ABCI Iraq 2035

Infrastructure, Cities & Logistics

Connecting transport, cities and logistics infrastructure to economic activity and regional trade.

Research version 1.1Updated: 30 September 2026

ABCI analytical perspective. Milestones and structural directions below are research propositions, not official forecasts or commitments.

Why It Matters

Infrastructure creates economic value through the activities it enables. Transport, urban services and logistics need to be considered as connected systems serving households, businesses and regional trade.

Where Iraq Stands

The 2024 census (results published in 2025) records 46,118,793 people, establishing an important demand context. The electricity-loss baseline illustrates the importance of network performance, but neither measure substitutes for corridor-level logistics or city-service data.

The Structural Gap

A completed asset is not the same as a functioning service. Analysis needs evidence on connections, utilization, maintenance, travel time, reliability and operating costs, including the institutions responsible for delivery.

What Needs to Change

Assess integrated land use and transport, commercially grounded logistics nodes and life-cycle maintenance. Investment appraisal should examine demand, service standards and operating responsibilities before construction alone is treated as progress.

2030 Milestone

By 2030, look for measured service improvements in selected corridors and cities, with published operating indicators. Evaluate connectivity and maintenance as well as the delivery of physical assets.

Proposed measurement protocol

Measure and definition
End-to-end travel/delivery time, reliability and cost for a specified corridor; service availability for a specified urban catchment.
Collection and comparison
Specify endpoints, cargo/user type and sampling period. Use timestamped operating records and repeat observations, recording seasonal and service interruptions.
Current limits
No corridor or city-service dataset is selected here. Population and electricity losses are context; they cannot serve as direct logistics performance measures.

2035 Direction

The direction is better-connected cities and trade networks that reduce friction for economic activity. Project-specific outcomes require their own verified baselines; no national logistics target is invented here.

Key Indicators

Institutional baseline

Population

46,118,793

2024 census · results published 2025

Total Iraqi and foreign population. Final results announced 26 November 2025. The statistical reference date must be consulted in the full census tables; the announcement does not specify it.

Definition, dates & source context
Measurement period
2024 census
Publication date
2025-11-26
Independent check
2026-09-30
Source edition
Linked publication / page; edition number not stated
Source: Ministry of Planning — 2024 census final results (published 2025) ↗
Institutional baseline

Electricity distribution losses

~55%

2024

IMF source context.

Definition, dates & source context
Measurement period
2024
Publication date
Not identified in the linked source
Independent check
Not reverified in this revision
Source edition
Linked publication / page; edition number not stated
Source: IMF — 2025 mission ↗

SOURCE REGISTER

Sources

The register identifies each linked publication or data series. Indicator cards retain measurement periods and definitions. An absent publication or check date is shown explicitly; the edition date is not a substitute.

  1. Ministry of Planning — 2024 census final results (published 2025)

    Linked publication / page; edition number not stated

    Published: 2025-11-26

    Independent check: 2026-09-30

  2. IMF — 2025 mission

    Linked publication / page; edition number not stated

    Published: date not established

    Independent check: not reverified in this revision

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ABCI · BAGHDAD, IRAQ

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