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: 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 and sulfur
Land use:
arable land: 13.15%
permanent crops: 0.78%
other: 86.07% (2001)
Irrigated land:
35,250 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards:
Dust storms, sandstorms, floods
Environment - current issues:

A Marsh Arab woman carries a bundle toward her home. The new Iraqi government is working to restore the southern marshlands that Saddam Hussein's regime destroyed.

From 1991 to 2003, the Ba'athist regime nearly destroyed the Mesopotamian Marshlands, one of the world's largest wetland systems.  Massive drainage structures diverted water from 8,000-square-miles of marshes. The drainage targeted the unique, 5,000-year-old Marsh Arab society, seen by Saddam as disloyal and unmanageable after the Shi'a insurrection of 1991.

Environment - international agreements:
party to: 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:
25,374,691 (July 2004 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 40.3% (male 5,198,966; female 5,039,173)
15-64 years: 56.7% (male 7,280,167; female 7,094,688)
65 years and over: 3% (male 357,651; female 404,046) (2004 est.)
Median age:
Total: 19.2 years
Male: 19.1 years
Female: 19.3 years (2004 est.)
Population growth rate:
2.74% (2004 est.)
Birth rate:
33.09 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Death rate:
5.66 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Net migration rate:
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 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: 0.89 male(s)/female
Total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2004 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
Total: 52.71 deaths/1,000 live births
Male: 58.58 deaths/1,000 live births
Female: 46.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
Total population: 68.26 years
Male: 67.09 years
Female: 69.48 years (2004 est.)
Total fertility rate:
4.4 children born/woman (2004 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: 40.4%
Male: 55.9%
Female: 24.4% (2003 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:

The new 4-year Iraqi Council of Representatives takes the oath of office in March 2006.

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:
Oct. 3, 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. In March 2006, the permanent Iraqi government was seated.
National holiday:
Revolution Day, July 17 (1968); Note - this holiday was celebrated under the Saddam Hussein regime, but the permanent Iraqi government has yet to declare a new national holiday
Constitution:
Ratified in October 2005. 
Legal system:

Rule of Law in Iraq depends upon these pillars: the judiciary, police, detention facilities, integration of justice, transitional justice, access to justice and the legal framework.

Based on Rule of Law. Progress has occurred with the adoption of an Iraqi Constitution that encompasses fundamental rights and freedoms, development of an Iraqi Corrections Service that increasingly operates in accordance with international standards, and with the functioning and expansion of the Central Criminal Court of Iraq. Increasing coordination among the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Justice and High Juridical Council can be observed as they work together to integrate police, courts and prisons.  These developments form a foundation from which total reform of Iraq's criminal justice system, which encompasses the police, prison, and judiciary systems, is possible.

Suffrage:
Formerly 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
President Jalal Talabani, Vice President Adil Abd-al-Mahdi,Vice President Tariq al-Hashimi, Prime Minister Nouri Al-Maliki
Cabinet: 33 ministers were appointed by the prime minister and confirmed by the Council of Representatives in May 2006. The remaining three ministers, Minister of Interior Jawad al-Bolani , Minister of Defense Abdul Qadir Mohammed Jasim, Minister of National Security Affairs Shirwan al-Waili were confirmed in June 2006.

Legislative branch:
Council of Representatives elected in December 2005 and seated in March 2006.
Key leaders: Speaker of the Iraqi House of Represntatives Mahmud al-Mashhadani, First Deputy Speaker Khalid al-Atiyah, Second Deputy Speaker Arif Tayfur

Judicial branch:
Supreme Court appointed by the prime minister, confirmed by the Council of Representatives

Parliamentary political parties and leaders:

Shia parties on the United Iraqi Alliance list:

Diplomatic representation in the US:
Chief of mission: Ambassador Samir Shakir Mahmoud al-Sumayda'i (since April 2006)
Chancery: 1801 P Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20036
Telephone: [1] (202) 483-7500
FAX: [1] (202) 462-5066

Diplomatic representation from the US:
Chief of mission: Ambassador Dr. Zalmay Khalilzad (since April 2005)
Embassy: Baghdad
Mailing address: APO AE 09316
Telephone: 00-1-240-553-0584 ext. 4354; note - Consular Section
FAX: NA

Flag description:

A female Iraqi Police officer waves the Iraqi flag during an Iraqi Police graduation ceremony at Camp Shield, Iraq, July 21, 2005. U.S. Army photo by Spc. Ben Brody

Iraq's economy was grossly mismanaged for 25 years under Saddam Hussein. Iraq, once self sufficient in agriculture and with tremendous oil wealth, a vibrant private sector and an educated and skilled population, has gone from being one of the most advanced nations in the Middle East to a country with some of the lowest human development indicators in the region.

