Largest Cities in Iraq 2026: Population Ranking

Iraq's cities at a glance

Updated October 2026

Dots sized by population · Baghdad in orange

Iraq has 6 cities with more than a million inhabitants and 43 with more than 100,000 (city-proper figures). The largest is Baghdad with 7,216,000 people, followed by Mosul (1,683,000) and Erbil (1,612,700). The three largest cities together hold about 21.8% of the country's 48.3 million people.

The capital, Baghdad, is also the largest city.

By region, the most large cities are in Basra (7), Sulaymaniyah (4), Babil (4).

Country-level figures — live population, births and deaths, growth, density and history — are on the Iraq population page; provinces, terrain, rivers and society maps are in the Iraq atlas.

Iraq cities by population

43 cities · GeoNames · city proper

#	City	Region	Population	Share of Iraq
1	BaghdadCapital	Baghdad	7,216,000	14.9%
2	Mosul	Nineveh	1,683,000	3.5%
3	Erbil	Erbil	1,612,700	3.3%
4	Basrah	Basra	1,326,564	2.7%
5	Karbala	Karbala	1,218,732	2.5%
6	Kirkuk	Kirkuk	1,031,000	2.1%
7	Sulaymaniyah	Sulaymaniyah	878,146	1.8%
8	Nasiriyah	Dhi Qar	558,400	1.2%
9	Najaf	Najaf	482,576	1%
10	Al Hillah	Babil	455,700	0.9%
11	Abū al-Kahṣīb	Basra	357,771	0.7%
12	Dihok	Duhok	340,900	0.7%
13	Al ‘Amārah	Maysan	323,302	0.7%
14	Al Diwaniyah	Al-Qadisiyah	318,801	0.7%
15	Al-Kut	Wasit	315,162	0.7%
16	Al Madīnah	Basra	255,000	0.5%
17	Kelar	Sulaymaniyah	250,000	0.5%
18	Ramadi	Anbar	223,500	0.5%
19	Al Fallūjah	Anbar	190,159	0.4%
20	Ash Shaţrah	Dhi Qar	182,175	0.4%
21	Khānaqīn	Diyala	175,000	0.4%
22	Bayjī	Salah ad Din	173,677	0.4%
23	Ash Sharqāt	Salah ad Din	160,000	0.3%
24	Sāmarrā’	Salah ad Din	158,508	0.3%
25	Al Miqdādīyah	Diyala	155,968	0.3%
26	As Samawah	Muthanna	152,890	0.3%
27	Baqubah	Diyala	152,550	0.3%
28	Sumayl	Duhok	152,512	0.3%
29	Simele	Duhok	152,512	0.3%
30	Qeładizê	Sulaymaniyah	140,688	0.3%
31	Al Qurnah	Basra	134,174	0.3%
32	Sīnah	Duhok	128,776	0.3%
33	Az Zubayr	Basra	122,676	0.3%
34	Ţūz Khūrmātū	Salah ad Din	120,712	0.2%
35	Rānyah	Sulaymaniyah	114,173	0.2%
36	Qal‘at Sukkar	Dhi Qar	110,000	0.2%
37	An Nu‘mānīyah	Wasit	110,000	0.2%
38	Abu Gharaq	Babil	108,212	0.2%
39	Umm Qaşr	Basra	107,620	0.2%
40	'Ākra	Nineveh	105,370	0.2%
41	Al Fāw	Basra	104,569	0.2%
42	Al-Musayab	Babil	101,873	0.2%
43	Nāḩiyat al Iskandarīyah	Babil	100,600	0.2%

Cities with 300,000 or more people link to their own page. The list keeps every city of 100,000+ and at least the 30 largest places of the country.

Frequently asked questions

What is the largest city in Iraq?

Baghdad, with about 7,216,000 inhabitants (city proper).

What is the capital of Iraq?

Baghdad — population 7,216,000, the largest city in the country.

How many cities in Iraq have over one million people?

6: Baghdad, Mosul, Erbil, Basrah, Karbala, Kirkuk.

Are these metropolitan-area populations?

No. They are city-proper figures (the administrative city) from GeoNames, based on the latest census or official estimate. Metropolitan areas, which include suburbs and satellite towns, are larger — often several times larger for the biggest cities.

Explore more

📊 Iraq population & statistics 🗺️ Iraq atlas 🌍 Largest cities in the world

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APA

Glostats. (2026). Largest Cities in Iraq 2026: Population Ranking. Retrieved October 20, 2026, from https://glostats.com/cities/iraq/

HTML<a href="https://glostats.com/cities/iraq/">Largest Cities in Iraq 2026: Population Ranking</a> — Glostats

Figures on this page may be quoted, charted or republished as long as the page is credited with a link. Terms · Download the data as CSV · Embed a live counter.

City populations are GeoNames figures (CC BY 4.0): the latest official census or estimate for the city proper — the municipality, not the wider metropolitan area — so they can differ from "metro area" numbers you see elsewhere. Country populations are live Glostats estimates from the UN World Population Prospects. Page generated 2026-10-20. More about our data.