Al-Shauk anticipates that the population will grow between 2.7 to 3.2 per cent annually. According to United States statistics, Iraq’s population is estimated to be around 30 million people and will reach the 35 million mark by 2016.
Asaad al-Aqoli, an economic expert, said, “The housing crisis in the country is getting worse at a time when Iraq’s population growth is getting higher. The number of housing units needs to be revised and increased, but the need is out of control.”
Under current plans, around 150,000 housings units are earmarked for Baghdad, where the need is greatest. The same number would be spread across Iraq’s provinces.
“We think the problem can be solved within several years, as we expect more investors to come to Iraq as the security situation starts to improve,” Salar Abdullah, the deputy head of the Iraqi national investment commission, said.
In Najaf, a stark reminder of the country’s housing crisis is the 50 or so families that are living the in the city’s cemetery.
Jabbar Ghait, 49, his wife and nine children have move into one of the large tombs in the graveyard because as an incense seller he doesn’t make enough money to rent a house.
“The living conditions [here] are kind of scary,” he said. “Two of my daughters decided to leave the family and move to their grandfather’s house.”
At night, he and his wife take turns to watch over the children and guard the entrance of the tomb.
“There is no electricity, no sewage system, no waste disposal - there is only one hole in the wall to allow air to get in,” he continued. “It is too hot here in summer, it’s hard to sleep the whole night.”
In Baghdad, the average cost of a two- or three-bedroom housing unit in a downtown area, such as Bayaa, is between 120,000 to 200,000 US dollars while in more affluent suburbs similar-sized homes can go for millions of dollars.
On the outskirts of the capital, thousands of squatters either occupy abandoned buildings or live in shanty towns, often facing the threat of eviction.
Basim Qasim, a 31-year-old father of three, lives in an illegal squatter camp in the east of the city, which is home to around 300 families, who have no electricity, running water or functioning sewage system.
He said he and his family had no other option but to live there.
“Where can I go? I am a poor, broken guy,” Qasim said. “I swear I do not have any money in my pocket, apart from one thousand Iraqi dinars (less than one dollar).
With little prospect of being re-housed, all Qasim can hope for is to avoid eviction.
“We do not want more than that,” he said. “All we wish is to be allowed to stay on this land, in our houses.”
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