Iraq - IQ - IRQ - IRQ - Middle East

Last updated: April 16, 2024

Iraq Images

Sunset in Sulaymaniyah, a city in the eastern part of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The modern city was founded by a Kurdish prince in 1784 who named it after his father Sulaiman Pasha. Sulaymaniyah has over 1.5 million inhabitants and an economy based on agriculture and tourism.
Much of the sediment clouding the water in this image of the Persian Gulf is from the Shatt al Arab River, which enters the Gulf in the north along the Iran-Iraq border. The river drains the combined waters of the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers of Iraq, and the Karun River of Iran. Though other rivers empty into the Persian Gulf, most of its fresh water comes from the Shatt al Arab. On the right edge of the image is the narrow Strait of Hormuz, which connects the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Sea, part of the northern Indian Ocean. The Persian Gulf is flanked to the west by wedge-shaped Kuwait and by Saudi Arabia with its vast tan-, pink-, and white-sand deserts; to the south by Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman; and to the east by the dry mountains of Iran. The wetlands and rivers of Mesopotamia border the Gulf on the north. The red dots mark gas flares in oil fields of Iran and Iraq. Image courtesy of NASA.
Soldiers and civilians prepare to enter the ancient city of Babylon for a tour. The entrance to the ruins is a reconstruction of the Ishtar Gate. The original gate - built by Nebuchadnezzar II in 575 B.C. and dedicated to Ishtar, the goddess of love and war - was dismantled by German archeologists in the early 20th century and reconstructed in the Pergamon Museum in Berlin. Photo courtesy of the US Department of Defense/ Sgt. Debralee Best.
Soldiers stand guard within the walls of the ancient city of Babylon. Some of the ruins were reconstructed by Saddam Hussein. Photo courtesy of the US Department of Defense/ Sgt. Debralee Best.
View from Saddam Hussein's former summer palace showing the ruins of ancient Babylon in the background. Photo courtesy of the US Navy/ Arlo K. Abrahamson.
US Marines visiting the site of the rebuilt ruins of Babylon. Photo courtesy of the US Marine Corps/ Gunnery Sergeant Daniel O'Connell.
The Great Ziggurat of Ur stands after 4,000 years. Construction on the ziggurat was completed in the 21st century B.C. in the ancient Sumerian city of Ur near present-day Nasiriyah on the Euphrates River, about 370 km (225 mi) southeast of Baghdad. The ziggurat was part of a temple complex that served as an administrative center for the city, and that was also a shrine of the moon god Nanna, the patron deity of Ur. The site was extensively excavated between 1922 to 1934. Part of the facade of the lower stage and the ceremonial stairway were reconstructed by the regime of Saddam Hussein. Photo courtesy of the US Air Force / Tech. Sgt. Christopher Marasky.
The Great Ziggurat at Ur as seen through the archway of a side building. Photo courtesy of the US Department of Defense/ Staff Sgt. Adelita Mead.
Closer view of the Great Ziggurat at Ur showing some of the architectural details. Photo courtesy of the US Department of Defense/ Spc. Chastity Boykin.
View looking up the main stairway of the Great Ziggurat at Ur. The solitary figure at the top gives some idea of the immensity of the structure. Photo courtesy of the US Department of Defense/ Spc. Samantha Ciaramitaro.
Front right side stairway of the Great Ziggurat at Ur. Photo courtesy of the US Department of Defense/ Pfc. J. P. Lawrence.
The Great Ziggurat at Ur viewed from a Black Hawk helicopter. Photo courtesy of the US Department of Defense/ Spc. Ernest Sivia III.
Aerial view of the ruins of the ancient city of Hatra, located approximately 290 km (180 mi) northwest of Baghdad. Hatra was a strongly fortified caravan city and capital of the small Kingdom of Hatra, located between the Parthian and Roman Empires. Hatra flourished during the 2nd century A.D., but was destroyed and deserted in the 3rd century. Its impressive ruins were discovered in the 19th century. Photo courtesy of the US Department of Defense / Sgt. 1st Class Wendy Butts.
The remains of several temples and the ancient walls that surrounded them can be seen from atop the highest temple in the center of the ancient city of Hatra. Photo courtesy of the US Department of Defense.
Another view of the Hatra archeological site. Hatra is one of three areas in Iraq that is a World Heritage Site. Photo courtesy of the US Department of Defense/ Staff Sgt. JoAnn Makinano.
The Parthian Temple of Mrn is one of thirteen temples that are a part of the Hatra complex. Hatra is one of three areas in Iraq that is a World Heritage Site. Photo courtesy of the US Department of Defense/ Staff Sgt. JoAnn Makinano.
Halamata Cave is an archaeological site near Duhok in the Kurdistan Region, which contains Assyrian relief carvings (known as the Maltai reliefs) carved into a cliff-side. The carvings date back to the reign of Assyrian King Sennacherib (704-681 B.C.) and depict the ruler worshipping the main divinities of this time period. The carvings are unique from other Assyrian royal art in that the king is represented gesturing in front of gods shown in human form and not as divine symbols.
Amadiya or Amedi is a town located on a mesa in the Kurdistan Region of northern Iraq. The Bahdinan Gate is the entrance to the citadel of Al Amadiya, which was built for the defense of Amadiya and as part of a trading route between Amadiya, Mosul, Sinjar, and Baghdad. The gate is 4 m (13 ft) wide with a large winding stone staircase leading to it and has carvings of unknown people, the sun, and a cord with multiple loops.
Sunset in Sulaymaniyah, a city in the eastern part of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The modern city was founded by a Kurdish prince in 1784 who named it after his father Sulaiman Pasha. Sulaymaniyah has over 1.5 million inhabitants and an economy based on agriculture and tourism.
Much of the sediment clouding the water in this image of the Persian Gulf is from the Shatt al Arab River, which enters the Gulf in the north along the Iran-Iraq border. The river drains the combined waters of the Euphrates and Tigris Rivers of Iraq, and the Karun River of Iran. Though other rivers empty into the Persian Gulf, most of its fresh water comes from the Shatt al Arab. On the right edge of the image is the narrow Strait of Hormuz, which connects the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Sea, part of the northern Indian Ocean. The Persian Gulf is flanked to the west by wedge-shaped Kuwait and by Saudi Arabia with its vast tan-, pink-, and white-sand deserts; to the south by Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman; and to the east by the dry mountains of Iran. The wetlands and rivers of Mesopotamia border the Gulf on the north. The red dots mark gas flares in oil fields of Iran and Iraq. Image courtesy of NASA.

