KRG Releases Detailed Payroll Data Showing 1.19 Million Salary Recipients

ERBIL (Kurdistan24) - The Kurdistan Regional Government's (KRG) Ministry of Finance and Economy on Friday published its most detailed official breakdown of salary recipients and monthly payroll expenditures as part of its 2019–2025 performance report, providing a comprehensive overview of the government's financial commitments across the Kurdistan Region.

According to the ministry, by the end of 2025, the total number of people receiving salaries or monthly financial assistance had reached 1,190,391, with the government requiring approximately 945.817 billion Iraqi dinars every month to meet payroll obligations.

The ministry's figures show that 664,933 people, or 55.86% of all recipients, are government employees, while the remaining 525,458 people, representing 44.14%, consist of pensioners and other beneficiaries outside the government workforce.

The largest category is permanent civil servants, totaling 382,350 people (32.12%), followed by 201,337 civilian pensioners (16.91%).

The payroll also includes:

-152,182 Peshmerga personnel (12.78%)
-139,015 retired Peshmerga members (11.68%)
-87,505 Interior Ministry personnel (7.35%)
-83,224 families of martyrs and Anfal victims (6.99%)
-70,945 social protection beneficiaries (5.96%)
-42,896 Asayish personnel (3.60%)
-30,937 contract employees (2.60%)

Erbil accounts for nearly half of all recipients

The regional distribution shows Erbil Governorate accounts for the largest share of salary recipients, with 585,364 people, representing 49% of the total. Monthly payroll expenditures in Erbil amount to approximately 489 billion Iraqi dinars.

The ministry attributed Erbil's higher share to the presence of the Kurdistan Region's presidency institutions, parliament, judicial council, and the majority of ministries and government agencies in the capital.

Sulaimani Governorate accounts for 436,740 recipients (37%), requiring around 341 billion Iraqi dinars each month.

Duhok Governorate has 140,206 recipients (12%), with monthly expenditures of approximately 95 billion Iraqi dinars. The ministry noted that retired Peshmerga personnel and some security forces serving in Duhok are administratively counted under Erbil.

Halabja Governorate represents 15,334 recipients (1%), with monthly payroll costs of 6.9 billion Iraqi dinars, while 12,747 recipients fall under other areas of the Kurdistan Region.

Employees funded through domestic revenues

Separately, the ministry said the KRG finances the salaries of 86,791 employees through domestic revenues rather than federal funding, at a monthly cost of 42.623 billion Iraqi dinars.

These include 41,382 teaching staff employed by the Ministries of Education and Higher Education, as well as 45,409 contract employees paid through the regular government budget and institutional revenues.

The Ministry of Finance said the publication of the data forms part of the KRG's financial transparency efforts, highlighting the scale of the government's monthly payroll commitments across the Region's public institutions, security forces, pension system, and social welfare programs.