Students abroad
Where Iraqis go when they study at university outside Iraq — counted by the countries that receive them, and reported to UNESCO.
60,398in Iran
Iraqi students at Iran’s universities in 2022 — more than in every other country put together (34,282). In 2004 there were 131.
The turn east
Iraqi students in the three biggest hosts, year by year, as each reports them. Iran overtook everyone; Turkey is second, with 16,172 (2023). Europe, North America and Australia together count 4,890.
- Iran
- Turkey
- Jordan
2024-12-31Jordan 4,105
A gap in a line is a year its host did not report.
Every host
72 countries reported Iraqi students in the last few years. The fifteen largest, each with its newest count:
The West here is Europe, North America, Australia and New Zealand: 34 hosts.
HOW THESE NUMBERS ARE MADE
- Source — UNESCO Institute for Statistics: Iraqi students enrolled in university-level education in another country (internationally mobile students), as each host country reports them. UNESCO’s data browser ↗
- Each host’s own year — hosts report on their own timetables, so the page shows each one’s newest count, and leaves out any more than four years older than the newest report.
- No single total — hosts count in different years and some do not report at all, so the page gives no one figure for Iraq; where it adds hosts together, it adds each one’s newest count.