🔻 According to a review of the Iraqi government’s spending data from 2019 to 2024:

🔹 In 2024, the total salary expenditure of Iraqi government institutions will increase by 27%, reaching for the first time a massive 60 trillion Iraqi dinars, making up 40% of the government's total expenditures. This salary expenditure has reached a dangerous level, posing a catastrophic threat to Iraq’s economic condition.

🔹 Only seven government institutions account for nearly 93% of the central government's total salary spending.

🔹 The Ministry of Interior ranks first, taking 22% of the 2024 salary budget, with expenditures nearing 13 trillion dinars.

🔹 The Ministry of Education makes up 18% of the salary budget. Between 2019 and 2024, its allocated salary budget increased by 513%—from 1.74 trillion to 10.7 trillion dinars.

🔹 Salaries for employees in the Kurdistan Region increased from 4.58 trillion dinars in 2019 to 9.2 trillion dinars in 2024. This now constitutes 15.3% of the central government's salary budget, with a growth rate of 101%.

Salary Expenditures (2019–2024)

In 2024, the total salary expenditure of Iraqi government institutions will increase by 27%, reaching 60 trillion Iraqi dinars for the first time—representing 40% of Iraq’s total government expenditures. This represents a perilous threshold, with dire economic implications.
In 2019, the government’s salary expenditures were 40 trillion dinars.
By 2024, they will have reached 60 trillion dinars, reflecting a 50% increase over five years—without any significant increase in oil revenue or improvements in public services.
(See Table 1 for more details.)

Spending Distribution

According to the same data review, seven governmental institutions alone account for nearly 93% of the central government’s salary expenditures, indicating a severe concentration in budget allocation.

Leading the list is the Ministry of Interior, taking 22% of the 2024 salary budget, with nearly 13 trillion dinars in expenditures—up from 10.5 trillion dinars in 2019.

Next is the Ministry of Education, which consumes 18% of the salary budget. Its budget jumped from 1.74 trillion dinars in 2019 to 10.7 trillion dinars in 2024—a 513% increase, the highest among all ministries.

The salary expenditures for Kurdistan Region employees increased from 4.58 trillion dinars in 2019 to 9.2 trillion dinars in 2024. This accounts for 15.3% of the total salary budget, representing a 101% increase.

Following them is the Ministry of Health, with a notable 466% increase, going from approximately 1 trillion dinars in 2019 to 5.9 trillion dinars in 2024.

The General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers and its affiliated entities increased their salary budget by 80%, from 3.5 trillion to 6.34 trillion dinars, during the same period.

In contrast, the remaining ministries and governorates account for only 6.5% of the central government’s salary expenditures.
It should be noted that these figures do not include ministries and departments with self-financing mechanisms—such as the Ministries of Electricity, Oil, and Communications.

The total increase in central government salary spending between 2019 and 2024 is approximately 48%.
This sharp rise imposes a heavy burden on future governments, especially due to its direct impact on the sustainability of public spending and the country’s financial resources.