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Iraq Factbook Data

Diplomatic representation from the US

chief of mission: Ambassador Alina L. ROMANOWSKI (since 2 June 2022)

embassy: Al-Kindi Street, International Zone, Baghdad; note - consulate in Al Basrah closed as of 28 September 2018

mailing address: 6060 Baghdad Place, Washington DC 20521-6060

telephone: 0760-030-3000

email address and website:
BaghdadACS@state.gov

https://iq.usembassy.gov/

Age structure

0-14 years: 35.24% (male 7,428,445/female 7,113,723)

15-64 years: 61.17% (male 12,692,897/female 12,548,936)

65 years and over: 3.59% (2023 est.) (male 658,844/female 823,264)

This is the population pyramid for Iraq. A population pyramid illustrates the age and sex structure of a country's population and may provide insights about political and social stability, as well as economic development. The population is distributed along the horizontal axis, with males shown on the left and females on the right. The male and female populations are broken down into 5-year age groups represented as horizontal bars along the vertical axis, with the youngest age groups at the bottom and the oldest at the top. The shape of the population pyramid gradually evolves over time based on fertility, mortality, and international migration trends.

For additional information, please see the entry for Population pyramid on the Definitions and Notes page.

Geographic coordinates

33 00 N, 44 00 E

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female

15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female

total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2023 est.)

Heliports

10 (2024)

Natural hazards

dust storms; sandstorms; floods

Area - comparative

slightly more than three times the size of New York state

slightly more than three times the size of New York state

Military service age and obligation

18-40 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription (2022)

note: service in the armed forces was mandatory in Iraq from 1935 up until 2003; in 2021, the Iraqi cabinet approved a draft law to reinstate compulsory military service and referred the proposed law, called the “Service Under the Flag Law,” to the Iraqi parliament

Background

Formerly part of the Ottoman Empire, Iraq was occupied by the United Kingdom during World War I and was declared a League of Nations mandate under UK administration in 1920. Iraq attained its independence as a kingdom in 1932. It was proclaimed a "republic" in 1958 after a coup overthrew the monarchy, 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. After Iraq's expulsion, 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 led to the Second Gulf War in March 2003 and the ouster of the SADDAM Husayn regime by US-led 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. Iraq's constitution also established the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), a semi-autonomous region that administers the governorates of Erbil, Dahuk, and As Sulaymaniyah. Iraq has held four national legislative elections since 2006, most recently in October 2021 when 329 legislators were elected to the COR. Following these elections and Iraq's longest government formation process in the post-SADDAM era, the COR approved Mohammad Shia' al-SUDANI as prime minister in October 2022. Iraq has repeatedly postponed separate elections for provincial councils - last held in 2013 - and since 2019 the prime minister has had the authority to appoint governors rather than provincial councils. In early 2023, the COR voted to hold provincial elections by the end of the year.

Between 2014 and 2017, Iraq fought a military campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS) to recapture territory the group seized in 2014. In December 2017, then-Prime Minister Haydar al-ABADI publicly declared victory against ISIS, although military operations against the group continue in rural areas. Also in late 2017, Baghdad forcefully seized disputed territories across central and northern Iraq from the KRG, following a non-binding Kurdish independence referendum.

Environment - current issues

government water control projects 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; soil degradation (salination) and erosion; desertification; military and industrial infrastructure has released heavy metals and other hazardous substances into the air, soil, and groundwater; major sources of environmental damage are effluents from oil refineries, factory and sewage discharges into rivers, fertilizer and chemical contamination of the soil, and industrial air pollution in urban areas

Environment - international agreements

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands

signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Environmental Modification

Population below poverty line

23% (2014 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share

lowest 10%: 3.6%

highest 10%: 25.7% (2007 est.)

