| Background: |
Formerly part of the Ottoman Empire, Iraq became an independent
kingdom in 1932. A "republic" was proclaimed in 1958, but
in actuality a series of military strongmen have ruled the
country since then, the latest being 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 January-February
1991. The victors did not occupy Iraq, however, thus allowing
the regime to stay in control. 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. UN trade sanctions
remain in effect due to incomplete Iraqi compliance with
relevant UNSC resolutions. |
| 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
water: 4,910 sq km
land:
432,162 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: |
continental
shelf: not specified
territorial sea: 12
NM |
| 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: Haji
Ibrahim 3,600 m |
| Natural
resources: |
petroleum, natural gas, phosphates, sulfur |
| Land
use: |
arable
land: 11.89%
permanent crops: 0.78%
other: 87.33% (1998 est.) |
| 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 Shi'a Muslims, who have 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 Tigris-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: Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban
signed,
but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
| Geography
- note: |
strategic location on Shatt al Arab waterway and at the
head of the Persian Gulf
|
| Population: |
24,001,816 (July 2002 est.) |
| Age
structure: |
0-14
years: 41.1% (male 5,003,755; female 4,849,238)
15-64 years: 55.9% (male 6,794,265; female 6,624,662)
65 years and over: 3% (male 341,520; female
388,376) (2002 est.) |
| Population
growth rate: |
2.82% (2002 est.) |
| Birth
rate: |
34.2 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
| Death
rate: |
6.02 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
| Net
migration rate: |
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
| Sex
ratio: |
at
birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years:
1.03 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female
total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2002 est.)
|
| Infant
mortality rate: |
57.61 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
| Life
expectancy at birth: |
total
population: 67.38 years
female: 68.5 years
(2002 est.)
male: 66.31 years |
| Total
fertility rate: |
4.63 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- adult prevalence rate: |
less than 0.01% (1999 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- people living with HIV/AIDS: |
NA |
| 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:
58%
male: 70.7%
female: 45% (1995
est.)
|
| Country
name: |
conventional
long form: Republic of Iraq
conventional short
form: Iraq
local short form: Al Iraq
local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Iraqiyah |
| Government
type: |
republic |
| Capital: |
Baghdad |
| Administrative
divisions: |
18 provinces (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) |
| National
holiday: |
Revolution Day, 17 July (1968) |
| Constitution: |
22 September 1968, effective 16 July 1970 (provisional constitution);
new constitution drafted in 1990 but not adopted |
| Legal
system: |
based on Islamic law in special religious courts, civil
law system elsewhere; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
|
| Suffrage: |
18 years of age; universal |
| Executive
branch: |
chief
of state: President SADDAM Husayn (since 16 July 1979);
Vice Presidents Taha Muhyi al-Din MARUF (since 21 April
1974) and Taha Yasin RAMADAN (since 23 March 1991)
elections: president and vice presidents elected
by a two-thirds majority of the Revolutionary Command Council;
election last held 17 October 1995 (next to be held NA 2002);
note - in a presidential referendum held 15 October 2002,
SADDAM Husayn was reelected president for a fifth consecutive
five-year term
election results: SADDAM Husayn
reelected president; percent of vote - 99%; Taha Muhyi al-Din
MARUF and Taha Yasin RAMADAN elected vice presidents; percent
of vote - NA%; note - in a presidential referendum held
15 October 2002, SADDAM Husayn was reelected president for
another seven-year term
cabinet: Council of
Ministers; note - there is also a Revolutionary Command
Council or RCC with eight members as of 2001 (Chairman SADDAM
Husayn, Vice Chairman Izzat IBRAHIM al-Duri) which controls
the ruling Ba'th Party; the RCC is the highest executive
and legislative body and the most powerful political entity
