ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - Iraq’s housing ministry on Friday unveiled a national policy for 2025-2030 aimed at halving the country’s housing shortage by the end of the decade, addressing a deficit exceeding 2 million units.
"The National Housing Policy launched for the period from 2025 to 2030 represents an integrated roadmap prepared in cooperation with international organizations," Nabil al-Saffar, spokesperson for the Ministry of Construction, Housing, Municipalities, and Public Works spokesperson, told Iraqi News Agency (INA).
The deficit "can be reduced by up to 50% over the next five years if work continues on residential city projects and the real estate developer system," he said.
This comes as rapid urbanization, high population growth, and decades of conflict have fueled Iraq’s housing crisis.
The ministry spokesperson noted that the results of the population census, which took place in November 2024, currently show “that the housing deficit across Iraq ranges between 2.3 million and 2.4 million housing units."
The plan addresses several key pillars, including land management, financing, infrastructure, construction materials, and maintenance.
The November 2024 census, Iraq’s first comprehensive nationwide count in 37 years, found that nearly 46 million people reside in more than 8 million housing units, with an average of fewer than six people per household.
