Republic of Iraq

National name: Al Jumhuriyah al Iraqiyah

President: Jalal Talabani (2005)

Prime Minister: Ibrahim al-Jaafari (2005)

Land area: 167,556 sq mi (433,970 sq km)

Population (2006 est.): 26,783,383 (growth rate: 2.7%); birth rate: 32.0/1000; infant mortality rate: 48.6/1000; life expectancy: 69.0; density per sq mi: 160

Capital and largest city (2003 est.): Baghdad, 6,777,300 (metro. area), 5,772,000 (city proper)

Largest cities: Mosul, 1,791,600; Basra, 1,377,000; Irbil, 864,900; Kirkuk, 755,700

Monetary unit: U.S. dollar

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 32%–37%), Christian or other 3%

Literacy rate: 40% (2003 est.)

Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2005 est.): $94.1 billion; per capita $3,400. Real growth rate: –3%. Inflation: 40%. Unemployment: 25%–30%. Arable land: 13%. Agriculture: wheat, barley, rice, vegetables, dates, cotton; cattle, sheep, poultry. Labor force: 7.4 million; agriculture n.a., industry n.a., services n.a. Industries: petroleum, chemicals, textiles, leather, construction materials, food processing, fertilizer, metal fabrication/processing. Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, phosphates, sulfur. Exports: $17.78 billion f.o.b. (2004): crude oil (83.9%), crude materials excluding fuels (8.0%), food and live animals (5.0%). Imports: $19.57 billion f.o.b. (2004): food, medicine, manufactures. Major trading partners: U.S., Spain, Japan, Italy, Canada, Syria, Turkey, Jordan, Germany (2004).

Communications: Telephones: main lines in use:675,000; note - an unknown number of telephone lines were damaged or destroyed during the March-April 2003 war (2003); mobile cellular: 20,000 (2002). Radio broadcast stations: after 17 months of unregulated media growth, there are approximately 80 radio stations on the air inside Iraq (2004). Television broadcast stations: 21 (2004). Internet hosts: n.a. Internet users: 25,000 (2002).

Transportation: Railways: total: 2,200 km (2004). Highways: total: 45,550 km; paved: 38,399 km; unpaved: 7,151 km (1999). Waterways: 5,275 km (not all navigable); note: Euphrates River (2,815 km), Tigris River (1,895 km), and Third River (565 km) are principal waterways (2004). Ports and harbors: Al Basrah, Khawr az Zubayr, Umm Qasr. Airports: 111; note - unknown number were damaged during the March-April 2003 war (2004 est.).

International disputes: coalition forces assist Iraqis in monitoring boundary security; 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 status of Kurds in Iraq.


 

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