"text":"<p>Formerly part of the Ottoman Empire, Iraq was occupied by the United Kingdom during World War I and was declared a League of Nations mandate under UK administration in 1920. Iraq attained its independence as a kingdom in 1932. It was proclaimed a republic in 1958 after a coup overthrew the monarchy, but in actuality, a series of strongmen ruled the country until 2003. The last was SADDAM Hussein, from 1979 to 2003. Territorial disputes with Iran led to an inconclusive and costly war from 1980 to 1988. In 1990, Iraq seized Kuwait but was expelled by US-led UN coalition forces during the two-month-long Gulf War of 1991. After Iraq's expulsion, the UN Security Council (UNSC) required Iraq to scrap all weapons of mass destruction and long-range missiles and to allow UN verification inspections. Continued Iraqi noncompliance with UNSC resolutions led to the Second Gulf War in 2003, when US-led forces ousted the SADDAM regime.</p> <p>In 2005, Iraqis approved a constitution in a national referendum and elected a 275-member Council of Representatives (COR). The COR approved most of the cabinet ministers, marking the transition to Iraq's first constitutional government in nearly a half-century. Iraq's constitution also established the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), a semi-autonomous region that administers the governorates of Erbil, Dahuk, and As Sulaymaniyah. Iraq has held four national legislative elections since 2006, most recently in 2021. The COR approved Mohammad Shia' al-SUDANI as prime minister in 2022. Iraq has repeatedly postponed elections for provincial councils -- last held in 2013 -- and since 2019, the prime minister has had the authority to appoint governors rather than provincial councils.</p> <p>Between 2014 and 2017, Iraq fought a military campaign against the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS) to recapture territory the group seized in 2014. In 2017, then-Prime Minister Haydar al-ABADI publicly declared victory against ISIS, although military operations against the group continue in rural areas. Also in 2017, Baghdad forcefully seized disputed territories across central and northern Iraq from the KRG, after a non-binding Kurdish independence referendum.</p>"
"text":"mostly desert; mild to cool winters with dry, hot, cloudless summers; northern mountainous regions along Iranian and Turkish borders experience cold winters with occasionally heavy snows that melt in early spring, sometimes causing extensive flooding in central and southern Iraq"
},
"Terrain":{
"text":"mostly broad plains; reedy marshes along Iranian border in south with large flooded areas; mountains along borders with Iran and Turkey"
"text":"Euphrates river mouth (shared with Turkey[s], Syria, and Iran) - 3,596 km; Tigris river mouth (shared with Turkey[s], Syria, and Iran) - 1,950 km; the Tigris and Euphrates join to form the Shatt al Arab<br><br><strong>note:</strong>[s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth"
"text":"population is concentrated in the north, center, and eastern parts of the country, with many of the larger urban agglomerations found along extensive parts of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers; much of the western and southern areas are either lightly populated or uninhabited"
},
"Natural hazards":{
"text":"dust storms; sandstorms; floods"
},
"Geography - note":{
"text":"strategic location on Shatt al Arab waterway and at the head of the Persian Gulf"
"text":"Arabic (official), Kurdish (official); Turkmen (a Turkish dialect) and Syriac (Neo-Aramaic) are recognized as official languages where native speakers of these languages are present"
"text":"<br>كتاب حقائق العالم، أحسن مصدر للمعلومات الأساسية (Arabic)<br><br>ڕاستییەکانی جیهان، باشترین سەرچاوەیە بۆ زانیارییە بنەڕەتییەکان (Kurdish)<br> <p>The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.</p>"
"text":"Muslim (official) 95-98% (Shia 61-64%, Sunni 29-34%), Christian 1% (includes Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, Assyrian Church of the East), other 1-4% (2015 est.)",
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> the last census in Iraq was in 1997; while there has been voluntary relocation of many Christian families to northern Iraq, the overall Christian population has decreased at least 50% and perhaps as much as 90% since 2003, according to US Embassy estimates, with many fleeing to Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon"
"text":"population is concentrated in the north, center, and eastern parts of the country, with many of the larger urban agglomerations found along extensive parts of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers; much of the western and southern areas are either lightly populated or uninhabited"
"text":"habitat loss from wetland draining; inadequate potable water; soil degradation (salination) and erosion; desertification; air, soil, and groundwater pollution from military and industries; water pollution from oil refineries and factory and sewage discharges; soil pollution from fertilizer and chemicals; air pollution in urban areas"
