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| Introduction | Iraq |
| Background: | Formerly part of the Ottoman Empire, Iraq was occupied by Britain during the course of World War I; in 1920, it was declared a League of Nations mandate under UK administration. In stages over the next dozen years, Iraq attained its independence as a kingdom in 1932. A "republic" was proclaimed in 1958, but in actuality a series of military strongmen have ruled the country since then, the latest was SADDAM Husayn. 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. Following Kuwait's liberation, 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 over a period of 12 years resulted in the US-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003 and the ouster of the SADDAM Husayn regime. Coalition forces remain in Iraq, helping to restore degraded infrastructure and facilitating the establishment of a freely elected government. The Coalition Provisional Authority transferred sovereignty to the Interim Government on 28 June 2004. |
| People | Iraq |
| 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 female: 46.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) male: 58.58 deaths/1,000 live births |
| 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 1,000 |
| 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.) |
| Government | Iraq |
| Country name: | conventional long form: Republic of Iraq conventional short form: Iraq local short form: Al Iraq local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Iraqiyah |
| Government type: | none; note - the Interim Government was appointed on 1 June 2004 |
| 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: | 3 October 1932 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration) |
| National holiday: | Revolution Day, 17 July (1968) |
| Constitution: | interim constitution signed 8 March 2004; note - new constitution to be drafted and ratified in 2005 referendum |
| Legal system: | NA |
| Suffrage: | formerly 18 years of age; universal |
| Executive branch: | chief of state: President of Interim Government (IG) Ghazi al-YAWER (since 1 June 2004); Vice Presidents Ibrahim al-JAFARI and Rowsch SHAWAYS (since 1 June 2004); note - the President and Vice Presidents comprise the Presidency Council head of government: Prime Minister of Interim Government (IG) Ayad ALLAWI (as of 28 June 2004) cabinet: 36 ministers appointed by the Presidency Council elections: to be held in 2005 |
| Legislative branch: | Interim National Council to be formed in July 2004 |
| Judicial branch: | Supreme Court appointed by the Prime Minister and to be confirmed by Presidency Council by 28 September 2004 |
| Political parties and leaders: | NA |
| Political pressure groups and leaders: | NA |
| International organization participation: | ABEDA, ACC, AFESD, AMF, CAEU, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAS, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO |
| Diplomatic representation in the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant) chancery: 1801 P Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20036 FAX: [1] (202) 462-5066 telephone: [1] (202) 483-7500 |
| Diplomatic representation from the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador John D. NEGROPONTE embassy: Baghdad mailing address: APO AE 09316 telephone: 00-1-240-553-0584 ext. 4354; note - Consular Section FAX: NA |
| Flag description: | 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, which has two stars but no script, Yemen, which has a plain white band, and that of Egypt which has a gold Eagle of Saladin centered in the white band; design is based upon the Arab Liberation colors |
| Communications | Iraq |
| Telephones - main lines in use: | 675,000; note - an unknown number of telephone lines were damaged or destroyed during the March-April 2003 war (2003) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular: | 20,000 (2002) |
| Telephone system: | general assessment: the 2003 war severely disrupted telecommunications throughout Iraq including international connections; USAID is overseeing the repair of switching capability and the contruction of mobile and satellite communications facilities domestic: repairs to switches and lines destroyed in the recent fighting continue but sabotage remains a problem; cellular service is expected to be in place within two years international: country code - 964; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region), and 1 Arabsat (inoperative); coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Jordan, Kuwait, Syria, and Turkey; Kuwait line is probably nonoperational |
| Radio broadcast stations: | AM 19 (5 are inactive), FM 51, shortwave 4 (1998) |
| Radios: | 4.85 million (1997) |
| Television broadcast stations: | 13 (1997); note - unknown number were destroyed during the March-April 2003 war |
| Televisions: | 1.75 million (1997) |
| Internet country code: | .iq |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs): | 1 (2000) |
| Internet users: | 25,000 (2002) |
| Transportation | Iraq |
| Railways: | total: 1,963 km standard gauge: 1,963 km 1.435-m gauge (2003) |
| Highways: | total: 45,550 km paved: 38,399 km unpaved: 7,151 km (2000 est.) |
| Waterways: | 5,275 km (not all navigable) note: Euphrates River (2,815 km), Tigris River (1,895 km), and Third River (565 km) are principal waterways (2004) |
| Pipelines: | gas 1,739 km; oil 5,418 km; refined products 1,343 km (2004) |
| Ports and harbors: | Umm Qasr, Khawr az Zubayr, and Al Basrah have limited functionality |
| Merchant marine: | total: 13 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 83,221 GRT/125,255 DWT by type: cargo 6, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 5, roll on/roll off 1 registered in other countries: 3 (2003 est.) |
| Airports: | 111; note - unknown number were damaged during the March-April 2003 war (2003 est.) |
| Airports - with paved runways: | total: 79 over 3,047 m: 21 2,438 to 3,047 m: 36 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 10 (2004 est.) 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 |
| Airports - with unpaved runways: | total: 32 under 914 m: 9 (2004 est.) over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 12 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 |
| Heliports: | 6 (2003 est.) |
| Military | Iraq |
| Military branches: | note: in the summer of 2003 the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) began recruiting and training a New Iraqi Army (NIA) that would have a purely defensive mission and capability; in March 2004, the Iraqi Interim Government established a Ministry of Defense to create an Iraqi Armed Force; at that time the NIA was renamed the Iraqi Armed Force - Army (IAF-A); plans also were put into effect to reconstitute an Iraqi Army Air Corps (IAAC) and Coastal Defense Force (navy), but there are no plans to reconstitute an Iraqi Air Force; the Army's primary new focus will be domestic counterinsurgency, which is a change of direction from the CPA's intent to create an army not involved in domestic politics; in mid-2004 the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps (ICDC) was designated the Iraqi National Guard (ING) and subordinated to the Defense Ministry and the Iraqi Armed Forces Pre-war Iraqi military equipment was largely destroyed by Coalition forces during combat operations in early 2003 or subsequently looted or scrapped (September 2004) |
| Military manpower - military age and obligation: | 18 years of age; the Iraqi Interim Government is creating a new professional Iraqi military force of men aged 18 to 40 to defend Iraqi territory from external threats (September 2004) |
| Military manpower - availability: | males age 15-49: 6,547,762 (2004 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service: | males age 15-49: 3,654,947 (2004 est.) |
| Military manpower - reaching military age annually: | males: 304,527 (2004 est.) |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure: | $1.3 billion (FY00) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP: | NA |
| Transnational Issues | Iraq |
| Disputes - international: | coalition forces assist Iraqis in monitoring boundary security, but resolution of disputes and creation of maritime boundaries with neighboring states will remain in hiatus until full sovereignty is restored in Iraq; Turkey has expressed concern over the status of Kurds in Iraq |
| Refugees and internally displaced persons: | refugees (country of origin): 150,000 (Palestinian Territories) IDPs: 1,340,280 (ongoing US-led war and Kurds' subsequent return) (2004) |
| This page was last updated on 16 December, 2004 |
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