new national electionsat the end of 2005.
Geography Iraq
Location:
Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iran and Kuwait
Geographic coordinates:
33 00 N, 44 00 E
Map references:
Middle East
Area:
total: 437,072 sq km
land: 432,162 sq km
water: 4,910 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly more than twice the size of Idaho
Land boundaries:
total: 3,650 km
border countries: Iran 1,458 km, Jordan 181 km, Kuwait 240 km, Saudi
Arabia 814 km, Syria 605 km, Turkey 352 km
Coastline:
58 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
continental shelf: not specified
Climate:
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:
mostly broad plains; reedy marshes along Iranian border in south
with large flooded areas; mountains along borders with Iran and
Turkey
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m
highest point: unnamed peak; 3,611 m; note - this peak is not Gundah
Zhur 3,607 m or Kuh-e Hajji-Ebrahim 3,595 m
Natural resources:
petroleum, natural gas, phosphates, sulfur
Land use: arable land: 13.15% permanent crops: 0.78% other: 86.07% (2001)
Irrigated land:
35,250 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards:
dust storms, sandstorms, floods
Environment - current issues:
government water control projects have drained most of the
inhabited marsh areas east of An Nasiriyah by drying up or diverting
the feeder streams and rivers; a once sizable population of Marsh
Arabs, who inhabited these areas for thousands of years, has been
displaced; furthermore, the destruction of the natural habitat poses
serious threats to the area's wildlife populations; inadequate
supplies of potable water; development of the Tigris and Euphrates
rivers system contingent upon agreements with upstream riparian
Turkey; air and water pollution; soil degradation (salination) and
erosion; desertification
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Law of the Sea
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification
Geography - note:
strategic location on Shatt al Arab waterway and at the head of the
Persian Gulf
People Iraq
Population:
26,074,906 (July 2005 est.)
Age structure:
0–14 years: 40% (male 5,293,709/female 5,130,826)
15–64 years: 57% (male 7,530,619/female 7,338,109)
65 years and over: 3% (male 367,832/female 413,811) (2005 est.)
Median age:
total: 19.43 years
male: 19.35 years
female: 19.51 years (2005 est.)
Population growth rate:
2.7% (2005 est.)
Birth rate:
32.5 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Death rate:
5.49 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Net migration rate:
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
15–64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female
total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 50.25 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 56.06 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 44.14 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 68.7 years
male: 67.49 years
female: 69.97 years (2005 est.)
Total fertility rate:
4.28 children born/woman (2005 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
