Years of instability and protracted conflict have left large parts of the Iraqi economy in disarray. While the population as a whole has been widely impacted by the economic consequences of war, Iraqis returning from Al Hol Camp in northeast Syria face additional hurdles in (re)entering the economy after years outside the country.
This report examines the economic (re)integration of Iraqi returnees from Al Hol. Drawing on panel data collected from returnees between 2022 and 2024, it analyses the economic well-being of this highly vulnerable population over time. The report describes some of the local economies in Al Anbar and Salah Al-Din governorates, which receive large numbers of returnees, and highlights the various barriers faced by returning female- and male-headed households, including lack of access to skills training, education, social networks, and documentation. Although returnees’ economic wellbeing slowly improves over time, this population continues to fall behind their peers in the community.
Citation: Jente Althuis, Muqadas Samarrai, and Noor Alzuber, “Struggling to Keep Up: Iraqi Returnees’ Economic (Re)integration Progress Over Time”, Findings Report 45, UNIDIR, Geneva, 2025, https://doi.org/10.37559/MEAC/25/08.