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

agricultural land:

18.1%;

• arable land 8.4%;
• permanent crops 0.5%;
• permanent pasture 9.2%

forest:

1.9%

other:

80% (2011 est.)

total:

66 cu km/yr (7%/15%/79%)

per capita:

2,616 cu m/yr (2000)

• dust storms;
• sandstorms;
• floods

• government water control projects 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

0-14 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

15-24 years:

1.04 male(s)/female

25-54 years:

1.02 male(s)/female

55-64 years:

0.9 male(s)/female

65 years and over:

0.8 male(s)/female

total population:

1.02 male(s)/female (2015 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 (2013)

total number:

715,737

percentage:

11% (2006 est.)

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

etymology:

the name probably derives from "Uruk" (Biblical "Erech") the ancient Sumerian and Babylonian city on the Euphrates River

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

citizenship by birth:

no

citizenship by descent only:

at least one parent must be a citizen of Iraq

dual citizenship recognized:

yes

residency requirement for naturalization:

10 years

chief of state:

• President Fuad MASUM (since 24 July 2014);
• Vice Presidents Ayad ALLAWI (since 9 September 2014), Nuri MALIKI (since 9 September 2014), Usama al-NUJAYFI (since 9 September 2014)

head of government:

Prime Minister Haydar al-ABADI (since 8 September 2014)

cabinet:

Council of Ministers proposed by the prime minister, approved by Council of Representatives

elections/appointments:

• president indirectly elected by Council of Representatives to serve a 4-year term (eligible for a second term);
• election last held on 30 April 2014 (next to be held in 2018);
• prime minister nominated by the president, approved by Council of Representatives

election results:

• Fuad MASUM elected president;
• Council of Representatives vote - Fuad MASUM (PUK) 211, Barham SALIH (PUK) 17;
• Haydar al-ABADI (Da'wa Party) approved as prime minister

description:

• unicameral Council of Representatives or Majlis an-Nuwwab al-Iraqiyy (328 seats; 320 members directly elected in multi-seat constituencies by proportional representation vote and 8 seats reserved for minorities; members serve 4-year terms);
• note - Iraq's constitution calls for the establishment of an upper house, the Federation Council, but it has not been instituted

elections:

last held on 30 April 2014 (next to be held in 2018)

election results:

• Council of Representatives - percent of vote by party/coalition - NA;
• seats by coalition/party – State of Law Coalition 95, Sadrist Movement 34, ISCI/Muwatin 30, KDP 25, United for Reform Coalition/Muttahidun 23, PUK 21, Nationalism Coalition/Wataniyah 19, other Sunni coalitions/parties 15, Al-Arabiyah Coalition 10, Goran 9, other Shia parties/coalitions 9, Fadilah 6, National Reform Trend 6, Iraq Coalition 5, KIU 4, other 17

highest court(s):

• Federal Supreme Court or FSC (consists of 9 judges);
• note - court jurisdiction limited to constitutional issues and disputes between regions or governorates and the central government);
• Court of Cassation (consists of a court president, 5 vice-presidents, and at least 24 judges)

judge selection and term of office:

• Federal Supreme Court and Court of Cassation judges appointed by the Higher Juridical Council, a 25-member committee of judicial officials that manage the judiciary and prosecutors;
• FSC members appointed for life;
• Court of Cassation judges appointed for 1-year probationary period and upon satisfactory performance may be confirmed for permanent tenure until retirement nominally at age 63

subordinate courts:

• Courts of Appeal (governorate level);
• courts of first instance;
• personal status, labor, criminal, juvenile, and religious courts

• Al-Arabiyah Coalition [Salih al-MUTLAQ]
• Badr Organization [Hadi al-AMIRI]
• Da`wa Party [Vice President Nuri al-MALIKI];; Da`wa Tanzim [Hashim al-MUSAWI]
• Fadilah Party [Muhammad al-YAQUBI]
• Goran Party [Nawhirwan MUSTAFA]
• Iraq Coalition [Abd al-Salam al-HAMMUDI]
• Iraqi Front for National Dialogue [Salih al-MUTLAQ]
• Iraqi Justice and Reform Movement [Shaykh Abdallah al-YAWR]
• Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq or ISCI/Muwatin Coalition [Ammar al-HAKIM]
• Kurdistan Democratic Party or KDP [Kurdistan Regional Government President Masud BARZANI]
• Kurdistan Islamic Union or KIU [Mohammed FARA]
• Nationalism Coalition/Wataniyah [Vice President Ayad ALLAWI]
• National Movement for Reform and Development [Muhammad al-KARBULI]
• National Reform Trend [Foreign Minister Ibrahim al-JAFARI]
• Patriotic Union of Kurdistan or PUK [former President Jalal TALABANI]
• Sadrist Movement or Ahrar Bloc [Muqtada al-SADR]
• State of Law Coalition [Vice President Nuri al MALIKI]
• United for Iraq/Muttahidun Party [Vice President Usama al-NUJAYFI]
• United for Reform Coalition/Muttahidun [Vice President Usama al-NUJAYFI]

note: includes political coalitions

note: numerous smaller local, tribal, and minority parties

chief of mission:

Ambassador Luqman Abd al-Rahim FAYLI (since 31 May 2013)

chancery:

3421 Massachusetts Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20007

telephone:

[1] (202) 742-1600

FAX:

[1] (202) 333-1129

consulate(s) general:

Detroit, Los Angeles

chief of mission:

Ambassador Stuart E. JONES (since 2 October 2014)

embassy:

Al-Kindi Street, International Zone, Baghdad

mailing address:

APO AE 09316

telephone:

0760-030-3000

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 ouster of SADDAM Husayn, Iraq adopted "Mawtini," a popular folk song throughout the Arab world; 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 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 have been established (2011)

• 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 Media Network;
• 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 (2015)

• gas 2,455 km;
• liquid petroleum gas 913 km;
• oil 5,432 km;
• refined products 1,637 km (2013)

total:

2,272 km

standard gauge:

2,272 km 1.435-m gauge (2014)

country comparison to the world: 67

total:

59,623 km

paved:

59,623 km (includes Kurdistan Region) (2012)

country comparison to the world: 70

total:

2

by type:

petroleum tanker 2

registered in other countries:

2 (Marshall Islands 2) (2010)

country comparison to the world: 142

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.)

• 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

refugees (country of origin):

• 16,637 (Turkey);
• 11,053 (Iran);
• 9,246 (West Bank and Gaza Strip) (2014);
• 244,642 (Syria) (2015)

IDPs:

4,149,518 (since 2006 due to ethno-sectarian violence; includes 3,195,390 displaced in central and northern Iraq since January 2014) (2015)

stateless persons:

• 120,000 (2014);
• note - in the 1970s and 1980s under SADDAM Husayn's regime, thousands of Iraq's Faili Kurds, followers of Shia Islam, were stripped of their Iraqi citizenship, had their property seized by the government, and many were deported;
• some Faili Kurds had their citizenship reinstated under the 2006 Iraqi Nationality Law, but others lack the documentation to prove their Iraqi origins;
• some Palestinian refugees persecuted by the SADDAM regime remain stateless