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Capitals of the world
Baghdad, capital of Iraq: facts and figures
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq. It has about 7,500,000 residents, which makes it the 23rd most populous capital of the 172 in DailyGeo's atlas, and it sits 37 m above sea level. Its nearest neighbouring capital is Kuwait City, 557 km away.
Key figures
| Figure | Value |
|---|---|
| Country | Iraq |
| Continent | Asia |
| City population | 7,500,000 residents |
| World rank by population | 23rd of 172 |
| Elevation | 37 m |
| Founded | 762 |
| Time zone | Asia/Baghdad |
| Coordinates | 33.32° N, 44.36° E |
| Country population | 47,020,774 residents |
| Country GDP | 254.4 billion US dollars |
| GDP per capita | $5,410 |
| Life expectancy | 72.4 years |
| Internet users | 81.5 % |
| Big Mac price | not reported |
Climate through the year
Baghdad averages 12.6 °C in winter and 37.8 °C in summer. January is the coldest month of the year and July the warmest, and the city receives 180 mm of precipitation in an average year.
| Month | Mean temperature |
|---|---|
| January | 11.3 °C |
| February | 13.5 °C |
| March | 18.0 °C |
| April | 24.2 °C |
| May | 30.8 °C |
| June | 36.2 °C |
| July | 38.8 °C |
| August | 38.5 °C |
| September | 34.6 °C |
| October | 27.8 °C |
| November | 18.4 °C |
| December | 13.0 °C |
What makes it stand out
- Summer: 2nd hottest capital in the world (37.8 °C).
Nearest capitals
Distances are great-circle distances between city centres, which is what the Capitals game measures when it tells you how far a guess was from the answer. Kuwait City is the closest capital to Baghdad.
| Capital | Country | Distance |
|---|---|---|
| Kuwait City | Kuwait | 557 km |
| Tehran | Iran | 696 km |
| Damascus | Syria | 749 km |
| Yerevan | Armenia | 763 km |
| Amman | Jordan | 804 km |
How to remember it
Reading a figure once rarely fixes it in memory. Attach Baghdad to a place and a number you already know: it is 557 km from Kuwait City, and it is the 23rd largest capital in the atlas. Then practise retrieving it. DailyGeo Capitals gives you one mystery capital a day with distance, direction, language and population clues, the memorising method explains the review schedule, and the capitals index lists all 172.
To see how Iraq compares with every other country on figures like these, the richest countries by GDP per capita ranks them on geopolitix, a country-ranking game by the same maker as DailyGeo.
Sources
- City population and coordinates: DailyGeo's own game data, the same figures the Capitals game plays with. Population follows the urban area rather than the commune, which is why no density is quoted.
- Temperature and rainfall: ten-year means (2015 to 2024) computed from ERA5 reanalysis, retrieved through Open-Meteo. Hersbach, H., et al. (2020). The ERA5 global reanalysis. Quarterly Journal of the Royal Meteorological Society.
- Elevation: terrain height at the city's coordinates in the Copernicus DEM, read through Open-Meteo rather than taken from a curated claim.
- Time zone: resolved from the same coordinates.
- Country figures: the World Bank, latest reported year for each series: Country GDP, GDP per capita, Country population, Life expectancy, Internet users.
- Founding date: Wikidata, earliest recorded founding claim.
- This capital elsewhere: Wikipedia, UNdata, Wikidata.
- Method and limits: How this data was collected explains how each figure was collected and what it does not cover.
The short answer
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq, in Asia, with about 7,500,000 residents, averaging 12.6 °C in winter and 37.8 °C in summer.
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What is the capital of Iraq?
Baghdad is the capital of Iraq. It has about 7,500,000 residents and lies in Asia.
How many people live in Baghdad?
About 7,500,000, which ranks Baghdad 23rd of the 172 capitals in DailyGeo's atlas by city population.
What is the weather like in Baghdad?
Baghdad averages 12.6 °C in winter and 37.8 °C in summer, with 180 mm of precipitation a year. These are ten-year means from ERA5 reanalysis.
How expensive is Baghdad?
GDP per capita in the country is $5,410, the latest year the World Bank reports.
Keep learning
- Kuwait City, capital of Kuwait: facts and figures
Kuwait City is the capital of Kuwait: 3,100,000 residents, 7 m above sea level, 15.6 °C in winter and 37.9 °C in summer. Key figures and sources.
- Tehran, capital of Iran: facts and figures
Tehran is the capital of Iran: 9,500,000 residents, 1,177 m above sea level, 5.2 °C in winter and 31.1 °C in summer. Key figures and sources.
- Damascus, capital of Syria: facts and figures
Damascus is the capital of Syria: 2,500,000 residents, 703 m above sea level, 8.8 °C in winter and 28.4 °C in summer. Key figures and sources.
- Capitals of the world: the full list by continent
Every capital in DailyGeo's atlas, grouped by continent, with population, elevation and winter and summer temperatures, each linking to its own data page.