Constitution-based federal republic; strong democratic tradition
parliamentary democracy
Independence date
4 July 1776 (from Great Britain)
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
Protestant 51.3%, Roman Catholic 23.9%, Mormon 1.7%, other Christian 1.6%, Jewish 1.7%, Buddhist 0.7%, Muslim 0.6%, other or unspecified 2.5%, unaffiliated 12.1%, none 4% (2007 est.)
Muslim 97% (Shia 60%-65%, Sunni 32%-37%), Christian or other 3%
Languages
English 82.1%, Spanish 10.7%, other Indo-European 3.8%, Asian and Pacific island 2.7%, other 0.7% (2000 census) note: Hawaiian is an official language in the state of Hawaii
Arabic, Kurdish (official in Kurdish regions), Turkoman (a Turkish dialect), Assyrian (Neo-Aramaic), Armenian
crude oil 84%, crude materials excluding fuels 8%, food and live animals 5%
External Debt
$14,710,000,000,000 $
$50,260,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
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
4.600%
8.600%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
110
0
Location
North America, bordering both the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Pacific Ocean, between Canada and Mexico
Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iran and Kuwait
Area
9,826,675 km sq
438,317 km sq
Coastline
19,924 km
58 km
Climate
mostly temperate, but tropical in Hawaii and Florida, arctic in Alaska, semiarid in the great plains west of the Mississippi River, and arid in the Great Basin of the southwest; low winter temperatures in the northwest are ameliorated occasionally in January and February by warm chinook winds from the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains
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
