Iraq

republic

Iraq as the 1991 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 70 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalBaghdad

Area434,920 km2

Populationas each edition published it

19.52 million July 1991 · 18.78m in 1990

Population growth% a year

Not in this edition 3.73% in 1993

Median ageyears

Not in this edition 19 yrs in 2003

Life expectancyyears at birth

Not in this edition 64.96 yrs in 1993

Fertility ratechildren per woman

7.2 children per woman 1991 · 7.3 in 1990

Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births

66 deaths per 1,000 live births 1991 · 67 in 1990

GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars

Not in this edition $1,940 in 1993

GDP real growth% a year

Not in this edition 10% in 1993

Geography

10 fields

Total area

434,920km2

land area: 433,970 km2Comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of Idaho

Land boundaries

3,454km total

Iran 1,458 km, Iraq - Saudi Arabia Neutral Zone 191 km, Jordan 134 km, Kuwait 240 km, Saudi Arabia 495 km, Syria 605 km, Turkey 331 km

Coastline

58 km Continental shelf: not specific; Territorial sea: 12 nm

Disputes

Iran and Iraq restored diplomatic relations on 14 October 1990 following the end of the war that began on 22 September 1980;
progress had been made on the major issues of contention--troop withdrawal, prisoner-of-war exchanges, demarcation of the border, freedom of navigation, and sovereignty over the Shatt al Arab waterway--but written agreements had yet to be drawn up when frictions reemerged in March 1991 in the wake of Shia and Kurdish revolts in Iraq that Baghdad accused Tehran of supporting;
Kurdish question among Iran, Iraq, Syria, Turkey, and the USSR;
shares Neutral Zone with Saudi Arabia--in December 1981, Iraq and Saudi Arabia signed a boundary agreement that divides the zone between them, but the agreement must be ratified before it becomes effective;
Iraqi forces invaded and occupied Kuwait from 2 August 1990 until 27 February 1991;
in April 1991 official Iraqi acceptance of UN Security Council Resolution 687, which demands that Iraq accept its internationally recognized border with Kuwait, ended earlier claims to Bubiyan and Warbah Islands or to all of 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

desert; mild to cool winters with dry, hot, cloudless summers

Terrain

mostly broad plains;
reedy marshes in southeast;
mountains along borders with Iran and Turkey

Natural resources

crude oil, natural gas, phosphates, sulfur

Land use

arable land 12%;
permanent crops 1%;
meadows and pastures 9%;
forest and woodland 3%;
other 75%;
includes irrigated 4%

Environment

development of Tigris-Euphrates river systems contingent upon agreements with upstream riparians (Syria, Turkey);
air and water pollution;
soil degradation (salinization) and erosion;
desertification

People

14 fields

Population

19,524,718

(July 1991), growth rate 3.9% (1991)

Per 1,000 population(1991)

Birth

46Death

7Net migration

Labor force

4,400,000

(1989); services 48%, agriculture 30%, industry 22%, severe labor shortage; expatriate labor force about 1,600,000 (July 1990)

Literacy

60%

(male 70%, female 49%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)

Ethnic divisions

Arab 75-80%, Kurdish 15-20%, Turkoman, Assyrian or other 5%

Religion

Muslim 97%, (Shia 60-65%, Sunni 32-37%), Christian or other 3%

Language

Arabic (official), Kurdish (official in Kurdish regions), Assyrian, Armenian

Government

Republic

18 fields

National Assembly, elected 1 April 1989percent of vote

Sunni Arabs 53%Shia Arabs 30%Kurds 15%Christians est. 2%

Administrative divisions

18 provinces (muhafazat, singular--muhafazah);
Al Anbar, Al Basrah, Al Muthanna, Al Qadisiyah, An Najaf, Arbil, As Sulaymaniyah, At Tamim, 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)

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 Watani)

Judicial branch

Court of Cassation Chief of State--President Saddam HUSAYN (since 16 July 1979);
Vice President Taha Muhyi al-Din MARUF (since 21 April 1974);
Vice President Taha Yasin RAMADAN (since 23 March 1991);
1991);
Deputy Prime Minister Tariq AZIZ (since NA 1979);
Deputy Prime Minister Muhammad Hamza al-ZUBAYDI (since 27 March 1991)

