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

total:

42.7 cu km/yr (3%/5%/92%)

per capita:

1,482 cu m/yr (2000)

• dust storms;
• sandstorms;
• floods

• 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:

Biodiversity, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection

signed, but not ratified:

Environmental Modification

noun:

Iraqi(s)

adjective:

Iraqi

at birth:

1.05 male(s)/female

under 15 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

15-64 years:

1.03 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.87 male(s)/female

total population:

1.03 male(s)/female (2011 est.)

degree of risk:

intermediate

food or waterborne diseases:

bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

note: highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has been identified in this country; it poses a negligible risk with extremely rare cases possible among US citizens who have close contact with birds (2009)

conventional long form:

Republic of Iraq

conventional short form:

Iraq

local long form:

Jumhuriyat al-Iraq/Komar-i Eraq

local short form:

Al Iraq/Eraq

name:

Baghdad

geographic coordinates:

33 20 N, 44 24 E

time difference:

UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

• 18 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah (Arabic); parezgakan, singular - parezga (Kurdish)) and 1 region*;
• Al Anbar;
• Al Basrah;
• Al Muthanna;
• Al Qadisiyah (Ad Diwaniyah);
• An Najaf;
• Arbil (Erbil) (Arabic), Hewler (Kurdish);
• As Sulaymaniyah (Arabic), Slemani (Kurdish);
• Babil;
• Baghdad;
• Dahuk (Arabic), Dihok (Kurdish);
• Dhi Qar;
• Diyala;
• Karbala';
• Kirkuk;
• Kurdistan Regional Government*;
• 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

chief of state:

President Jalal TALABANI (since 6 April 2005); Vice Presidents Tariq al-HASHIMI and Khudayr Musa Jafar Abbas al-KHUZAI

head of government:

Prime Minister Nuri al-MALIKI (since 20 May 2006)

cabinet:

• The Council of Ministers consists of the prime minister and cabinet ministers he proposes;
• approved by an absolute majority vote by the Council of Representatives

; (For more information visit theWorld Leaders website)

elections:

• president elected by Council of Representatives (parliament) to serve a four-year term (eligible for a second term);
• election last held on 11 November 2010 (next to be held in 2014)

election results:

• President Jalal TALABANI reelected on 11 November 2010;
• parliamentary vote count on second ballot - 195 votes;
• Nuri al-MALIKI reselected prime minister

• unicameral Council of Representatives (325 seats consisting of 317 members elected by an optional open-list and representing a specific governorate, proportional representation system and 8 seats reserved for minorities; members serve four-year terms);
• note - Iraq's Constitution calls for the establishment of an upper house, the Federation Council

elections:

last held on 7 March 2010 for an enlarged 325-seat parliament (next to be held in 2014)

election results:

Council of Representatives - percent of vote by coalition - Iraqi National Movement 25.9%, State of Law coalition 25.8%, Iraqi National Alliance 19.4%, Kurdistan Alliance 15.3%, Goran (Change) List 4.4%, Tawafuq Front 2.7%, Iraqi Unity Alliance 2.9%, Kurdistan Islamic Union 2.3%, Kurdistan Islamic Group 1.4%; seats by coalition - NA

• Badr Organization [Hadi al-AMIRI];
• Da'wa Party [Prime Minister Nuri al-MALIKI];
• Da'wa Tanzim [Hashim al-MUSAWI branch];
• Da-wa Tanzim [Abd al-Karim al-ANZI branch];
• Fadilah Party [Hasan al-SHAMMARI and Ammar TUAMA];
• Goran (Change) List [Nushirwan MUSTAFA];
• Iraqi Covenant Gathering [Ahmad Abd al-Ghafur al-SAMARRAI];
• Iraqi Constitutional Party [Jawad al-BULANI];
• Iraqi Front for National Dialogue [Deputy Prime Minister Salih al-MUTLAQ];
• Iraqi Islamic Party or IIP [Usama al-TIKRITI];
• Iraqi Justice and Reform Movement [Shaykh Abdallah al-YAWR];
• Iraqi National Congress or INC [Ahmad CHALABI];
• Iraqi National Accord or INA [Ayad ALLAWI];
• Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq or ISCI [Ammar al-HAKIM];
• Kurdistan Democratic Party or KDP [Kurdistan Regional Government President Masud BARZANI];
• Future National Gathering [Finance Minister Rafi al-ISSAWI];
• National Iraqiyun Gathering [Usama al-NUJAYFI];
• National Movement for Reform and Development [Jamal al-KARBULI];
• National Reform Trend [former Prime Minister Ibrahim al-JAFARI];
• Patriotic Union of Kurdistan or PUK [President Jalal TALABANI];
• Renewal List [Vice President Tariq al-HASHIMI];
• Sadrist Trend [Muqtada al-SADR];
• Sahawa al-Iraq [Ahmad al-RISHAWI]

note: numerous smaller local, tribal, and minority parties

chief of mission:

