Formerly part of the Ottoman Empire, Iraq was occupied by Britain during the course of World War I; in 1920, it was declared a League of Nations mandate under UK administration. In stages over the next dozen years, Iraq attained its independence as a kingdom in 1932. A "republic" was proclaimed in 1958, but in actuality a series of military strongmen ruled the country until 2003, the last was SADDAM Husayn. Territorial disputes with Iran led to an inconclusive and costly eight-year war (1980-88). In August 1990, Iraq seized Kuwait, but was expelled by US-led, UN coalition forces during the Gulf War of January-February 1991. Following Kuwait's liberation, the UN Security Council (UNSC) required Iraq to scrap all weapons of mass destruction and long-range missiles and to allow UN verification inspections. Continued Iraqi noncompliance with UNSC resolutions over a period of 12 years led to the US-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003 and the ouster of the SADDAM Husayn regime. Coalition forces remain in Iraq under a UNSC mandate, helping to provide security and to support the freely elected government. The Coalition Provisional Authority, which temporarily administered Iraq after the invasion, transferred full governmental authority on 28 June 2004 to the Iraqi Interim Government, which governed under the Transitional Administrative Law for Iraq (TAL). Under the TAL, elections for a 275-member Transitional National Assembly (TNA) were held in Iraq on 30 January 2005. Following these elections, the Iraqi Transitional Government (ITG) assumed office. The TNA was charged with drafting Iraq's permanent constitution, which was approved in a 15 October 2005 constitutional referendum. An election under the constitution for a 275-member Council of Representatives (CoR) was held on 15 December 2005. The CoR approval in the selection of most of the cabinet ministers on 20 May 2006 marked the transition from the ITG to Iraq's first constitutional government in nearly a half-century.
Location
Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iran and Kuwait
Geographic coordinates
33 00 N, 44 00 E
Map references
Middle East
Area
total
437,072 sq km
land
432,162 sq km
water
4,910 sq km
Area - comparative
slightly more than twice the size of Idaho
Land boundaries
total
3,650 km
border countries
Iran 1,458 km, Jordan 181 km, Kuwait 240 km, Saudi Arabia 814 km, Syria 605 km, Turkey 352 km
Coastline
58 km
Maritime claims
territorial sea
12 nm
continental shelf
not specified
Climate
mostly desert; mild to cool winters with dry, hot, cloudless summers; northern mountainous regions along Iranian and Turkish borders experience cold winters with occasionally heavy snows that melt in early spring, sometimes causing extensive flooding in central and southern Iraq
Terrain
mostly broad plains; reedy marshes along Iranian border in south with large flooded areas; mountains along borders with Iran and Turkey
Elevation extremes
lowest point
Persian Gulf 0 m
highest point
unnamed peak; 3,611 m; note - this peak is not Gundah Zhur 3,607 m or Kuh-e Hajji-Ebrahim 3,595 m
Natural resources
petroleum, natural gas, phosphates, sulfur
Land use
arable land
13.12%
permanent crops
0.61%
other
86.27% (2005)
Irrigated land
35,250 sq km (2003)
Natural hazards
dust storms, sandstorms, floods
Environment - current issues
Environment - international agreements
party to
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Law of the Sea
signed, but not ratified
Environmental Modification
Geography - note
strategic location on Shatt al Arab waterway and at the head of the Persian Gulf
Population
27,499,638 (July 2007 est.)
Age structure
0-14 years
39.4% (male 5,509,736/female 5,338,722)
15-64 years
57.6% (male 8,018,841/female 7,812,611)
65 years and over
3% (male 386,321/female 433,407) (2007 est.)
Median age
total
20 years
male
19.9 years
female
20 years (2007 est.)
Population growth rate
2.618% (2007 est.)
Birth rate
31.44 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Death rate
5.26 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Net migration rate
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Sex ratio
at birth
1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years
1.032 male(s)/female
15-64 years
1.026 male(s)/female
65 years and over
0.891 male(s)/female
total population
1.024 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Infant mortality rate
total
47.04 deaths/1,000 live births
male
52.73 deaths/1,000 live births
female
41.07 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Life expectancy at birth
total population
69.31 years
male
68.04 years
female
70.65 years (2007 est.)
