Iraq links migration shifts to water crisis, economic pressures and returns from Europe

BAGHDAD, Iraq — Iraq is navigating overlapping migration flows driven by returning expatriates, internal displacement and climate-linked movement, a deputy migration minister said. Deputy Minister of Migration and Displacement Karim Nuri said irregular migration had peaked in 2020 through Belarus, Turkey and Libya, with most departures from the Kurdistan Region toward Europe, and has since fallen by more than half following operations against smuggling networks and coordination with the European Union. Roughly 30,000 rejected asylum applications in Germany have also reduced new incentives to leave, he said. Nuri said climate change and drought had forced 16,000 people to migrate from southern provinces, though recent rainfall has lowered that number. More than 15,000 people have returned to their home areas, including through the Mosul-based al-Jadaa rehabilitation camp for returnees from Syria's al-Hol camp, while security screening continues to leave files open in areas including al-Jawf al-Sahr. Environmental group Tabiat al-Iraq said the country's total water volume has risen from 4.7 billion cubic meters last year to more than 31 billion cubic meters, but severe shortages persist along the Tigris, and gradual migration from Dhi Qar to cities continues as the central marshes face ongoing environmental decline. Economist Karim al-Hilou said capital is leaving the country and skilled workers are migrating abroad because of limited domestic employment, while Baghdad resident Rand Mohammed said she decided to return from Turkey because of rising living costs.