Country Profile
Iraq

flag.jpg (6782 bytes)

Size:
437,072 sq. km

Location:
Middle East

Population:
21.4 million

Government:
Republic

Leader:
President Saddam Hussein

 iraq.jpg (47518 bytes)

THE HEART OF IRAQ lies over the site of one of the first agricultural civilizations - the ancient city of Sumer at the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. But the nation of Iraq is relatively young; the country achieved independence in 1932. Since then, Iraq has been almost perpetually at war with its neighbors. Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait in 1990, leading to the 1991 Persian Gulf War. Iraq has been under international sanctions since the invasion, and the United Nations refused to lift them until it is convinced that Iraq has eliminated its weapons of mass destruction. The United States and Britain threatened air strikes in 1998 over Iraq's refusal to allow U.N. weapons inspectors free access to all sites. The United States and its allies patrol a no-fly zone over northern Iraq to protect Kurds from attacj and in the south to protect Shiite Muslims.
People

Languages
Arabic, Kurdish (official in Kurdish regions), Assyrian, Armenian
Major Religions Muslim 97% (Shi'a 60%-65%, Sunni 32%-37%), Christian or other 3%
Ethnic groups Arab 75%-80%, Kurdish 15%-20%, Turkoman, Assyrian or other 5%
Growth rate 3.69%
Birth rate 43.07 births/1,000
Death rate 6.57 deaths/1,000
Fertility rate 6.41 children/woman
Male life expectancy 65
Female life expectancy 68
Infant mortality rate 60 deaths/1,000 live births
 
Economy

Labor force
4.4 million
Unemployment rate N/A
Inflation Rate N/A
Gross domestic product (total value of goods and services produced annually) $41.1 billion (1995 est.)
Budget N/A
Debt $50.0 billion (1989)
Exports N/A
Imports N/A
Defense spending N/A
Highways 45,554 km (1989)


Source: 1996 CIA World Factbook

Back to Main Story