The rural area of Kurdistan region has specific characteristics and faces many challenges. The rural space of
Kurdistan is affected by poverty, and the farmers are dealing with many problems and they hardly survive. The
Kurdistan Region is located SW of Asia and NE of Iraq and is composed of three governorates: Erbil (Hawler),
Suleimani, and Duhok, located within the northern part of the Federal Republic of Iraq (Iraqi Constitution,
Article 62). The aim of the paper is to analyze the current situation of the rural region of KRG (Kurdistan Region
Government) in order to propose new solution for sustainable development of the area. For the purpose of the
paper a survey was conducted during June-September 2012. The collected data were analyzed for each of the
three governorates, and for each of the precipitation zones (A zone and B zone). The results of the field research
show that the rural population of Kurdistan has an average age less than 26 years old. And at the same time is
highly suffering from a lack of education which is higher in the case of older people. More than a quarter (28.45%)
is illiterate, while almost 30% graduated only the primary school, meaning that they having the basic knowledge
of reading and writing. The number of people not educated in zone B is one quarter higher than in zone A. The
results of the survey revealed the necessity for improving the specific conditions for sustainable development in
the research area.