Exports - commodities

crude petroleum, refined petroleum, gold, petroleum coke, natural gas (2021)

Exports - partners

China 26%, India 24%, South Korea 9%, United States 8%, Italy 6%, Greece 6% (2019)

Administrative divisions

18 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah (Arabic); parezgakan, singular - parezga (Kurdish)); '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; Maysan; Ninawa; Salah ad Din; Wasit

note: Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Government administers Arbil, Dahuk, and As Sulaymaniyah (as Hewler, Dihok, and Slemani respectively)

Agricultural products

wheat, barley, dates, tomatoes, rice, maize, grapes, potatoes, watermelons

Military and security forces

Ministry of Defense: Iraqi Army, Army Aviation Command, Iraqi Navy, Iraqi Air Force, Iraqi Air Defense Command, Special Forces Command, Special Security Division

National-Level Security Forces: Iraqi Counterterrorism Service (CTS; reports to the Prime Minister), Prime Minister's Special Forces Division, Presidential Brigades

Ministry of Interior: Federal Police Forces Command, Border Guard Forces Command, Federal Intelligence and Investigations Agency, Emergency Response Division, Facilities Protection Directorate, and Provincial Police

Ministry of Oil: Energy Police Directorate

Popular Mobilization Committee (PMC): Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), Tribal Mobilization Forces (TMF); the PMF and TMF are a collection of more than 50 militias of widely varied sizes and political interests

the federal constitution provides the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) the right to maintain its own military/militia (peshmerga) and security forces, but the two main Kurdish political parties, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), each maintain their own forces and participate in the staffing of the joint KDP-PUK Regional Guard Brigades:

KRG Ministry of Peshmerga: Unit (or Division) 70 Forces and Counter Terrorism Group (CTG) of the PUK; Unit (or Division) 80 Forces and Counterterrorism Directorate (CTD) of the KDP; Regional Guard Brigades

KRG Ministry of Interior: both the KDP and PUK maintain separate police, emergency response, and internal security/intelligence (Asayish) services under nominal Ministry of Interior control (2023)

Budget

revenues: $51.534 billion (2020 est.)

expenditures: $85.546 billion (2020 est.)

Capital

name: Baghdad

geographic coordinates: 33 20 N, 44 24 E

time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)

etymology: although the origin of the name is disputed, it likely has compound Persian roots with bagh and dad meaning "god" and "given" respectively to create the meaning of "bestowed by God"

Imports - commodities

refined petroleum, broadcasting equipment, cars, jewelry, cigarettes (2019)

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

Coastline

58 km

Constitution

history: several previous; latest adopted by referendum 15 October 2005

amendments: proposed by the president of the republic and the Council of Minsters collectively, or by one fifth of the Council of Representatives members; passage requires at least two-thirds majority vote by the Council of Representatives, approval by referendum, and ratification by the president; passage of amendments to articles on citizen rights and liberties requires two-thirds majority vote of Council of Representatives members after two successive electoral terms, approval in a referendum, and ratification by the president

Exchange rates

Iraqi dinars (IQD) per US dollar -

Exchange rates:
1,450 (2022 est.)
1,450 (2021 est.)
1,192 (2020 est.)
1,182 (2019 est.)
1,182.75 (2018 est.)

Executive branch

chief of state: President Latif RASHID (since 13 October 2022); vice presidents (vacant)

head of government: Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-SUDANI (since 27 October 2022)

cabinet: Council of Ministers proposed by the prime minister, approved by Council of Representatives (COR)

elections/appointments: president indirectly elected by COR to serve a 4-year term (eligible for a second term); COR parliamentary election for president last held on 13 October 2022 (next to be held NA)

election results:
2022: Latif RASHID elected president in second round; COR vote in first round - Latif RASHID (PUK) 157, Barham SALIH (PUK) 99; COR vote in second round - Latif RASHID 167, Barham SALIH 99; Mohammed Shia' al-SUDANI approved as prime minister

2018: Barham SALIH elected president in second round; COR vote in first round - Barham SALIH (PUK) 165, Fuad HUSAYN (KDP) 90; COR vote in second round - Barham SALIH 219, Fuad HUSAYN 22; Adil ABD AL-MAHDI approved as prime minister

Fiscal year

calendar year

Flag description

three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black; the Takbir (Arabic expression meaning "God is great") in green Arabic script is centered in the white band; the band colors derive from the Arab Liberation flag and represent oppression (black), overcome through bloody struggle (red), to be replaced by a bright future (white); the Council of Representatives approved this flag in 2008 as a compromise replacement for the Ba'thist SADDAM-era flag

note: 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 golden Eagle of Saladin centered in the white band

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

Industries

petroleum, chemicals, textiles, leather, construction materials, food processing, fertilizer, metal fabrication/processing

Judicial branch

highest court(s): Federal Supreme Court or FSC (consists of 9 judges); note - court jurisdiction limited to constitutional issues, application of federal laws, ratification of election results for the COR, judicial competency disputes, and disputes between regions or governorates and the central government; Court of Cassation (consists of a court president, 5 vice presidents, and at least 24 judges)

judge selection and term of office: Federal Supreme Court (FSC) judges nominated by the High Judicial Council (HJC) president, the FSC chief justice, the public prosecutor's office chief, and the head of the Judicial Oversight Commission; FSC members required to retire at age 72; Court of Cassation judges appointed by the HJC and confirmed by the Council of Representatives to serve until retirement, nominally at age 63, but can be extended to age 66 by the HJC

subordinate courts: Courts of Appeal (governorate level); civil courts, including first instance, personal status, labor, and customs; criminal courts including felony, misdemeanor, investigative, major crimes, juvenile, and traffic courts

Land boundaries

total: 3,809 km

border countries (6): Iran 1,599 km; Jordan 179 km; Kuwait 254 km; Saudi Arabia 811 km; Syria 599 km; Turkey 367 km

Land use

agricultural land: 18.1% (2018 est.)

arable land: 8.4% (2018 est.)

permanent crops: 0.5% (2018 est.)

permanent pasture: 9.2% (2018 est.)

forest: 1.9% (2018 est.)

other: 80% (2018 est.)

