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 IRAQ

 

  

 

  

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OFFICIAL NAME:

Republic of Iraq

 

GEOGRAPHY:

Area: 437,072 sq. km.; about the size of California.
Cities: Capital--Baghdad (5.7 million, 2004 estimate). Other cities--Basrah, Mosul, Kirkuk, As Sulaymaniyah, Irbil.
Terrain: Alluvial plains, mountains, and desert.
Climate: Mostly hot and dry.

 

PEOPLE:

Nationality: Noun and adjective--Iraqi(s).
Population (2004 estimate): 26,074,906.
Population growth rate (2004 estimate): 2.7%.
Ethnic groups: Arab 75%-80%, Kurd 15%-20%, Turcoman, Chaldean, Assyrian, or others less than 5%.
Religions: Shi'a Muslim 60-65%, Sunni Muslim 32%-37%, Christian 3%, others less than 1%.
Languages: Arabic, Kurdish, Assyrian, Armenian, Farsi.
Education: Years compulsory--primary school (age 6 through grade 6). Literacy--40.4%.
Health: Infant mortality rate (2004 estimate)--50.25 deaths/1,000. Life expectancy (2004 estimate)--68.7 yrs.

 

GOVERNMENT:

Type: Transitional democracy. Following elections held on January 30, 2005, the Iraqi Transitional Government (ITG) assumed authority. According to the Transitional Administrative Law for Iraq (TAL) adopted in 2004, the transitional government will remain in power until a government elected under a permanent constitution takes office (by December 31, 2005). This constitution will determine the identity of Iraq’s government.
Constitution: The Transitional Administrative Law (TAL), signed March 2004, is the governing legal document until an elected government under a permanent constitution takes office.
Independence: On October 3, 1932, Iraq gained independence from the League of Nations Mandate under British Administration. Until July 2004, the Iraqi government observed the anniversary of the July 17 Ba’ath party takeover of the Iraqi government as Iraq’s Independence Day.
Branches: Executive--the Presidency Council consists of one president and two deputy presidents; the Council of Ministers consists of one prime minister, three deputy prime ministers, and a council of ministers consisting of 31 ministers. Judicial--Supreme Court appointed by the Prime Minister and confirmed by the President. Legislative--Transitional National Assembly (TNA) consisting of 275 members elected by a closed-list, single-district proportional-representation system until elections to be held under a permanent constitution before the end of 2005.
Divisions: 18 governorates and one regional government. Governorates--Al Anbar, Al Basrah, Al Muthanna, Al Qadisiyah, An Najaf, Irbil, As Sulaymaniyah, Kirkuk, Babil, Baghdad, Dahuk, Dhi Qar, Diyala, Karbala', Maysan, Ninawa, Salah ad Din, Wasit. Regional government--Kurdistan Regional Government.

 

ECONOMY:

GDP (2005 estimate): $24.3 billion.
GDP per capita (2005 estimate): $870.
GDP real growth rate (2005 estimate): 16.7%.
Rate of inflation (12 months ending May 2005): 33%.
Unemployment rate (2004 estimate): 28%.
Budget (2005 approved budget): $19.3 billion revenues and $24.0 billion expenditures.
Public debt: Approximately $120 billion.
Natural resources: Oil, natural gas, phosphates, sulfur.
Agriculture (13.6% of GNP): Products--wheat, barley, rice, vegetables, cotton, dates, cattle, sheep.
Industry (58.6% GNP): Types--petroleum, chemicals, textiles, construction materials, food processing.
Trade: Exports (2004 estimate)--$17.5 billion. Export commodities (2004 estimate)--crude oil (83%), crude materials excluding fuels (8%), food and live animals (5%). Export partners (2004 estimate)--U.S. 53.4%, India 12.3%, Spain 8%, Japan 6.1%, Italy 4.9%, Canada 4.2% (based on oil exports for 2004). Imports (2004 estimate)--$9.9 billion. Import commodities (2004 estimate)--food, medicine, manufactured goods, refined petroleum products. Import partners (2004 estimate)--Turkey 25%, U.S. 11.1%, Jordan 10%, Vietnam 7.7%, Germany 5.6%, Australia 4.8%.

 

HISTORY:
  Once known as Mesopotamia, Iraq was the site of flourishing ancient civilizations, including the Sumerian, Babylonian, and Parthian cultures. Muslims conquered Iraq in the seventh century A.D. In the eighth century, the Abassid caliphate established its capital at Baghdad.

At the end of World War I, Iraq became a British-mandated territory. When it was declared independent in 1932, the Hashemite family, which also ruled Jordan, ruled as a constitutional monarchy. In 1945, Iraq joined the United Nations and became a founding member of the Arab League. In 1956, the Baghdad Pact allied Iraq, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, and the United Kingdom, and established its headquarters in Baghdad.

