Iraq people Groups

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STATISTICS ABOUT IRAQ

Geography: Location: Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iran and Kuwait
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: 3,631 km
border countries: 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
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: Gundah Zhur 3,608 m
Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, phosphates, sulfur
Land use:
arable land: 12%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 9%
forests and woodland: 0%
other: 79% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 25,500 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: dust storms, sandstorms, floods
Environment—current issues: government water control projects have drained most of the
inhabited marsh areas east of An Nasiriyah by drying up or diverting the feeder streams and rivers;
a once sizable population of Shi'a Muslims, who have inhabited these areas for thousands of years,
has been displaced; furthermore, the destruction of the natural habitat poses serious threats to the
area's wildlife populations; inadequate supplies of potable water; development of Tigris-Euphrates
Rivers system contingent upon agreements with upstream riparian Turkey; air and water pollution;
soil degradation (salinization) and erosion; desertification
d: Environmental Modification

People
Population: 21,722,287 (July 1998 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 44% (male 4,865,820; female 4,711,791)
15-64 years: 53% (male 5,794,336; female 5,662,163)
65 years and over: 3% (male 320,672; female 367,505) (July 1998 est.)
Population growth rate: 3.2% (1998 est.)
Birth rate: 38.58 births/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Death rate: 6.57 deaths/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.87 male(s)/female (1998 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 62.41 deaths/1,000 live births (1998 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 66.52 years
male: 65.54 years
female: 67.56 years (1998 est.)
Total fertility rate: 5.23 children born/woman (1998 est.)
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: 58%
male: 70.7%
female: 45% (1995 est.)

Government
Country conventional name: Republic of Iraq
Government type: republic
National capital: Baghdad

Economy
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; Iraq suffered economic losses of at least $100 billion from
the war. 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. The UN-sponsored economic embargo
has reduced exports and imports and has contributed to the sharp rise in prices. The Iraqi
Government has been unwilling to abide by UN resolutions so that the economic embargo could
be removed. 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. Industrial and
transportation facilities, which suffered severe damage, have been partially restored. At current
prices, oil exports are about one-third of their prewar level because of the implementation of UN
Security Council Resolution 986—the UN's oil-for-goods program—in December 1996.
Shortages of spare parts continue. In accord with the oil-for-goods deal, Iraq is allowed to export
$2 billion worth of oil in exchange for badly needed food and medicine. The first oil was pumped in
December 1996, and the first supplies of food and medicine arrived in April 1997. Per capita
output for 1995-97 and living standards are well below the 1989-90 level, but any estimates have
a wide range of error.
GDP: purchasing power parity—$42.8 billion (1997 est.)
GDP—real growth rate: 0% (1997 est.)
GDP—per capita: purchasing power parity—$2,000 (1997 est.)
GDP—composition by sector:
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA%
services: NA%
Inflation rate—consumer price index: NA%
Labor force:
total: 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
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget:
revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Industries: petroleum, chemicals, textiles, construction materials, food processing
Industrial production growth rate: NA%
Agriculture—products: wheat, barley, rice, vegetables, dates, other fruit, cotton; cattle, sheep
Exports: $NA
commodities: crude oil
partners: Jordan, Turkey (1996)
Imports: $NA
commodities: manufactures, food
partners: France, Turkey, Jordan, Vietnam, Australia (1996)
Debt—external: very heavy relative to GDP but amount unknown (1996)
Currency: 1 Iraqi dinar (ID) = 1,000 fils
Exchange rates: Iraqi dinars (ID) per US$1—0.3109 (fixed official rate since 1982); black
market rate—Iraqi dinars (ID) per US$1—1,530 (December 1997), 3,000 (December 1995);
subject to wide fluctuations
More Information About Iraq