Foreign Policy: Demographic Gift Will Make Iraq A “Global Economic Power” With Washington’s Help, 27 DEC

 Foreign Policy: Demographic Gift Will Make Iraq A “Global Economic Power” With Washington’s Help

Translated reports |Today  Baghdad Today – Translation  The American newspaper Foreign Policy, which is close to the White House, published a report today, Friday, December 27, 2024, on the population census prepared by the Iraqi government, stressing that the results of the census must be respected by all political parties in Iraq to prevent "dire consequences" and pave the way for "huge investment."

The newspaper said, according to what was translated by "Baghdad Today", that Iraq, which is now enjoying a "demographic gift" as a result of the high percentage of youth among its population, which has reached sixty percent, must invest properly by implementing plans and making decisions that improve the Iraqi economy and raise "investment and entrepreneurship rates and integrate the young workforce into the private sector through government initiatives that guarantee investment," according to its description.

She continued, "The United States must help the Iraqi government to exploit the demographic gift correctly and achieve appropriate economic investment in it to prevent the severe damage that Iraq will be exposed to, and consequently the United States and its interests in the country, if it fails to do so," noting that failure to invest the demographic gift correctly will lead to "high rates of unemployment, crime, and political and security instability."

The network also confirmed that Iraq would be a "huge regional and international economic power if it exploited its demographic gift as East Asian countries did, achieving what was known at the time as their economic miracle during the nineties by exploiting the youth and their high percentages in society."

The Foreign Policy report concluded by stressing that the Iraqi government, along with Washington, must ensure that Baghdad succeeds in exploiting its demographic gift during the coming period, stressing that the real test of the Iraqi government and regime’s ability to lead the country in a correct manner that guarantees continued international support will be after the announcement of the final results of the census expected during the next month.

On November 20 and 21, 2024, Iraq conducted a comprehensive population and housing census, including the Kurdistan Region, the first since 1987.

The Iraqi government announced the preliminary results of the census on the 25th of last month, where the population of Iraq reached more than 45 million people, including foreigners and refugees, and the percentage of the population of working age (15-64 years) reached 60.2%, so that Iraq has entered the demographic gift stage with the percentage of the population of working age reaching 60%.   LINK