Iraq

Republic of Iraq
  • جُمْهُورِيَّة ٱلْعِرَاق (Arabic)
    Jumhūriyya al-ʿIrāq
  • کۆماری عێراق (Kurdish)
    Komarî Êraq[1]
Anthem: موطني
Mawṭinī
"My Homeland"
Location of Iraq
Capital
and largest city
Baghdad
33°20′N 44°23′E / 33.333°N 44.383°E / 33.333; 44.383
Official languages
  • Recognised regional languages
Ethnic groups
(1987)[3]
Demonym(s)Iraqi
GovernmentFederal parliamentary republic
• President
Abdul Latif Rashid
Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani
Independence 
3 October 1932
14 July 1958
15 October 2005
Area
• Total
438,317 km2 (169,235 sq mi) (58th)
• Water (%)
4.62 (as of 2015)[4]
Population
• 2023 estimate
43,324,000[5] (35th)
• Density
82.7/km2 (214.2/sq mi) (125th)
GDP (PPP)2023 estimate
• Total
Increase $508.973 billion[6] (48th)
• Per capita
Decrease $11,742[6] (114th)
GDP (nominal)2023 estimate
• Total
Decrease $254.993 billion[6] (47th)
• Per capita
Decrease $5,882[6] (111th)
Gini (2012)29.5[7]
low
HDI (2021)Increase 0.686[8]
medium (121st)
CurrencyIraqi dinar (IQD)
Time zoneUTC+3 (AST)
Driving sideright
Calling code+964
ISO 3166 codeIQ
Internet TLD

Iraq,[a] officially the Republic of Iraq,[b] is a country in West Asia and in the geopolitical region known as the Middle East. With a population of over 46 million, it is the 33rd-most populous country. It is a federal parliamentary republic that consists of 18 governorates. The country is bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and Kuwait to the southeast, Saudi Arabia to the south, Jordan to the southwest, and Syria to the west. The capital and largest city is Baghdad. The Iraqi people are diverse, with similarly diverse geography and wildlife. As part of the Arab and Muslim world,[9][10] most Iraqis are Arab Muslims – minority faiths include Christianity, Yazidism, Mandaeism, Yarsanism, and Zoroastrianism.[11][3][12] The official languages of Iraq are Arabic and Kurdish; others also recognized in specific regions are Turkish (Turkmen), Suret (Assyrian), and Armenian.[13]

Starting as early as the 6th millennium BC, the fertile alluvial plains between Iraq's Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, referred to as Mesopotamia, gave rise to some of the world's earliest cities, civilizations, and empires in Sumer, Akkad, and Assyria.[14] Mesopotamia was a "Cradle of Civilisation" that saw the inventions of a writing system, mathematics, timekeeping, a calendar, astrology, and a law code.[15][16][17] Following the Muslim conquest of Mesopotamia, Baghdad became the capital and the largest city of the Abbasid Caliphate, and during the Islamic Golden Age, the city evolved into a significant cultural and intellectual center, and garnered a worldwide reputation for its academic institutions, including the House of Wisdom.[18] The city was largely destroyed at the hands of the Mongol Empire in 1258 during the siege of Baghdad, resulting in a decline that would linger through many centuries due to frequent plagues and multiple successive empires.