Legal system

mixed legal system of civil and Islamic law

Legislative branch

description: unicameral Council of Representatives of Iraq (COR) or Majlis an-Nuwwab al-Iraqiyy (329 seats; 320 members directly elected in 83 multi-seat constituencies by single nontransferable vote, 9 seats elected by religious minorities - 5 by Christians, 1 each by Sabaean-Mandaeans, Yazidis, Shabaks andFayli Kurds, and 25% of seats allocated to women; members serve 4-year terms)

elections:
last held on 10 October 2021 (next to be held in 2025)

election results:
percent of vote by party/coalition - NA; seats by party/coalition - Taqadum 47, State of Law Coalition 43, Al Fatah Alliance 37, Kurdistan Democratic Party 31, Kurdistan Coalition 18, Azm Alliance 16, Imtidad 16, State Forces Alliance 11, Ishraqat Kanun 10, New Generation Movement 9, National Contract Party 8, Tasmim Alliance 7, Babiliyun Movement 3, other 73; composition - men 234, women 95, percentage women 29.2%; note - seat counts reflect updated numbers following the 12 June 2022 Sadrist Trend withdrawal from government formation, and its 73 seats were reallocated to other parties

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 85.6%

male: 91.2%

female: 79.9% (2017)

Maritime claims

territorial sea: 12 nm

continental shelf: not specified

International organization participation

ABEDA, AFESD, AIIB, AMF, CAEU, CICA, EITI (compliant country), FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)

National holiday

Independence Day, 3 October (1932); Republic Day, 14 July (1958)

Nationality

noun: Iraqi(s)

adjective: Iraqi

Natural resources

petroleum, natural gas, phosphates, sulfur

Geography - note

strategic location on Shatt al Arab waterway and at the head of the Persian Gulf

Economic overview

oil-dependent Middle Eastern economy; COVID-19 disruption and domestic economy fragility post-US presence; poverty increases; currency devaluation leading to inflation; import-dependent for most sectors; evaluating fiscal and monetary restructuring

Pipelines

2,455 km gas, 913 km liquid petroleum gas, 5,432 km oil, 1,637 km refined products (2013)

Political parties and leaders

Al Fatah Alliance [Hadi al-AMIRI]
Azm Alliance [Khamis al-KHANJAR]
Babiliyun Movement [Rayan al-KILDANI]
Imtidad [Ala al-RIKABI]
Ishraqat Konun [Jaafar AZIZ]
Kurdistan Democratic Party F [Masud BARZANI]
National Contract Party [Falih al-FAYYAD]
New Generation Movement [SHASWAR Abd al-Wahid Qadir]
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan [Bafel TALABANI]
Sadrist Bloc [Muqtada al-SADR]
State Forces Alliance [Haydar al-ABADI]
State of Law Coalition [Nuri al-MALIKI]
Taqadum [Muhammad al-HALBUSI]
Tasmim Alliance [Asad al-IDANI]

numerous smaller independent, religious, local, tribal, and minority parties

Ports and terminals

river port(s): Al Basrah (Shatt al Arab); Khawr az Zubayr, Umm Qasr (Khawr az Zubayr waterway)

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Telecommunication systems

general assessment: civil stability has made it easier for mobile and fixed-line operators to rebuild telecom services and infrastructure damaged during previous periods of violence; the government extended the licenses held by the MNOs for an additional three years to compensate for the chaos and destruction caused between 2014 and 2017 when Islamic State controlled many areas of the country; the companies have struggled to develop LTE services; most services are still based on GSM and 3G, except in Iraq's Kurdistan region where LTE is more widely available (2022)

domestic: about 7 per 100 for fixed-line and 86 per 100 for mobile-cellular subscriptions (2021)

international: country code - 964; landing points for FALCON, and GBICS/MENA submarine cables providing connections to the Middle East, Africa and India; satellite earth stations - 4 (2 Intelsat - 1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean, 1 Intersputnik - Atlantic Ocean region, and 1 Arabsat (inoperative)); local microwave radio relay connects border regions to Jordan, Kuwait, Syria, and Turkey (2019)

Terrain

mostly broad plains; reedy marshes along Iranian border in south with large flooded areas; mountains along borders with Iran and Turkey

Government type

federal parliamentary republic

Country name

conventional long form: Republic of Iraq

conventional short form: Iraq

local long form: Jumhuriyat al-Iraq/Komar-i Eraq

local short form: Al Iraq/Eraq

former: Mesopotamia, Mandatory Iraq, Hashemite Kingdom of Iraq

etymology: the name probably derives from "Uruk" (Biblical "Erech"), the ancient Sumerian and Babylonian city on the Euphrates River

Location

Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iran and Kuwait

Map references

Middle East

Irrigated land

35,250 sq km (2012)

Diplomatic representation in the US

chief of mission: Ambassador Nazar Issa Abdulhadi AL-KHIRULLAH (since 30 June 2023)

chancery: 1801 P Street NW, Washington, DC 20036

telephone: [1] (202) 483-7500

FAX: [1] (202) 462-8815

email address and website:
washington@scrdiraq.gov.iq

https://www.iraqiembassy.us/

consulate(s) general: Detroit, Los Angeles

Internet country code

.iq

Major infectious diseases

degree of risk: intermediate (2023)

food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

Refugees and internally displaced persons

refugees (country of origin): 7,864 (West Bank and Gaza Strip) (mid-year 2022); 273,258 (Syria), 8,575 (Iran), 8,091 (Turkey) (2023)

