Iraq

Index

More Facts & Figures

National name: Al Jumhuriyah al Iraqiyah

Current government officials

Languages: Arabic (official), Kurdish (official in Kurdish regions), Assyrian, Armenian

Ethnicity/race: Arab 75%–80%, Kurdish 15%–20%, Turkoman, Assyrian, or other 5%

Religions: Islam 97% (Shiite 60%–65%, Sunni –37%), Christian or other 3% note: while there has been voluntary relocation of many Christian families to northern Iraq, recent reporting indicates that the overall Christian population may have dropped by as much as 50 percent since the fall of the Saddam HUSSEIN regime in 2003, with many fleeing to Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon

National Holiday: Revolution Day, July 17

Literacy rate: 78.2% (2010 est.)

Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2011 est.): $129.3 billion; per capita $3,900. Real growth rate: 9.9%. Inflation: 6%. Unemployment: 15.2%. Arable land: 13.12%. Agriculture: wheat, barley, rice, vegetables, dates, cotton; cattle, sheep, poultry. Labor force: 8.9 million; agriculture 21.6%., industry 18.7%, services 59.8%. Industries: petroleum, chemicals, textiles, leather, construction materials, food processing, fertilizer, metal fabrication/processing. Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, phosphates, sulfur. Exports: $78.38 billion (2011): crude oil (84%), crude materials excluding fuels, food and live animals. Imports: $53.93 billion (2011): food, medicine, manufactures. Major trading partners: U.S., Syria, Turkey, India, China, South Korea, Japan, Netherlands (2011).

Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 1.6 million (2009); mobile cellular: 24 million (2009). Broadcast media: athe 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). Internet hosts: 23 Internet users: 325,900 (2009).

Transportation: Railways: total: 2,272 km (2006). Highways: total: 45,550 km; paved: 38,399 km; unpaved: 7,151 km (1999). Waterways: 5,279 km (not all navigable); note: Euphrates River (2,815 km), Tigris River (1,895 km), and Third River (565 km) are principal waterways (2006). Ports and harbors: Al Basrah, Khawr az Zubayr, Umm Qasr. Airports: 104 (2012).

International disputes: 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.

Major sources and definitions