Iraq has crossed into the high human development category for the first time in its history, Prime Minister Mohammed Al-Sudani announced at the launch of the country's Human Development Report for 2025 on December 8.

Al-Sudani said the achievement should serve as "a strong incentive to advance further" through a plan positioning Iraq amongst countries with very high human development by 2035, according to a statement from the Media Office of the Prime Minister.

The prime minister praised the report's "boldness, realism, neutrality, and objectivity", crediting the Ministry of Planning, an advisory committee, and international experts for their contributions to the assessment.

Iraq worked to provide detailed, updated, and reliable human development indicators across governorates through field surveys, Al-Sudani said. After achieving victory over terrorism, Iraq regained its ability to close developmental gaps and demonstrate its competence in designing development plans, he said.

The report's findings will enable policymakers to identify areas of progress and decline, the prime minister said, adding that the government welcomes objective criticism regarding areas requiring improvement.

Al-Sudani highlighted Iraq's security and political stability, noting the government is working to diversify the economy with support from the country's human capital. Iraq is witnessing economic progress alongside human development advancement, framed by an interconnected digital world opening new opportunities for Iraqi youth in fields that were inaccessible just years ago, he said.

"We must proceed with policies and a steadily advancing framework so that by 2035 Iraq joins the group of countries with very high human development," Al-Sudani said.