Map of food needs in IraqIn November 2008 the United Nations’ World Food Program (WFP) released a report on the state of Iraq’s food situation. It found that those with inadequate access to food had gone down from 4 million in 2005 to 930,000 in 2008. This happened despite the increase in violence in the country, especially during the sectarian war period from 2006-2007. The reason for this decrease has been the massive food ration system the Iraqi government maintains, the largest in the world. The WFP and other groups are also providing aid. Without these handouts, up to 6.4 million people, one-quarter of the population, would lack adequate food. The rations are controlled by the Trade Ministry, which imports most of the goods.
The report warns that despite these gains, Iraq still has many problems; the thousands of internally displaced being a major one. The WFP called on Baghdad to improve its monitoring and services to the most vulnerable in Iraqi society. That may be harder in the future as Maliki’s government has plans to end the rations and move towards more of a welfare type system.
The World Food Program’s paper also provided statistics on the standard of living for Iraqis. They found poverty to be rampant across much of the country, which had a direct affect upon access to food. The WFP divided up Iraqis into five groups from richest to poorest. One district in Dhi Qar, Diyala, Irbil, Karbala, Muthanna, and Najaf, two in Sulaymaniya, half of Ninewa, and most of Maysan and Qadisiyah had populations 75-94% in the poorest group. One district in Basra, Karbala, and Najaf, one and a half districts in Salahaddin, two in Irbil, Muthanna, Ninewa, and Tamim, three in Maysan, half of Diyala, two-thirds of Karbala, most of Babil, Dhi Qar and Sulaymaniya, and all of Wasit had people 50-75% in the poorest group. In comparison there were only eight districts, and parts of four others that had 25% or less in poverty. The rural areas were also disproportionately impoverished compared to urban ones.
Wealth obviously has a direct affect upon the ability to obtain food, the major emphasis of the WFP report. They found that the poorest group had problems with food within a month 56% of the time. Even the richest group had problems 22%, while the entire country averaged 39%. In terms of the provinces, Karbala had the worst food situation with 82% of the residents facing food shortages, followed by Babil 77%, Najaf 70%, Qadisiyah 52%, and Dhi Qar 47%. It is no coincidence that these also happen to be some of the poorest provinces in the country and are concentrated in the south. At the other end of the spectrum, Sulaymaniya 14%, Diyala 15%, Basra 16%, and Irbil 17% had the least problems with food. Overall, 35% of the country had problems with their rations. The most vulnerable group were the internally displaced, 67% of which said they had not registered to receive their food rations when they moved. The World Food Program is providing help to 750,000 of these types of refugees.
In terms of jobs, the government was the largest employer, accounting for 37%. That was followed by self-employed, but not in farming at 25%, self-employed farmers at 14%, non-skilled labor at 11%, skilled labor 8%, and farm workers 4%. After wages, the largest source of income was remittances from relatives abroad pointing to the huge refugee population of Iraqis.
Below are some of those numbers from the World Food Program report.
Note: Most of the following are estimates based upon charts in the World Food Program’s Report on Iraq.
Wealth Index – Iraq Overall
Note: The World Food Program divided up Iraqi society into five wealth categories: poorest, second, third, fourth, richest.