IDPs: 1.142 million (displacement in central and northern Iraq since January 2014) (2023)

stateless persons: 47,253 (2022); note - in the 1970s and 1980s under SADDAM Husayn's regime, thousands of Iraq's Faili Kurds, followers of Shia Islam, were stripped of their Iraqi citizenship, had their property seized by the government, and many were deported; some Faili Kurds had their citizenship reinstated under the 2006 Iraqi Nationality Law, but others lack the documentation to prove their Iraqi origins; some Palestinian refugees persecuted by the SADDAM regime remain stateless

GDP (official exchange rate)

$264.182 billion (2022 est.)

note: data in current dollars at official exchange rate

Credit ratings

Fitch rating: B- (2015)

Moody's rating: Caa1 (2017)

Standard & Poors rating: B- (2015)

note: The year refers to the year in which the current credit rating was first obtained.

Total renewable water resources

89.86 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 71.6% of total population (2023)

rate of urbanization: 2.91% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

total population growth rate v. urban population growth rate, 2000-2030

Broadcast media

the number of private radio and TV stations has increased rapidly since 2003; government-owned TV and radio stations are operated by the publicly funded Iraqi Media Network; private broadcast media are mostly linked to political, ethnic, or religious groups; satellite TV is available to an estimated 70% of viewers and many of the broadcasters are based abroad; transmissions of multiple international radio broadcasters are accessible (2019)

Drinking water source

improved: urban: 100% of population

rural: 97.4% of population

total: 99.3% of population

unimproved: urban: 0% of population

rural: 2.6% of population

total: 0.7% of population (2020 est.)

National anthem

name: "Mawtini" (My Homeland)

lyrics/music: Ibrahim TOUQAN/Mohammad FLAYFEL

note: adopted 2004; following the ouster of SADDAM Husayn, Iraq adopted "Mawtini," a popular folk song throughout the Arab world; also serves as an unofficial anthem of the Palestinian people

This is an audio of the National Anthem for Iraq. The national anthem is generally a patriotic musical composition - usually in the form of a song or hymn of praise - that evokes and eulogizes the history, traditions, or struggles of a nation or its people. National anthems can be officially recognized as a national song by a country's constitution or by an enacted law, or simply by tradition. Although most anthems contain lyrics, some do not.

Major urban areas - population

7.711 million BAGHDAD (capital), 1.792 million Mosul, 1.448 million Basra, 1.075 million Kirkuk, 958,000 Najaf, 897,000 Erbil (2023)

International law organization participation

has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

Physicians density

0.97 physicians/1,000 population (2020)

Hospital bed density

1.3 beds/1,000 population (2017)

National symbol(s)

golden eagle; national colors: red, white, black

Contraceptive prevalence rate

52.8% (2018)

GDP - composition, by end use

household consumption: 50.4% (2013 est.)

government consumption: 22.9% (2016 est.)

investment in fixed capital: 20.6% (2016 est.)

investment in inventories: 0% (2016 est.)

exports of goods and services: 32.5% (2016 est.)

imports of goods and services: -40.9% (2016 est.)

Dependency ratios

total dependency ratio: 71

youth dependency ratio: 65.2

elderly dependency ratio: 5.8

potential support ratio: 17.1 (2021 est.)

Citizenship

citizenship by birth: no

citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Iraq

dual citizenship recognized: yes

residency requirement for naturalization: 10 years

Population distribution

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

Electricity access

electrification - total population: 100% (2021)

National air transport system

number of registered air carriers: 4 (2020)

inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 34

annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 2,075,065 (2018)

annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 16.2 million (2018) mt-km

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Sanitation facility access

improved: urban: 100% of population

rural: 100% of population

total: 100% of population

unimproved: urban: 0% of population

rural: 0% of population

total: 0% of population (2020 est.)

Ethnic groups

Arab 75-80%, Kurdish 15-20%, other 5% (includes Turkmen, Yezidi, Shabak, Kaka'i, Bedouin, Romani, Assyrian, Circassian, Sabaean-Mandaean, Persian)

note: data is a 1987 government estimate; no more recent reliable numbers are available

Religions

Muslim (official) 95-98% (Shia 61-64%, Sunni 29-34%), Christian 1% (includes Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, Assyrian Church of the East), other 1-4% (2015 est.)

note: the last census in Iraq was in 1997; while there has been voluntary relocation of many Christian families to northern Iraq, the overall Christian population has decreased at least 50% and perhaps as much as 90% since 2003, according to US Embassy estimates, with many fleeing to Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon

MENA religious affiliation

Languages

Arabic (official), Kurdish (official); Turkmen (a Turkish dialect) and Syriac (Neo-Aramaic) are recognized as official languages where native speakers of these languages are present; Iraqis have the right to be educated in their native language

major-language sample(s):
كتاب حقائق العالم، أحسن مصدر للمعلومات الأساسية (Arabic)

ڕاستییەکانی جیهان، باشترین سەرچاوەیە بۆ زانیارییە بنەڕەتییەکان (Kurdish)

The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.

