Economic Warnings Over Millions Pushing Toward Poverty Line

Economic expert Nabil Al-Marsoumi warned of the repercussions of depreciating the Iraqi dinar on poverty rates, amid expectations of rising prices and declining citizens' purchasing power, indicating that between 1.3 and two million Iraqis could slip below the poverty line as a result of these changes, based on estimates from an economic study. Al-Marsoumi explained, relying on data from the Central Statistical Organization, that the poverty rate across Iraq, including the Kurdistan Region, dropped to 16%, compared to 25% in 2022. He noted that Al-Muthanna Governorate topped the list of the poorest governorates at 43.6%, followed by Babylon at 34.4%, then Al-Qadisiyah at 28.9%, while Basra came fourth recording 27.9%, whereas Erbil recorded the lowest poverty rate at 5.9%. Al-Marsoumi pointed to a study presented by the head of the Independent Research Group, Munqith Dagher, stating that reducing the value of the Iraqi dinar by 15% could lead to a price increase ranging between 5% and 10%. According to the study, every 1% increase in prices may push about 0.75% of the population below the poverty line, meaning that devaluing the currency by the mentioned percentage could lead to an increase in the number of Iraqis living under the poverty line by between 3% and 4.5%, equivalent to about 1.3 to two million people.