With funding provided by the UK Conflict Stability and Security Fund, the National Democratic Institute (NDI) recently completed an independent public opinion survey throughout Iraq. Key survey findings show that the social fabric within Iraq is strengthening, as security conditions improve. Sectarianism—especially the divide between Arab Sunni and Shia—is widely viewed as waning, and a strong majority of citizens still identify themselves as “Iraqi.” However, political tensions remain a significant source of division within the country.

A large majority of Iraqis remain pessimistic about the direction of their country. These negative views are driven by frustrations with corruption and low levels of trust in the government’s ability to address major concerns such as the economy and unemployment.

Women’s rights continue to be viewed as worsening even as there is a high demand for equality between the genders. Many Iraqis admit that harassment is prevalent on the street and when dealing with government institutions, and some consider physical punishment of wives to be  acceptable in certain cases.

This research draws on polling conducted by NDI in Iraq since 2010 in order to provide the Government of Iraq, civil society and the international community with insights to enable them to respond to the evolving needs of Iraqi citizens. Please find the full survey report here. For more information about this project please contact: Ancuta Hansen at [email protected].