Total fertility rate
4.07 children born/woman (2007 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate
less than 0.1% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS
less than 500 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths
NA
Nationality
noun
Iraqi(s)
adjective
Iraqi
Ethnic groups
Arab 75%-80%, Kurdish 15%-20%, Turkoman, Assyrian, or other 5%
Religions
Muslim 97% (Shi'a 60%-65%, Sunni 32%-37%), Christian or other 3%
Languages
Arabic, Kurdish (official in Kurdish regions), Assyrian, Armenian
Literacy
definition
age 15 and over can read and write
total population
74.1%
male
84.1%
female
64.2% (2000 est.)
Country name
conventional long form
Republic of Iraq
conventional short form
Iraq
local long form
Al Jumhuriyah al Iraqiyah
local short form
Al Iraq
Government type
parliamentary democracy
Capital
name
Baghdad
geographic coordinates
33 21 N, 44 25 E
time difference
UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
daylight saving time
+1hr, begins 1 April; ends 1 October
Administrative divisions
18 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Anbar, Al Basrah, Al Muthanna, Al Qadisiyah, An Najaf, Arbil, As Sulaymaniyah, At Ta'mim, Babil, Baghdad, Dahuk, Dhi Qar, Diyala, Karbala', Maysan, Ninawa, Salah ad Din, Wasit
Independence
3 October 1932 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration); note - on 28 June 2004 the Coalition Provisional Authority transferred sovereignty to the Iraqi Interim Government
National holiday
Revolution Day, 17 July (1968); note - this holiday was celebrated under the SADDAM Husayn regime; the Government of Iraq has yet to declare a new national holiday
Constitution
ratified on 15 October 2005 (subject to review by the Constitutional Review Committee and a possible public referendum in 2007)
Legal system
based on European civil and Islamic law under the framework outlined in the Iraqi Constitution; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch
chief of state
President Jalal TALABANI (since 6 April 2005); Vice Presidents Adil ABD AL-MAHDI and Tariq al-HASHIMI (since 22 April 2006); note - the president and vice presidents comprise the Presidency Council)
head of government
Prime Minister Nuri al-MALIKI (since 20 May 2006); Deputy Prime Ministers Barham SALIH and Salam al-ZUBAI (since 20 May 2006)
cabinet
37 ministers appointed by the Presidency Council, plus Prime Minister Nuri al-MALIKI, and Deputy Prime Ministers Barham SALIH and Salam al-ZUBAI
elections
held 15 December 2005 to elect a 275-member Council of Representatives
Legislative branch
bicameral Council of Representatives (consisting of 275 members elected by a closed-list, proportional representation system) and a Federation Council (membership not established and authorities undefined)
elections: held 15 December 2005 to elect a 275-member Council of Representatives; the Council of Representatives elected the Presidency Council and approved the Prime Minister
election results: Council of Representatives - percent of vote by party - Unified Iraqi Alliance 41%, Kurdistan Alliance 22%, Tawafuq Coalition 15%, Iraqi National List 8%, Iraqi Front for National Dialogue 4%, other 10%; number of seats by party - Unified Iraqi Alliance 128, Kurdistan Alliance 53, Tawafuq Coalition 44, Iraqi National List 25, Iraqi Front for National Dialogue 11, other 14
Judicial branch
the Iraq Constitution calls for the Federal Judicial Authority, comprised of the Higher Juridical Council, Supreme Federal Court, Federal Court of Cassation, Public Prosecution Department, Judiciary Oversight Commission and other federal courts that are regulated in accordance with the law
Political parties and leaders
Assyrian Democratic Movement [Yunadim KANNA]; Badr Organization [Hadi al-AMIRI]; Constitutional Monarchy Movement or CMM [Sharif Ali Bin al-HUSAYN]; Da'wa al-Islamiyya Party [Ibrahim al-JA'FARI]; General Conference of Iraqi People [Adnan al-DULAYMI]; Independent Iraqi Alliance or IIA [Falah al-NAQIB]; Iraqi Communist Party [Hamid al-MUSA]; Iraqi Front for National Dialogue [Salih al-MUTLAQ]; Iraqi Hizballah [Karim Mahmud al-MUHAMMADAWI]; Iraqi Independent Democrats or IID [Adnan PACHACHI, Mahdi al-HAFIZ]; Iraqi Islamic Party or IIP [Tariq al-HASHIMI]; Iraqi National Accord or INA [Ayad ALLAWI]; Iraqi National Congress or INC [Ahmad CHALABI]; Iraqi National Council for Dialogue or INCD [Khalaf Ulayan al-Khalifawi al-DULAYMI]; Iraqi National Unity Movement or INUM [Ahmad al-KUBAYSI]; Islamic Action Organization or IAO [Ayatollah Muhammad al-MUDARRISI]; Jama'at al Fadilah or JAF [Muhammad Ali al-YAQUBI]; Kurdistan Democratic Party or KDP [Masud BARZANI]; Kurdistan Islamic Union [Salah ad-Din Muhammad BAHA al-DIN]; National Reconciliation and Liberation Party [Mishan al-JABBURI]; Patriotic Union of Kurdistan or PUK [Jalal TALABANI]; Sadrist Trend [Muqtada al-SADR] (not an organized political party, but it fields independent candidates affiliated with Muqtada al-SADR); Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council or SIIC [Abd al-Aziz al-HAKIM]