in the country; new RCC members must come from the Regional
Command Leadership of the Ba'th Party
head of government:
Prime Minister SADDAM Husayn (since 29 May 1994); Deputy
Prime Ministers Tariq Mikhail AZIZ (since NA 1979), Hikmat
Mizban Ibrahim al-AZZAWI (since 30 July 1999), Ahmad Husayn
al-KHUDAYIR (since NA July 2001), and Abd al-Tawab Mullah
al-HUWAYSH (since NA July 2001) |
| Legislative
branch: |
unicameral National Assembly or Majlis al-Watani (250 seats;
30 appointed by the president to represent the three northern
provinces of Dahuk, Arbil, and As Sulaymaniyah; 220 elected
by popular vote; members serve four-year terms)
elections:
last held 27 March 2000 (next to be held NA March 2004)
election results: percent of vote by party -
NA%; seats by party - NA |
| Judicial
branch: |
Court of Cassation |
| Political
parties and leaders: |
Ba'th Party [SADDAM Husayn, central party leader] |
| Political
pressure groups and leaders: |
any formal political activity must be sanctioned by the
government; opposition to regime from Kurdish groups and
southern Shi'a dissidents |
| International
organization participation: |
ABEDA, ACC, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, EAPC, ESCWA, FAO,
G-19, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC,
IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAPEC,
OIC, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO,
WIPO, WMO, WToO |
| Diplomatic
representation in the US: |
none; note - Iraq has an Interest Section in the Algerian
Embassy headed by Akram AL DOURI; address: Iraqi Interests
Section, Algerian Embassy, 1801 P Street NW, Washington,
DC 20036; telephone: [1] (202) 483-7500; FAX: [1] (202)
462-5066 |
| Diplomatic
representation from the US: |
none; note - the US has an Interests Section in the Polish
Embassy in Baghdad; address: P. O. Box 2051 Hay Babel, Baghdad;
telephone: [964] (1) 718-9267; FAX: [964] (1) 718-9297 |
| 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 and the flag of Yemen which has a plain white band;
also similar to the flag of Egypt which has a symbolic eagle
centered in the white band
|
| Economy
- overview: |
Iraq's economy is dominated by the oil sector, which has
traditionally provided about 95% of foreign exchange earnings.
In the 1980s financial problems caused by massive expenditures
in the eight-year war with Iran and damage to oil export
facilities by Iran led the government to implement austerity
measures, borrow heavily, and later reschedule foreign debt
payments; Iraq suffered economic losses from the war of
at least $100 billion. After hostilities ended in 1988,
oil exports gradually increased with the construction of
new pipelines and restoration of damaged facilities. 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 have
hurt the economy, implementation of the UN's oil-for-food
program in December 1996 has helped improve conditions for
the average Iraqi citizen. For the first six, six-month
phases of the program, 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. Oil exports
are now more than three-quarters prewar level. However,
28% of Iraq's export revenues under the program are deducted
to meet UN Compensation Fund and UN administrative expenses.
The drop in GDP in 2001 was largely the result of the global
economic slowdown and lower oil prices. Per capita food
imports have increased significantly, while medical supplies
and health care services are steadily improving. Per capita
output and living standards are still well below the prewar
level, but any estimates have a wide range of error. |
| GDP: |
purchasing power parity - $59 billion (2001 est.) |
| GDP
- real growth rate: |
-6% (2001 est.) |
| GDP
- per capita: |
purchasing power parity - $2,500 (2001 est.) |
| GDP
- composition by sector: |
agriculture:
6%
industry: 13%
services: 81% (1993
est.) |
| Population
below poverty line: |
NA% |
| Household
income or consumption by percentage share: |
lowest
10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
| Inflation
rate (consumer prices): |
60% (2001 est.) |
| Labor
force: |
4.4 million (1989) |
| Labor
force - by occupation: |
agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% |
| Unemployment
rate: |
NA% |
| Budget: |
revenues:
$NA
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures
of $NA |
| Industries: |
petroleum, chemicals, textiles, construction materials,
food processing |
| Industrial
production growth rate: |
NA% |
| Electricity
- production: |
27.3 billion kWh (2000) |
| Electricity