Ambassador Jabir Habib JABIR

chancery:

3421 Massachusetts Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20007

telephone:

[1] (202) 742-1600

FAX:

[1] (202) 333-1129

chief of mission:

Ambassador Robert Stephen BEECROFT

embassy:

Baghdad

mailing address:

APO AE 09316

telephone:

1-240-553-0589 ext. 5340 or 5635; note - Consular Section

FAX:

NA

• three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black;
• the Takbir (Arabic expression meaning "God is great") in green Arabic script is centered in the white band;
• the band colors derive from the Arab Liberation flag and represent oppression (black), overcome through bloody struggle (red), to be replaced by a bright future (white);
• the Council of Representatives approved this flag in 2008 as a compromise temporary replacement for the Ba'athist Saddam-era flag

note: 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

name:

"Mawtini" (My Homeland)

lyrics/music:

Ibrahim TOUQAN/Mohammad FLAYFEL

note: adopted 2004; following the ousting of Saddam HUSSEIN, Iraq adopted "Mawtini," a popular folk song throughout the Arab world, which also serves as an unofficial anthem of the Palestinian people

agriculture:

21.6%

industry:

18.7%

services:

59.8% (2008 est.)

lowest 10%:

3.6%

highest 10%:

25.7% (2007 est.)

general assessment:

• the 2003 liberation of Iraq severely disrupted telecommunications throughout Iraq including international connections;
• widespread government efforts to rebuild domestic and international communications through fiber optic links are in progress;
• the mobile cellular market has expanded rapidly to some 27 million subscribers by the end of 2012

domestic:

• repairs to switches and lines destroyed during 2003 continue;
• additional switching capacity is improving access;
• 3 GSM operators since 2007 have expanded beyond their regional roots and offer near country-wide access to second-generation services;
• third-generation mobile services are not available nationwide;
• wireless local loop is available in some metropolitan areas and additional licenses have been issued with the hope of overcoming the lack of fixed-line infrastructure

international:

• country code - 964;
• satellite earth stations - 4 (2 Intelsat - 1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean, 1 Intersputnik - Atlantic Ocean region, and 1 Arabsat (inoperative));
• local microwave radio relay connects border regions to Jordan, Kuwait, Syria, and Turkey;
• international terrestrial fiber-optic connections have been established with Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Kuwait, Jordan, and Iran;
• links to the Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG) and the Gulf Bridge International (GBI) submarine fiber-optic cables are planned

• the number of private radio and TV stations has increased rapidly since 2003;
• government-owned TV and radio stations are operated by the publicly-funded Iraqi Public Broadcasting Service;
• private broadcast media are mostly linked to political, ethnic, or religious groups;
• satellite TV is available to an estimated 70% of viewers and many of the broadcasters are based abroad;
• transmissions of multiple international radio broadcasters are accessible (2007)

• gas 2,447 km;
• liquid petroleum gas 918 km;
• oil 5,104 km;
• refined products 1,637 km (2010)

total:

2,272 km

country comparison to the world: 66

standard gauge:

2,272 km 1.435-m gauge (2008)

total:

44,900 km

country comparison to the world: 81

paved:

37,851 km

unpaved:

7,049 km (2002)

total:

2

country comparison to the world: 142

by type:

petroleum tanker 2

registered in other countries:

2 (Marshall Islands 2) (2010)

Counterterrorism Service Forces:

• Counterterrorism Command;
• Iraqi Special Operations Forces (ISOF);
• Ministry of Defense Forces: Iraqi Army (includes Army Aviation Directorate, former National Guard Iraqi Intervention Forces, and Strategic Infrastructure Battalions), Iraqi Navy (former Iraqi Coastal Defense Force, includes Iraq Marine Force), Iraqi Air Force (Al-Quwwat al-Jawwiya al-Iraqiya) (2011)

males age 16-49:

7,767,329

females age 16-49:

7,461,766 (2010 est.)

males age 16-49:

6,591,185

females age 16-49:

6,421,717 (2010 est.)

male:

332,194

female:

322,010 (2010 est.)

• approximately two million Iraqis have fled the conflict in Iraq, with the majority taking refuge in Syria and Jordan, and lesser numbers to Egypt, Lebanon, Iran, and Turkey;
• 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 autonomous status of Kurds in Iraq

• 15,606 (Turkey);
• 10,798 (West Bank and Gaza Strip);
• 7,989 (Iran) (2011);
• 77,415 (Syria) (2013)

IDPs:

1.3 million (since 2006 from ethno-sectarian violence) (2012)