Iraq's short-term debt (% of total external debt) was 4.15% in 2024, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 1.37 percentage points from 2.77% in 2019.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 4.15% | 2024 |
| Five years earlier | 2.77% | 2019 |
| Highest | 5.39% | 2016 |
| Lowest | 2.09% | 2018 |
| Average since 2015 | 3.66% | 2015–2024 |
| First recorded | 3.82% | 2015 |
Over five years it is up 1.37 percentage points from 2.77% in 2019. Since 2015 it is up 0.32 percentage points from 3.82% in 2015.
What the numbers say
In 2024, Iraq's short-term debt (% of total external debt) fell 0.63 percentage points on 2023 (from 4.78% to 4.15%).
Across the 8 yearly changes before that (2016 to 2023), the average change was +0.12 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.5 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.5 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 2.64 percentage points in 2022 and the biggest yearly fall was 1.79 percentage points in 2018. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.
From 2015 to 2024 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 1% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.
Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.
How it compares
In 2024, Iraq had the 82nd highest value of the 118 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Iraq | 4.15% | 2024 |
| Upper middle income | 31.34% | 2024 |
Closest to Iraq in the 2024 ranking
- Mauritania — 79th of 118: 4.78%
- Kenya — 80th of 118: 4.68%
- Nepal — 81st of 118: 4.17%
- Bolivia — 83rd of 118: 4.04%
- Rwanda — 84th of 118: 3.84%
- Congo, Dem. Rep. — 85th of 118: 3.81%
What this measures
Short-term debt includes all debt having an original maturity of one year or less and interest in arrears on long-term debt. Total external debt is debt owed to nonresidents repayable in currency, goods, or services. Total external debt is the sum of public, publicly guaranteed, and private nonguaranteed long-term debt, use of IMF credit, and short-term debt.
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.
All 10 values
| Year | Short-term debt (% of total external debt) |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 4.15 |
| 2023 | 4.78 |
| 2022 | 5.08 |
| 2021 | 2.44 |
| 2020 | 2.2 |
| 2019 | 2.77 |
| 2018 | 2.09 |
| 2017 | 3.88 |
| 2016 | 5.39 |
| 2015 | 3.82 |
Short-term debt (% of total external debt) in nearby economies
- Afghanistan — 13.24% (2024)
- Algeria — 25.46% (2024)
- Djibouti — 14.99% (2024)
- Egypt, Arab Rep. — 19.87% (2024)
- Iran, Islamic Rep. — 23.67% (2024)
- Jordan — 38.11% (2024)
- Lebanon — 28.26% (2024)
- Morocco — 11.04% (2024)
- Pakistan — 7.41% (2024)
- Syrian Arab Republic — 12.95% (2024)
More economic policy & debt data for Iraq
- Total reserves, including gold (current US$) — US$98.45 billion (2025)
- Total reserves, excluding gold (current US$) — US$73.93 billion (2025)
- GDP (current US$) — US$254.37 billion (2025)
- GDP (current LCU) — 330.68 trillion (2025)
- GDP (constant 2015 US$) — US$188.32 billion (2025)
- GDP (constant LCU) — 207.34 trillion (2025)
- GDP per capita (current US$) — US$5,410 (2025)
- GDP per capita (current LCU) — 7.03 million (2025)
- GDP per capita (constant 2015 US$) — US$4,005 (2025)
- GDP per capita (constant LCU) — 4.41 million (2025)
- GNI (current US$) — US$254.8 billion (2025)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Iraq's short-term debt (% of total external debt)?
- 4.15% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 2015?
- It is up 0.32 percentage points from 3.82% in 2015. The highest value was 5.39% in 2016 and the lowest 2.09% in 2018.
- How does Iraq rank?
- 82nd highest of 118 economies with data for 2024.
- Is the latest change in short-term debt (% of total external debt) unusual for Iraq?
- In 2024, Iraq's short-term debt (% of total external debt) fell 0.63 percentage points on 2023 (from 4.78% to 4.15%). Across the 8 yearly changes before that (2016 to 2023), the average change was +0.12 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.5 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.5 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator DT.DOD.DSTC.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: International Debt Statistics, World Bank (WB) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.
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