Geography, history, and demographics of Iraq

¶ … Iraq is constantly in the news today, as the war in the Middle East continues. It is important to examine specific details of Iraq in order to gain a better understanding of the country.

Basic Information

Iraq is officially known by four different names. These names are: "conventional long form- Republic of Iraq; conventional short form- Iraq; local long form- Al Jumhuriyah al Iraqiyah; local short form- Al Iraq (www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/iz.html)."

Iraq occupies a total of 437,072 sq km or 271596.5 sq miles, and is "slightly more than twice the size of Idaho (www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/iz.html)." The country is located in the Middle East, "bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iran and Kuwait, with geographic coordinates of 33-00 N, 44-00 E, as compared with the geographic coordinates of the United States of 38-00 N, 97-00 W (www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/iz.html)."

Cultural Geography

Iraq was originally a part of the Ottoman Empire and during World War I was occupied by the British. In "1920, it was declared a League of Nations mandate under UK administration, and attained its independence as a kingdom in 1932. A 'republic' was proclaimed in 1958, but has actually been ruled by a series of military strongmen, the latest being Saddam Hussein (www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/iz.html)." The country was involved in the Gulf War in 1991, and its noncompliance with the United Nations Security Council led to an invasion by the United States in 2003, and the ousting of Saddam Hussein. An Interim Government was instilled in June, 2004. The National holiday is Revolution Day which is on July 17th.

The population of Iraq in July, 2004 was 25,374,691, with "40.3% aged 0-14 years, 56.7% aged 15-64 years, and 3% 65 years and older. The median age is 19.2 years, while the life expectancy rate is 68.26 years, and the population growth rate is 2.74% (www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/iz.html)."

The ethnic breakdown of the population is "Arab 75-80%; Kurdish 15-20%, and Assyrian or other 5%. The language spoken is Arabic, Kurdish (official in Kurdish regions), Assyrian, and Armenian, and the religions worshiped are Muslim-97% (Shi'a 60-65%, Sunni 32-37%), and Christian or other- 3% (www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/iz.html)." In terms of literacy, 40.4% of those who are over 15 can read and write.

Economy

The currency of Iraq is the New Iraqi dinar, and the GDP in 2003 was $37.92 billion, while the GDP per capita was $1,500. Iraq's import partners are "Jordan, Vietnam, the United States, German, Russian, UK, France and Italy, while its export partners are the United States, Taiwan, Canada, Jordan, Italy, Morocco and Brazil. The main imports of Iraq are food, medicine, and manufactures, while its chief export is crude oil (www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/iz.html)."

Government and Military

There is currently an interim government in place. The Iraqi Armed Forces was recently dissolved by the United States and the UK, and they are "implementing plans to create a new Iraqi Army with a purely defensive mission and capability (www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/iz.html)." The country belongs to a number of associations which include "ABEDA, ACC, AFESD, AMF, CAEU, FAO, Interpol, IOC, OPEC, UN, and WHO (www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/iz.html)."

Living Symbol

The flag of Iraq is "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 (www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/iz.html)."

Conclusion

Iraq is a country that is in the middle of vast changes. By examining details of the country, one is able to gain a better understanding of the people who live there.