Country profile

Iraq

Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & PakistanUpper middle income46.04M inhabitants

Last updated December 22, 2025

Fragile/Conflict-Affected Country: This country is classified as experiencing conflict. Data may not reflect the current situation due to instability.

Composite GEFRI Score

Severely underprepared

Iraq is severely underprepared (34th percentile worldwide). Key structural conditions limit capacity to plan, implement, and sustain forward-looking reforms. Higher scores indicate a system that is better prepared to anticipate and shape the future of learning.

38.08Composite score

Global percentile: 34th
Global rank: #118
Regional rank: #17
Viewing data for

Infrastructure

56.81

39th percentileGlobal avg. 56.42

Human Capital

49.29

46th percentileGlobal avg. 46.98

Innovation

34.05

37th percentileGlobal avg. 42.60

Governance

22.26

12th percentileGlobal avg. 47.71

Access & Parity

28.00

35th percentileGlobal avg. 50.60

Country profile

Iraq trails global peers in Governance (22, 12th percentile). A coordinated reform effort is needed to strengthen education futures readiness.

Uneven scores across dimensions highlight areas that need targeted coordination. Adult literacy gaps reduce the diffusion of knowledge needed for future-ready skills.

Sparse R&D investment and a small research workforce slow experimentation and delay new ideas from reaching learners. Policy execution and regulatory capacity remain weak, leaving reforms fragmented and hard to sustain. Gender parity across secondary pathways reflects sustained commitment to equitable participation.

Note: Because many indicators are imputed, these findings should be treated as provisional until more reported data arrives.

Key insights

Falls below many peers at the 34th percentile.
Places 118th worldwide.
Holds a regional position of 17th within Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan.
Scores range from Infrastructure (56.8) to Governance (22.3), reflecting variation across dimensions.
Trails regional peers most clearly in Access & Parity.

Regional peers: Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan

Composite GEFRI score

Global rank	Regional rank	Country	Score
17	1	Israel	74.24
32	2	United Arab Emirates	70.10
39	3	Malta	64.34
41	4	Saudi Arabia	63.68
56	5	Qatar	59.67
62	6	Kuwait	57.82
64	7	Bahrain	57.41
65	8	Jordan	57.41
81	9	Oman	53.74
82	10	Morocco	53.24
86	11	Tunisia	52.02
87	12	Algeria	51.24
90	13	Iran, Islamic Rep.	50.79
99	14	Egypt, Arab Rep.	48.93
105	15	West Bank and GazaFCS	45.80
116	16	LibyaFCS	38.62
118	17	IraqFCS	38.08
125	18	Djibouti	35.55
126	19	LebanonFCS	35.37
139	20	Pakistan	29.77
149	21	Syrian Arab RepublicFCS	26.62
163	22	Yemen, Rep.FCS	22.34
173	23	AfghanistanFCS	16.59