|
|-
| align="center" colspan=Two | National motto: Allahu Akbar
(English: God is Great)
|-
| align=center colspan=Two style="background: #ffffff;" | |-
| Official languages || Arabic, Kurdish1
|-
| Spoken languages || Arabic, Kurdish, Assyrian, Turkmen, Armenian
|-
| Capital || Baghdad2
|-
| President || Jalal Talabani
|-
| Prime Minister || Ibrahim al-Jaafari
|-
| Area
- Total
- % water supply || Ranked 57th
437,072 km2
1.1%
|-
| Population
- Total (July 2005 eastern standard time.)
- Density || Ranked 44th
26,074,906
62/km2
|-
| Independence || 1 October 1919 from the Ottoman Empire
3 October 1932 from the British
|-
| GDP (PPP)
- Total (2003)
- GDP/head | Ranked 76th
$38.790 billion
$1,600 |
|-
| Currency || Iraqi dinar
|-
| Time zone || UTC +3
|-
| National anthem || Mawtini3
|-
| Internet TLD || .iq
|-
| Calling Code || 964
|-
| State religion || Islam4
|-
| colspan=4|One - 1st language inside Quartet Kurdish regions
Two - A capital of the Kurdish Autonomous Vicinity is Arbil
Three - A Kurds have Ey Reqîb
Four - Citizens keep close at hand religious freedom
|}A Republic of Iraq''' ( العراق ) occurs as Middle Eastern country in southwestern Asia at the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, and too including southern Kurdistan. It shares borders using Kuwait and Saudi Arabia to the south, Jordan to the west, Syria to the north-west, Turkey to the north, & Iran (Persia) to the east. Iraq has the super narrow part of coastline at Umm Qasr on the Persian Gulf.
A Republic of Iraq sits toward land that is historically referred to as Mesopotamia, which means 'land between the streams, lakes, and wells throughout' within Greek. This land was page to a select few of the globe's forevirtually all & most distinguished civilizations. These involved Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian, Assyrian and numerous more cultures, whose influence extended into neighboring regions, sure as shooting from either in 5,000 BCE. These civilizations produced a few of the foremost writing, science, maths, law & philosophy.
The transitional government of Iraq was elected around January, 2005, following a March 2003 invasion, led by American and British forces, which drove Saddam Hussein and his Ba'ath Party from power. Western offense in cities like Fallujah and Tal Afar, the continued deficiency of basic services prefer electricity & do a body of water, likewise when deep political section in the united states has continued to induce chaos in the united states. Supporters of the Iraqi insurgency blame a encroacher for the chaos however others blame the insurgence itself. Meanwhile, a united states is however struggling to form stable popular institutions.
History
Independent article: History of Iraq
Modern Iraq became a British mandate (a British League of Nations Trust Territory of Iraq) at the prevent of World War I and was granted independence from British control within 1932. It was formed away from iii previous Ottoman Willayats (regions): Mosul, Baghdad and Basra. A British-installed Hashemite monarchy lasted until 1958, when it was overthrown across the coup d'etat per Iraqi army, called a 14 July Revolution. It brought Brigadier General Abdul Karim Qassim's leftist government to power (which withdrew from either a Baghdad Pact and established friendly relations with a Soviet Union), from 1958 till 1963, when he was overthrown by Colonel Abdul Salam Arif. Salam Arif died around 1966 and his brother, Abdul Rahman Arif, assumed the presidency. Within 1968, Rahman Arif was overthrown by the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party. A Ba'ath's key figure became Saddam Hussein who acceded to the presidency and control of the Todays Command Council (RCC), Iraq's supreme executive guide making system, around July 1979, killing off numerous of his opponents in the run. Saddam's absolute & particularly damn rule lasted throughout a Iran-Iraq War (1980–1988), which ended in stalemate; a al-Anfal campaign of the late 1980s, which led to the alleged gassing of thousands of Kurds in northern Iraq; Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990 resulting in the Gulf War; and a United Nations-imposed economic sanctions and no-fly zones which followed. A American-led 2003 invasion of Iraq removed Saddam Hussein's Government from power, replacing it using an interim U.s.-backed Provisional Authority, and so an interim government. In January 30, 2005, Iraq held new legislative elections, changing a political face of Iraq, which experienced antecedently been a lay state using minimum religious conflict (this existence due to a fact Saddam viciously oppressed the Shia when co-opting the loaded Shia landholder into supporting the Baath leadership). A united states is presently divided across religious & ethnic differences that were held in restraint by Saddam's brutal repression. A todays situation remains volatile while the freshly government tries to re-establish security in the country.