Arabic audio sample

Kurdish audio sample

Imports - partners

United Arab Emirates 28%, Turkey 21%, China 19% (2019)

Disputes - international

Iraq-Iran: Iraq's lack of a maritime boundary with Iran prompts jurisdiction disputes beyond the mouth of the Shatt al Arab in the Persian Gulf

Iraq-Kuwait: undemarcated maritime boundary; Kuwait has called on Iraq to resolve the domestic legal status of the 2012 Kuwait-Iraq Agreement to regulate maritime navigation in Khor Abdullah and ensure that the agreement remains in force

Iraq-Turkey: Turkey maintains a military presence in northern Iraq to combat the Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK) terrorist group; it periodically conducts air strikes and has conducted large military operations involving thousands of troops in 2007, 2011, and 2018, and smaller-scale operations in 2021 and 2022

Elevation

highest point: Cheekha Dar (Kurdish for "Black Tent") 3,611 m

lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m

mean elevation: 312 m

Current health expenditure

5.1% of GDP (2020)

Military - note

the Iraqi security forces (ISF), including conventional air and ground forces, are primarily focused on internal security duties; they are actively conducting counterinsurgency and counterterrorism operations against the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS) terrorist group, particularly in northern and western Iraq; the Counter Terrorism Service (CTS), a highly regarded force comprised of three special forces brigades, is the ISF's principal operational unit against ISIS

Kurdish Security Forces (KSF, aka Peshmerga) also conducted operations against ISIS; the KSF were formally recognized as a legitimate Iraqi military force under the country’s constitution and have operated jointly with the Iraqi military against ISIS militants, but they also operate outside of Iraqi military command structure; since 2021, the ISF and the KSF have conducted joint counter-ISIS operations in an area known as the Kurdish Coordination Line (KCL), a swath of disputed territory in northern Iraq claimed by both the Kurdistan Regional Government and the central Iraqi Government; the KSF/Peshmerga report to the Kurdistan Regional Government or Kurdistan Democratic Party and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan parties instead of the Iraqi Ministry of Defense

Popular Mobilization Commission and Affiliated Forces (PMF or PMC), also known as Popular Mobilization Units (PMU, or al-Hashd al-Sha’abi in Arabic), tribal militia units have fought alongside the Iraqi military against ISIS since 2014, but the majority of these forces continue to largely ignore the 2016 Law of the Popular Mobilization Authority, which mandated that armed militias must be regulated in a fashion similar to Iraq’s other security forces and act under the Iraqi Government’s direct control; the Iraqi Government funds the PMF, and the prime minister legally commands it, but many of the militia units take orders from associated political parties and/or other government officials, including some with ties to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and some that have been designated as terrorist organizations by the US; the PMF/PMU is an umbrella organization comprised of many different militias, the majority of which are Shia:

--Shia militias backed by Iran; they are considered the most active and capable, and include such groups as the Badr Organization (Saraya al-Sala), Asaib Ahl al-Haq, and Kataib Hizballah

--Shia militias affiliated with Shia political parties, but not aligned with Iran, such as the Peace Brigades (Saray al-Salam)

--Shia militias not connected with political parties, but affiliated with the Najaf-based Grand Ayatollah Ali al-SISTANI (Iraq’s supreme Shia cleric), such as the Hawza militias

--other PMF/PMU militias include Sunni Tribal Mobilization militias, or Hashd al-Asha’iri; some of these militias take orders from the ISF and local authorities while others respond to orders from the larger Shia PMU militias; still other militias include Yazidi and Christian militias and the Turkmen brigades; the links of these forces to the PMU are not always clear-cut and may be loosely based on financial, legal, or political incentives

two international military task forces operate in Iraq to assist the country's security forces at the request of the Iraqi Government; in October 2018, NATO established an advisory, training and capacity-building mission for the Iraqi military known as the NATO Mission Iraq (NMI); in December 2021, a US-led task force that leads the defeat ISIS mission in Iraq, Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR), transitioned from a combat role to an advise, assist, and enable role (2023)

Military and security service personnel strengths

information varies; approximately 200,000 personnel under the Ministry of Defense (190,000 Army/Aviation Command/Special Forces; 5,000 Navy; 5,000 Air/Air Defense Forces); approximately 25,000 National-Level Security Forces; estimated 125,000 Popular Mobilization Forces

Ministry of Peshmerga: approximately 150,000 (45-50,000 Regional Guard Brigades; 40-45,000 Unit 70 Forces; 65-70,000 Unit 80 Forces) (2023)

Military equipment inventories and acquisitions

the Iraqi military's inventory includes a mix of equipment from a wide variety of sources, including Europe, South Africa, South Korea, Russia, and the US; in recent years, Russia and the US have been the leading suppliers of military hardware to Iraq (2023)

Terrorist group(s)

Terrorist group(s): Ansar al-Islam; Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq; Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)/Qods Force; Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS); Jaysh Rijal al-Tariq al-Naqshabandi; Kata'ib Hizballah; Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)

note: details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in Appendix-T

Food insecurity

severe localized food insecurity: due to civil conflict and economic slowdown - the 2022 Humanitarian Needs Overview identified 2.5 million people in need of humanitarian assistance, of which 960,000 have acute humanitarian needs; while the number of people in need remained similar to the previous year, the severity of those needs increased, largely due to the impact of the COVID‑19 pandemic on top of an existing humanitarian crisis, leading to a 35% increase in the number of people in acute need; more than half of these are concentrated in the governorates of Nineveh and Anbar; the number of severely food insecure people is estimated at about 435,000, while 731,000 are vulnerable to food insecurity (2022)

Total water withdrawal

municipal: 6.9 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

industrial: 5.49 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

agricultural: 44.23 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Waste and recycling

municipal solid waste generated annually: 13.14 million tons (2015 est.)

