Country Facts - Iraq

The People

Nationality

Iraqi(s)

Ethnic Composition

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

Religious Composition

Muslim	97%
Shi'a Muslim	60-65%
Sunni Muslim	32-37%
Christian or other	3%

Languages Spoken

Arabic, Kurdish, Assyrian, and Armenian are all widely spoken.

Education and Literacy

Iraq's overall adult literacy hovers around 58 percent. Among males it is 70.7 percent and among females it is 45 percent.

Labor Force

Total: 4.4 million

By occupation:

Services	48%
Agriculture	30%
Industry	22%

Geography

Land Mass Total

168,754 sq mi (437,072 sq km)

Land

166,858 sq mi (432,162 sq km)

Water

1,895 sq mi (4,910 sq km)

Land Boundaries

Total: 2,268 mi (3,650 km)
Border countries: Iran 905 mi (1,458 km), Jordan 112 mi (181 km), Kuwait 149 mi(240 km), Saudi Arabia 505 mi (814 km), Syria 375 mi (605 km), Turkey 218 mi (352 km)

Coastline

36 mi (58 km)

Maritime claim

Continental shelf: not specified
Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate/Weather

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.

Terrain

Broad plains; reedy marshes along Iranian border in south with large flooded areas; mountains along borders with Iran and Turkey.

Elevation extremes

Lowest: Persian Gulf 0 ft (0 m)
Highest: Haji Ibrahim 11,811 ft (3,600 m)

Natural Resources

Petroleum, natural gas, phosphates, sulfur

Land use

Arable land	12%
Permanent crops	1%
Other	87%

(1998)

Natural hazards

Dust storms, sandstorms, floods

Environment - current issues

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 Shi'a Muslims 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 Tigris-Euphrates River system contingent upon agreements with upstream riparian Turkey; air and water pollution; soil degradation (salination) and erosion; desertification.

Geography Note

Strategic location on Shatt al Arab waterway and at the head of the Persian Gulf.

Demographics

Population

24,001,816 (July 2002

)

Age structure

0-14 years:	41.1%	male 5,003,755	female 4,849,238
15-64 years:	55.9%	male 6,794,265	female 6,624,662
65 years and over:	3%	male 341,520	female 388,376

(2002)

Growth Rate

2.82% (2002)

Life Expectancy

67.38 years (2002)
female: 68.5 years
male: 66.31 years

GDP Per Capita

Purchasing power parity
US$2,500 (2001)

Infant Mortality

57.61 deaths/1,000 live births (2002)

Sex ratio

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:	0.88 male(s)/female
Total population:	1.02 male(s)/female

(2002)

Net migration rate

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002)

Economy & Trade

Iraq's economy is dominated by the oil sector, which has traditionally provided about 95 percent 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, borrow heavily, and later reschedule foreign debt payments; Iraq suffered economic losses from the war of at least $100 billion. After hostilities ended in 1988, oil exports gradually increased with the construction of new pipelines and restoration of damaged facilities. Iraq's seizure of Kuwait in August 1990, subsequent international economic sanctions, and damage from military action by an international coalition beginning in January 1991 drastically reduced economic activity. Although government policies supporting large military and internal security forces and allocating resources to key supporters of the regime have hurt the economy, implementation of the U.N.'s oil-for-food program in December 1996 has helped improve conditions for the average Iraqi citizen. For the first six, six-month phases of the program, Iraq was allowed to export limited amounts of oil in exchange for food, medicine, and some infrastructure spare parts.
In December 1999, the U.N. Security Council authorized Iraq to export under the program as much oil as required to meet humanitarian needs. Oil exports are now more than three-quarters pre-war level. However, 28 percent of Iraq's export revenues under the program are deducted to meet U.N. Compensation Fund and U.N. administrative expenses. The drop in GDP in 2001 was largely the result of the global economic slowdown and lower oil prices. Per capita food imports have increased significantly, while medical supplies and health care services are steadily improving. Per capita output and living standards are still well below the pre-war level, but any estimates have a wide range of error since Iraqi officials do not permit independent auditing. Large expenditures on rebuilding Iraqi military strength began in the mid-1990s and were mainly financed through income generated by skirting the embargo -- especially in the petroleum export market. It remains to be seen how the confrontation with the United States in 2003 will affect the long-term outlook for the Iraqi economy. However, analysts project an almost 3.5 percent GDP growth within six months upon a regime change and a 15 percent rate of growth the following year. This spectacular rate is based upon the sorry state of the present Iraqi economy.

Unemployment

N/A

Inflation Rate

60% (2001)

Industries

Petroleum, chemicals, textiles, construction materials, food processing

Exports

US$15.8 billion (f.o.b., 2001)

Imports

US$11 billion (f.o.b., 2001)

Total Trade

Purchasing power parity
GDP US$59 billion (2001)

Top Export Partners

US 46.2%, Italy 12.2%, France 9.6%, Spain 8.6% (2000)

Top Import Partners

France 22.5%, Australia 22%, China 5.8%, Russia 5.8% (2000)

Top Exports

Crude oil

Top Imports

Food, medicine, manufactures

Debt - external

US$62.2 billion (2001)

Economic aid

US$327.5 million (1995)

Fiscal Year:

Calendar year

Business Workweek

	Saturday to Thursday (Islamic workweek)	Friday
Offices	Saturday to Wednesday 8a.m. to 2p.m. Thursday 8a.m. to 1p.m.	Closed
Retail	Saturday to Thursday 8:30a.m. to 1p.m. and 5p.m. to 7p.m.	Closed
Banks	Saturday through Wednesday, 8a.m. to 11a.m. Hours vary during Ramadan, banks close at 10a.m.	Closed
Government	Saturday through Wednesday, 8a.m. to 11a.m. During Ramadan the banks close at 10a.m.	Closed

Holidays

Official Holidays

Holidays	2003	2004	2005
New Year's Day	January 1	January 1	January 1
Army Day	January 6	January 6	January 6
Anniversary of the Revolution	February 8	February 8	February 8
Festival of Sacrifice (Eid Al Adha)¹	February 12	February 2	January 21
Islamic New Year²	March 5	February 22	February 22
Ashura³	March 14	March 2
FAO Day	April 17	April 17	April 17
Labor Day	May 1	May 1	May 1
Birthday of Prophet Mohammad (Mawlid an Nabi)*¹	May 4	May 2	April 21
National Day	July 14	July 14	July 14
Ba'ath Day	July 17	July 17	July 17
Peace Day	August Day	August Day	August Day
Start of Ramadan*²	October 27	October 15	October 4
Ceasefire Day (End of war with Iran)	November 14	November 14	November 14
End of Ramadan (Eid Al Fitr)*³	November 26	November 14	November 3

¹	Culmination of the Haj or Holy Pilgrimage.
²	he lunar Islamic Hijara calendar is made up of 12 months, each month alternating between 29 and 30 days per month, culminating in a total of 354 days per year. The Hijra calendar is based on the cycles of the moon and annually moves 11 days backward through the seasons.
³	Shi'a holiday celebrating the martyrdom of Imam Hussein.
*¹	The Birthday of the Prophet Mohammad is celebrated on the twelfth day in the month of Rabi'l of the Islamic calendar.
*²	Ramadan (the month of fasting) begins with the first appearance of the new moon in the ninth month of the lunar Islamic Hijra calendar, and lasts 30 days. Dates for the start of Ramadan will vary from country to country, depending on the first appearance of the moon.
*³	Feasting that officially marks the end of Ramadan, and commonly lasts for 3 days.

Country information used by permission of World Trade Press