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Most
Iraqi Muslims are members of the Shi’a sect, but there
is a large Sunni population as well. Small communities of
Christians, Jews, Bahais, Mandaeans and Yezidis also exist.
Most Kurds differ from their Arab neighbors in language,
dress and customs.
Almost 75 per cent of Iraq’s population live on the
plain stretching southeast from Baghdad and Basrah to the
Persian Gulf.
Languages: Arabic, Kurdish,
Assyrian, Armenian. Arabic is the most commonly spoken language,
with Kurdish is spoken in the north.
Literacy: (age 15 and over):Total
population: 58 per cent male; 70.7 per cent female: 45 per
cent (1995)
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Source: The CIA World Factbook 2002
Geography
Area: 437,072 sq km.
Land boundaries: 3650km –
Iraq is bordered by Kuwait, Iran, Turkey, Syria, Jordan
and Saudi Arabia.
Coastline: 58km
Highest point: Haji Ibrahim
3600m. Mountains in the northeast are part of the alpine
system that runs eastward from the Balkans into southern
Turkey, northern Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan, terminating
in the Himalayas. The country slopes from mountains more
than 3000m above sea level along the border with Iran and
Turkey to the remnants of sea-level, reedy marshes in the
southeast. Much of the land is desert or wasteland.
Climate: Average temperatures
range from 48 degrees celcius in July to below freezing
in January. Rainfall occurs from December to April and averages
between 10 and 18cm annually. The mountainous region of
northern Iraq receives most rain.
Mild to cool winters with dry, hot summers. Northern mountainous
regions experience cold winters with occasionally heavy
snows that melt in early spring.
Economy
Currency: Iraqi dinar
Inflation rate: 60 per cent
(2001 est)
GDP growth rate: minus 5.7
per cent (2001 est)
Exports: crude oil ($US15.8
billion, 2001 est)
Imports: food, medicine, manufactures
($US11 billion, 2001 est)
Economic aid: $US327.5 million
(1995)
1980s: Iran-Iraq war devastated
the economy, leaving a foreign debt of more than $US62 billion.
1990-91: The invasion of Kuwait,
subsequent international sanctions and damage from the Gulf
War drastically reduced economic activity.
Dependent: Economy is dominated
by oil, which has traditionally provided about 95 per cent
of foreign exchange earnings.
Oil-for-food: Since 1999, Iraq
was authorised to export unlimited quantities of oil to
finance food, medicine and infrastructure. Despite this,
living standards remain well below pre-Gulf War levels.
Armed Forces
Army: 350,000 troops (17 divisions,
six Republican Guard divisions). Equipment: 2600 battle
tanks, 1800 armored personnel carriers: 1900 towed artillery,
200 self-propelled artillery, 200 multiple rocket launchers,
164 helicopters
Navy: Total personnel: 2000.
Equipment: Six patrol and coastal combat vessels, three
minelayers/minesweepers
Air Force: Total personnel:
20,000. Equipment: 180 air-defence fighters, 130 ground-attack
fighters, six bombers, 3000 anti-aircraft guns, 850 surface-to-air
missile launchers.
Servicability of fixed-wing aircraft is about 55 per cent,
with condition of helicopters ‘poor’. Senior pilots
have 90-120 flying hours, while junior pilots have as little
as 20 hours of flight time.
Paramilitary: Total personnel:
45,000. At least half the army is at 70 per cent of authorised
strength, with some units dependent on conscripts.
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Source: The International Institute for Strategic Studies
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