home *** CD-ROM | disk | FTP | other *** search
- #CARD:Iraq:Geography
- #IMAGE 49 66 TWPCX \maps\Iraq.PCX
- THE WORLD FACTBOOK Click Here for MAP
- Iraq
- Geography
-
-
- Location:
- Middle East, between Iran and Saudi Arabia
- Map references:
- Middle East, Standard Time Zones of the World
- Area:
- total area:
- 437,072 km2
- land area:
- 432,162 km2
- comparative area:
- slightly more than twice the size of Idaho
- Land boundaries:
- total 3,631 km, Iran 1,458 km, Jordan 181 km, Kuwait 242 km, Saudi Arabia
- 814 km, Syria 605 km, Turkey 331 km
- Coastline:
- 58 km
- Maritime claims:
- continental shelf:
- not specified
- territorial sea:
- 12 nm
- International disputes:
- Iran and Iraq restored diplomatic relations in 1990 but are still trying to
- work out written agreements settling outstanding disputes from their
- eight-year war concerning border demarcation, prisoners-of-war, and freedom
- of navigation and sovereignty over the Shatt al Arab waterway; in April 1991
- official Iraqi acceptance of UN Security Council Resolution 687, which
- demands that Iraq accept the inviolability of the boundary set forth in its
- 1963 agreement with Kuwait, ending earlier claims to Bubiyan and Warbah
- Islands or to all of Kuwait; the 20 May 1993 final report of the UN
- Iraq/Kuwait Boundary Demarcation Commission was welcomed by the Security
- Council in Resolution 833 of 27 May 1993, which also reaffirmed that the
- decisions of the commission on the boundary were final, bringing to a
- completion the official demarcation of the Iraq-Kuwait boundary; Iraqi
- officials still make public statements claiming Kuwait; periodic disputes
- with upstream riparian Syria over Euphrates water rights; potential dispute
- over water development plans by Turkey for the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
- Climate:
- mostly desert; mild to cool winters with dry, hot, cloudless summers;
- northernmost regions along Iranian and Turkish borders experience cold
- winters with occasionally heavy snows
- Terrain:
- mostly broad plains; reedy marshes in southeast; mountains along borders
- with Iran and Turkey
- Natural resources:
- petroleum, natural gas, phosphates, sulfur
- Land use:
- arable land:
- 12%
- permanent crops:
- 1%
- meadows and pastures:
- 9%
- forest and woodland:
- 3%
- other:
- 75%
- Irrigated land:
- 25,500 km2 (1989 est)
-
- #ENDCARD
- #CARD:Iraq:Geography
- #IMAGE 49 66 TWPCX \maps\Iraq.PCX
- THE WORLD FACTBOOK Click Here for MAP
- Iraq
- Geography
- Environment:
- development of Tigris-Euphrates Rivers system contingent upon agreements
- with upstream riparians (Syria, Turkey); air and water pollution; soil
- degradation (salinization) and erosion; desertification
-
- #ENDCARD
- #CARD:Iraq:People
- THE WORLD FACTBOOK
- Iraq
- People
-
-
- Population:
- 19,161,956 (July 1993 est.)
- Population growth rate:
- 3.73% (1993 est.)
- Birth rate:
- 44.57 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)
- Death rate:
- 7.71 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)
- Net migration rate:
- 0.42 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)
- Infant mortality rate:
- 71.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)
- Life expectancy at birth:
- total population:
- 64.96 years
- male:
- 64.2 years
- female:
- 65.76 years (1993 est.)
- Total fertility rate:
- 6.86 children born/woman (1993 est.)
