Government and power in Iraq

Who leads Iraq, how the World Bank's governance indicators score it, how many women sit in parliament and government, what the state spends and taxes, and the official bodies that hold power to account. System of government: Federal parliamentary republic.

Who leads Iraq?

• Head of state: Nazar Amedi (President of the Republic of Iraq)
• Head of government: Ali Falih Al-Zaidi (Prime Minister of the Republic of Iraq)
• Foreign minister: Fuad Mohammad Hussein (Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Iraq)

Source: Heads of State, Heads of Government, Ministers for Foreign Affairs: Public List (United Nations Protocol and Liaison Service), list dated 15 October 2026. All world leaders.

Governance scores

The World Bank's Worldwide Governance Indicators combine surveys of households and firms with assessments by public, private and non-governmental bodies. Each score runs from 0 to 100; higher means the sources rate governance better. They measure perceptions, and each has a margin of error.

Voice and accountability

Measures how far citizens can choose their government, and freedom of expression, association and the media.

Political stability and absence of violence

Measures the likelihood of political instability or politically motivated violence, including terrorism.

Government effectiveness

Measures the quality of public services and the civil service, and how independent they are from political pressure.

Regulatory quality

Measures the government's ability to make and carry out policies that let the private sector develop.

Rule of law

Measures confidence in and respect for the rules of society, including contract enforcement, property rights, the police and the courts.

Control of corruption

Measures how far public power is used for private gain, including petty and grand corruption and "capture" of the state by elites.

Official bodies that hold power in Iraq

Government

• General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers
  Publishes cabinet decisions, government statements and official announcements.

Parliament

• Council of Representatives of Iraq
  Publishes sessions, laws passed and the list of representatives.

Elections

• Independent High Electoral Commission
  Publishes voter registration data, candidate lists and official election results.

Courts

• Supreme Judicial Council
  Publishes judicial news, court decisions and the Iraqi legal database.
• Federal Supreme Court
  Publishes rulings on constitutional disputes, federal laws and election results.

Public audit

• Federal Board of Supreme Audit
  Publishes audit reports on ministries and the federal accounts.

Public contracts

• Ministry of Planning (government contracts)
  Issues the rules and standard documents for government contracts and publishes planning and investment programme data.

Laws and the official gazette

• Ministry of Justice (Al-Waqai Al-Iraqiya official gazette)
  Publishes the Official Gazette with laws, decrees and regulations.

Government below the national level

• Kurdistan Region (federal region with 4 governorates): Kurdistan Parliament directly elected; it forms the Kurdistan Regional Government
• Governorates not in a region (15): Provincial council elected by open-list proportional representation; the council elects the governor
• Districts (qadha) and sub-districts (nahiya): By law, elected councils whose heads are chosen by the council; in practice district heads (qa'immaqam) and sub-district directors are often appointed while council elections at this level have not been held

How local power works in Iraq

Places in Iraq

• All 18 governorates
• The 89 largest cities
• Official statistics for Iraq

Sources

• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Voice and accountability (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 70f2804fd1e2…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Political stability and absence of violence (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 1317de0c85e1…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Government effectiveness (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a775e808dc65…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Regulatory quality (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 83b57e36ff8c…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Rule of law (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 0bccc3c054e8…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Control of corruption (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 3b15a5340cdd…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Seats held by women in national parliament (SG.GEN.PARL.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 1ae1dc13981a…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Women in ministerial positions (SG.GEN.MNST.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a4e448a5b8bd…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Central government spending (GC.XPN.TOTL.GD.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 808094019f50…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Tax revenue (GC.TAX.TOTL.GD.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 08c94b750f31…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Military spending (MS.MIL.XPND.GD.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a7f6913a783b…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Armed forces personnel (MS.MIL.TOTL.P1), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 fa4663c743ba…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Statistical Performance Indicator (overall score) (IQ.SPI.OVRL), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 08ac7cde9129…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Births registered (SP.REG.BRTH.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 f8d443034ba7…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: People using the internet (IT.NET.USER.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 0d78dc658329…)

Each saved copy is the file exactly as downloaded, kept so the figures can be checked even if the source changes. Report an error.