IQ

Republic of Iraq

Iraq

Iraq is a country in Asia that is home to 46,179,000 people. It is also home to 17 living indigenous languages. Two of these, Central Kurdish and Northern Kurdish, are official languages of the country. Iraq was also home to 1 indigenous language that is now extinct. In addition, 7 living non-indigenous languages are established within the country. One of these, Standard Arabic, is also an official language of the country. In formal education, 3 indigenous languages are used as languages of instruction.

  • Country Location

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  • Demographics

    46,179,000

    people

    17

    living indigenous languages

    86%
    literate
  • Indigenous Language Vitality Count

    1. 4
    2. 4
    3. 9
    4. 1

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Ethnologue Country Digests

Explore all 24 languages used in Iraq with Ethnologue: Languages of Iraq—a downloadable PDF document that provides detailed analysis presented in formats not available in the online version of Ethnologue. It includes:

  • Comprehensive country overview.
  • Statistical summaries by language status, size, and family.
  • Alphabetical listing of languages in the country, with in-depth descriptions.
  • Full-color language map(s) for visual reference.
  • Listings by population, status, family, and region.
  • Indexes of ISO 639 codes and alternate language names.

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The indigenous languages of Iraq belong to the following families.

Iraq has adopted the following international conventions which speak to indigenous language rights.

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