- Nationality:
- noun:
- Iraqi(s)
- adjective:
- Iraqi
- Ethnic divisions:
- 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:
- age 15 and over can read and write (1990)
- total population:
- 60%
- male:
- 70%
- female:
- 49%
- Labor force:
- 4.4 million (1989)
- by occupation:
- services 48%, agriculture 30%, industry 22%
- note:
- severe labor shortage; expatriate labor force was about 1,600,000 (July
- 1990); since then, it has declined substantially
-
- #ENDCARD
- #CARD:Iraq:Government
- THE WORLD FACTBOOK
- Iraq
- Government
-
-
- Names:
- conventional long form:
- Republic of Iraq
- conventional short form:
- Iraq
- local long form:
- Al Jumhuriyah al Iraqiyah
- local short form:
- Al Iraq
- Digraph:
- IZ
- 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)
- Constitution:
- 22 September 1968, effective 16 July 1970 (interim 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
- National holiday:
- Anniversary of the Revolution, 17 July (1968)
- Political parties and leaders:
- Ba'th Party
- Other political or pressure groups:
- political parties and activity severely restricted; possibly some opposition
- to regime from disaffected members of the regime, Army officers, and Shi'a
- religious and Kurdish ethnic dissidents; the Green Party
- (government-controlled)
- Suffrage:
- 18 years of age; universal
- Elections:
- National Assembly:
- last held on 1 April 1989 (next to be held NA); results - Sunni Arabs 53%,
- Shi'a Arabs 30%, Kurds 15%, Christians 2% est.; seats - (250 total) number
- of seats by party NA
- note:
- in northern Iraq, a "Kurdish Assembly" was elected in May 1992 and calls for
- Kurdish self-determination within a federated Iraq
- Executive branch:
- president, vice president, chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council,
- vice chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council, prime minister, first
- deputy prime minister, Council of Ministers
- Legislative branch:
- unicameral National Assembly (Majlis al-Watani)
- Judicial branch:
- Court of Cassation
-
- #ENDCARD
- #CARD:Iraq:Government
- THE WORLD FACTBOOK
- Iraq
- Government
- Leaders:
- Chief of State:
- President SADDAM Husayn (since 16 July 1979); Vice President Taha Muhyi
- al-Din MA'RUF (since 21 April 1974); Vice President Taha Yasin RAMADAN
- (since 23 March 1991)
- Head of Government:
- Prime Minister Muhammad Hamza al-ZUBAYDI (since 13 September 1991); Deputy
- Prime Minister Tariq 'AZIZ (since NA 1979)
- Member of:
- ABEDA, ACC, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-19, G-77, IAEA, IBRD,
- ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC,
- ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU,
- WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
- Diplomatic representation in US:
- chief of mission:
- Iraq has an Interest Section in the Algerian embassy in Washington, DC
- chancery:
- Iraqi Interests Section, 1801 P Street NW, Washington, DC 20036
- telephone:
- (202) 483-7500
- FAX:
- (202) 462-5066
- US diplomatic representation:
- chief of mission:
- (vacant); note - operations have been temporarily suspended; a US Interests
- Section is located in Poland's embassy in Baghdad
- embassy:
- Masbah Quarter (opposite the Foreign Ministry Club), Baghdad
- mailing address:
- P. O. Box 2447 Alwiyah, Baghdad
- telephone:
- [964] (1) 719-6138 or 719-6139, 718-1840, 719-3791
- Flag:
- 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 that has two stars but no script and the flag of Yemen that has a
- plain white band; also similar to the flag of Egypt that has a symbolic
- eagle centered in the white band
-
- #ENDCARD
- #CARD:Iraq:Economy
- THE WORLD FACTBOOK
- Iraq
- Economy
-
-
- Overview:
- The Ba'thist regime engages in extensive central planning and management of
- industrial production and foreign trade while leaving some small-scale
- industry and services and most agriculture to private enterprise. The
- economy has been 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 and to borrow heavily and later reschedule foreign debt
- payments. After the end of hostilities in 1988, oil exports gradually
- increased with the construction of new pipelines and restoration of damaged
- facilities. Agricultural development remained hampered by labor shortages,
- salinization, and dislocations caused by previous land reform and
- collectivization programs. The industrial sector, although accorded high
- priority by the government, also was under financial constraints. Iraq's
- seizure of Kuwait in August 1990, subsequent international economic
- embargoes, and military action by an international coalition beginning in
- January 1991 drastically changed the economic picture. Industrial and
- transportation facilities suffered severe damage and have been only
- partially restored. Oil exports remain at less than 10% of the previous
- level. Shortages of spare parts continue. Living standards deteriorated even
- further in 1992 and early 1993; consumer prices at least tripled in 1992.
- The UN-sponsored economic embargo has reduced exports and imports and has
- contributed to the sharp rise in prices. The government's policies of
- supporting large military and internal security forces and of allocating
- resources to key supporters of the regime have exacerbated shortages. In
- brief, per capita output in early 1993 is far below the 1989-90 level, but
- no reliable estimate is available.
- National product:
- GNP - exchange rate conversion - $35 billion (1989 est.)
- National product real growth rate:
- 10% (1989 est.)
- National product per capita:
- $1,940 (1989 est.)
