Hiring in Iraq through an EOR (2026)

Hiring in Iraq has two speeds. The part that moves quickly is onboarding through an Employer of Record (EOR): you can place someone in a role without waiting to register a local entity, which can take months on its own. The part that moves slowly is everything tied to Iraq's bureaucratic and regulatory environment, where compliance checks, documentation, and approvals rarely run on a tight schedule. Knowing this upfront helps you set realistic timelines with your new hire.

The numbers that shape your budget most directly are the 12% employer social security contribution on top of gross salary and a corporate tax rate of 15%. The statutory minimum wage sits at 350,000 IQD per month, though most professional roles will be well above that floor. With a retirement age of 60 and a labour force of around 12.5 million people, the talent pool exists, but unemployment runs at roughly 15.5%, which tells you that finding skilled candidates in specific sectors may take more effort than the headline numbers suggest.

The main addition on top of gross salary in Iraq is the employer social security contribution, set at 12% of gross. Employees contribute a further 5% on their side, but that comes out of their pay rather than adding to your cost. There are no other itemised statutory employer contributions in the data record, so the 12% figure is the primary lever when you are modelling total employment cost beyond the agreed salary.

A few things deserve close attention before you commit to hiring in Iraq.

• Employer social security adds up fast. At 12% of gross salary on the employer side, this is a meaningful line item. Build it into your cost model from day one rather than treating it as a footnote.
• Severance exposure is real. The statutory severance entitlement works out to roughly 10.7 weeks of pay, so for longer-tenure employees, an exit can carry a significant cost. Factor this into any fixed-term versus open-ended contract decision.
• No statutory notice period on record. The data shows a notice period of zero weeks under Iraqi labour law, which may seem convenient but can create practical complications around handovers and knowledge transfer. Your EOR contract should address this explicitly.
• Currency and payment logistics matter. Salaries are denominated in Iraqi Dinar (IQD), and cross-border payment infrastructure in Iraq is less straightforward than in many other markets. An EOR with established local payroll operations removes this friction entirely.