Modern Iraq dates to 1920, when the British Mandate for Mesopotamia was created under the authority of the League of Nations. A British-backed monarchy was established in 1921 under Faisal. The Hashemite Kingdom of Iraq gained independence from the UK in 1932. In 1958, the monarchy was overthrown and the Iraqi Republic created.[19] Iraq was ruled by the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party from 1968 until 2003, led by Ahmad Hassan al-Bakr and then by Saddam Hussein, as a one-party state. Iraq invaded Iran in 1980, sparking a protracted war that ended as a stalemate in 1988, with devastating losses for both sides. In 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait, leading to global condemnation and a military campaign waged by a US-led international coalition that expelled Iraqi forces from Kuwait. A 2003 invasion launched by another US-led coalition as part of its "Global War on Terror" resulted in the defeat of Ba'athist Iraq and the execution of Saddam Hussein. Discontent with the de-Ba'athification policies of the Provisional Authority stirred up an anti-American insurgency, which escalated into a sectarian civil war. In 2005, a new constitution was adopted and multi-party parliamentary elections were held in Iraq. The Withdrawal of US troops from Iraq began in 2008, and the American occupation officially ended in 2011.[20] Continued repression and sectarian policies of Nouri al-Maliki's Shia government caused the 2012–13 Iraqi protests, after which a coalition of Ba'athist and Sunni militias took up arms during the 2013 Anbar campaign. The climax of the campaign was the Northern Iraq offensive by the Islamic State group that marked its rapid territorial expansion, prompting the return of American troops to fight the War in Iraq, which lasted until 2017. Iran has also intervened in Iraq since 2014, expanding its influence through sectarian parties and Khomeinist militia groups, triggering widespread protests in Iraq.[21]

Iraq is a federal parliamentary republic. The president is the head of state, the prime minister is the head of government, and the constitution provides for two deliberative bodies, the Council of Representatives and the Council of Union. The judiciary is free and independent of the executive and the legislature.[22] Iraq is considered an emerging middle power[23] with a strategic location[24] and a founding member of the United Nations, the OPEC as well as of the Arab League, OIC, Non-Aligned Movement, and the IMF.

  1. ^ "دەستووری کۆماری عێراق" (in Kurdish). Parliament of Iraq. Retrieved 15 October 2008.
  2. ^ "Iraq, Ministry of Interior – General Directorate for Nationality: Iraqi Constitution (2005)" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 March 2011.
  3. ^ a b c Cite error: The named reference cia was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Surface water and surface water change". Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). Retrieved 11 October 2020.
  5. ^ "وزارة التخطيط، تُصدر بيانا لمناسبة اليوم العالمي للسكان" [Ministry of Planning issues statement on World Population Day]. Ministry of Planning (Iraq) (in Arabic). 7 July 2023. Retrieved 27 February 2024.
  6. ^ a b c d "World Economic Outlook Database, October 2023 Edition. (Iraq)". IMF.org. International Monetary Fund. 10 October 2023. Retrieved 12 October 2023.
  7. ^ "Gini Index - Iraq". World Bank. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
  8. ^ "Human Development Report 2021/2022" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 8 September 2022. Retrieved 9 October 2022.
  9. ^ "League of Arab States (LAS) | EEAS". eeas.europa.eu. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
  10. ^ "IRAN'S FOREIGN POLICY IN POST-INVASION IRAQ" (PDF).
  11. ^ Office, Great Britain Foreign (1958). Documents on British Foreign Policy, 1919–1939. H.M. Stationery Office.
  12. ^ "2.15. Religious and ethnic minorities, and stateless persons". European Union Agency for Asylum. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  13. ^ "Iraq's Constitution" (PDF).
  14. ^ Keith Maisels, Charles (1993). The Near East: The Archaeology in the "Cradle of Civilization". Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-04742-5.
  15. ^ "Iraq | History, Map, Flag, Population, & Facts". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  16. ^ "Mesopotamian Inventions". World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  17. ^ "Mesopotamia". World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  18. ^ Gutas, Dimitri (1998). Greek Thought, Arabic Culture: The Graeco-Arabic Translation Movement in Baghdad and Early Abbasid Society (2nd/8th–10th Centuries). London: Routledge.
  19. ^ Hunt, Courtney (2005). The History of Iraq. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-313-33414-6.
  20. ^ Basu, Moni (18 December 2011). "Deadly Iraq war ends with exit of last U.S. troops". CNN.com. Retrieved 18 December 2011.
  21. ^ Robinson, Kali (18 October 2022). "How Much Influence Does Iran Have in Iraq?". Archived from the original on 30 March 2023.
  22. ^ "Iraq – Government and society". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  23. ^ "A Balancing Act | Strategic Monitor 2018–2019". www.clingendael.org. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  24. ^ "Iraq – The northeast". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 5 January 2022.


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