Modern Politics
Independent article: Politics of Iraq
Iraq was under Ba'ath Party rule from 1968 to 2003, in 1979 Saddam Hussein took leadership and became president until 2003. A unicameral Iraqi parliament, the National Assembly or even Majlis al-Watani, got 250 seats & its members were elected for Quaternary-season terms. There is no non-Ba'ath candidates were allowed to dog.
Inside November 2003, the United states-managed Coalition Provisional Authority announced plans to turn over sovereignty to an Iraqi Interim Government by mid-2004. A actual transport of sovereignty occurred in 28 June 2004. A interim president was Sheikh Ghazi Mashal Ajil al-Yawer, and a interim prime minister Iyad Allawi.
In January 30, 2005, the majority of the Iraqi humans voted inside an election conducted by their transitional government which elected a 275-member Transitional National Assembly. A Assembly might:
Serve when Iraq's national legislative. It has known as the Presidency Council, consisting of the President & 2 Vice Presidents. (By unanimous agreement, the Presidency Council might appoint a Prime Minister &, in his recommendation, cabinet ministers.)
Draft Iraq's new constitution, which will be presented to the Iraqi humans for their approval withwithin the national referendum in October 2005. Under the fresh constitution, Iraq might elect a lasting government inside December 2005.
Under a Iraqi transitional constitution, signed March 2004, the united states's executive office of the president is currently led by the 3-human presidential council. A election patterns for the council profits ensures that everthing terzetto of Iraq's major ethnic groups come represented. A constitution besides includes basic freedoms prefer freedom of religion, speech, and assembly, and within numerous ways hwhen been hailed as extra liberal than the U.S. constitution. Polemically, a lot the same, it states that all laws that were effectively on the transport date just can't exist as repealed. Moreover, since a coalition forces come presently working to maintain sequentially & produce a stable society under the United Nations, coalition troops can remawithin in control of a united states indefinitely despite the transport of sovereignty. Since Iraqi forces come presently considered non fully trained & equipped to police & assure their united states, these are potential that coalition military personnel might remain until Iraqi forces there is no yearn take their trend lines. Yet, these system is placed aside another time a Transitional National Assembly is seated.
In Five April 2005, a Iraqi National Assembly appointed Jalal Talabani, a large Kurdish leader, President. It likewise appointed Adel Abdul Mehdi, a Shiite Arab, & Ghazi al-Yawar, the previous Interim President & the Sunni Arab, when Vice Presidents. Ibrahim al-Jaafari a Shiite, whose United Iraq Alliance Party won a big part of a vote, has been appointed the fresh Prime Minister of Iraq. Virtually all power is vested around him. When of mid-2005, a fresh Government has ii major tasks ahead of the children. a total 1 is to attempt to reinside inside a violent insurgence, which has blighted the united states in recent months, killing numbers of Iraqi civilians & officials also as a number of U.S. troops. (When of mid-2005, just about 135,000 U.s. troops remawithin in Iraq.) the 2nd major project is to re-locate in the writing of a new Iraqi constitution, as outlined above, to replenish a Iraqi transitional constitution of 2004.
Meanwhile, the Iraqi government is considered by numbers of international governments to become a legitimate government. Based on data from either the Usa administration, a judiciary within Iraq operates under a primacy of rule of law, & then war crook from a totalistic regime of Saddam Hussein may become a fair & open test, where their rights is subjected to due run and exist as protected per scrutiny of a loose click, the requirements of modern court proceedings.
