Iraq
|
| Basic Facts |
| Country name |
conventional long form: Republic of Iraq
conventional short form: Iraq local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Iraqiyah local short form: Al Iraq |
| Gevernment type | parliamentary democracy |
| Capital |
name: Baghdad
geographic coordinates: 33 21 N, 44 25 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins 1 April; ends 1 October |
| Flag description | 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 |
| Currency | New Iraqi dinar (NID) as of 22 January 2004 |
| Internet country code | .iq |
| Ports and terminals | Al Basrah, Khawr az Zubayr, Umm Qasr |
| Agriculture products | wheat, barley, rice, vegetables, dates, cotton; cattle, sheep, poultry |
| Industries | petroleum, chemicals, textiles, leather, construction materials, food processing, fertilizer, metal fabrication/processing |
| Geography |
| Location | Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iran and Kuwait |
| Coordinates | 33 00 N, 44 00 E |
| Continent | Middle East |
| Area |
total: 437,072 sq km
land: 432,162 sq km water: 4,910 sq km |
| Boundaries |
total: 3,650 km
border countries: Iran 1,458 km, Jordan 181 km, Kuwait 240 km, Saudi Arabia 814 km, Syria 605 km, Turkey 352 km |
| Coastline | 58 km |
| Climate | 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 | mostly broad plains; reedy marshes along Iranian border in south with large flooded areas; mountains along borders with Iran and Turkey |
| Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, phosphates, sulfur |
| Natural hazards | dust storms, sandstorms, floods |
| People |
| Population | 26,783,383 (July 2006 est.) |
| Ethnic groups | Arab 75%-80%, Kurdish 15%-20%, Turkoman, Assyrian or other 5% |
| Religions | Muslim 97% (Shi'a 60%-65%, Sunni 32%-37%), Christian or other 3% |
| Languages | Arabic, Kurdish (official in Kurdish regions), Assyrian, Armenian |
