Kurdistan Region
| |
---|---|
Anthem: ئەی ڕەقیب Ey Reqîb "Oh, enemy!" | |
Country | ![]() |
Autonomy founded | 19 May 1992[1] |
Autonomy recognized | 15 October 2005[2] |
Capital | Erbil (de facto) Kirkuk[1] (proclaimed) 36°04′59″N 44°37′47″E / 36.08306°N 44.62972°E |
Official languages | [1][3] |
Administrative languages | [1] |
Recognized languages[1][5] | |
Ethnic groups (2004[1]) | Recognized ethnicities: |
Religion |
|
Demonym(s) |
|
Government | Parliamentary semi-autonomous region |
Nechirvan Barzani | |
Masrour Barzani | |
• Deputy Prime Minister | Qubad Talabani |
Legislature | Kurdistan Parliament |
Area | |
• Total | 46,862[9] km2 (18,094 sq mi) |
Population | |
• Estimate | 6,556,752 (2023)[10] |
GDP (PPP) | 2022[11][12] estimate |
• Total | $66 billion[11][12] |
• Per capita | $7,038[11][12] |
Gini (2012) | 32[13] medium |
HDI (2014) | 0.750[13] high |
Currency | Iraqi dinar |
Time zone | UTC+3 (AST) |
Date format | dd/mm/yyyy |
Driving side | right |
Calling code | +964 |
ISO 3166 code | |
Internet TLD | .krd |
![]() |
Kurdistan Region (KRI; Sorani Kurdish: هەرێمی کوردستان, romanized: Herêmî Kurdistan; Kurmanji Kurdish: Herêma Kurdistanê;[14] Arabic: إقليم كردستان, romanized: Iqlīm Kurdistān)[15] is a semi-autonomous administrative entity within the Republic of Iraq.[16][17] It comprises four Kurdish-majority divisions of Arab-majority Iraq: the Erbil Governorate, the Sulaymaniyah Governorate, the Duhok Governorate, and Halabja Governorate. The KRI is bordered by Iran to the east, by Turkey to the north, and by Syria to the west. It does not govern all of Iraqi Kurdistan, and lays claim to the disputed territories of northern Iraq; these territories have a predominantly non-Arab population and were subject to the Ba'athist Arabization campaigns throughout the late 20th century. Though the KRI's autonomy was realized in 1992, one year after Iraq's defeat in the Gulf War, these northern territories remain contested between the Kurdistan Regional Government (in Erbil) and the Government of Iraq (in Baghdad) to the present day. In light of the dispute, the KRI's constitution declares the city of Kirkuk as the capital of Iraqi Kurdistan. However, the KRI does not control Kirkuk, and the Kurdistan Region Parliament is based in Erbil. In 2014, when the Syria-based Islamic State began their Northern Iraq offensive and invaded the country, the Iraqi Armed Forces retreated from most of the disputed territories. The KRI's Peshmerga then entered and took control of them for the duration of the War in Iraq (2013–2017). In October 2017, following the defeat of the Islamic State, the Iraqi Armed Forces attacked the Peshmerga and reasserted control over the disputed territories.[18]
Throughout the 20th century, Iraqi Kurds oscillated between fighting for autonomy and for full independence. Under the Ba'athist regime, the Kurds experienced Arabization and genocidal campaigns at the hands of the federal government in Baghdad.[19] However, when the United States, the United Kingdom, and France established the Iraqi no-fly zones, which restricted the federal government's power in the country's northern and southern areas following the Gulf War, the Kurds were given a chance to experiment with self-governance and the autonomous region was de facto established.[20] The Iraqi government only recognized the Kurdistan Region in 2005 (as a ‘federal region’), after the American-led 2003 invasion of Iraq overthrew Saddam Hussein.[21] In September 2017, the KRI passed a non-binding independence referendum, inviting mixed reactions internationally. The KRI largely escaped the privations that afflicted other parts of Iraq in the last years of Saddam Hussein's rule as well as the chaos that followed his ousting during the Iraq War (2003–2011), and built a parliamentary democracy with a growing economy.[22]
Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha>
tags or {{efn}}
templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}}
template or {{notelist}}
template (see the help page).
© MMXXIII Rich X Search. We shall prevail. All rights reserved. Rich X Search