Islamic countries

Islamic countries

REPUBLIC OF IRAQ
AL JUMHURIYAH AL IRAQIYAH

General Information

Total Land Area:	437,370 km²
Land boundaries:	3,631 km
Coastline:	58 km
Capital:	Baghdad
Other Large Cities:	Diyala, As-Sulaymaniyah, Irbil
Official Language:	Arabic
National Currency Unit:	Iraqi Dinar (IQD)
National Day:	July 17

Location and Geography

Iraq is located in Asia at the North-east of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Turkey in the North, Iran in the East, Kuwait in the South, Saudi Arabia and Jordan in the South-west, and Syria in the North-west. The Arabian Gulf lies in the South of the country. The terrain is made up mostly of broad plains and reedy marshes in the South-eastern part of the country. About one fifth of the land is arable and there are few permanent crops. The climate is mostly desert with mild to cool winters and dry, hot, cloudless summers. The Northernmost regions along the mountainous Iranian and Turkish borders experience cold winters with heavy snow.

Demography

Population:	25.56 million (2002)
Crude Birth Rate:	39 per thousand people (2002)
Crude Death Rate:	10 per thousand people (2002)
Infant Mortality Rate:	102 per thousand (2002)
Life Expectancy:	Male: 58 years, Female: 59 years (2002)
Urban Population:	68.0 percent (2002)
Adult Literacy:	58.00 percent (1998)

Economy

Iraq has remarkable resources of oil, natural gas, phosphates and sulphur with an economy heavily dependent on exports of crude oil and petrochemicals. It has the second largest oil reserves in the world and had become the second largest exporter of hydrocarbons prior to the Gulf War. Manufacturing plays a relatively smaller role in the economy. All large-scale industry is publicly owned and includes iron, steel, cement, pharmaceuticals and fertilisers production. Small private industrial companies are engaged in food processing and textiles. Iraq has a skilled workforce. Most of the fertile irrigated land is available for agriculture and 30 percent of the workforce is employed in this sector.

GDP at Current Market Prices:	31958 million US$ (2001)
Per Capita GDP:	1288 US$ (2001)
Share of Sectors in GDP:	6.0% Agriculture, 13.0% Industry, 81.0% Services, (1998)
Total Exports:	8440 million US$ (2002)
Total Imports:	5522 million US$ (2002)
Major Exports Items:	Crude oil
Major Imports Items:	Foodstuffs, medicine and manufactured goods
Major Trading Partners:	US, Jordan, France, China and Taiwan