Average household expenditures

on food: 30.1% of household expenditures (2018 est.)

on alcohol and tobacco: 4.2% of household expenditures (2018 est.)

Air pollutants

particulate matter emissions: 39.29 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

carbon dioxide emissions: 190.06 megatons (2016 est.)

methane emissions: 17.44 megatons (2020 est.)

Trafficking in persons

tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List — Iraq does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so; more traffickers were convicted and officials improved oversight of recruitment agencies in Iraqi Kurdistan Region (IKR); Iraq implemented an action plan to address recruitment or use of children in armed conflict and developed another action plan to prevent recruitment or use of children by the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF); however, the government did not demonstrate overall increasing efforts, compared with the previous reporting period, to expand its anti-trafficking capacity; officials identified fewer trafficking victims and the Kurdistan Regional Government did not report any enforcement or victim data; deficient procedures, and some officials’ limited understanding of trafficking, continued to prevent some victims from receiving protection services; some victims continued to receive inappropriate punishment for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked; the government lacked adequate protection services for victims of all forms of trafficking and did not have shelters for adult males or LBGTQI+ victims; therefore, Iraq was downgraded to Tier 2 Watch List (2023)

trafficking profile: human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in Iraq, as well as Iraqi’s abroad; insecurity throughout Iraq increased the population’s vulnerability to trafficking; more than a million Iraqis remained internally displaced as a result of ISIS, and as of March 2023, more than 260,000 Syrian refugees were displaced in Iraq; refugees and IDPs face heightened risk of forced labor and sex trafficking, and women and girls in IDP camps with family ties to ISIS faced potential sexual exploitation, sex trafficking, and abuse by security and military officials; criminal gangs continued to force women into prostitution and children to beg and sell and transport drugs and weapons; Iraqi refugees in Jordan are vulnerable to labor trafficking; thousands of women and children who escaped ISIS captivity in 2015-2019 remain highly vulnerable to exploitation; children remain vulnerable to forcible recruitment or use by armed groups operating in Iraq, including ISIS, tribal forces, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, and non-PMF Iran-backed militias; Iraqi, Iranian, and Syrian women and girls, as well as LGBTQI+ persons in the IKR and federal Iraq are particularly vulnerable to sex trafficking; traditional practices, including fasliya—the exchange of family members to settle tribal disputes—and forced child and “temporary” marriages also place women and girls at increased risk of trafficking within Iraq; some men and women from Asia and Africa who migrate—both legally and illegally—to Iraq are subjected to forced labor as construction workers, security guards, cleaners, handymen, and domestic workers; the IKR continued to be a destination for trafficking victims primarily from South Asia, sub-Saharan Africa, the Philippines, and neighboring countries; some foreign migrants recruited for work in other countries in the region are forced, coerced, or deceived into working in Iraq and the IKR (2023)

Major aquifers

Arabian Aquifer System

Major watersheds (area sq km)

Indian Ocean drainage: (Persian Gulf) Tigris and Euphrates (918,044 sq km)

Major lakes (area sq km)

fresh water lake(s): Lake Hammar - 1,940 sq km

Major rivers (by length in km)

Euphrates river mouth (shared with Turkey[s], Syria, and Iran) - 3,596 km; Tigris river mouth (shared with Turkey[s], Syria, and Iran) - 1,950 km; the Tigris and Euphrates join to form the Shatt al Arab
note – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

National heritage

total World Heritage Sites: 6 (5 cultural, 1 mixed)

selected World Heritage Site locales: Ashur (Qal'at Sherqat) (c); Babylon (c); Erbil Citadel (c); Hatra (c); Samarra Archaeological City (c); The Ahwar (Marshland) of Southern Iraq: Refuge of Biodiversity and the Relict Landscape of the Mesopotamian Cities (m)

Child marriage

women married by age 15: 7.2%

women married by age 18: 27.9% (2018 est.)

Coal

production: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)

consumption: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)

exports: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)

imports: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)

proven reserves: 0 metric tons (2019 est.)

Electricity generation sources

fossil fuels: 97.8% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)

nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)

solar: 0.1% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)

wind: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)

hydroelectricity: 2.1% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)

tide and wave: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)

geothermal: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)

biomass and waste: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)

Natural gas

production: 10.711 billion cubic meters (2019 est.)

consumption: 18.014 billion cubic meters (2019 est.)

exports: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)

imports: 7.303 billion cubic meters (2019 est.)

proven reserves: 3.729 trillion cubic meters (2021 est.)

Petroleum

total petroleum production: 4.162 million bbl/day (2021 est.)

refined petroleum consumption: 863,300 bbl/day (2019 est.)

crude oil and lease condensate exports: 3.976 million bbl/day (2018 est.)

crude oil and lease condensate imports: 0 bbl/day (2018 est.)

crude oil estimated reserves: 145.019 billion barrels (2021 est.)

Gross reproduction rate

1.55 (2023 est.)

Currently married women (ages 15-49)

65.5% (2023 est.)

Remittances

0.24% of GDP (2022 est.)
0.4% of GDP (2021 est.)
0.36% of GDP (2020 est.)

note: personal transfers and compensation between resident and non-resident individuals/households/entities

Space program overview

stated purpose of current program is to acquire satellites for security, economic, agricultural, industrial, environmental and military purposes; status unclear (2023)

note: further details about the key activities, programs, and milestones of the country’s space program, as well as government spending estimates on the space sector, appear in Appendix S

Space agency/agencies

announced in 2019 that the Iraqi Ministry of Communication was working with France to create a national space agency (2023)

Labor force

11.356 million (2022 est.)

note: number of people ages 15 or older who are employed or seeking work

Youth unemployment rate (ages 15-24)

total: 27.2% (2021 est.)

male: 23.5%

female: 65.2%

Net migration rate

-1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Median age

total: 22.1 years (2023 est.)

male: 21.7 years

female: 22.4 years

Debt - external

$73.02 billion (31 December 2017 est.)
$64.16 billion (31 December 2016 est.)