Political parties

National Progressive Front is a coalition of the Arab Bath Socialist Party, Kurdistan Democratic Party, and Kurdistan Revolutionary Party

Suffrage

universal adult at age 18 National Assembly--last held on 1 April 1989 (next to be held NA);
results--Sunni Arabs 53%, Shia Arabs 30%, Kurds 15%, Christians 2% est.;
seats--(250 total) number of seats by party NA

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 religious and ethnic dissidents

ABEDA, ACC, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, 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

no Iraqi representative in Washington;
Chancery at 1801 P Street NW, Washington DC 20036;
telephone (202) 483-7500;
US--no US representative in Baghdad since mid-January 1991;
Embassy in Masbah Quarter (opposite the Foreign Ministry Club), Baghdad (mailing address is 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

Economy

16 fields

External debt

$40billion

(1989 est.), excluding debt to Arab Gulf states

Overview

The Bathist 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 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 actions by an international coalition beginning in January 1991 drastically changed the economic picture. Oil exports were cut to near zero, and industrial and transportation facilities severely damaged.

GNP

$35 billion, per capita $1,940; real growth rate 5% (1989 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices)

30-40% (1989 est.)

Unemployment rate

less than 5% (1989 est.)

Budget

revenues $NA billion; expenditures $35 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (1989)

Exports

$12.1 billion (f.o.b., 1989);
commodities--crude oil and refined products, fertilizer, sulfur;
partners--US, Brazil, Turkey, Japan, France, Italy, USSR (1989)

Imports

$10.3 billion (c.i.f., 1989);
commodities--manufactures, food;
partners--US, FRG, Turkey, UK, Romania, Japan, France (1989)

Industrial production

NA%; manufacturing accounts for 10% of GDP (1987)

Electricity

9,902,000 kW capacity; 20,000 million kWh produced, 1,110 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries

petroleum, chemicals, textiles, construction materials, food processing

Agriculture

accounts for 11% of GNP but 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 (1970-88), $627 million;
OPEC bilateral aid (1980-90), more than $30 billion;
Communist countries (1970-89), $3.9 billion

Currency

Iraqi dinar (plural--dinars); 1 Iraqi dinar (ID) = 1,000 fils

Exchange rates

Iraqi dinars (ID) per US$1--0.3109 (fixed rate since 1982)

Fiscal year

calendar year

Communications

9 fields

Airports, 111 total, 102 usable

permanent-surface runways

73runways over 3,659 m

9runways 2,440-3,659 m

52runways 1,220-2,439 m

Networkskm

Highways

25,479Railroads

2,962

Highways: ; 8,290 km paved, 5,534 km improved earth, 11,655 km unimproved earth · Railroads: ; 2,457 km 1.435-meter standard gauge, 505 km 1.000-meter gauge

1,015 km;
Shatt al Arab usually navigable by maritime traffic for about 130 km, but closed since September 1980 because of Iran-Iraq war;
Tigris and Euphrates navigable by shallow-draft steamers (of little importance);
Shatt al Basrah canal navigable in sections by shallow-draft vessels

Ports

Umm Qasr, Khawr az Zubayr, Al Basrah

Merchant marine

43 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 944,253 GRT/1,691,368 DWT;
includes 1 passenger, 1 passenger-cargo, 17 cargo, 1 refrigerated cargo, 3 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 19 petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 1 chemical tanker;
note--since the 2 August 1990 invasion of Kuwait by Iraqi forces, Iraq has sought to register at least part of its merchant fleet under convenience flags;
none of the Iraqi flag merchant fleet was trading internationally as of 1 January 1991

Pipelines

crude oil, 4,350 km;
725 km refined products;
1,360 km natural gas

Civil air

64 major transport aircraft (including 30 IL-76s used by the Iraq Air Force)

Telecommunications

good network consists of coaxial cables, radio relay links, and radiocommunication stations;
632,000 telephones;
stations--9 AM, 1 FM, 81 TV;
satellite earth stations--1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT, 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT, 1 GORIZONT Atlantic Ocean in the Intersputnik system;
coaxial cable and radio relay to Kuwait, Jordan, Syria, and Turkey