- production by source: |
fossil
fuel: 98%
hydro: 2%
other: 0%
(2000)
nuclear: 0% |
| Electricity
- consumption: |
25.389 billion kWh (2000) |
| Electricity
- exports: |
0 kWh (2000) |
| Electricity
- imports: |
0 kWh (2000) |
| Agriculture
- products: |
wheat, barley, rice, vegetables, dates, cotton; cattle,
sheep |
| Exports: |
$15.8 billion (f.o.b.) |
| Exports
- commodities: |
crude oil |
| Exports
- partners: |
US 46.2%, Italy 12.2%, France 9.6%, Spain 8.6% (2000) |
| Imports: |
$11 billion (f.o.b.) |
| Imports
- commodities: |
food, medicine, manufactures |
| Imports
- partners: |
France 22.5%, Australia 22%, China 5.8%, Russia 5.8% (2000)
|
| Debt
- external: |
$62.2 billion (2001 est.) |
| Economic
aid - recipient: |
$327.5 million (1995) |
| Currency: |
Iraqi dinar (IQD) |
| Currency
code: |
IQD |
| Exchange
rates: |
Iraqi dinars per US dollar - 0.3109 (fixed official rate
since 1982); black market rate - Iraqi dinars per US dollar
- 2,000 (December 2001), 1,910 (December 1999), 1,815 (December
1998), 1,530 (December 1997), 910 (December 1996); note
- subject to wide fluctuations |
| Fiscal
year: |
calendar year
|
| Telephones
- main lines in use: |
675,000 (1997) |
| Telephones
- mobile cellular: |
NA; service available in northern Iraq (2001) |
| Telephone
system: |
general
assessment: reconstitution of damaged telecommunication
facilities began after the Gulf war; most damaged facilities
have been rebuilt
domestic: the network consists
of coaxial cables and microwave radio relay links
international:
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; Kuwait
line is probably nonoperational |
| Radio
broadcast stations: |
AM 19 (5 are inactive), FM 51, shortwave 4 (1998) |
| Radios: |
4.85 million (1997) |
| Television
broadcast stations: |
13 (1997) |
| Televisions: |
1.75 million (1997) |
| Internet
country code: |
.iq |
| Internet
Service Providers (ISPs): |
1 (2000) |
| Internet
users: |
12,500 (2001)
|
| Railways: |
total:
2,339 km
standard gauge: 2,339 km 1.435-m gauge
(2001) |
| Highways: |
total:
45,550 km
paved: 38,400 km
unpaved:
7,150 km (1996 est.) |
| Waterways: |
1,015 km
note: Shatt al Arab is usually navigable
by maritime traffic for about 130 km; channel has been dredged
to 3 m and is in use; Tigris and Euphrates Rivers have navigable
sections for shallow-draft boats; Shatt al Basrah canal
was navigable by shallow-draft craft before closing in 1991
because of the Gulf war |
| Pipelines: |
crude oil 4,350 km; petroleum products 725 km; natural gas
1,360 km |
| Ports
and harbors: |
Umm Qasr, Khawr az Zubayr, and Al Basrah have limited functionality
|
| Merchant
marine: |
total:
25 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 186,709 GRT/278,575
DWT
ships by type: cargo 14, passenger 1, passenger/cargo
1, petroleum tanker 8, roll on/roll off 1 (2002 est.) |
| Airports: |
108 (2001) |
| Airports
- with paved runways: |
total:
73
over 3,047 m: 20
2,438 to 3,047 m:
34
914 to 1,523 m: 6
under 914 m:
7 (2001)
1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 |
| Airports
- with unpaved runways: |
total:
35
under 914 m: 12 (2001)
over 3,047
m: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 6
914 to
1,523 m: 10
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 |
| Heliports: |
4 (2001)
|
| Military
branches: |
Army, Republican Guard, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Force,
Border Guard Force, Fedayeen Saddam |
| Military
manpower - military age: |
18 years of age (2002 est.) |
| Military
manpower - availability: |
males
age 15-49: 6,135,847 (2002 est.) |
| Military
manpower - fit for military service: |
males
age 15-49: 3,430,819 (2002 est.) |
| Military
manpower - reaching military age annually: |
males:
274,035 (2002 est.) |
| Military
expenditures - dollar figure: |
$1.3 billion (FY00) |
| Military
expenditures - percent of GDP: |
NA%
|
| Disputes
- international: |
despite restored diplomatic relations in 1990, lacks maritime
boundary with Iran and disputes land boundary, navigation
channels, and other issues from eight-year war; in November
1994, Iraq formally accepted the UN-demarcated border with
Kuwait which had been spelled out in Security Council Resolutions
687 (1991), 773 (1993), and 883 (1993); this formally ends
earlier claims to Kuwait and to Bubiyan and Warbah islands
although the government continues periodic rhetorical challenges;
dispute over water development plans by Turkey for the Tigris
and Euphrates rivers
|
This page was last updated on 13 February
2003
|
