ERBIL, Kurdistan Region - The Kurdistan Region’s share of the federal budget from Iraq is expected to increase after the 2024 census confirmed its population makes up 15 percent of the country, officials said Monday, though adjustments will not take effect until next year.
Iraq’s planning ministry revealed that the Kurdistan Region's population stands at 6,503,000 out of Iraq’s total 46,118,793, making up 15 percent of the population. This is expected to impact the Kurdistan Region’s budget share in the coming years.
"They must give us 15 percent of the Iraqi budget, one of the priorities of the census; it will resolve that issue,” Sirwan Mohammed, undersecretary of the Kurdistan Regional Government’s (KRG) planning ministry, told Rudaw on Monday.
He added that this year’s budget share will remain unchanged, with adjustments expected in the following year when the federal budget law is discussed.
Fadhil Nabi, former Iraqi finance ministry undersecretary, told Rudaw that the Kurdistan Region should claim its budget share according to the new census results when drafting the 2025 budget. If Iraq’s budget remains similar to recent years, the Region’s share should increase by approximately 2.5 trillion dinars (around $1.67 billion).
In June 2023, Iraq passed its highly contentious budget bill for 2023, 2024, and 2025, setting the Kurdistan Region’s share at 12.6 percent based on earlier population estimates, even though it was contested. The 2024 federal budget was nearly 212 trillion dinars (around $141 billion), with the Kurdistan Region’s share - based on the 12.6 percent estimate - reaching nearly 21 trillion dinars (around $14 billion), including both consumption and investment expenditures.
The 12.6 percent share is calculated after deducting Iraq’s sovereign expenditures, which cover defense, foreign affairs, and other nationwide costs. As a result, the Kurdistan Region’s allocation is drawn from the remaining budget rather than the total 212 trillion dinars, reducing the actual percentage received.
Mohammed noted that the population figure is not final, as it does not include internally displaced persons (IDPs) in disputed areas such as Nineveh province, even though they are under the Kurdistan Region’s administration.
On Sunday, the KRG announced it had reached an agreement with the Iraqi government to restart oil exports from the Kurdistan Region through the Iraq-Turkey pipeline, which has been suspended since March 2023. On the same day, Mohammed Khudair, Iraq’s oil ministry undersecretary, told Iraqi state media that available oil export quantities from the Kurdistan Region stand at 300,000 barrels per day, with 185,000 allocated for export and the rest designated for domestic consumption.
The resumption of oil exports is expected to boost Iraq’s budget, which in turn could contribute to an increase in the Kurdistan Region’s funds.
Nahro Mohammed contributed to this report.
