Iraq has been struggling with an increase in poverty rates for many years. While the Iraqi Ministry of Planning notes that the rate of poverty has recently decreased, reaching 11%, statistics released by the World Bank show that 28% of Iraqi families live below the poverty line. In the event that the country may face any kind of crisis, this rate could increase by 70%. This is currently happening because of the spike in violent acts and tense political situation.

The head of the Model Iraqi Women Organization, Athraa Hassani, provided Al-Monitor with this information, quoting World Bank officials who discussed these statistics during a meeting in Turkey with a number of members of civil society organizations seeking to find a solution to the poverty crisis in Iraq.

Hassani questions the accuracy of the poverty rates announced by the Iraqi government, affirming that these rates are continuously increasing because of a rise in daily violence and spike in unemployment rates in addition to a weakening of the Iraqi economy.

Based on the World Bank’s figures, this would mean that out of Iraq’s 34.7 million citizens, more than 9.5 million individuals are living below the poverty line.