Although Iraq stands to gain significant revenues from an oil windfall, urgent reforms are needed to ensure these funds benefit the people, not just the elites. After a full year of political stalemate and fierce power struggles, Iraq’s ruling elite have finally managed to form a government led by Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani. Thanks to the surge in international crude oil price
Read MoreThe World Bank’s new Iraq Economic Monitor, A New Opportunity to Reform finds that high oil prices have boded well for Iraq’s economy pushing fiscal and external balance into double digit surpluses. After growing by 2.8 percent in 2021, GDP growth accelerate in the first half of 2022 to 10.5 percent thanks to rising oil output and a recovery in domestic economic activity after
Read MoreDespite their disillusionment with Iraq’s political system, the country’s youth have hope and aspirations for real change. As Iraq’s political stalemate persists, many observers expect protests will erupt over the country’s worsening socio-economic situation, the increasing effects of climate change – such as heat waves and dust storms – and a lack of political will to chang
Read Morereviews the history of China’s economic engagement with Iraq and contributions to its post-invasion reconstruction by producing more oil and building cost-effective infrastructure, boosted by a recent “oil for reconstruction deal”. It will also try to debunk some popular myths about Chinese-Iraqi cooperation that refer to China filling a vacuum left behind by the West or being
Read MoreBAGHDAD, June 16, 2022 - Iraq is gradually emerging from a deep recession, caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and the plunge in oil prices in 2020. Although the economy is projected to grow by 5.4% on average a year between 2022 and 2024, the country’s macroeconomic outlook is subject to a significant degree of risk due to high dependence on oil, budget rigidities, and delays in t
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