+964IQ
Iraq number screening
Iraq is the rare Middle Eastern market where Telegram, not WhatsApp, carries news and trade, so registration and activity there is the check you cannot skip.
Mobile number format
Mobiles are eleven digits domestically, written 07XX plus seven digits. Drop the trunk zero and ten digits follow +964, always starting with 7. Common ranges include 075x, 077x, 078x and 079x, with users in the northern Kurdistan region concentrated in the 075x block.
Main carriers
- Zain Iraq
- Asiacell
- Korek Telecom
Coverage splits along clear geographic lines, with a different operator dominant in the northern Kurdistan region than in the centre and south. Years of conflict left infrastructure uneven, so carrying two or three SIMs to switch between networks is routine, and duplicate contacts per person run higher than in neighbouring countries.
On the ground
Cash still settles most transactions and online payment penetration is low, so deals close in person or on delivery and whether the call connects decides whether the sale happens at all. Arabic dominates the centre and south while Sorani Kurdish is the working language of the northern Kurdistan region, so a single Arabic creative set visibly underperforms in the north.
Screening guidance
Validity first: multi-SIM ownership is normal here and a large share of lines sit idle, so expect a higher removal rate than you would elsewhere. Then make Telegram registration and activity the main pass, since its reach represents real reachability better than WhatsApp does; run WhatsApp as a supplement. Finally, group by range into north and south and prepare Arabic and Kurdish creative separately.
Key platforms in Iraq
Unlike most of the region, Iraq's information layer is Telegram rather than WhatsApp: news channels, second-hand trading, community notices and job posts all live in channels and groups, and plenty of businesses publish a Telegram handle as their primary contact. WhatsApp remains the calling app between people who already know each other, and Facebook carries public pages.
FAQ
How many digits is an Iraqi mobile number?
Eleven digits domestically, starting with 07. Remove the trunk zero and ten digits follow +964. Common ranges are 075x, 077x, 078x and 079x. Anything whose first digit after the country code is not 7 is generally not a mobile, which makes a useful first-pass filter on a mixed list before any paid screening.
Why is Telegram bigger than WhatsApp in Iraq?
Because Telegram in Iraq is not just a chat app. News channels, used car and property listings, merchant announcements and neighbourhood notices all concentrate in channels and groups, and many shops publish a Telegram handle as their public contact. WhatsApp is mostly for calls between people who already know each other. For screening, Telegram activity is the closer proxy for real reachability.
Do Iraqi numbers differ between the north and the south?
Yes. Operator coverage splits geographically, with different players dominant in the northern Kurdistan region than in the centre and south, so the range gives you a rough read on where a number sits. That matters practically: the north works in Sorani Kurdish and the rest in Arabic, so splitting the list by carrier and running two language sets beats one Arabic campaign nationwide.
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