Iraq

Radio broadcast stations

AM 16, FM 1, shortwave 0

Radios

4.02 million (1991 est.)

Telephone system

reconstitution of damaged telecommunication facilities began after the Gulf war; most damaged facilities have been rebuilt domestic: the network consists of coaxial cables and microwave radio relay links international : satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean Region) and 1 Arabsat (inoperative); coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Jordan, Kuwait, Syria, and Turkey; Kuwait line is probably nonoperational

Telephones

632,000 (1987 est.)

Television broadcast stations

13

Televisions

1 million (1992 est.)

Agriculture - products

wheat, barley, rice, vegetables, dates, other fruit, cotton; cattle, sheep

Budget

revenues : $NA expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

Currency

1 Iraqi dinar (ID) = 1,000 fils

Debt - external

very heavy relative to GDP but amount unknown (1996)

Economic aid

recipient: ODA, $NA

Economy - overview

The Ba'thist regime engages in extensive central planning and management of industrial production and foreign trade while leaving some small-scale industry and services and most agriculture to private enterprise. The economy has been 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 and to borrow heavily and later reschedule foreign debt payments; Iraq suffered economic losses of at least $100 billion from the war. After the end of hostilities in 1988, oil exports gradually increased with the construction of new pipelines and restoration of damaged facilities. Agricultural development remained hampered by labor shortages, salinization, and dislocations caused by previous land reform and collectivization programs. The industrial sector, although accorded high priority by the government, also was under financial constraints. Iraq's seizure of Kuwait in August 1990, subsequent international economic embargoes, and military action by an international coalition beginning in January 1991 drastically changed the economic picture. Industrial and transportation facilities, which suffered severe damage, have been partially restored. Oil exports are at 25% of the prewar level following the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 986 in December 1996. Shortages of spare parts continue. The UN-sponsored economic embargo has reduced exports and imports and has contributed to the sharp rise in prices. The Iraqi Government has been unwilling to abide by UN resolutions so that the economic embargo could be removed. The government's policies of supporting large military and internal security forces and of allocating resources to key supporters of the regime have exacerbated shortages. In accord with a UN resolution Iraq agreed to an oil-for-food deal in 1996, under which it would export $2 billion worth of oil in exchange for badly needed food and medicine. The first oil was pumped in December 1996, and the first supplies of food and medicine should arrive in March 1997. Per capita output for 1995-96 and living standards are well below the 1989-90 level, but any estimates have a wide range of error.

Electricity - capacity

6.83 million kW (1996)

Electricity - consumption per capita

1,362 kWh (1996 est.)

Electricity - production

31.8 billion kWh (1996)

Exchange rates

Iraqi dinars (ID) per US$1 - 0.3109 (fixed official rate since 1982); black market rate - Iraqi dinars (ID) per US$1 - 1,200 (May 1997), 3,000 (December 1995); subject to wide fluctuations

Exports

$NA commodities: crude oil partners: Jordan, Turkey (1996)

Fiscal year

calendar year

GDP

purchasing power parity - $42 billion (1996 est.)

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture: NA% industry: NA% services: NA%

GDP - per capita

purchasing power parity - $2,000 (1996 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

0% (1996 est.)

Imports

$NA commodities: manufactures, food partners: France, Turkey, Jordan, Vietnam, Australia (1996)

Industrial production growth rate

NA%

Industries

petroleum, chemicals, textiles, construction materials, food processing

Inflation rate - consumer price index

NA%

Labor force

total: 4.4 million (1989) by occupation: services 48%, agriculture 30%, industry 22% note : severe labor shortage; expatriate labor force was about 1,600,000 (July 1990); since then, it has declined substantially

Unemployment rate

NA%

Area

total: 437,072 sq km land: 432,162 sq km water : 4,910 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly more than twice the size of Idaho

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 which melt in early spring, sometimes causing extensive flooding in central and southern Iraq

Coastline

58 km

Elevation extremes

lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m highest point: Gundah Zhur 3,608 m

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 have 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 Rivers system contingent upon agreements with upstream riparian Turkey; air and water pollution; soil degradation (salinization) and erosion; desertification

Environment - international agreements

party to: Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban signed, but not ratified : Environmental Modification

Geographic coordinates

33 00 N, 44 00 E

Irrigated land

25,500 sq km (1993 est.)

