At a glance
- Baghdad, the capital: 200°, south-south-west, 1,400 km from the Kaaba.
- The Qibla turns by 34° across the country, from 190° in Sumayl to 224° in Al Fāw.
- Closest to Makkah: Samawah, 1,229 km. Farthest: 'Ākra, 1,747 km.
- Around Baghdad, a magnetic compass points about 5° east of true north (World Magnetic Model 2025, for 2026). On a needle compass, the Qibla there is about 195°.
- Prayer times in Iraq: our country guide explains which calculation method to choose in the Awwab app.
Qibla from every city in Iraq
Cities of 100,000 people or more, largest first.
| City | Qibla | Direction | Distance to the Kaaba (km) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Baghdad | 200° | south-south-west | 1,400 |
| Mosul | 192° | south-south-west | 1,689 |
| Erbil | 195° | south-south-west | 1,692 |
| Basra | 220° | south-west | 1,285 |
| Karbala | 199° | south-south-west | 1,312 |
| Sadr City | 200° | south-south-west | 1,406 |
| Kirkuk | 197° | south-south-west | 1,624 |
| Abu Ghraib | 199° | south-south-west | 1,389 |
| Sulaymaniyah | 201° | south-south-west | 1,664 |
| Nasiriyah | 212° | south-south-west | 1,248 |
| Najaf | 202° | south-south-west | 1,261 |
| Hillah | 201° | south-south-west | 1,309 |
| Abū al-Kahṣīb | 221° | south-west | 1,285 |
| Al Maḩmūdīyah | 200° | south-south-west | 1,369 |
| Duhok | 191° | south | 1,744 |
| Amarah | 214° | south-west | 1,366 |
| Al Diwaniyah | 205° | south-south-west | 1,279 |
| Kut | 207° | south-south-west | 1,368 |
| Al Madīnah | 217° | south-west | 1,294 |
| Kelar | 202° | south-south-west | 1,563 |
| Ramadi | 195° | south-south-west | 1,377 |
| Fallujah | 197° | south-south-west | 1,382 |
| Ash Shaţrah | 211° | south-south-west | 1,277 |
| Khānaqīn | 202° | south-south-west | 1,537 |
| Bayjī | 194° | south-south-west | 1,544 |
| Ash Sharqāt | 193° | south-south-west | 1,602 |
| Samarra | 197° | south-south-west | 1,475 |
| Al Miqdādīyah | 201° | south-south-west | 1,483 |
| Samawah | 208° | south-south-west | 1,229 |
| Baqubah | 200° | south-south-west | 1,449 |
| Sumayl | 190° | south | 1,741 |
| Simele | 190° | south | 1,741 |
| Xebat | 194° | south-south-west | 1,693 |
| Khasnahzān | 195° | south-south-west | 1,696 |
| Qeładizê | 199° | south-south-west | 1,720 |
| Al Hindīyah | 200° | south-south-west | 1,311 |
| Al Qurnah | 217° | south-west | 1,308 |
| Baḥarkah | 195° | south-south-west | 1,705 |
| Sīnah | 191° | south | 1,739 |
| Az Zubayr | 220° | south-west | 1,270 |
| Tuz Khurmatu District | 199° | south-south-west | 1,569 |
| Rānyah | 198° | south-south-west | 1,721 |
| Qal‘at Sukkar | 210° | south-south-west | 1,316 |
| An Nu‘mānīyah | 205° | south-south-west | 1,355 |
| Kufa | 202° | south-south-west | 1,267 |
| Abu Gharaq | 201° | south-south-west | 1,313 |
| Umm Qaşr | 222° | south-west | 1,254 |
| 'Ākra | 194° | south-south-west | 1,747 |
| Al Fāw | 224° | south-west | 1,285 |
| Al-Musayab | 200° | south-south-west | 1,337 |
| Nāḩiyat al Iskandarīyah | 200° | south-south-west | 1,351 |
Not on the list? Search any town or use your location on the live compass.
Reading these numbers
Each bearing is measured clockwise from true north along the shortest path over the globe, a great circle, which is how the Qibla is worked out. A flat map can mislead, because the Earth is round.
Phone compasses work best after calibrating with a figure-8, away from metal and magnetic cases. Our guide to finding the Qibla also covers the sun, the local mosque and praying when unsure.
Qibla in other countries
Bangladesh China India Indonesia Iran Japan Myanmar (Burma) Pakistan Philippines Thailand Türkiye Vietnam
City data: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Magnetic declination: the World Magnetic Model 2025 (NOAA and the British Geological Survey).