Health in Sulaymaniyah, Iraq: official figures
The Ministry of Health counted 79 hospitals in Sulaymaniyah in 2023: 50 government hospitals (including specialised centres with beds) and 29 private. That is 3.22 hospitals per 100,000 people, the highest of 18 governorates.
How many hospital beds are there in Sulaymaniyah?
Government hospitals in Sulaymaniyah had 3,211 beds in 2023, of which 2,083 were set up for inpatients. That works out at 1.31 beds per 1,000 people, 8th highest of 18 governorates, against 1.24 across Iraq.
Source: Ministry of Health, Iraq (Planning and Resources Development Department) · saved copyHow full are the hospitals in Sulaymaniyah?
On average 57.0% of the prepared beds in Sulaymaniyah's government hospitals were occupied in 2023, 4th highest of 18 governorates.
Source: Ministry of Health, Iraq (Planning and Resources Development Department) · saved copyHow many primary health care centres are there in Sulaymaniyah?
There were 443 primary health care centres in Sulaymaniyah in 2023, or 18.0 per 100,000 people (the highest of 18 governorates).
Source: Ministry of Health, Iraq (Planning and Resources Development Department) · saved copyHow many doctors are there in Sulaymaniyah?
Sulaymaniyah had 3,493 doctors working for the Ministry of Health or seconded to it in 2023, 14.2 per 10,000 people (3rd highest of 18 governorates); the Iraq-wide figure was 11.1.
Source: Ministry of Health, Iraq (Planning and Resources Development Department) · saved copyWhere are babies born in Sulaymaniyah?
43,927 births took place inside health facilities in Sulaymaniyah in 2023: 61.1% in government hospitals, 38.9% in private hospitals and 0.0% in primary care centres.
Source: Ministry of Health, Iraq (Planning and Resources Development Department) · saved copyWhat is the maternal mortality rate in Sulaymaniyah?
The Ministry of Health recorded 9 maternal deaths in Sulaymaniyah in 2023 among 30,843 live births, a ratio of 29.2 per 100,000 live births (9th lowest of 18 governorates); Iraq-wide the ratio was 29.6.
Source: Ministry of Health, Iraq (Planning and Resources Development Department) · saved copyHow many tuberculosis cases are there in Sulaymaniyah?
98 tuberculosis cases were notified in Sulaymaniyah in 2023, 4.0 per 100,000 people (the lowest of 18 governorates), against 15.6 across Iraq. Rates use the 2023 population estimate.
Source: Ministry of Health, Iraq (Planning and Resources Development Department) · saved copyHow many babies are vaccinated in Sulaymaniyah?
In 2023 88% of the target number of infants in Sulaymaniyah received the third dose of polio vaccine and 99% received BCG (tuberculosis) vaccine; the Iraq figures were 91% and 93%.
Source: Ministry of Health, Iraq (Planning and Resources Development Department) · saved copyHow common is child malnutrition in Sulaymaniyah?
6.6% of people in Sulaymaniyah lived in a household with a deprivation in child nutrition in 2024 (a measure used in Iraq's national multidimensional poverty index), against 20.5% across Iraq.
Source: Ministry of Planning and Commission of Statistics and Geographic Information Systems, with UNDP and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) · saved copyHow Sulaymaniyah compares with other governorate of the Kurdistan Regions
Hospitals per 100,000 people (2023) (2023)
Sulaymaniyah ranks 1 of 18, highest first. Government and private hospitals counted by the Ministry of Health, divided by the 2023 population estimate
| Rank | Region | Hospitals per 100,000 people (2023) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sulaymaniyah | 3.22 |
| 2 | Duhok | 3.00 |
| 3 | Erbil | 2.80 |
| 4 | Najaf | 1.73 |
| 5 | Baghdad | 1.30 |
| 6 | Karbala | 1.23 |
| 7 | Babil | 1.07 |
Government hospital beds per 1,000 people (2023) (2023)
Sulaymaniyah ranks 8 of 18, highest first. All beds in government hospitals, divided by the 2023 population estimate
| Rank | Region | Government hospital beds per 1,000 people (2023) |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | Babil | 1.40 |
| 6 | Erbil | 1.36 |
| 7 | Al-Muthanna | 1.31 |
| 8 | Sulaymaniyah | 1.31 |
| 9 | Duhok | 1.28 |
| 10 | Maysan | 1.19 |
| 11 | Al-Qadisiyah | 1.18 |
Doctors per 10,000 people (2023) (2023)
Sulaymaniyah ranks 3 of 18, highest first. Physicians on the Ministry of Health payroll plus those seconded from the Ministry of Higher Education
| Rank | Region | Doctors per 10,000 people (2023) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Erbil | 21.6 |
| 2 | Karbala | 15.6 |
| 3 | Sulaymaniyah | 14.2 |
| 4 | Baghdad | 13.8 |
| 5 | Najaf | 12.8 |
| 6 | Babil | 11.0 |
| 7 | Al-Muthanna | 10.6 |
Maternal deaths per 100,000 live births (2023) (2023)
Sulaymaniyah ranks 10 of 18, highest first. Deaths recorded by the Ministry of Health; small numbers make yearly changes large
| Rank | Region | Maternal deaths per 100,000 live births (2023) |
|---|---|---|
| 7 | Al-Muthanna | 34.2 |
| 8 | Kirkuk | 34.0 |
| 9 | Wasit | 33.4 |
| 10 | Sulaymaniyah | 29.2 |
| 11 | Al-Qadisiyah | 25.4 |
| 12 | Karbala | 24.1 |
| 13 | Babil | 23.4 |
Infants given the third polio dose (OPV3), % of target (2023) (2023)
Sulaymaniyah ranks 13 of 17, highest first. Baghdad is not included because the Ministry reports its Karkh and Rusafa health directorates separately
| Rank | Region | Infants given the third polio dose (OPV3), % of target (2023) |
|---|---|---|
| 10 | Najaf | 92% |
| 11 | Duhok | 92% |
| 12 | Al-Qadisiyah | 89% |
| 13 | Sulaymaniyah | 88% |
| 14 | Karbala | 87% |
| 15 | Erbil | 85% |
| 16 | Nineveh | 83% |
More on Sulaymaniyah: overview · economy and jobs · poverty and living standards · Iraq
Sources
- Ministry of Health, Iraq (Planning and Resources Development Department): Annual Statistical Report 2023 (tables 1-1, 3-4, 3-43, 4-1, 4-11, 4-15, 5-1, 5-3, 5-2, 6-3), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 b0bd2930683c…)
- Ministry of Planning and Commission of Statistics and Geographic Information Systems, with UNDP and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI): Multidimensional Poverty in Iraq 2024: Analytical Report (Table 4, Table 16, Annex 2, Annex 3), based on the Iraq Household Socio-Economic Survey 2023-24, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 2918b603f085…)
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