29 October 1923 (successor state to the Ottoman Empire)
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-controlled Government
Religions
Muslim 99.8% (mostly Sunni), other 0.2% (mostly Christians and Jews)
Muslim 97% (Shia 60%-65%, Sunni 32%-37%), Christian or other 3%
Languages
Turkish (official), Kurdish, Dimli (or Zaza), Azeri, Kabardian note: there is also a substantial Gagauz population in the European part of Turkey
Arabic, Kurdish (official in Kurdish regions), Turkoman (a Turkish dialect), Assyrian (Neo-Aramaic), Armenian
Exports
apparel, foodstuffs, textiles, metal manufactures, transport equipment
crude oil 84%, crude materials excluding fuels 8%, food and live animals 5%
External Debt
$306,600,000,000 $
$50,790,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
Turkish liras (TRY) per US dollar - 1.3179 (2008 est.), 1.319 (2007), 1.4286 (2006), 1.3436 (2005), 1.4255 (2004) note: on 1 January 2005 the old Turkish lira (TRL) was converted to new Turkish lira (TRY) at a rate of 1,000,000 old to 1 new Turkish lira; on 1 January 2009 the Turkish government dropped the word "new" and the currency is now called simply the Turkish lira
New Iraqi dinars (NID) per US dollar - 1,176 (2008), 1,255 (2007), 1,466 (2006), 1,475 (2005), 1,890 (second half, 2003)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
5.300%
8.600%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
8
0
Location
Southeastern Europe and Southwestern Asia (that portion of Turkey west of the Bosporus is geographically part of Europe), bordering the Black Sea, between Bulgaria and Georgia, and bordering the Aegean Sea and the Mediterranean Sea, between Greece and Syria
Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iran and Kuwait
Area
783,562 km sq
438,317 km sq
Coastline
7,200 km
58 km
Climate
temperate; hot, dry summers with mild, wet winters; harsher in interior
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