note: the Kurdistan Alliance, Iraqi National List, Tawafuq Coalition, Iraqi Front for National Dialogue, and Unified Iraqi Alliance were only electoral slates consisting of the representatives from the various Iraqi political parties
Political pressure groups and leaders
an insurgency against the Government of Iraq and Coalition forces is primarily concentrated in Baghdad and in areas north, northeast, and west of the capital; the diverse, multigroup insurgency consists principally of Sunni Arabs whose only common denominator is a shared desire to oust the Coalition and end US influence in Iraq; a number of predominantly Shia militias, some associated with political parties, challenge governmental authority in Baghdad and southern Iraq
00-1-240-553-0584 ext. 5340 or 5635; note - Consular Section
FAX
NA
Flag description
three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black with three green five-pointed stars in a horizontal line centered in the white band; the phrase ALLAHU AKBAR (God is Great) in green Arabic script - Allahu to the right of the middle star and Akbar to the left of the middle star - was added in January 1991 during the Persian Gulf crisis; similar to the flag of Syria, which has two stars but no script, Yemen, which has a plain white band, and that of Egypt which has a gold Eagle of Saladin centered in the white band; design is based upon the Arab Liberation colors
Economy - overview
GDP (purchasing power parity)
$87.9 billion (2006 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate)
$40.66 billion (2006 est.)
GDP - real growth rate
2.4% (2006 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP)
$2,900 (2006 est.)
GDP - composition by sector
agriculture
7.3%
industry
66.6%
services
26.1% (2004 est.)
Labor force
7.4 million (2004 est.)
Labor force - by occupation
agriculture
NA%
industry
NA%
services
NA%
Unemployment rate
25% to 30% (2005 est.)
Population below poverty line
NA%
Household income or consumption by percentage share
lowest 10%
NA%
highest 10%
NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
64.8% (2006 est.)
Budget
revenues
$33.4 billion
expenditures
$41 billion (2006 est.)
Agriculture - products
Industries
petroleum, chemicals, textiles, leather, construction materials, food processing, fertilizer, metal fabrication/processing
Industrial production growth rate
NA%
Electricity - production
34.6 billion kWh (2006)
Electricity - production by source
fossil fuel
98.4%
hydro
1.6%
nuclear
0%
other
0% (2001)
Electricity - consumption
33.3 billion kWh (2005)
Electricity - exports
0 kWh (2005)
Electricity - imports
2.02 billion kWh (2005)
Oil - production
2.13 million bbl/day; note - prewar production in 2002 was 2.2 million bbl/day (2006 est.)
Oil - consumption
377,000 bbl/day (2006 est.)
Oil - exports
1.5 million bbl/day (2006 est.)
Oil - imports
0 bbl/day (2006)
Oil - proved reserves
112.5 billion bbl (2006 est.)
Natural gas - production
1.75 billion cu m (2006 est.)
Natural gas - consumption
1.75 billion cu m (2006 est.)
Natural gas - exports
0 cu m (2006 est.)
Natural gas - imports
0 cu m (2006 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves
3.115 trillion cu m (1 January 2005 est.)
Current account balance
$8.134 billion (2006 est.)
Exports
$32.19 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)
Exports - commodities
crude oil 84%, crude materials excluding fuels 8%, food and live animals 5%
Exports - partners
US 46.6%, Italy 10.7%, Canada 6.2%, Spain 6.1% (2006)
Imports
$20.76 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)
Imports - commodities
food, medicine, manufactures
Imports - partners
Syria 26.9%, Turkey 20.6%, US 12%, Jordan 7.3% (2006)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold
$15.65 billion (2006 est.)
Debt - external
$81.48 billion (2006 est.)
Economic aid - recipient
$13.5 billion pledged in foreign aid for 2004-07 from outside of the US, over $33 billion pledged total (2004)
Currency (code)
New Iraqi dinar (NID) as of 22 January 2004
Currency code
NID, IQD prior to 22 January 2004
Exchange rates
New Iraqi dinars per US dollar - 1,466 (2006), 1,475 (2005), 1,890 (second half, 2003), 0.3109 (2001)
Fiscal year
calendar year
Telephones - main lines in use
1.547 million (2005)
Telephones - mobile cellular
8.7 million (2006)
Telephone system
general assessment
the aftermath of the liberation of Iraq in 2003 severely disrupted telecommunications throughout Iraq including international connections; USAID repaired switching capabilities and constructed a mobile and satellite communication facility; landlines now exceed pre-war levels
domestic
repairs to switches and lines destroyed during 2003 have been completed, but sabotage remains a problem; additional switching capacity is improving access; cellular service is widely available in major cities and centered on 3 regional GSM networks, improving country-wide connectivity; there are currently 8.7 million users of cellular services
international
country code - 964; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region), and 1 Arabsat (inoperative); coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Jordan, Kuwait, Syria, and Turkey; despite a new satellite gateway, international calls outside of Baghdad are sometimes problematic (2006)
Radio broadcast stations
after 17 months of unregulated media growth, there are approximately 80 radio stations (types NA) on the air inside Iraq (2004)
Radios
4.85 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations
21 (2004)
Televisions
1.75 million (1997)
Internet country code
.iq
Internet hosts
5 (2006)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)
1 (2000)
Internet users
36,000 (2005)
Airports
110 (2006)
Airports - with paved runways
total
77
over 3,047 m
20
2,438 to 3,047 m
37
1,524 to 2,437 m
5
914 to 1,523 m
6
under 914 m
9 (2006)
Airports - with unpaved runways
total
33
over 3,047 m
2
2,438 to 3,047 m
4
1,524 to 2,437 m
4
914 to 1,523 m
13
under 914 m
10 (2006)
Heliports
8 (2006)
Pipelines
gas 2,228 km; liquid petroleum gas 918 km; oil 5,506 km; refined products 1,637 km (2006)
Railways
total
2,200 km
standard gauge
2,200 km 1.435-m gauge (2005)
Roadways
total
45,550 km
paved
38,399 km
unpaved
7,151 km (1999)
Waterways
5,279 km
note: Euphrates River (2,815 km), Tigris River (1,899 km), and Third River (565 km) are principal waterways (2006)
Merchant marine
total
13 ships (1000 GRT or over) 67,796 GRT/101,317 DWT
by type
cargo 11, petroleum tanker 2 (2006)
Ports and terminals
Al Basrah, Khawr az Zubayr, Umm Qasr
Military branches
Iraqi Armed Forces: Iraqi Army (includes Iraqi Special Operations Force, Iraqi Intervention Force), Iraqi Navy (former Iraqi Coastal Defense Force), Iraqi Air Force (former Iraqi Army Air Corps) (2005)
Military service age and obligation
all volunteer force; the Iraqi Government is creating a new professional Iraqi military force of men aged 18 to 40 to defend Iraq from external threats and the current insurgency (2006)
Manpower available for military service
males age 18-49
5,870,640
females age 18-49
5,642,073 (2005 est.)
Manpower fit for military service
males age 18-49
4,930,074
females age 18-49
4,771,105 (2005 est.)
Manpower reaching military service age annually
males age 18-49
198,518
females age 18-49
289,879 (2005 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP
8.6% (2006)
Disputes - international
coalition forces assist Iraqis in monitoring internal and cross-border security; approximately two million Iraqis have fled the conflict in Iraq, with the majority taking refuge in Syria and Jordan, and lesser numbers to Egypt, Lebanon, Iran, and Turkey; Iraq's lack of a maritime boundary with Iran prompts jurisdiction disputes beyond the mouth of the Shatt al Arab in the Persian Gulf; Turkey has expressed concern over the autonomous status of Kurds in Iraq
