Iraq


The Republic of Iraq is a Middle Eastern country in southwestern Asia encompassing the ancient region of Mesopotamia. It shares borders with Kuwait and Saudi-Arabia to the south, Jordan to the west, Syria to the north-west, Turkey to the north, and Iran to the east. Its current leadership was put in place on June 28, 2004, following a March 2003 invasion led by Anglo-American forces which drove Saddam Hussein and the Ba'ath Party from power.
الجمهورية العراقية
(Al-Jumhuriyah Al-Iraqiyah)
Flag of Iraq Iraq: Coat of Arms
(In Detail) (Full size)
National motto: Allahu Akbar
(English: God is Great)
Image:LocationIraq.png
Official languages Arabic, Kurdish (from June 28 2004)
Capital Baghdad
President Ghazi al-Yawer (interim)
Prime Minister Iyad Allawi (interim)
Area
 - Total
 - % water 		Ranked 57th
437,072 km²
1.1%
Population
 - Total (July 2004)
 - Density 		Ranked 44th
25,374,691
59/km²
Independence -October 3, 1932 (from British mandate)
-June 28, 2004 (from the CPA)
GDP (PPP)
- Total (2003)
- GDP/head		Ranked 76th
$38.790 billion
$1,600
Currency Iraqi dinar
Time zone UTC +3
National anthem Ardulfurataini Watan (Kurds: Ey Reqib)
Internet TLD .iq
Calling Code 964
State religion
(Citizens have religious freedom) 		Islam

History

Main article: History of Iraq Modern Iraq became a British mandate soon after the end of World War I, and became independent in 1932. A coup in 1979 brought Saddam Hussein to power. The Iran-Iraq War (1980–1988) ended in stalemate; Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1991 resulted in the Gulf War and economic sanctions. The 2003 invasion of Iraq toppled Saddam; the current post-invasion situation remains volatile.

Politics

Main article: Politics of Iraq From 1979 to 2003, Iraq was under Ba'ath Party rule, under the leadership of President Saddam Hussein. The unicameral Iraqi parliament, the National Assembly or Majlis al-Watani, had 250 seats and its members were elected for 4-year terms. Like in presidential elections, no non-Ba'ath candidates were allowed to run. In November 2003 the coalition announced plans to turn over sovereignty to an Iraqi Interim Government by mid-2004. The actual transfer of sovereignty occurred on June 28, 2004. The interim president is Sheikh Ghazi Mashal Ajil al-Yawer, and the interim prime minister Iyad Allawi. Under the Iraqi transitional constitution, signed March 2004, the country's executive branch is now led by a three-person presidential council. The election system for the council effectively ensures that all three of Iraq's major ethnic groups are represented. The constitution also includes basic freedoms like freedom of religion, speech, and assembly, and in many ways has been hailed as more liberal than the U.S. constitution. Controversially, however, it states that all laws that were in effect on the transfer date cannot be repealed. Furthermore, since the coalition forces are currently an official occupying power under the United Nations, coalition troops can remain in control of the country indefinitely despite the transfer of sovereignty. Since Iraqi forces are currently considered ill-equipped to police and secure the country, it is expected that coalition troops will remain in the country for many years to come.

Provinces

Main article: Provinces of Iraq Iraq is divided into 18 provinces (Arabic: muhafazat, singular - muhafazah, Kurdish: پاریزگه Pârizgah). They are sometimes referred to as Governorates, particularly in Iraqi government documents: The constitutionally-recognized Kurdistan Autonomous Region includes parts of a number of northern provinces, and is largely self-governing in internal affairs.

Geography

Map of Iraq Main article: Geography of Iraq Large parts of Iraq consist of desert, but the area between the two major rivers Euphrates and Tigris is fertile, with the rivers carrying about 60 million cubic meters of silt annually to the delta. The north of the country is largely mountainous, with the highest point being Haji Ibrahim at 3,600 m. Iraq has a small coastline with the Persian Gulf. Close to the coast and along the Shatt al-Arab there used to be marshlands, but many of these were drained in the 1990s. The local climate is mostly a desert clime with mild to cool winters and dry, hot, cloudless summers. The northern mountainous regions experience cold winters with occasional heavy snows, sometimes causing extensive flooding. The capital Baghdad is situated in the centre of the country, on the banks of the Tigris. Other major cities include Basra in the south and Mosul in the north. Iraq is considered to be one of the fifteen lands that comprise the so-called "Cradle of Humanity".

