{ "Introduction": { "Background": { "text": "
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.
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.
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.
" } }, "Geography": { "Location": { "text": "Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iran and Kuwait" }, "Geographic coordinates": { "text": "33 00 N, 44 00 E" }, "Map references": { "text": "Middle East" }, "Area": { "total ": { "text": "438,317 sq km" }, "land": { "text": "437,367 sq km" }, "water": { "text": "950 sq km" } }, "Area - comparative": { "text": "slightly more than three times the size of New York State" }, "Land boundaries": { "total": { "text": "3,809 km" }, "border countries": { "text": "Iran 1,599 km; Jordan 179 km; Kuwait 254 km; Saudi Arabia 811 km; Syria 599 km; Turkey 367 km" } }, "Coastline": { "text": "58 km" }, "Maritime claims": { "territorial sea": { "text": "12 nm" }, "continental shelf": { "text": "not specified" } }, "Climate": { "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" }, "Elevation": { "highest point": { "text": "Cheekha Dar (Kurdish for \"Black Tent\") 3,611 m" }, "lowest point": { "text": "Persian Gulf 0 m" }, "mean elevation": { "text": "312 m" } }, "Natural resources": { "text": "petroleum, natural gas, phosphates, sulfur" }, "Land use": { "agricultural land": { "text": "21.8% (2023 est.)" }, "agricultural land: arable land": { "text": "arable land: 11.4% (2023 est.)" }, "agricultural land: permanent crops": { "text": "permanent crops: 1.2% (2023 est.)" }, "agricultural land: permanent pasture": { "text": "permanent pasture: 9.2% (2023 est.)" }, "forest": { "text": "1.6% (2023 est.)" }, "other": { "text": "76.5% (2023 est.)" } }, "Irrigated land": { "text": "35,250 sq km (2012)" }, "Major lakes (area sq km)": { "fresh water lake(s)": { "text": "Lake Hammar - 1,940 sq km" } }, "Major rivers (by length in km)": { "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 ArabThe World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
" } }, "Religions": { "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": "note: 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" }, "Age structure": { "0-14 years": { "text": "34.6% (male 7,447,266/female 7,130,883)" }, "15-64 years": { "text": "61.7% (male 13,064,516/female 12,907,702)" }, "65 years and over": { "text": "3.6% (2024 est.) (male 681,574/female 851,495)" } }, "Dependency ratios": { "total dependency ratio": { "text": "60.5 (2025 est.)" }, "youth dependency ratio": { "text": "54.6 (2025 est.)" }, "elderly dependency ratio": { "text": "5.9 (2025 est.)" }, "potential support ratio": { "text": "16.9 (2025 est.)" } }, "Median age": { "total": { "text": "22.7 years (2025 est.)" }, "male": { "text": "22 years" }, "female": { "text": "22.7 years" } }, "Population growth rate": { "text": "1.94% (2025 est.)" }, "Birth rate": { "text": "23.26 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)" }, "Death rate": { "text": "3.86 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)" }, "Net migration rate": { "text": "0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)" }, "Population distribution": { "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" }, "Urbanization": { "urban population": { "text": "71.6% of total population (2023)" }, "rate of urbanization": { "text": "2.91% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)" } }, "Major urban areas - population": { "text": "7.711 million BAGHDAD (capital), 1.792 million Mosul, 1.448 million Basra, 1.075 million Kirkuk, 958,000 Najaf, 897,000 Erbil (2023)" }, "Sex ratio": { "at birth": { "text": "1.05 male(s)/female" }, "0-14 years": { "text": "1.04 male(s)/female" }, "15-64 years": { "text": "1.01 male(s)/female" }, "65 years and over": { "text": "0.8 male(s)/female" }, "total population": { "text": "1.02 male(s)/female (2024 est.)" } }, "Maternal mortality ratio": { "text": "66 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)" }, "Infant mortality rate": { "total": { "text": "18.3 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)" }, "male": { "text": "20.4 deaths/1,000 live births" }, "female": { "text": "17 deaths/1,000 live births" } }, "Life expectancy at birth": { "total population": { "text": "73.7 years (2024 est.)" }, "male": { "text": "71.9 years" }, "female": { "text": "75.7 years" } }, "Total fertility rate": { "text": "3.03 children born/woman (2025 est.)" }, "Gross reproduction rate": { "text": "1.48 (2025 est.)" }, "Drinking water source": { "improved: urban": { "text": "urban: 99.8% of population (2022 est.)" }, "improved: rural": { "text": "rural: 94.8% of population (2022 est.)" }, "improved: total": { "text": "total: 98.4% of population (2022 est.)" }, "unimproved: urban": { "text": "urban: 0.2% of population (2022 est.)" }, "unimproved: rural": { "text": "rural: 5.2% of population (2022 est.)" }, "unimproved: total": { "text": "total: 1.6% of population (2022 est.)" } }, "Health expenditure": { "Health expenditure (as % of GDP)": { "text": "5.2% of GDP (2021)" }, "Health expenditure (as % of national budget)": { "text": "5.8% of national budget (2022 est.)" } }, "Physician density": { "text": "1.02 physicians/1,000 population (2022)" }, "Hospital bed density": { "text": "1.3 beds/1,000 population (2021 est.)" }, "Sanitation facility access": { "improved: urban": { "text": "urban: 98.8% of population (2022 est.)" }, "improved: rural": { "text": "rural: 97.6% of population (2022 est.)" }, "improved: total": { "text": "total: 98.5% of population (2022 est.)" }, "unimproved: urban": { "text": "urban: 1.2% of population (2022 est.)" }, "unimproved: rural": { "text": "rural: 2.4% of population (2022 est.)" }, "unimproved: total": { "text": "total: 1.5% of population (2022 est.)" } }, "Obesity - adult prevalence rate": { "text": "30.4% (2016)" }, "Alcohol consumption per