World Atlas: Iraq

Information about Iraq

Here you can find online selected information about the geography, inhabitants, government, economy and history of Iraq. Included are selected statistics, an overview map and the detailed map of Iraq. But let's start with the flag of Iraq here:

Iraq - Overview:

What you should know about Iraq? Let's start with this: Formerly part of the Ottoman Empire, Iraq was occupied by the United Kingdom 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 strongmen ruled the country until 2003. The last was Saddam Husayn from 1979 to 2003. 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. US forces remained in Iraq under a UNSC mandate through 2009 and under a bilateral security agreement thereafter, helping to provide security and to train and mentor Iraqi security forces. In October 2005, Iraqis approved a constitution in a national referendum and, pursuant to this document, elected a 275-member Council of Representatives (COR) in December 2005. The COR approved most cabinet ministers in May 2006, marking the transition to Iraq's first constitutional government in nearly a half century. Nearly nine years after the start of the Second Gulf War in Iraq, US military operations there ended in mid-December 2011. In January 2009 and April 2013, Iraq held elections for provincial councils in all governorates except for the three comprising the Kurdistan Regional Government and Kirkuk Governorate. Iraq held a national legislative election in March 2010 - choosing 325 legislators in an expanded COR - and, after nine months of deadlock, the COR approved the new government in December 2010. In April 2014, Iraq held a national legislative election and expanded the COR to 328 legislators. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki dropped his bid for a third term in office, enabling new Prime Minister Haydar al-Abadi, a Shia Muslim from Baghdad, to win legislative approval of his new cabinet in September 2014. Since 2014, Iraq has been engaged in a military campaign against ISIS to recapture territory lost in the western and northern portion of the country.

Geography of Iraq

Where on the globe is Iraq? The location of this country is Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iran and Kuwait. Total area of Iraq is 438,317 sq km, of which 437,367 sq km is land. So this is quite a large country. How could we describe the terrain of the country? This way: mostly broad plains; reedy marshes along Iranian border in south with large flooded areas; mountains along borders with Iran and Turkey. The lowest point of Iraq is Persian Gulf 0 m, the highest point Cheekha Dar (Kurdish for "Black Tent") 3,611 m. And the climate is 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.

Inhabitants of Iraq

Let's take a look how many people live in Iraq. The number is: 39,192,111 (July 2017 est.). So quite a lot people live here. Who lives here? Arab 75-80%, Kurdish 15-20%, other 5% (includes Turkmen, Yezidi, Shabak, Kaka'i, bedouin, Romani, Assyrian, Circassian, Sabaean-Mandaean, Persian). What are the languages in Iraq? Arabic (official), Kurdish (official), Turkmen (a Turkish dialect), Syriac (Neo-Aramaic), and Armenian are official in areas where native speakers of these languages constitute a majority of the population). And the religions: Muslim (official) 95-98% (Shia 64-69%, Sunni 29-34%), Christian 1% (includes Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, Assyrian Church of the East), other 1-4%. How old are the people in average? 20 years. We have to add that this number is the median - so one half of the people is older than this, one half is younger. And what is their life expectancy (at birth)? This: 74.9 years. Where the people live in Iraq? Here: population is concentrated in the north, center, and eastern parts of the country, with many of the larger urban agglomerations found along extensive parts of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers; much of the western and southern areas are either lightly populated or uninhabited. The major urban areas of Iraq are: Baghdad (capital) 6.643 million; Mosul 1.694 million; Erbil 1.166 million; Basra 1.019 million; As Sulaymaniyah 1.004 million; Najaf 889,000 (2015).

Government and Economy of Iraq

The capital of Iraq is Baghdad and the government type federal parliamentary republic. Let's take a look at the administrative divisions - 18 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah (Arabic); parezgakan, singular - parezga (Kurdish)) and 1 region; Al Anbar; Al Basrah; Al Muthanna; Al Qadisiyah (Ad Diwaniyah); An Najaf; Arbil (Erbil) (Arabic), Hewler (Kurdish); As Sulaymaniyah (Arabic), Slemani (Kurdish); Babil; Baghdad; Dahuk (Arabic), Dihok (Kurdish); Dhi Qar; Diyala; Karbala'; Kirkuk; Kurdistan Regional Government; Maysan; Ninawa; Salah ad Din; Wasit. Regarding the economy of Iraq, important industrial products are petroleum, chemicals, textiles, leather, construction materials, food processing, fertilizer, metal fabrication/processing. Important agricultural products are wheat, barley, rice, vegetables, dates, cotton; cattle, sheep, poultry. The most important export commodities are crude oil 99%, crude materials excluding fuels, food, live animals and the most important export partners are China 21.9%, India 20.6%, US 12.3%, South Korea 10.3%, Italy 6.8%, Greece 5.4% (2016). The most important import commodities are food, medicine, manufactures and the most important import partners are China 26.9%, Turkey 26.6%, South Korea 5%, US 4.4% (2016). How rich is Iraq and how rich are people in this country? The most important number here is GDP per capita (PPP): $17,000 (2017 est.). This is quite good. Let's add that this means Gross Domestic Product per person, which is recalculated with respect to the relative cost of local goods and services. And one more important number - population below poverty line: 23% (2014 est.).

Map of Iraq