Economy

Main article: Economy of Iraq Iraq's economy is dominated by the oil sector, which has traditionally provided about 95% 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 US$100 billion. After hostilities ended in 1988, oil exports gradually increased with the construction of new pipelines and restoration of damaged facilities. A combination of low oil prices, onerous repayment of the war debts (at around US$3 billion a year) and the costs of reconstruction resulted in a serious financial crisis which was the main short term motivation for the invasion of Kuwait. 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 Ba`ath Party government have hurt the economy, implementation of the United Nations oil-for-food programme in December 1996 was to have improved conditions for the average Iraqi citizen. For the first six, six-month phases of the programme, Iraq was allowed to export limited amounts of oil in exchange for food, medicine, and some infrastructure spare parts. Subsequent investigation of the programme has revealed significant corruption, with highly-placed U.N. officials being bribed, Baath Party officials receiving lucrative kickbacks, and much of the aid money from oil sales being redirected into weapons research and acquisition by the Iraqi military. In December 1999 the UN Security Council authorised Iraq to export under the program as much oil as required to meet humanitarian needs. Iraq changed its oil reserve currency from US dollar to euro in 2000. Oil exports were more than three-quarters of the pre-war level. However, 28% of Iraq's export revenues under the programme are deducted to meet UN Compensation Fund and UN administrative expenses. The drop in GDP in 2001 was largely the result of the global economic slowdown and lower oil prices. Following the 2003 invasion of Iraq the economy has to a great extent shut down and attempts are underway to revive it from the damages of the war and rampant crime. During his year as the supreme authority in Iraq, Ambassador Paul Bremer issued a series of orders designed to restructure Iraq's broadly socialist economy in line with neo-liberal thinking. Order 39 laid out the framework for the privatisation of everything in Iraq aside from the oil reserves themselves, and permitted 100% foreign ownership of Iraqi assets. Other orders established a flat tax of 15% and permitted foreign corporation to repatriate 100% of profits earned in Iraq. Opposition from senior Iraqi officials together with the poor security situation meant that Bremer's privatisation plan was not implemented during his reign, though his Orders remain in place. The second attempt to liberalise Iraq's economy is linked to the Iran-Iraq war debt. The creditors who financed the Iran-Iraq war had presented post-Saddam Iraq with a bill of nearly US$130 billion of debt and past-due-interest, which had not been serviced during the 13 years of sanctions. The Jubilee Iraq campaign argued that these debts were odious (or illegitimate) given that they came from loans to a dictator fighting a war which caused the Iraqi people a great deal of harm, and should therefore be written off unconditionally. The creditors however only offered a partial reduction and rescheduling of their claims in return for an Iraqi commitment to implement an International Monetary Fund economic program. This deal, with the Paris Club cartel of creditors including the US and Britain, was signed on 20 November 2004. The following day the interim Iraqi National Assembly issued a strongly worded resolution rejecting the Paris Club's terms and declaring that the debt was odious.

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Iraq Almost 72% of Iraq's population consists of Arabic speakers (mainly Iraqi but some Hejazi); the other major ethnic group are the Kurds (25%), who live in the north and north-east of the country. The Kurds differ from Arabs in many ways including culture, history, clothing, and language. Other distinct groups are Assyrians, Turkomans, Iranians, Lurs, Armenians (3%) and Yezidis (possible descendants of the ancient Sumerian culture, part of the Kurdish population). About 2500 Jews and 20.000 - 50.000 Marsh Arabs live in Iraq. Arabic is the official language, although Kurdish has an official status in the North and English is the most commonly spoken Western language. East Aramaic is also used by the country's Assyrian population. Most Arab Iraqi Muslims are members of the Shiite sect, but there is a large Sunni population as well, made up of both Arabs, and Kurds. Small communities of Christians, Baha'is, Mandaeans, Shabaks, and Yezidis also exist. Most Kurds are Sunni Muslims.

Culture

Main article: Culture of Iraq

Miscellaneous topics


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Countries and Territories in the Middle East
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Category:Iraq af:Irak ar:عراق bg:Ирак ca:Iraq cs:Irák cy:Iraq da:Irak de:Irak et:Iraak es:Iraq eo:Irako fa:عراق fr:Irak ga:An Iaráic gd:Iorac gl:Iraq - العراق ko:이라크 ia:Iraq it:Iraq he:עיראק ku:Iraq ms:Iraq minnan:I-lak nl:Irak ja:イラク lv:Irāka lt:Irakas no:Irak nds:Irak pl:Irak pt:Iraque ro:Irak ru:Ирак simple:Iraq sl:Irak fi:Irak sv:Irak tt:Ğíraq vi:I-rắc tpi:Irak ur:عراق uk:Ірак zh:伊拉克

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