Maternal mortality ratio

76 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

$97.009 billion (2022 est.)
$64.231 billion (2021 est.)
$54.424 billion (2020 est.)

note: holdings of gold (year-end prices)/foreign exchange/special drawing rights in current dollars

Waterways

5,279 km (2012) (the Euphrates River (2,815 km), Tigris River (1,899 km), and Third River (565 km) are the principal waterways)

Refined petroleum products - imports

255,100 bbl/day (2015 est.)

Public debt

27.44% of GDP (2018 est.)
35.86% of GDP (2017 est.)
29.48% of GDP (2016 est.)

note: central government debt as a % of GDP

Total fertility rate

3.17 children born/woman (2023 est.)

Military expenditures

2.1% of GDP (2022 est.)
3.7% of GDP (2021 est.)
4.1% of GDP (2020 est.)
3.8% of GDP (2019 est.)
4.5% of GDP (2018 est.)

Unemployment rate

15.32% (2022 est.)
16.17% (2021 est.)
15.75% (2020 est.)

note: % of labor force seeking employment

Population

41,266,109 (2023 est.)

Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-)

-4.2% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Internet users

total: 21.56 million (2021 est.)

percent of population: 49% (2021 est.)

Carbon dioxide emissions

143.479 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)

from coal and metallurgical coke: 0 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)

from petroleum and other liquids: 108.14 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)

from consumed natural gas: 35.339 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)

Area

total: 438,317 sq km

land: 437,367 sq km

water: 950 sq km

Taxes and other revenues

1.34% (of GDP) (2019 est.)

note: central government tax revenue as a % of GDP

Real GDP (purchasing power parity)

$409.321 billion (2022 est.)
$382.511 billion (2021 est.)
$376.549 billion (2020 est.)

note: data in 2017 dollars

Roadways

total: 58,592 km (2021)

Airports

71 (2024)

Infant mortality rate

total: 19.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)

male: 20.9 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 17.4 deaths/1,000 live births

Telephones - mobile cellular

total subscriptions: 37,649,112 (2021 est.)

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 86 (2021 est.)

Gini Index coefficient - distribution of family income

29.5 (2012 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

4.99% (2022 est.)
6.04% (2021 est.)
0.57% (2020 est.)

note: annual % change based on consumer prices

Refined petroleum products - exports

8,284 bbl/day (2015 est.)

Current account balance

$58.01 billion (2022 est.)
$24.565 billion (2021 est.)
-$6.306 billion (2020 est.)

note: balance of payments - net trade and primary/secondary income in current dollars

Real GDP per capita

$9,200 (2022 est.)
$8,800 (2021 est.)
$8,800 (2020 est.)

note: data in 2017 dollars

Broadband - fixed subscriptions

total: 6,254,099 (2020 est.)

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 16 (2020 est.)

Tobacco use

total: 18.5% (2020 est.)

male: 35.1% (2020 est.)

female: 1.8% (2020 est.)

Obesity - adult prevalence rate

30.4% (2016)

Energy consumption per capita

63.174 million Btu/person (2019 est.)

Death rate

3.9 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Birth rate

24.2 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Electricity

installed generating capacity: 28.369 million kW (2020 est.)

consumption: 46.493 billion kWh (2019 est.)

exports: 0 kWh (2019 est.)

imports: 14.18 billion kWh (2019 est.)

transmission/distribution losses: 58.502 billion kWh (2019 est.)

Merchant marine

total: 74 (2023)

by type: general cargo 1, oil tanker 6, other 67

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

3.9% (2018)

Imports

$69.162 billion (2022 est.)
$50.707 billion (2021 est.)
$54.865 billion (2020 est.)

note: balance of payments - imports of goods and services in current dollars

Exports

$127.079 billion (2022 est.)
$78.261 billion (2021 est.)
$50.666 billion (2020 est.)

note: balance of payments - exports of goods and services in current dollars

Telephones - fixed lines

total subscriptions: 2,392,422 (2022 est.)

subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 7 (2021 est.)

Refined petroleum products - production

398,000 bbl/day (2015 est.)

Alcohol consumption per capita

total: 0.16 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

beer: 0.11 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

wine: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

spirits: 0.04 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

other alcohols: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 73.5 years (2023 est.)

male: 71.6 years

female: 75.4 years

Real GDP growth rate

7.01% (2022 est.)
1.58% (2021 est.)
-12.04% (2020 est.)

note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency

Industrial production growth rate

11.15% (2022 est.)

note: annual % change in industrial value added based on constant local currency

Railways

total: 2,272 km (2014)

standard gauge: 2,272 km (2014) 1.435-m gauge

GDP - composition, by sector of origin

agriculture: 3.3% (2017 est.)

industry: 51% (2017 est.)

services: 45.8% (2017 est.)

Revenue from forest resources

0% of GDP (2018 est.)

Revenue from coal

0% of GDP (2018 est.)

Education expenditures

4.7% of GDP (2016)

Population growth rate

1.94% (2023 est.)

Sources: