3.0% of GDP#178 of 184 · 2025 | 2.6% of GDP#73 of 184 · 2025 |
| ExportsIraq: 10.1 points higher | 39.8% of GDP#74 of 168 · 2024 | 29.7% of GDP#104 of 168 · 2025 |
| Military spendingSaudi Arabia: 2.64× the military spending | 2.5% of GDP#43 of 155 · 2025 | 6.5% of GDP#7 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersSaudi Arabia: 1.23× the share online | 82%#95 of 184 · 2024 | 100%#1 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsSaudi Arabia: 1.6× the mobile subscriptions | 100 per 100#127 of 191 · 2024 | 160 per 100#20 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaIraq: 1.23× the forest share | 2% of land#173 of 192 · 2024 | 1% of land#175 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personSaudi Arabia: 3.57× the CO₂ per person | 5.18 t a year#47 of 185 · 2024 | 18.5 t a year#8 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyIraq: 1.0 points higher | 1.1%#173 of 190 · 2021 | 0.1%#183 of 190 · 2021 |
| Access to electricityThe same | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 | 100.0%#1 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Saudi Arabia: 1.48× the air pollution | 49.5 µg/m³#13 of 191 · 2023 | 73.5 µg/m³#2 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landSaudi Arabia: 17.0 points higher | 1.5% of land#182 of 191 · 2025 | 18.5% of land#90 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landIraq: 9.3 points higher | 11.3% of land#90 of 190 · 2024 | 2.0% of land#161 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressSaudi Arabia: 16.3× the water stress | 59.6%#30 of 176 · 2022 | 974.2%#3 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationIraq: 3.66× the rain and snow | 216 mm#164 of 180 · 2022 | 59 mm#178 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilitySaudi Arabia: 1.89 higher | −1.87#184 of 193 · 2025 | +0.02#103 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionSaudi Arabia: 2.06 higher | −1.25#168 of 193 · 2025 | +0.81#41 of 193 · 2025 |
| Homicide rate | — | 0.9 per 100,000#110 of 146 · 2019 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | Parliamentary republicfederal parliamentary republic | Absolute monarchy |
| Member of | OPEC | G20, OPEC |
| Capital | Baghdad | Riyadh |
| Currency | Iraqi dinar (IQD) | Saudi riyal (SAR) |
| Official languages | Arabic, Kurdish language | Arabic |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the right |
| Time zone | UTC+3 | UTC+3 |
| Calling code | +964 | +966 |
| Region | Western Asia, Asia | Western Asia, Asia |
Area: Wikidata. Population, income, health, economy, environment and governance: World Bank. Human Development Index: UNDP. Government: CIA World Factbook. Ranks among the 194 independent states. All sources
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Iraq sits at about 33° N and is stretched to 1.42× its true area; Saudi Arabia at 24° N is stretched to 1.2×. Here the two are distorted about the same amount, so Mercator gets this pair roughly right. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is Iraq bigger than Saudi Arabia?
- No. Iraq is 5.15 times smaller than Saudi Arabia. Iraq covers 437,072 km² and Saudi Arabia covers 2,250,000 km².
- How many times does Iraq fit into Saudi Arabia?
- About 5.1 times: Saudi Arabia has 5.15× the area of Iraq.
- Why do Iraq and Saudi Arabia look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Iraq is drawn about 1.42× its true area there and Saudi Arabia about 1.2×. For this pair the distortion is similar, so Mercator gets the comparison roughly right. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, Iraq or Saudi Arabia?
- Iraq: 47,020,774 people against 36,973,555. Density: Iraq 108 per km², Saudi Arabia 16 per km².
- Which is richer, Iraq or Saudi Arabia?
- By gross national income per person, Saudi Arabia: $36,070 against $5,690 (World Bank, Atlas method, 2025) — 6.34× as much.
- Where do people live longer, Iraq or Saudi Arabia?
- In Saudi Arabia: life expectancy at birth is 79.0 years, against 72.4 — 6.6 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Iraq and Saudi Arabia have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Iraq: parliamentary republic; Saudi Arabia: absolute monarchy.