capita": { "total": { "text": "0.16 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)" }, "beer": { "text": "0.11 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)" }, "wine": { "text": "0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)" }, "spirits": { "text": "0.04 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)" }, "other alcohols": { "text": "0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)" } }, "Tobacco use": { "total": { "text": "18.6% (2025 est.)" }, "male": { "text": "36.2% (2025 est.)" }, "female": { "text": "1.3% (2025 est.)" } }, "Children under the age of 5 years underweight": { "text": "3.9% (2018 est.)" }, "Currently married women (ages 15-49)": { "text": "64.3% (2018 est.)" }, "Child marriage": { "women married by age 15": { "text": "7.2% (2018)" }, "women married by age 18": { "text": "27.9% (2018)" } }, "Education expenditure": { "text": "4.7% of GDP (2016)" }, "Literacy": { "total population": { "text": "84.1% (2021 est.)" }, "male": { "text": "90.3% (2021 est.)" }, "female": { "text": "77.8% (2021 est.)" } } }, "Environment": { "Environmental issues": { "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" }, "International environmental agreements": { "party to": { "text": "Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands" }, "signed, but not ratified": { "text": "Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Environmental Modification" } }, "Climate": { "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" }, "Land use": { "agricultural land": { "text": "21.8% (2023 est.)" }, "agricultural land: arable land": { "text": "arable land: 11.4% (2023 est.)" }, "agricultural land: permanent crops": { "text": "permanent crops: 1.2% (2023 est.)" }, "agricultural land: permanent pasture": { "text": "permanent pasture: 9.2% (2023 est.)" }, "forest": { "text": "1.6% (2023 est.)" }, "other": { "text": "76.5% (2023 est.)" } }, "Urbanization": { "urban population": { "text": "71.6% of total population (2023)" }, "rate of urbanization": { "text": "2.91% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)" } }, "Carbon dioxide emissions": { "total emissions": { "text": "190.815 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)" }, "from coal and metallurgical coke": { "text": "7,000 metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)" }, "from petroleum and other liquids": { "text": "152.931 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)" }, "from consumed natural gas": { "text": "37.878 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2023 est.)" } }, "Particulate matter emissions": { "text": "45.4 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)" }, "Methane emissions": { "energy": { "text": "2,243 kt (2022-2024 est.)" }, "agriculture": { "text": "157 kt (2019-2021 est.)" }, "waste": { "text": "325 kt (2019-2021 est.)" }, "other": { "text": "2.3 kt (2019-2021 est.)" } }, "Waste and recycling": { "municipal solid waste generated annually": { "text": "13.14 million tons (2024 est.)" }, "percent of municipal solid waste recycled": { "text": "15.4% (2022 est.)" } }, "Total water withdrawal": { "municipal": { "text": "6.735 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)" }, "industrial": { "text": "4.52 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)" }, "agricultural": { "text": "31.169 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)" } }, "Total renewable water resources": { "text": "89.86 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)" } }, "Government": { "Country name": { "conventional long form": { "text": "Republic of Iraq" }, "conventional short form": { "text": "Iraq" }, "local long form": { "text": "Jumhuriyat al-Iraq/Komar-i Eraq" }, "local short form": { "text": "Al Iraq/Eraq" }, "former": { "text": "Mesopotamia, Mandatory Iraq, Hashemite Kingdom of Iraq" }, "etymology": { "text": "the name probably derives from Uruk (\"Erech\" in Aramaic), the ancient Sumerian and Babylonian city on the Euphrates River" } }, "Government type": { "text": "federal parliamentary republic" }, "Capital": { "name": { "text": "Baghdad" }, "geographic coordinates": { "text": "33 20 N, 44 24 E" }, "time difference": { "text": "UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)" }, "etymology": { "text": "the origin of the name is unclear; it may mean \"gift of God,\" from the pre-Islamic words bagh (god) and dad (given)" } }, "Administrative divisions": { "text": "19 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah (Arabic); parezgakan, singular - parezga (Kurdish)); 'Al Anbar; Al Basrah; Al Muthanna; Al Qadisiyah (Ad Diwaniyah); An Najaf; Arbil (Erbil) (Arabic), Halabjah; 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": "note: Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Government administers Arbil, Dahuk, and As Sulaymaniyah (as Hewler, Dihok, and Slemani, respectively)" }, "Legal system": { "text": "mixed system of civil and Islamic law" }, "Constitution": { "history": { "text": "several previous; latest adopted by referendum 15 October 2005" }, "amendment process": { "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" }, "dual citizenship recognized": { "text": "yes" }, "residency requirement for naturalization": { "text": "10 years" } }, "Suffrage": { "text": "18 years of age; universal" }, "Executive branch": { "chief of state": { "text": "President Latif RASHID (since 13 October 2022)" }, "head of government": { "text": "Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-SUDANI (since 27 October 2022)" }, "cabinet": { "text": "Council of Ministers proposed by the prime minister, approved by Council of Representatives (COR)" }, "election/appointment process": { "text": "president indirectly elected by COR to serve a 4-year term (eligible for a second term)" }, "most recent election date": { "text": "13 October 2022" }, "election results": { "text": "