Is prostitution legal in Iraq?
Illegal
Prostitution is illegal in Iraq with criminal penalties for pimp, prostitute, and client, exacerbated by war-related exploitation.
Iraq is one of 105 countries classified “Illegal” for sex work — 48% of the 219 with data. (Also searched as prostitution.)
Source
- Taken from
- Wikipedia: Prostitution in Asia
- Last checked
- 7 July 2026
- How it was classified
- Classified by a language model from the source text, then checked against hand-verified reference countries.
Nearby countries
- Kuwait
- Illegal Prostitution is illegal in Kuwait but common, with law enforcement typically deporting or issuing conduct pledges to sex workers.
- Syria
- Illegal Prostitution is technically illegal in Syria but occurs among Syrian women and Iraqi refugees due to war conditions.
- Armenia
- Illegal Prostitution is illegal in Armenia, with related activities like running brothels prohibited by law.
- Jordan
- Decriminalized / unregulated Prostitution is illegal but widely tolerated and occurs in major cities and refugee camps.
- Lebanon
- Illegal Prostitution is nominally legal but most brothels operate illegally due to lack of new licenses being issued.
- Azerbaijan
- Illegal Prostitution is illegal in Azerbaijan but common, with brothel-keeping punishable by up to 6 years imprisonment.
Other laws in Iraq
- Same-Sex Marriage
- Not recognized
- Same-Sex Activity
- Illegal
- Pornography
- Illegal
- Same-Sex Adoption
- Not permitted
- Marriage Age
- 18+
A visual reference compiled from Wikipedia’s law-by-country articles, not legal advice. Laws change and summaries simplify — check a primary source before relying on anything here.