"text":"mostly desert; mild to cool winters with dry, hot, cloudless summers; northern mountainous regions along Iranian and Turkish borders experience cold winters with occasionally heavy snows that melt in early spring, sometimes causing extensive flooding in central and southern Iraq"
"text":"18 governorates (<em>muhafazat</em>, singular - <em>muhafazah </em>(Arabic); parezgakan, singular - parezga (Kurdish)); 'Al Anbar; Al Basrah; Al Muthanna; Al Qadisiyah (Ad Diwaniyah); An Najaf; Arbil (Erbil) (Arabic), Hewler (Kurdish); As Sulaymaniyah (Arabic), Slemani (Kurdish); Babil; Baghdad; Dahuk (Arabic), Dihok (Kurdish); Dhi Qar; Diyala; Karbala'; Kirkuk; Maysan; Ninawa; Salah ad Din; Wasit",
"note":"<strong>note: </strong>Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Government administers Arbil, Dahuk, and As Sulaymaniyah (as Hewler, Dihok, and Slemani, respectively)"
"text":"proposed by the president of the republic and the Council of Minsters collectively, or by one fifth of the Council of Representatives members; passage requires at least two-thirds majority vote by the Council of Representatives, approval by referendum, and ratification by the president; passage of amendments to articles on citizen rights and liberties requires two-thirds majority vote of Council of Representatives members after two successive electoral terms, approval in a referendum, and ratification by the president"
}
},
"International law organization participation":{
"text":"has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt"
},
"Citizenship":{
"citizenship by birth":{
"text":"no"
},
"citizenship by descent only":{
"text":"at least one parent must be a citizen of Iraq"
"text":"<em><br>2022: </em>Latif RASHID elected president in second round; COR vote in first round - Latif RASHID (PUK) 157, Barham SALIH (PUK) 99; COR vote in second round - Latif RASHID 167, Barham SALIH 99; Mohammed Shia' al-SUDANI approved as prime minister<em><br><br>2018:</em> Barham SALIH elected president in second round; COR vote in first round - Barham SALIH (PUK) 165, Fuad HUSAYN (KDP) 90; COR vote in second round - Barham SALIH 219, Fuad HUSAYN 22; Adil ABD AL-MAHDI approved as prime minister"
"text":"Sadrist Bloc (73); National Progress Alliance / Taqadum (37); State of Law Coalition (33); Kurdistan Democratic Party (31); Fatah Alliance (17); Kurdistan Alliance (17); Independents (43); Other (78)"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> seat counts reflect updated numbers following the 12 June 2022 Sadrist Trend withdrawal from government formation; its 73 seats were reallocated to other parties"
"text":"Federal Supreme Court or FSC (consists of 9 judges); Court of Cassation (consists of a court president, 5 vice presidents, and at least 24 judges)"
"text":"Federal Supreme Court (FSC) judges nominated by the High Judicial Council (HJC) president, the FSC chief justice, the public prosecutor's office chief, and the head of the Judicial Oversight Commission; FSC members required to retire at age 72; Court of Cassation judges appointed by the HJC and confirmed by the Council of Representatives to serve until retirement, nominally at age 63, but can be extended to age 66"
"text":"Courts of Appeal (governorate level); civil courts, including first instance, personal status, labor, and customs; criminal courts including felony, misdemeanor, investigative, major crimes, juvenile, and traffic courts"
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> Federal Supreme Court jurisdiction limited to constitutional issues, application of federal laws, ratification of election results for the COR, judicial competency disputes, and disputes between regions or governorates and the central government"
"text":"three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black; the Takbir (Arabic phrase meaning \"God is great\") in green Arabic script is centered in the white band; the colors come from the Arab Liberation flag and stand for oppression (black) overcome through bloody struggle (red), to be replaced by a bright future (white); the Council of Representatives approved this flag in 2008 as a compromise replacement for the Ba'thist SADDAM-era flag",
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> similar to the flags of Syria (two stars but no script), Yemen (plain white band), and Egypt (a golden Eagle of Saladin centered in the white band)"
"text":"Ashur (Qal'at Sherqat) (c); Babylon (c); Erbil Citadel (c); Hatra (c); Samarra Archaeological City (c); The Ahwar (Marshland) of Southern Iraq: Refuge of Biodiversity and the Relict Landscape of the Mesopotamian Cities (m)"
"text":"highly oil-dependent Middle Eastern economy; fiscal sustainability subject to fluctuation in oil prices; rising public confidence in economic conditions; import-dependent for most sectors; persistent challenges of corruption, informal markets, banking access, and political fragility"
"note":"<b>note:</b> central government revenues and expenses (excluding grants/extrabudgetary units/social security funds) converted to US dollars at average official exchange rate for year indicated"