Land boundaries

total: 3,631 km border countries : Iran 1,458 km, Jordan 181 km, Kuwait 242 km, Saudi Arabia 814 km, Syria 605 km, Turkey 331 km

Land use

arable land: 12% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 9% forests and woodland : 0% other: 79% (1993 est.)

Location

Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iran and Kuwait

Map references

Middle East

Maritime claims

continental shelf: not specified territorial sea: 12 nm

Natural hazards

dust storms, sandstorms, floods

Natural resources

petroleum, natural gas, phosphates, sulfur

Terrain

mostly broad plains; reedy marshes along Iranian border in south; mountains along borders with Iran and Turkey

Administrative divisions

18 provinces (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Anbar, Al Basrah, Al Muthanna, Al Qadisiyah, An Najaf, Arbil, As Sulaymaniyah, At Ta'mim, Babil, Baghdad, Dahuk, Dhi Qar, Diyala, Karbala', Maysan, Ninawa, Salah ad Din, Wasit

Constitution

22 September 1968, effective 16 July 1970 (provisional Constitution); new constitution drafted in 1990 but not adopted

Country name

conventional long form: Republic of Iraq conventional short form: Iraq local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Iraqiyah local short form: Al Iraq

Data code

IZ

Diplomatic representation from the US

none; note - the US has an Interests Section in the Polish Embassy in Baghdad, which is in the Masbah Quarter (opposite the Foreign Ministry Club); address: P. O. Box 2447 Alwiyah, Baghdad; telephone: [964] (1) 719-6138, 719-6139, 718-1840, 719-3791; FAX: [964] (1) 718-9297

Diplomatic representation in the US

none; note - Iraq has an Interest Section in the Algerian Embassy headed by Dr. Khairi O. T. AL ZUBAIDI; address: Iraqi Interests Section, Algerian Embassy, 1801 P Street NW, Washington, DC 20036; telephone: [1] (202) 483-7500; FAX: [1] (202) 462-5066

Executive branch

chief of state : President SADDAM Husayn (since 16 July 1979); Vice President Taha Muhyi al-Din MARUF (since 21 April 1974); Vice President Taha Yasin RAMADAN (since 23 March 1991) head of government: Prime Minister SADDAM Husayn (since NA May 1994); Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Mikhail AZIZ (since NA 1979); Deputy Prime Minister Taha Yasin RAMADAN (since NA); Deputy Prime Minister Muhammad Hamza al-ZUBAYDI (since NA) cabinet: Council of Ministers note: there is also a Revolutionary Command Council; Chairman SADDAM Husayn, Vice Chairman Izzat IBRAHIM al-Duri elections: president and vice presidents elected by a two-thirds majority of the Revolutionary Command Council; election last held 17 October 1995 (next to be held NA) election results: SADDAM Husayn reelected president; percent of Revolutionary Command Council vote - 99%; Taha Muhyi al-Din MARUF and Taha Yasin RAMADAN elected vice presidents; percent of Revolutionary Command Council vote - NA

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 that has two stars but no script and the flag of Yemen that has a plain white band; also similar to the flag of Egypt that has a symbolic eagle centered in the white band

Government type

republic

Independence

3 October 1932 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration)

International organization participation

ABEDA, ACC, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-19, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO

