Over half of young Iraqi women unemployed

Shafaq News/ Female unemployment in Iraq surpassed 60% among young women, with overall joblessness among women remaining among the highest in the Arab world, according to a UN report.

The report, issued by the UN Women’s Regional Office in partnership with the UN Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia (ESCWA), found that Iraq’s unemployment rate for women over the age of 15 stood at 28.3% in 2024. This rate exceeds that of Tunisia (20.5%), Algeria (20.6%), Syria (22%), and only trails Palestine, where female unemployment reaches 40.4%.

Among young women aged 15 to 24, the unemployment rate in Iraq reached 62.2%—one of the highest in the region—surpassing rates in Lebanon (21.4%), the UAE (23%), Egypt (50.5%), and Palestine. Only Libya recorded a higher figure, at 67.8%.

The data is part of the inaugural edition of Progress Towards the Sustainable Development Goals: A Regional Gender Snapshot in Arab States for 2024, which monitors gender equality and women’s empowerment trends and challenges across the region.

In 2023, Iraq ranked second among Arab countries in female unemployment, according to the Iraqi Ministry of Planning, which reported a female jobless rate of 28.2%—nearly double the male unemployment rate of 14.7%.