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Iraq

This article is about the country in West Asia. For other uses, see Iraq (disambiguation).

Republic of Iraq
  • جُمْهُورِيَّة ٱلْعِرَاق (Arabic)
    Jumhūriyyat 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
LegislatureCouncil of Representatives
Independence 
from the United Kingdom
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
• 2024 estimate
Neutral increase 46,729,000[5] (31th)
• 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 31st-most populous country. It is a federal parliamentary republic that consists of 19 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; mostly Arabs, as well as Kurds, Turkmen, Assyrians, Armenians, Yazidis, Mandaeans, Persians and Shabakis with similarly diverse geography and wildlife. Most Iraqis are Muslims – minority faiths include Christianity, Yazidism, Mandaeism, Yarsanism and Zoroastrianism.[9][3][10] The official languages of Iraq are Arabic and Kurdish; others also recognized in specific regions are Turkish (Turkmen), Suret (Assyrian), and Armenian.[11]

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.[12] Mesopotamia was a "Cradle of Civilisation" that saw the inventions of a writing system, mathematics, timekeeping, a calendar, astrology, and a law code.[13][14][15] 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.[16] 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 a Mandate was created by League of Nations. A British-backed monarchy was founded in 1921 under Faisal. The Hashemite kingdom gained independence from the UK in 1932. In 1958, the kingdom was overthrown and a republic was created.[17] Iraq was ruled by the Ba'ath Party from 1968 to 2003, led by Al-Bakr and then by Saddam Hussein, as a one-party state. Iraq invaded Iran in 1980, sparking a war that ended as a stalemate in 1988. In 1990, Iraq invaded Kuwait, leading to a military campaign waged by a US-led international coalition that expelled Iraqi forces from Kuwait. An invasion launched by another US-led coalition as part of its "War on Terror" in 2003 resulted in the defeat of Ba'athists and Saddam's execution. 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. Withdrawal of US troops began in 2008, and the occupation officially ended in 2011.[18] Continued repression and sectarian policies of Nouri al-Maliki's Shia government caused protests, after which a coalition of Ba'athist and Sunni militias took up arms during a campaign. The climax of the campaign was the North Iraq offensive by the ISID that marked its rapid territorial expansion, prompting the return of American troops to fight the war, which lasted until 2017. Iran has also intervened since 2014, expanding its influence through sectarian parties and Khomeinist militia groups, triggering widespread protests.[19]

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.[20] Iraq is considered an emerging middle power[21] with a strategic location[22] and a founding member of the United Nations, the OPEC as well as of the Arab League, OIC, Non-Aligned Movement, and the IMF. Iraq has the third largest oil reserves in the world after Venezuela and Saudi Arabia. Since its independence, Iraq experienced spells of significant economic and military growth and briefer instability including wars.

  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). 1 April 2024. Retrieved 1 April 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. ^ Office, Great Britain Foreign (1958). Documents on British Foreign Policy, 1919–1939. H.M. Stationery Office.
  10. ^ "2.15. Religious and ethnic minorities, and stateless persons". European Union Agency for Asylum. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  11. ^ "Iraq's Constitution" (PDF).
  12. ^ Keith Maisels, Charles (1993). The Near East: The Archaeology in the "Cradle of Civilization". Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-04742-5.
  13. ^ "Iraq | History, Map, Flag, Population, & Facts". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  14. ^ "Mesopotamian Inventions". World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  15. ^ "Mesopotamia". World History Encyclopedia. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  16. ^ Gutas, Dimitri (1998). Greek Thought, Arabic Culture: The Graeco-Arabic Translation Movement in Baghdad and Early Abbasid Society (2nd/8th–10th Centuries). London: Routledge.
  17. ^ Hunt, Courtney (2005). The History of Iraq. Greenwood Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-313-33414-6.
  18. ^ Basu, Moni (18 December 2011). "Deadly Iraq war ends with exit of last U.S. troops". CNN.com. Retrieved 18 December 2011.
  19. ^ Robinson, Kali (18 October 2022). "How Much Influence Does Iran Have in Iraq?". Archived from the original on 30 March 2023.
  20. ^ "Iraq – Government and society". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  21. ^ "A Balancing Act | Strategic Monitor 2018–2019". www.clingendael.org. Retrieved 5 January 2022.
  22. ^ "Iraq – The northeast". Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved 5 January 2022.


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