Iraq possesses significant resources that are underutilized. Among these are oil, water, arable land, low-cost labor, many historic/religious sites and natural beauty. The country has great potential for growth in oil, natural gas, agriculture, tourism and production.

Iraq is saddled with high budget expenditures due in large part to subsidies intended by Saddam Hussein to buy political support by providing virtually free food through the public distribution system, free electricity and subsidized gasoline. All of these programs continue to absorb a significant portion of the budget.

The economy is steadily growing. The International Monetary Fund estimates that Gross Domestic Product grew by 2.6 percent in 2005 to about $33 billion or $1,190 per person, and is expected to grow by 10.4 percent in 2006.
Iraq achieved a fiscal surplus in 2005, largely because of curtailed spending and higher than expected revenues ($23 billion - up about a third from 2004).

According to the IMF, Iraq’s inflation rate was 32 percent in 2004, but is predicted to drop to 10 percent by 2007.
While inflation rates are high, the government’s monetary policy will help assure Iraqis that the purchasing power of the dinar will not decline drastically in the future. That will provide them with a nominal anchor from which to base economic decisions.

The Coalition and the government of Iraq continue to address the issue of Iraqi unemployment. Today, about 1.5 million Iraqis are employed under reconstruction and are working on schools, clinics, roads and numerous other projects. According to government statistics, the unemployment rate in Iraq has fallen to about 28 percent.

Iraq is rejoining the international community. It is on the road to World Trade Organization accession, and received both IMF credit and its first World Bank loan in 30 years.

Debt relief agreements are helping Iraq with its economic outlook; Iraq has secured an agreement to forgive at least 80 percent of its Saddam-era debt.

The Iraqi stock market, established in April 2004, lists nearly 90 companies. A total of 33,384 new Iraqi businesses have been registered since 2003.

Labor force:
7.8 million (2004 est.)

Budget:

Revenues: $12.8 billion NA
Expenditures: $13.4 billion NA, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 budget)

CPT Jesse Cornelius, Agriculture Officer for the 155th Brigade Combat Team, stops by a market place to check the quality and price of the vegetables and chickens in Dunis, Iraq on May 19, 2005. U.S. Air Force photo by SSgt Reynaldo Ramon.

Agriculture - products:
Wheat, barley, rice, vegetables, dates, cotton; cattle, sheep
Industries:
Petroleum, chemicals, textiles, construction materials, food processing

Industrial production growth rate:

Electricity:

Oil:

Communications
Telephones:

Internet:

Mass media:

Iraqi boys look at a newspaper given to them by members of Charlie Company, 9th Psychological Operations (psyop) Battalion out of Fort Bragg, North Carolina, in Mosul, Iraq on August 16, 2004. Psyops is patrolling this area of Mosul to battle false propaganda put out by Anti-Iraqi forces. 9th POB are in Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Jeremiah Johnson)

Mass media has expanded dramatically. Before the 2003 war there were no independent media. There are now 54 commercial TV stations, 268 independent newspapers or magazines, and 114 commercial radio stations.

Military and Police:

Iraqi Army soldiers take part in a transfer of authority ceremony between the U.S. Army's 1st Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division and the 6th Iraqi Army Division at Forward Operations Base Constitution in Baghdad, Iraq, March 2.

Since June 2004, the members of the Iraqi security forces  have almost tripled. They have also made tremendous strides in equipment, combat effectiveness, leadership, and confidence. Iraqis of all ethnic and religious backgrounds continue to volunteer in large numbers for service in both the police and military.  Although Iraqi forces endure casualties, there remains no shortage of volunteers. In fact, there are more than 14,000 soldiers and policemen in training at any given time.
In the months after sovereignty, the efforts of the Coalition and the government of Iraq to recruit, equip and train personnel began to bear fruit as the number of Iraqi units fighting alongside Coalition forces began to climb.  As of June 2006, U.S. and Coalition forces have trained and equipped more than 117,900 soldiers, sailors, and airmen.  That translates into 142 Iraqi Army and National Police combat battalions, in addition to its regular police, border guards and other Iraqi Security Forces. 
More Iraqi Security Forces are aggressively involved in fighting the insurgency. Their numbers have increased from 91,000 in August 2004 to 265,600 now.