Guide to Iraq Introduction Background: 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, the latest 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 resulted in the US-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003 and the ouster of the SADDAM Husayn regime. Coalition forces remain in Iraq, helping to restore degraded infrastructure and facilitating the establishment of a freely elected government, while simultaneously dealing with a robust insurgency. The Coalition Provisional Authority transferred sovereignty to the Iraqi Interim Government (IG) in June 2004. Iraqis voted on 30 January 2005 to elect a 275-member Transitional National Assembly that will draft a permanent constitution and pave the way for new national elections at the end of 2005.
Geography 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
Area - comparative: slightly more than twice the size of Idaho
Land boundaries: total
Coastline: 58 km
Maritime claims: territorial sea
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
Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, phosphates, sulfur
Land use: arable land
Irrigated land: 35,250 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: dust storms, sandstorms, floods
Environment - current issues: government water control projects have drained most of the inhabited marsh areas east of An Nasiriyah by drying up or diverting the feeder streams and rivers; a once sizable population of Marsh Arabs, who inhabited these areas for thousands of years, has been displaced; furthermore, the destruction of the natural habitat poses serious threats to the area's wildlife populations; inadequate supplies of potable water; development of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers system contingent upon agreements with upstream riparian Turkey; air and water pollution; soil degradation (salination) and erosion; desertification
Environment - international agreements: party to
Geography - note: strategic location on Shatt al Arab waterway and at the head of the Persian Gulf
People Population: 26,074,906 (July 2005 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years
Median age: total
Population growth rate: 2.7% (2005 est.)
Birth rate: 32.5 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Death rate: 5.49 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth
Infant mortality rate: total
Life expectancy at birth: total population
Total fertility rate: 4.28 children born/woman (2005 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
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
Government Country name: conventional long form
Government type: none; note - the Iraqi Interim Government (IG) was appointed on 1 June 2004
Capital: Baghdad
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 but the Iraqi Interim Government has yet to declare a new national holiday
Constitution: interim constitution signed 8 March 2004; note - the Transitional Administrative Law (TAL) was enacted 8 March 2004 to govern the country until an elected Iraqi Government can draft and ratify a new constitution in 2005
Legal system: based on civil and Islamic law under the Iraqi Interim Government (IG) and Transitional Administrative Law (TAL)
Suffrage: formerly 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch: chief of state
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly or Mejlis Watani (consisting of 275 members elected by a closed-list, proportional-representation system for the period between the National Assembly election and the formation of a permanent Iraqi government pursuant to the establishment of a permanent constitution) elections
Judicial branch: Supreme Court appointed by the Prime Minister, confirmed by the Presidency Council
Political parties and leaders: Al-Sadr Movement [Muqtada Al-SADR]; Constitutional Monarchy Movement or CMM [Sharif Ali Bin al-HUSAYN]; Da'wa Party [Ibrahim al-JA'FARI]; Independent Iraqi Alliance or IIA [Falah al-NAQIB]; Iraqi Hizballah [Karim Mahud al-MUHAMMADAWI]; Iraqi Independent Democrats or IID [Adnan PACHACHI, Mahdi al-HAFIZ]; Iraqi Islamic Party or IIP [Muhsin Abd al-HAMID, Hajim al-HASSANI]; Iraqi National Accord or INA [Ayad ALLAWI]; Iraqi National Congress or INC [Ahmad CHALABI]; Iraqi National Unity Movement or INUM [Ahmad al-KUBAYSI, chairman]; Jama'at al Fadilah or JAF [Ayatollah Muhammad ' Ali al-YAQUBI]; Kurdistan Democratic Party or KDP [Masud BARZANI]; Muslim Ulama Council or MUC [Harith Sulayman al-DARI, secretary general]; Patriotic Union of Kurdistan or PUK [Jalal TALABANI] note
Political pressure groups and leaders: an insurgency against the Iraqi Interim Government and Coalition forces is primarily concentrated in Baghdad and in areas west and north of the capital; the diverse, multigroup insurgency is led principally by Sunni Arabs whose only common denominator is a shared desire to oust the Coalition and end US influence in Iraq
International organization participation: ABEDA, AFESD, AMF, CAEU, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAS, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer), WToO
Diplomatic representation in the US: chief of mission
Diplomatic representation from the US: chief of mission
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 Economy - overview: Iraq's economy is dominated by the oil sector, which has traditionally provided about 95% of foreign exchange earnings. Iraq's seizure of Kuwait in August 1990, subsequent international economic sanctions, and damage from military action by an international coalition beginning in January 1991 drastically reduced economic activity. Although government policies supporting large military and internal security forces and allocating resources to key supporters of the regime hurt the economy, implementation of the UN's oil-for-food program beginning in December 1996 helped improve conditions for the average Iraqi citizen. Iraq was allowed to export limited amounts of oil in exchange for food, medicine, and some infrastructure spare parts. In December 1999, the UN Security Council authorized Iraq to export under the program as much oil as required to meet humanitarian needs. The drop in GDP in 2001-02 was largely the result of the global economic slowdown and lower oil prices. Per capita food imports increased significantly, while medical supplies and health care services steadily improved. Per capita output and living standards were still well below the pre-1991 level, but any estimates have a wide range of error. The military victory of the US-led coalition in March-April 2003 resulted in the shutdown of much of the central economic administrative structure. Although a comparatively small amount of capital plant was damaged during the hostilities, looting, insurgent attacks, and sabotage have undermined efforts to rebuild the economy. Despite continuing political uncertainty, the Iraqi Interim Government (IG) has founded the institutions needed to implement economic policy, and has successfully concluded a debt reduction agreement with the Paris Club. The high percentage gain estimated for GDP in 2004 is the result of starting from a low base.
GDP (purchasing power parity): $54.4 billion (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 52.3% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $2,100 (2004 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture
Labor force: 6.7 million (2004 est.)
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture NA, industry NA, services NA
Unemployment rate: 25% to 30% (2004 est.)
Population below poverty line: NA
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 25.4% (2004 est.)
Budget: revenues
Agriculture - products: wheat, barley, rice, vegetables, dates, cotton; cattle, sheep, poultry
Industries: petroleum, chemicals, textiles, construction materials, food processing, fertilizer, metal fabrication/processing
Industrial production growth rate: NA
Electricity - production: 32.6 billion kWh (2004)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel
Electricity - consumption: 33.7 billion kWh (2004)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2004)
Electricity - imports: 1.1 billion kWh (2004)
Oil - production: 2.25 million bbl/day (2004 est.); note - prewar production (in 2002) was 2.03 million bbl/day (2004 est.)
Oil - consumption: 383,000 bbl/day (2004 est.)
Oil - exports: 1.49 million bbl/day (2004 est.)
Oil - imports: NA
Oil - proved reserves: 112.5 billion bbl (2004 est.)
Natural gas - production: 2.35 billion cu m (2002 est.)
Natural gas - consumption: 2.35 billion cu m (2002 est.)
Natural gas - exports: 0 cu m (2004 est.)
Natural gas - imports: 0 cu m (2004 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves: 3.149 trillion cu m (2004)
Current account balance: $-560 million (2003 est.)
Exports: $10.1 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Exports - commodities: crude oil (83.9%), crude materials excluding fuels (8.0%), food and live animals (5.0%)
Exports - partners: US 51.9%, Spain 7.3%, Japan 6.6%, Italy 5.7%, Canada 5.2% (2004)
Imports: $9.9 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Imports - commodities: food, medicine, manufactures
Imports - partners: Syria 22.9%, Turkey 19.5%, US 9.2%, Jordan 6.7%, Germany 4.9% (2004)
Debt - external: $125 billion (2004 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: more than $33 billion in foreign aid pledged for 2004-07 (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 - 1,890 (second half, 2003), 0.3109 (2002), 0.3109 (2001), 0.3109 (2000)
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications Telephones - main lines in use: 675,000; note - an unknown number of telephone lines were damaged or destroyed during the March-April 2003 war (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 20,000 (2002)
Telephone system: general assessment
Radio broadcast stations: after 17 months of unregulated media growth, there are approximately 80 radio stations 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 Service Providers (ISPs): 1 (2000)
Internet users: 25,000 (2002)
Transportation Railways: total
Highways: total
Waterways: 5,275 km (not all navigable) note
Pipelines: gas 1,739 km; oil 5,418 km; refined products 1,343 km (2004)
Ports and harbors: Al Basrah, Khawr az Zubayr, Umm Qasr
Merchant marine: total
Airports: 111; note - unknown number were damaged during the March-April 2003 war (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: total
Airports - with unpaved runways: total
Heliports: 6 (2004 est.)
Military Military branches: Iraqi Armed Forces
Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age; the Iraqi Interim 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 (2004)
Manpower available for military service: males age 18-49
Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49
Manpower reaching military service age annually: males
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $1.3 billion (FY00)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: NA
Transnational Issues Disputes - international: coalition forces assist Iraqis in monitoring boundary security; 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 status of Kurds in Iraq
Refugees and internally displaced persons: refugees (country of origin)
Last updated: 20 October, 2005
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