How will Iraq handle its surging population?

Despite Iraq's growing population, the government does not seem to have plans in place to contain the rise, develop employment and expand cities.
Displaced Iraqi children, who fled from Falluja because of Islamic State violence, pose for photographer during a dust storm at a refugee camp in Ameriyat Falluja, south of Falluja, Iraq, June 16, 2016. REUTERS/Ahmed Saad - RTX2GM7G
Displaced Iraqi children, who fled from Fallujah because of Islamic State violence, stand during a dust storm at a refugee camp in Ameriyat Fallujah, south of Fallujah, Iraq, June 16, 2016. - REUTERS/Ahmed Saad
Omer Iamge BW.jpg
Omar al-Jaffal
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Iraq's population growth rate has declined in the past two years, but it is still among the top 10 in the world, according to CIA statistics. 

Despite the country's lack of security or political stability, and the 251,000 Iraqis who have been killed since 2003 when the United States and its allies invaded, the population has grown significantly. On July 16, the Ministry of Planning announced the country’s population has topped 36 million. In 2003, that figure was estimated at between 23 million and almost 26 million.

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