South Africa vs Iraq

South Africa
Sub-Saharan Africa
Upper middle income
Capital: Pretoria
Population
64M
GDP
$401.1B
Iraq
Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan
Upper middle income
Capital: Baghdad
Population
46M
GDP
$279.6B

POP 1.4x GDP 1.4x LE 6.1 yrs same-band UMC

Widest indicator spreads · South Africa vs Iraq

GDP Growth Rate134.6%Foreign Direct Investment130.5%Net Migration110.6%Poverty (< $2.15/day)97.1%Renewable Energy Consump…88.7%Forest Area86.4%Intentional Homicides78.4%Female Labor Participation77.9%
TIGHT pair: headers nearly match, so the chart is GDP Growth Rate rather than GDP scale.

Demographics: Population Density (Iraq, 50% spread)

Indicator South Africa Iraq Year
Population Density 52.1 103.8 2023
Population Ages 65+ 6.7% 3.4% 2024
Population Ages 0-14 25.9% 36.6% 2024
Population 64M 46M 2024

3 closer demographics rows sit on the South Africa and Iraq profiles; this pair keeps the steep spreads only.

Economy: GDP Growth Rate (South Africa, 135% spread)

Indicator South Africa Iraq Year
GDP Growth Rate 0.5% -1.5% 2024
Foreign Direct Investment $2.3B $-7,648,900,000 2024
Government Debt (% of GDP) 82.8% 27.4% 2024
Unemployment Rate 32.3% 15.3% 2024

5 closer economy rows sit on the South Africa and Iraq profiles; this pair keeps the steep spreads only.

Health: Maternal Mortality Ratio (Iraq, 44% spread)

Indicator South Africa Iraq Year
Maternal Mortality Ratio 118 66 2023
Stunting Prevalence (under 5) 21.3% 12.6% 2017
Health Expenditure (% of GDP) 8.9% 5.5% 2023
Under-5 Mortality Rate 35.1 21.8 2024

3 closer health rows sit on the South Africa and Iraq profiles; this pair keeps the steep spreads only.

Education: School Enrollment (Secondary) (South Africa, 51% spread)

Indicator South Africa Iraq Year
School Enrollment (Secondary) 104.1% 50.6% 2023
School Enrollment (Tertiary) 23.5% 15.6% 2023

4 closer education rows sit on the South Africa and Iraq profiles; this pair keeps the steep spreads only.

Environment: Renewable Energy Consumption (South Africa, 89% spread)

Indicator South Africa Iraq Year
Renewable Energy Consumption 9.7% 1.1% 2021
Forest Area 14.0% 1.9% 2023
Freshwater Withdrawal 47.1% 120.5% 2022
Electric Power Consumption 3,247 1,377 2023

1 closer environment rows sit on the South Africa and Iraq profiles; this pair keeps the steep spreads only.

Infrastructure: Mobile Subscriptions (South Africa, 44% spread)

Indicator South Africa Iraq Year
Mobile Subscriptions 179.3 100.1 2024
Access to Sanitation 73.8% 50.9% 2024

3 closer infrastructure rows sit on the South Africa and Iraq profiles; this pair keeps the steep spreads only.

Social: Net Migration (South Africa, 111% spread)

Indicator South Africa Iraq Year
Net Migration 167K -17,735 2024
Poverty (< $2.15/day) 17.4% 0.5% 2022
Intentional Homicides 43.7 9.5 2022
Female Labor Participation 49.8% 11.0% 2024

2 closer social rows sit on the South Africa and Iraq profiles; this pair keeps the steep spreads only.

How to read this South Africa vs Iraq comparison

South Africa vs Iraq is a TIGHT pair on population/GDP scale (same-band UMC: UMC/UMC). Look past the near-parity headers to GDP Growth Rate (~135% spread); 47 WDI/WHO/ILO figures across 8 topics. Shared income tier makes small rate gaps more informative than totals. Figures may come from different reporting years; dollar values move with exchange rates; national averages conceal inequality. See our methodology.

Other curated pairs · TIGHT band

Indexable comparisons only (Module 42). Full picker with every country lives on /compare, not duplicated under every pair.

South Africa vs Iraq figures: World Bank Open Data and health rows: WHO Global Health Observatory. CC BY 4.0 · same-band UMC · TIGHT scale band.