Nearly 680,000 people out of the estimated 5.5 million in the Region live on less than 105,000 Iraqi dinars (around $87) per month, which is the poverty line index in Iraq and Kurdistan according to World Bank standards.
The extreme poverty is more widespread among larger families with many children and unemployed parents.
"I have been trying to find a job since I graduated college last year, but there're not many options in the market for my education," said Ashna Abdulla, a 22 year old law graduate.
Overt unemployment has almost tripled since 2010 from 4.8 percent to 13.5, although the actual unemployment is likely to be considerably higher, according to the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs, which is currently carrying out a reform plan in cooperation with the World Bank.
"We have 8 overall strategies which basically aim at increasing jobs but also creating a social network protection for those that fall out of the job market," said the Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, Muhammad Qadir Hawiani.
According to the office of statistics in Erbil, the dramatic rise of poverty and unemployment is partly due to the influx of 1.8 million refugees to the Kurdistan Region and the ongoing financial crunch that has gripped the Kurdish economy since the fall of oil prices and the start of the war against ISIS.
