Iraq

• 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

• mostly broad plains;
• reedy marshes along Iranian border in south with large flooded areas;
• mountains along borders with Iran and Turkey

• 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 Marsh Arabs, who 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 the Tigris and Euphrates rivers system contingent upon agreements with upstream riparian Turkey;
• air and water pollution;
• soil degradation (salination) and erosion;
• desertification

party to:

Law of the Sea

signed, but not ratified:

Environmental Modification

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 (2005 est.)

noun:

Iraqi(s)

adjective:

Iraqi

conventional long form:

Republic of Iraq

conventional short form:

Iraq

local long form:

Al Jumhuriyah al Iraqiyah

local short form:

Al Iraq

• 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

• 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 Interim Government

• interim constitution signed 8 March 2004;
• note - the Transitional Administrative Law (TAL) was enacted 8 March 2004 to govern the country until an elected Iraqi Government can draft and ratify a new constitution in 2005

chief of state:

• Iraqi Transitional Government (ITG) President Jalal TALABANI (since 6 April 2005);
• Deputy Presidents Adil Abd AL-MAHDI and Ghazi al-Ujayl al-YAWR (since 6 April 2005);
• note - the President and Deputy Presidents comprise the Presidency Council)

head of government:

• Iraqi Transitional Government (ITG) Prime Minister Ibrahim al-JAFARI (since April 2005);
• Deputy Prime Ministers Rowsch SHAWAYS, Ahmad CHALABI, and Abid al-Mutlaq al-JABBURI (since May 2005)

cabinet:

32 ministers appointed by the Presidency Council, plus Prime Minister Ibrahim al-JAFARI, Deputy Prime Ministers Rowsch SHAWAYS, Ahmad CHALABI, and Abid al-Mutlaq al-JABBURI

elections:

held 30 January 2005 to elect a 275-member Transitional National Assembly that will draft a permanent constitution and pave the way for new national elections at the end of 2005

• Al-Sadr Movement [Muqtada Al-SADR];
• Constitutional Monarchy Movement or CMM [Sharif Ali Bin al-HUSAYN];
• Da'wa Party [Ibrahim al-JA'FARI];
• Independent Iraqi Alliance or IIA [Falah al-NAQIB];
• Iraqi Hizballah [Karim Mahud al-MUHAMMADAWI];
• Iraqi Independent Democrats or IID [Adnan PACHACHI, Mahdi al-HAFIZ];
• Iraqi Islamic Party or IIP [Muhsin Abd al-HAMID, Hajim al-HASSANI];
• Iraqi National Accord or INA [Ayad ALLAWI];
• Iraqi National Congress or INC [Ahmad CHALABI];
• Iraqi National Unity Movement or INUM [Ahmad al-KUBAYSI, chairman];
• Jama'at al Fadilah or JAF [Ayatollah Muhammad ' Ali al-YAQUBI];
• Kurdistan Democratic Party or KDP [Masud BARZANI];
• Muslim Ulama Council or MUC [Harith Sulayman al-DARI, secretary general];
• Patriotic Union of Kurdistan or PUK [Jalal TALABANI]

note: the Democratic Patriotic Alliance of Kurdistan, the Iraqi List, and the United Iraqi Alliance were only electoral slates consisting of the representatives from the various Iraqi political parties

• an insurgency against the Iraqi Interim Government and Coalition forces is primarily concentrated in Baghdad and in areas west and north of the capital;
• the diverse, multigroup insurgency is led principally by Sunni Arabs whose only common denominator is a shared desire to oust the Coalition and end US influence in Iraq

chief of mission:

Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Rend Rahim FRANCKE

chancery:

1801 P Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20036

telephone:

[1] (202) 483-7500

FAX:

[1] (202) 462-5066

chief of mission:

Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires James F. JEFFREY

embassy:

Baghdad

mailing address:

APO AE 09316

telephone:

00-1-240-553-0584 ext. 4354; note - Consular Section

FAX:

NA

• 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

lowest 10%:

NA

highest 10%:

NA

general assessment:

• the 2003 war severely disrupted telecommunications throughout Iraq including international connections;
• USAID is overseeing the repair of switching capability and the construction of mobile and satellite communication 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

total:

2,200 km

standard gauge:

2,200 km 1.435-m gauge (2004)

total:

45,550 km

paved:

38,399 km

unpaved:

7,151 km (1999)

total:

14 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 83,221 GRT/125,255 DWT

by type:

cargo 11, petroleum tanker 3 (2005)

• coalition forces assist Iraqis in monitoring boundary security;
• Iraq's lack of a maritime boundary with Iran prompts jurisdiction disputes beyond the mouth of the Shatt al Arab in the Persian Gulf;
• Turkey has expressed concern over the status of Kurds in Iraq

refugees (country of origin):

150,000 (Palestinian Territories)

IDPs:

1,340,280 (ongoing US-led war and Kurds' subsequent return) (2004)