Gen. Abdul Karim Qasim took power in July 1958 coup, during which King Faysal II and Prime Minister Nuri as-Said were killed. Qasim ended Iraq's membership in the Baghdad Pact in 1959. Qasim was assassinated in February 1963, when the Arab Socialist Renaissance Party (Ba'ath Party) took power under the leadership of Gen. Ahmad Hasan al-Bakr as prime minister and Col. Abdul Salam Arif as president.

Nine months later, Arif led a coup ousting the Ba'ath government. In April 1966, Arif was killed in a plane crash and was succeeded by his brother, Gen. Abdul Rahman Mohammad Arif. On July 17, 1968, a group of Ba'athists and military elements overthrew the Arif regime. Ahmad Hasan al-Bakr reemerged as the President of Iraq and Chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council (RCC).

In July 1979, Bakr resigned, and Saddam Hussein assumed both offices. The Iran-Iraq war (1980-88) devastated the economy of Iraq. Iraq declared victory in 1988 but actually achieved a weary return to the status quo antebellum. The war left Iraq with the largest military establishment in the Gulf region but with huge debts and an ongoing rebellion by Kurdish elements in the northern mountains. The government suppressed the rebellion by using weapons of mass destruction on civilian targets, including a mass chemical weapons attack on the city of Halabja that killed several thousand civilians.

Iraq invaded Kuwait in August 1990, but a U.S.-led coalition acting under United Nations (UN) resolutions expelled Iraq from Kuwait in February 1991. After the war, the UN Security Council required the regime to surrender its weapons of mass destruction (WMD) and submit to UN inspections. When the Ba'ath regime refused to fully cooperate with the UN inspections, the Security Council employed sanctions to prevent further WMD development and compel Iraqi adherence to international obligations. Coalition forces enforced no-fly zones in southern and northern Iraq to protect Iraqi citizens from attack by the regime and a no-drive zone in southern Iraq to prevent the regime from massing forces to threaten or again invade Kuwait.

A U.S.-led coalition removed the Ba'ath regime in March and April 2003, bringing an end to more than 12 years of Iraqi defiance of UN Security Council resolutions. The coalition, international agencies, and nongovernmental organizations quickly established aid systems, preventing any general humanitarian crisis. The coalition formed the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) to provide for the administration of Iraq during the period of transitional administration, restore conditions of security and stability, and create conditions in which the Iraqi people can freely determine their own political future. The UN Security Council acknowledged the authorities of the coalition and provided for a role for the UN and other parties to assist in fulfilling these objectives.

The CPA disbanded on June 28, 2004, transferring sovereign authority for governing Iraq to the Iraqi Interim Government (IIG). Based on the timetable laid out in the Transitional Administrative Law (TAL), the IIG governed Iraq until elections were held on January 30, 2005; thereafter the Iraqi Transitional Government assumed authority.

 

PRINCIPAL GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS:

President--Jalal Talabani
Deputy President--Dr. Adil Abd al-Mahdi
Deputy President--Sheikh Ghazi Ajil al-Yawar
Prime Minister--Dr. Ibrahim al-Ja’afari
Deputy Prime Minister--Dr. Rowsch Shways
Second Deputy Prime Minister--Dr. Ahmed al-Chalabi
Third Deputy Prime Minister--Abd Mutlaq al-Jibbouri

 

TRAVEL & BUSINESS INFORMATION:

 

Following are are the top 10 tips you need to make your trip easier:


1. Make sure you have a signed, valid passport and visas, if required. Also, before you go, fill in the emergency information page of your passport!

2. Read the Consular Information Sheets (and Public Announcements or Travel Warnings, if applicable) for the countries you plan to visit.

3. Familiarize yourself with local laws and customs of the countries to which you are travelling. While in a foreign country, you are subject to its laws.

4. Make 2 copies of your passport identification page. This will facilitate replacement if your passport is lost or stolen. Leave one copy at home with friends or relatives. Carry the other with you in a separate place from your passport.

5. Leave a copy of your itinerary with family or friends at home so that you can be contacted in case of an emergency.

6. Do not leave your luggage unattended in public areas. Do not accept packages from strangers.

7. You should register with the nearest embassy or consulate of your country. Registration will make your presence and whereabouts known in case it is necessary to contact you in an emergency. Remember to leave a detailed itinerary and the numbers or copies of your passport or other citizenship documents with a friend or relative in your own country.

8. To avoid being a target of crime, try not to wear conspicuous clothing and expensive jewelry and do not carry excessive amounts of money or unnecessary credit cards.

9. In order to avoid violating local laws, deal only with authorized agents when you exchange money or purchase art or antiques.

10. If you get into trouble, contact the nearest embassy of your country.

 

USEFUL LINKS:

 
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