National shutdown
Iraqi authorities ordered Internet services to be suspended on the morning of 11 September 2025 between 6:00 and 8:00 local time (+3 UTC). This national shutdown is the twelfth in an expected series during the second round of high school exams, which is scheduled to end on 13 September.
- Total Duration 2 hours
Iraq
- Population
- 46,042,015
Freedom House rates Internet freedom as Partly Free
Local impact
Unlike the first round of school exams, this shutdown didn't follow an announcement by Iraq's Ministry of Communications as of date. Before the first round of exams, the Ministry of Communication announced on 19 May 2025 that they would enact the Ministry of Education's request to suspend Internet services on exam days as part of its efforts to prevent cheating. There was no further announcement for this series of exams.
It is worth noting that this series alternates with another series of regional shutdowns in the Kurdistan region that started on 23 August and is expected to end on 8 September.
Iraqi officials have ordered more than 90 Internet shutdowns over the past two years, all of which were related to exams either in wider Iraq or in the Kurdistan region.
Related documentation
A screenshot of an announcement on the Ministry of Communications website on 19 May 2025 regarding planned Internet shutdowns related to exam period.
Below is a screenshot of the Iraq High School exam schedule happening from 26 August to 13 September 2025 as per the Iraqi ministry of education channel on Telegram.
Other supporting information
Cloudflare Radar and IODA recorded drops in Internet traffic on 11 September 2025 from 3:00 UTC (6:00 local time) to 5:00 UTC (8:00 local time).