Judicial branch

Court of Cassation

Legal system

based on Islamic law in special religious courts, civil law system elsewhere; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Legislative branch

unicameral National Assembly or Majlis al-Watani (250 seats; 30 appointed by SADDAM Husayn to represent the three northern provinces of Dahuk, Arbil, and As Sulaymaniyah; 220 elected by popular vote; members serve four-year terms) elections: last held 24 March 1996 (next to be held NA 2000) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA

National capital

Baghdad

National holiday

Anniversary of the Revolution, 17 July (1968)

Political parties and leaders

Ba'th Party, SADDAM Husayn, central party leader

Political pressure groups and leaders

political parties and activity severely restricted; opposition to regime from disaffected members of the Ba'th Party, Army officers, tribes, and Shi'a religious and ethnic Kurdish dissidents; the Green Party (government-controlled)

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Military branches

Army, Republican Guard and Special Republican Guard, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Force, Border Guard Force, Internal Security Forces

Military expenditures - dollar figure

$NA

Military expenditures - percent of GDP

NA%

Military manpower - availability

males age 15-49: 5,039,332 (1997 est.)

Military manpower - fit for military service

males : 2,825,888 (1997 est.)

Military manpower - military age

18 years of age

Military manpower - reaching military age annually

males: 246,404 (1997 est.)

Age structure

0-14 years: 47% (male 5,353,088; female 5,181,960) 15-64 years: 50% (male 5,565,926; female 5,442,949) 65 years and over: 3% (male 314,705; female 360,661) (July 1997 est.)

Birth rate

42.52 births/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Death rate

6.33 deaths/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Ethnic groups

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

Infant mortality rate

57.5 deaths/1,000 live births (1997 est.)

Languages

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

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 67.38 years male: 66.31 years female: 68.5 years (1997 est.)

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 58% male: 70.7% female : 45% (1995 est.)

Nationality

noun: Iraqi(s) adjective: Iraqi

Net migration rate

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1997 est.)

Population

22,219,289 (July 1997 est.)

Population growth rate

3.62% (1997 est.)

Religions

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

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.87 male(s)/female total population : 1.02 male(s)/female (1997 est.)

Total fertility rate

6.26 children born/woman (1997 est.)

Disputes - international

Iran and Iraq restored diplomatic relations in 1990 but are still trying to work out written agreements settling outstanding disputes from their eight-year war concerning border demarcation, prisoners-of-war, and freedom of navigation and sovereignty over the Shatt al Arab waterway; in November 1994, Iraq formally accepted the UN-demarcated border with Kuwait which had been spelled out in Security Council Resolutions 687 (1991), 773 (1993), and 883 (1993); this formally ends earlier claims to Kuwait and to Bubiyan and Warbah islands; dispute over water development plans by Turkey for the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers IRELAND

Airports

101 (1996 est.)

Airports - with paved runways

total: 85 over 3,047 m: 21 2,438 to 3,047 m: 33 1,524 to 2,437 m: 9 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 16 (1996 est.)

Airports - with unpaved runways

total : 16 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m : 8 (1996 est.)

Heliports

4 (1996 est.)

Highways

total: 46,500 km paved: 39,990 km unpaved: 6,510 km (1995 est.)

Merchant marine

total: 35 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 791,485 GRT/1,428,307 DWT ships by type: cargo 14, oil tanker 16, passenger 1, passenger-cargo 1, refrigerated cargo 1, roll-on/roll-off cargo 2 (1996 est.)

Pipelines

crude oil 4,350 km; petroleum products 725 km; natural gas 1,360 km

Ports and harbors

Umm Qasr, Khawr az Zubayr, and Al Basrah have limited functionality

Railways

total: 2,032 km standard gauge: 2,032 km 1.435-m gauge

Waterways

1,015 km; Shatt al Arab is usually navigable by maritime traffic for about 130 km; channel has been dredged to 3 meters and is in use; Tigris and Euphrates Rivers have navigable sections for shallow-draft watercraft; Shatt al Basrah canal was navigable by shallow-draft craft before closing in 1991 because of the Persian Gulf war