- Inflation rate (consumer prices):
- 200% (1992 est.)
- Unemployment rate:
- less than 5% (1989 est.)
- Budget:
- revenues $NA; expenditures $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
- Exports:
- $10.4 billion (f.o.b., 1990)
- commodities:
- crude oil and refined products, fertilizer, sulfur
- partners:
- US, Brazil, Turkey, Japan, Netherlands, Spain (1990)
- Imports:
- $6.6 billion (c.i.f., 1990)
- commodities:
- manufactures, food
- partners:
- Germany, US, Turkey, France, UK (1990)
- External debt:
- $45 billion (1989 est.), excluding debt of about $35 billion owed to Arab
- Gulf states
- Industrial production:
- NA%; manufacturing accounts for 10% of GNP (1989)
-
- #ENDCARD
- #CARD:Iraq:Economy
- THE WORLD FACTBOOK
- Iraq
- Economy
- Electricity:
- 7,300,000 kW available out of 9,902,000 kW capacity due to Gulf war; 12,900
- million kWh produced, 700 kWh per capita (1992)
- Industries:
- petroleum production and refining, chemicals, textiles, construction
- materials, food processing
- Agriculture:
- accounts for 11% of GNP and 30% of labor force; principal products - wheat,
- barley, rice, vegetables, dates, other fruit, cotton, wool; livestock -
- cattle, sheep; not self-sufficient in food output
- Economic aid:
- US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-80), $3 million; Western (non-US)
- countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $647 million;
- Communist countries (1970-89), $3.9 billion
- Currency:
- 1 Iraqi dinar (ID) = 1,000 fils
- Exchange rates:
- Iraqi dinars (ID) per US$1 - 3.2 (fixed official rate since 1982);
- black-market rate (April 1993) US$1 = 53.5 Iraqi dinars
- Fiscal year:
- calendar year
-
- #ENDCARD
- #CARD:Iraq:Communications
- THE WORLD FACTBOOK
- Iraq
- Communications
-
-
- Railroads:
- 2,457 km 1.435-meter standard gauge
- Highways:
- 34,700 km total; 17,500 km paved, 5,500 km improved earth, 11,700 km
- unimproved earth
- Inland waterways:
- 1,015 km; Shatt al Arab is usually navigable by maritime traffic for about
- 130 km; channel has been dredged to 3 meters and is in use; Tigris and
- Euphrates Rivers have navigable sections for shallow-draft watercraft; Shatt
- al Basrah canal was navigable by shallow-draft craft before closing in 1991
- because of the Persian Gulf war
- Pipelines:
- crude oil 4,350 km; petroleum products 725 km; natural gas 1,360 km
- Ports:
- Umm Qasr, Khawr az Zubayr, Al Basrah (closed since 1980)
- Merchant marine:
- 41 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 930,780 GRT/1,674,878 DWT; includes 1
- passenger, 1 passenger-cargo, 15 cargo, 1 refrigerated cargo, 3
- roll-on/roll-off cargo, 19 oil tanker, 1 chemical tanker; note - none of the
- Iraqi flag merchant fleet was trading internationally as of 1 January 1993
- Airports:
- total:
- 114
- usable:
- 99
- with permanent-surface runways:
- 74
- with runways over 3,659 m:
- 9
- with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
- 52
- with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
- 12
- Telecommunications:
- reconstitution of damaged telecommunication facilities began after Desert
- Storm, most damaged facilities have been rebuilt; the network consists of
- coaxial cables and microwave radio relay links; 632,000 telephones;
- broadcast stations - 16 AM, 1 FM, 13 TV; satellite earth stations - 1
- Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT, 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT, 1 Atlantic Ocean GORIZONT
- in the Intersputnik system and 1 ARABSAT; coaxial cable and microwave radio
- relay to Jordan, Kuwait, Syria, and Turkey, Kuwait line is probably
- non-operational
-
- #ENDCARD
- #CARD:Iraq:Defense Forces
- THE WORLD FACTBOOK
- Iraq
- Defense Forces
-
-
- Branches:
- Army and Republican Guard, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Force, Border Guard
- Force, Internal Security Forces
- Manpower availability:
- males age 15-49 4,235,321; fit for military service 2,379,999; reach
- military age (18) annually 211,776 (1993 est.)
- Defense expenditures:
- exchange rate conversion - $NA, NA% of GNP
-
- #ENDCARD
-