- 20% in poorest group
- 20% in second group
- 23% in richest
Wealth Index – Urban vs Rural
Poorest: Urban 9% Rural 47%
Second: Urban 18% Rural 19%
Third: Urban 20% Rural 16%
Fourth: Urban 22% Rural 11%
Richest: Urban 35% Rural 5%
Wealth Index By Province – Richest To Poorest
Baghdad 5% poorest – 34% richest
Dohuk 17% poorest – 30% richest
Tamim 8% poorest – 23% richest
Irbil 13% poorest – 23% richest
Anbar 10% poorest – 22% richest
Basra 11% poorest – 21% richest
Sulaymaniya 15% poorest – 20% richest
Salahaddin 18% poorest – 18% richest
Karbala 27% poorest – 18% richest
Diyala 26% poorest – 15% richest
Ninewa 30% poorest – 17% richest
Muthanna 37% poorest – 17% richest
Dhi Qar 35% poorest – 15% richest
Maysan 30% poorest – 10% richest
Babil 35% poorest – 10% richest
Wasit 35% poorest – 8% richest
Qadisiyah 45% poorest – 8% richest
Wealth Index By Districts
Numbers before each district match numbers on the map75-94% Of The Population In Poorest Wealth Group By Province - District
Dhi Qar – 10 Al-Chibayish
Diyala – 78 Kifri
Irbil – 66 Choman
Karbala – 4 Ain Al-Tamur
Maysan – 26 Al-Kahla, 34 Al-Maimouna, 86 Qalat Saleh
Muthanna – 49 Al-Salman
Najaf – 35 Al-Manathera
Ninewa – 8 Al-Baaj, 20 Hatra, 93 Sinjar, 98 Telefar
Qadisiyah – 3 Afaq, 18 Hamza, 51 Al-Shamiya
Sulaymaniya – 84 Penjwin, 90 Sharbazher
50-75% Of The Population In Poorest Wealth Group By Province - District
Anbar – 48 Al Rutba
Babil – 19 Hashimiya, 22 Hilla, 31 Al-Madain, 32 Al-Mahawil, 40 Al-Musayab
Basra – 37 Al-Midaina
Dhi Qar – 43 Nassriya, 46 Al-Rifai, 52 Al-Shatra, 97 Suq Al-Shoyokh
Diyala – 39 Al-Muqdadiya, 64 Baladrooz, 77 Khanaqin
Irbil – 94 Soran
Karbala – 23 Al-Hindiya
Maysan – 7 Amara, 36 Al-Mejar Al-Kabi, 57 Ali Al-Gharbi
Muthanna – 28 Al-Khidhir, 47 Al-Rumaitha
Najaf – 29 Kufa
Ninewa – 5 Akre, 17 Al-Hamdaniya
Salahaddin – 63 Balad, 88 50% of Samarra
Sulaymaniya – 65 Chamchamal, 70 Dokan, 73 50% of Halabja, 85 Pshdar, 87 Rania, 95 50% of Sulaymaniya
Tamim – 67 Daquq, 82 Makhmur
Wasit – 16 Al-Hai, 30 Kut, 41 Al-Namaniya, 55 Al-Suwaira, 61 Badra
25-50% Of The Population In Poorest Wealth Group By Province - District
Anbar – 2 Abu Ghraib, 24 Al Kaim, 25 Kadhimiya, 45 Ramadi, 59 Ana, 74 Heet
Baghdad – 6 50% of Adhamiya
Basra – 1 Abu Al-Khaseeb, 14 Fao, 44 Al-Qurna, 91 Shatt Al-Arab
Dohuk – 58 Amedi, 96 Sumel, 102 Zakho
Irbil – 71 50% of Irbil, 80 Koisnjaq, 83 Mergasur, 89 Shaqlawa
Karbala – 76 Karbala
Muthanna – 50 Al-Samawa
Najaf – 42 Najaf
Ninewa – 38 Mosul, 53 Al-Shikhan, 92 Shekhan, 100 Tilkaif
Qadisiyah – 12 Diwaniya
Salahaddin – 11 Al-Daur, 15 Al-Faris, 54 Al-Shirqat, 62 50% of Baiji, 88 50% of Samarra, 99 Tikrit, 101 Tooz
Sulaymaniya – 68 Darbandihkan, 73 50% of Halabja, 75 Kalar
Tamim – 21 Al-Hawiga, 79 Kirkuk
0-25% Of The Population In Poorest Wealth Group By Province - District
Anbar – 13 Fallujah, 72 Haditha
Babil – 33 Mahmudiya
Baghdad – 6 50% of Adhamiya
Basra – 9 Basra, 56 Al-Zubair
Diyala – 27 Al-Khalis, 60 Baquba
Dohuk – 69 Dohuk
Irbil – 71 50% of Irbil
Salahaddin – 62 50% of Baiji
Sulaymaniya – 95 50% of Sulaymaniya
Food Problems In Last 30 Days by Five Wealth Groups
Poorest 56%
Second 44%
Third 40%
Fourth 34%
Richest 22%
Iraq Overall 39%
Households Experiencing Food Shortages By Province – Least To Most
Sulaymaniya: 14%
Diyala: 15%
Basra: 16%
Irbil: 17%
Maysan: 25%
Dohuk: 28%
Ninewa: 30%
Baghdad: 31%
Muthanna: 31%
Salahaddin: 32%
Anbar: 33%
Wasit: 40%
Tamim: 45%
Dhi-Qar: 47%
Qadisiyah: 52%
Najaf: 70%
Babil: 77%
Karbala: 82%
Iraq: 35%
Employment By Household
37% government
25% self-employed, not in farming
14% self-employed on farms
11% non-skilled labor
8% skilled labor
4% farm workers
Employment By Province, Area, And In Iraq
Dohuk: 4% farming self-employed, 4% farm workers, 11% skilled workers, 12% non-skilled workers, 47% government, 21% self-employed not farming, 2% other
Ninewa: 9% farming self-employed, 5% farm workers, 11% skilled workers, 12% non-skilled workers, 24% government, 28% self-employed not farming, 1% other
Sulaymaniya: 9% farming self-employed, 2% farm workers, 8% skilled workers, 14% non-skilled work, 43% government 23% self-employed not farming, 1% other
Tamim: 8% farming self-employed, 3% farm workers, 4% skilled workers, 17% non-skilled workers, 36% government, 30% self-employed not farming, 1% other
Diyala: 16% farming self-employed, 14% farm workers, 13% skilled labor, 3% non-skilled labor, 33% government, 20% self-employed not farming, 1% other
Anbar: 5% farming self-employed, 16% farm workers, 9% skilled workers, 8% non-skilled workers, 40% government, 22% self-employed, not farming, 1% other
Baghdad: 17% farming self-employed, 1% farm workers, 8% skilled workers, 8% non-skilled labor, 38% government, 28% self-employed not farming
Babil: 33% farming self-employed, 1% farm workers, 3% skilled worker, 11% non-skilled worker, 26% government, 26% self-employed not farming,
Karbala: 9% farming self-employed, 3% farm workers, 7% skilled worker, 11% non-skilled worker, 36% government, 34% self-employed not farming, 1% other
Wasit: 26% farming self-employed, 14% farm workers, 4% skilled workers, 9% non-skilled workers, 23% government, 23% self-employed not farming, 1% other
Salahaddin: 32% farming self-employed, 3% farm workers, 4% skilled labor, 8% non-skilled worker, 38% government, 14% self-employed not farming, 2% other
Najaf: 18% farming self-employed, 9% farm workers, 6% skilled workers, 9% non-skilled workers, 29% government, 29% self- employed not farming, 1% other
Qadisiyah: 14% farming self-employed, 8% farm worker, 12% skilled worker, 12% non-skilled worker, 37% government, 15% self-employed not farming, 2% other
Muthanna: 10% farming self-employed, 1% farm workers, 13% skilled workers, 23% non-skilled workers, 40% government, 13% self-employed not farming, 1% other
Dhi-Qar: 7% farming self-employed, 8% skilled workers, 11% non-skilled workers, 43% government, 29% self-employed not farming, 2% other
Maysan: 12% farming self-employed, 13% farm workers, 5% skilled workers, 11% non-skilled workers, 43% government, 29% self-employed not farming, 2% other
Basra: 1% farming self-employed, 12% skilled labor, 17% non-skilled labor, 46% government, 24% self- employed not farming
Urban: 1% farming self- employed, 1% farm workers, 10% skilled labor, 12% non-skilled workers, 45% government, 31% self-employed not farming, 1% other
Rural: 37% farming self-employed, 11% farm workers, 5% skilled workers, 9% non-skilled workers, 23% government, 14% self-employed not farming, 1% other
Iraq: 14% farming self-employed, 4% farm workers, 8% skilled labor, 11% non-skilled workers, 37% government, 25% self-employed not farming, 1% other
SOURCES
Khanfir, Imed, “Iraq: Access to Food Improves But Hunger Remains,” World Food Programme, 11/12/08
Reuters, “UN Says 1 Million Iraqis Lack Food,” 11/12/08
World Food Programme, “Comprehensive Food Security And Vulnerability Analysis In Iraq,” November 2008
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