"text":"the number of private radio and TV stations has increased rapidly since 2003; state-owned TV and radio stations are operated by the publicly funded Iraqi Media Network; private broadcast media are mostly linked to political, ethnic, or religious groups; satellite TV is available to about 70% of viewers; many broadcasters are based abroad; transmissions of multiple international radio broadcasters are accessible (2019)"
"text":"Ministry of Defense: Iraqi Army, Army Aviation Command, Iraqi Navy, Iraqi Air Force, Iraqi Air Defense Command, Special Forces Command, Special Security Division<br><br>National-Level Security Forces: Iraqi Counterterrorism Service (CTS), Prime Minister's Special Forces (Security) Division, Presidential Brigades<br><br>Ministry of Interior: Federal Police Forces Command, Border Guard Forces Command, Federal Intelligence and Investigations Agency, Emergency Response Division, Facilities Protection Directorate, and Provincial Police<br><br>Ministry of Oil: Energy Police Directorate<br><br>Popular Mobilization Committee (PMC): Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), Tribal Mobilization Forces (TMF)<br><br>Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG): Kurdish Security Forces (2025)",
"note":"<strong>note 1: </strong>the Iraqi military and associated forces are collectively known as the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF)<br><br><strong>note 2:</strong> the PMF and TMF are a collection of more than 50 militias of widely varied sizes and political interests<br><br><strong>note 3:</strong> the federal constitution provides the KRG the right to maintain its own military and security forces; some forces, such as the Regional Guard Brigades, are unified under the KRG's Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs, but the two main Kurdish political parties, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), also maintain their own forces; the Unit/Division 80 Forces are under the KDP, while the Unit/Division 70 Forces are under the PUK; the KDP and PUK also maintain separate police, emergency response, and internal security/intelligence (Asayish) services under nominal KRG Ministry of Interior control; the KRG is working towards disbanding the partisan 70 and 80 Forces and integrating them into joint units under the Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs by September 2026"
"text":"information varies; approximately 200,000 active armed forces personnel under the Ministry of Defense (Army, Aviation Command, Air/Air Defense, Navy, Special Forces); approximately 20-25,000 National-Level Security Forces<br><br>Ministry of Peshmerga: approximately 150,000 active personnel (2025)"
"text":"the Iraqi military's inventory includes a mix of equipment from a wide variety of sources, including China, several European countries, South Africa, South Korea, Russia, and the US (2024)"
"text":"18-40 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription (2023)",
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> service in the armed forces was mandatory in Iraq from 1935 up until 2003; in 2021, the Iraqi cabinet approved a draft law to reinstate compulsory military service and referred the proposed law to the Iraqi parliament; as of 2023, the proposed law had been shelved"
"text":"the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) are primarily focused on internal and border security; they are actively conducting counterinsurgency and counterterrorism operations against the Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS) terrorist group, particularly in northern and western Iraq; the operations include securing the border with Syria; the Kurdish Security Forces, as well as are also active in conducting operations against ISIS<br><br>two international military task forces operate in Iraq to assist the country's security forces at the request of the Iraqi Government; in 2018, NATO established an advisory, training and capacity-building mission for the Iraqi military known as the NATO Mission Iraq (NMI); in December 2021, the US-led Combined Joint Task Force – Operation Inherent Resolve (CJTF-OIR) transitioned from a combat role to an advise, assist, and enable role (2025)"
"text":"Ansar al-Islam; Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq; Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)/Qods Force; Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS); Jaysh Rijal al-Tariq al-Naqshabandi; Kata'ib Hizballah; Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)",
"note":"<strong>note:</strong> details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in the Terrorism reference guide"
"text":"47,253 (2022); note - in the 1970s and 1980s under SADDAM Husayn's regime, thousands of Iraq's Faili Kurds, followers of Shia Islam, were stripped of their Iraqi citizenship, had their property seized by the government, and many were deported; some Faili Kurds had their citizenship reinstated under the 2006 Iraqi Nationality Law, but others lack the documentation to prove their Iraqi origins; some Palestinian refugees persecuted by the SADDAM regime remain stateless"
