Iraq

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.

Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iran and Kuwait

33 00 N, 44 00 E

Middle East

slightly more than three times the size of New York State

58 km

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

mostly broad plains; reedy marshes along Iranian border in south with large flooded areas; mountains along borders with Iran and Turkey

petroleum, natural gas, phosphates, sulfur

35,250 sq km (2012)

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

note: [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

Arabian Aquifer System

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

dust storms; sandstorms; floods

strategic location on Shatt al Arab waterway and at the head of the Persian Gulf

Arab 75-80%, Kurdish 15-20%, other 5% (includes Turkmen, Yezidi, Shabak, Kaka'i, Bedouin, Romani, Assyrian, Circassian, Sabaean-Mandaean, Persian)

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.)

1.94% (2025 est.)

23.26 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)

3.86 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)

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

7.711 million BAGHDAD (capital), 1.792 million Mosul, 1.448 million Basra, 1.075 million Kirkuk, 958,000 Najaf, 897,000 Erbil (2023)

66 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)

3.03 children born/woman (2025 est.)

1.48 (2025 est.)

1.02 physicians/1,000 population (2022)

1.3 beds/1,000 population (2021 est.)

30.4% (2016)

3.9% (2018 est.)

64.3% (2018 est.)

4.7% of GDP (2016)

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

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

45.4 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)

89.86 billion cubic meters (2022 est.)

federal parliamentary republic

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

mixed system of civil and Islamic law

has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

18 years of age; universal

Al Fatah Alliance
Azm Alliance
Babiliyun Movement
Imtidad
Ishraqat Konun
Kurdistan Democratic Party
National Contract Party
New Generation Movement
Patriotic Union of Kurdistan
Sadrist Bloc
State Forces Alliance
State of Law Coalition
Taqadum
Tasmim Alliance

ABEDA, AFESD, AIIB, AMF, CAEU, CICA, EITI (compliant country), FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)

3 October 1932 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration)

Independence Day, 3 October (1932); Republic Day, 14 July (1958)

description: 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

meaning: 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)

history: the Council of Representatives approved this flag in 2008 as a compromise replacement for the Ba'thist SADDAM-era flag

golden eagle

red, white, black

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

$279.641 billion (2024 est.)

wheat, dates, maize, tomatoes, rye, grapes, milk, chicken, potatoes, fruits (2023)

petroleum, chemicals, textiles, leather, construction materials, food processing, fertilizer, metal fabrication/processing

-2.7% (2024 est.)

12.008 million (2024 est.)

1.3% (of GDP) (2019 est.)

China 33%, India 28%, USA 8%, Greece 5%, UAE 5% (2023)

crude petroleum, refined petroleum, petroleum coke, gold, natural gas (2023)

UAE 32%, China 20%, Turkey 18%, India 5%, USA 2% (2023)

refined petroleum, cars, broadcasting equipment, jewelry, gold (2023)

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)

.iq

YI

73 (2025)

10 (2025)

Ministry of Defense: Iraqi Army, Iraqi Navy, Iraqi Air Force

Office of the Prime Minister: Iraqi Counterterrorism Service (CTS); Popular Mobilization Committee (PMC)

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; Ministry of Oil: Energy Police Directorate (2025)

estimated 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

Ministry of Peshmerga: estimated 150,000 active personnel

Popular Mobilization Forces: estimated 200,000 militia (2025)

the Iraqi military's inventory includes a mix of European, Russian, Soviet-era, and US armaments (2025)

18 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription (2025)

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 

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)

Ansar al-Islam; Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq; Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)/Qods Force; Harakat al-Nujaba (HAN); Harakat Ansar Allah al-Awfiya (HAAA); Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS); Jaysh Rijal al-Tariq al-Naqshabandi; Kata'ib Hizballah; Kata’ib al-Imam Ali (KIA); Kata’ib Sayyid al-Shuhada (KSS); Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)