Iraq loses $200 million due to internet outages during exams.
Iraq loses $200 million due to internet outages during exams.
2025-08-30 03:51
Shafaq News – Baghdad
Economic expert Ahmed Abdel Rabbo revealed on Saturday that Iraq lost millions of dollars due to the internet outage during the second round of exams.
Abdul Rabbo told Shafaq News Agency, “The continued policy of shutting down the internet during exams has multiple negative repercussions on the Iraqi economy, most notably the cessation of the digital business sector and electronic services, in addition to the total or partial shutdown of private and public companies that rely on the internet, such as banks, money transfer companies, e-commerce, smart transportation, delivery, hotel reservations, and airline services.”
He added, “This disrupts payments and delays transactions, undermining confidence in the business environment. It also harms the banking and financial sector by halting bank transfers and electronic payment card transactions, disrupting government payment systems and electronic collections. This exacerbates the weakness of non-oil revenues, in addition to declining productivity and time losses, as employees and remote workers cease performing their work, leading to direct productivity losses.”
Abdul Rabbo pointed out that “cutting off the internet during ministerial exams also negatively impacts Iraq’s investment image, as the recurrence of such practices sends a negative message to foreign investors regarding the stability of the digital infrastructure, which contradicts the government’s approach to attracting investment and supporting digital transformation.”
He explained that “every hour of internet outages in Iraq costs the economy between $5 and $7 million (depending on the volume of daily digital activity). If we adopt a rate of $6 million per hour, two hours a day translates into approximately $12 million in daily losses, and over a period of 14 days, direct losses reach approximately $168 million.”
Abdul Rabbo continued , saying, “This estimate does not include indirect losses such as postponed deals, lost investment opportunities, and damage to the reputation of the Iraqi market, which could raise the actual figure to more than $200 million.”
He concluded by saying, “The policy of shutting down the internet to address the problem of cheating on exams is costing the Iraqi economy hundreds of millions of dollars, disrupting business activity, and damaging the country’s digital reputation. It would have been more effective to invest in educational and security technology solutions to address the phenomenon, rather than imposing a huge economic cost on various sectors.”
The Iraqi Ministry of Communications is working to cut off internet service throughout the country, with the exception of the Kurdistan Region, for two hours in the morning for fourteen days, at the request of the Ministry of Education, to allow for the second round of exams for the final grades of middle and secondary school.
The Ministry of Communications has been cutting off internet service in recent years during final exams for middle and secondary school students, at the request of the Ministry of Education, to prevent online cheating.
shafaq.com