Governorates
Independent article: Governorates of Iraq
Iraq is divided into Eighteen governorates or provinces (Arabic: muhafazat, singular - muhafadhah, Kurdish: پاریزگه Pârizgah). Particularly around Iraqi government documents a term governorate is favorite:
Baghdad Arab, Assyrian, Turkman, Kurdish
Salah ad Din Arab, Kurdish
Diyala Arab, Kurdish
Wasit Arab
Maysan Arab
Al Basrah Arab
Dhi Qar Arab
Al Muthanna Arab
Al Qadisyah Arab
Babil Arab
Al Karbala Arab
An Najaf Arab
Al Anbar Arab
Ninawa Arab, Assyrian, Kurdish
Dahuk Kurdish
Arbil Kurdish
At Ta'mim Arab, Turkman, Kurdish
As Sulaymaniyah Kurdish
A constitutionally recognized Kurdistan Autonomous Region includes parts of the total of northern provinces, & is largely self-autonomous inside internal affairs.
Geography
Independent article: Geography of Iraq
Big area of Iraq consist of desert, but a locality between them major lakes Euphrates and Tigris is fertile, with a lakes carrying astir 60 million cubic meters of silt annually to the delta. A northerly of a united states is largely mountainous, sustaining the greatest point existence Haji Ibrahim at 3,600 m. Iraq has a little coastline using the Persian Gulf. Approximately a coast & along a Shatt al-Arab (known as arvandrūd: اروندرود among Iranians) there utilized to exist as marshlands, however several one were drained in the 1990s.
A local climate is mostly a wild climate using modest to cool winters & dry, hot, unclouded summers. A northern mountainous regions own household budget cold winters using occasional heavily snows, periodically stimulating extensive in flood. A capital Baghdad is situated in the centre of the united states, on the banks of the Tigris. More major cities include Basra in the south and Mosul in the north. Iraq is considered to exist as one of a xv lands that comprise a and then-alleged "Cradle of Humanity".
Economy
Independent article: Economy of Iraq
Iraq's economy is dominated per oil sector, which has traditionally provided about 95% of foreign exchange earnings. In the 1980s financial problems caused by massive expenditures in the eight-year war with Iran & damage to oil export facilities by Iran led a food and drug administration to implement nonindulgence measures, borrow heavy, and late reschedule foreign debt payments; Iraq suffered economic losses from either the war of at least US$100 billion. When hostilities ended around 1988, oil exportation bit by bit increased sustaining a construction of freshly pipelines & restoration of damaged facilities. The combination of moo oil cost, burdensome repayment of the war debts (at in the area of US$3 billion a year) and a costs of reconstruction resulted around a good fiscal crisis which was the independent short term motivation for the invasion of Kuwait.
Iraq's seizure of Kuwait in August 1990, subsequent international economic sanctions, and damage from either military action by an international coalition beginning in January 1991 drastically reduced economic activity. Although government policies supporting big military machine & internal private security force & allocating resources to key supporters of a Ba`ath Person government keep around injured the economy, implementation of the United Nations' oil-for-food program, started within December 1996, was to have improved conditions for the typical Iraqi citizen. For the number 1 sextet phases of the program (both phase lasting six months), Iraq was allowed to export limited numbers of oil around exchange for food, medicine, & a select few infrastructure spare area. Subsequent investigation of the program has revealed important corruption, by having extremely-situated U.North. officials existence bribed, Ba'ath Person officials getting remunerative kickbacks, & good deal of the money from either oil sales existence redirected into weapons locate & acquisition per Iraqi armed forces.
Around December 1999, the UN Security Council authorised Iraq to export under the program as much oil prn to meet human-centered needs. Iraq changed its oil reserve currency from US dollar to euro in 2000. Oil exportation were to a higher degree 3-quarters of the pre-war level. Even so, 28% of Iraq's exportation revenues under a program were deducted to meet UN Compensation Fund & UN administrative expenses. A come by GDP in 2001 was largely the effect of the spherical economic retardation & moo oil numbers. Below a 2003 invasion of Iraq, a economy heavily fold; tries come afoot to revive it from either the damage settlements of war & rampant crime.
In a period of his season when the chief executive of Iraq, Ambassador Paul Bremer issued a series of orders designed to restructure Iraq's broadly socialism within line by using neo-liberal thinking. Choose 39 placed out a framework for a denationalisation of all about within Iraq aside from either the "primary extraction and initial processing" of the oil reserves themselves, & permitted 100% foreign ownership of Iraqi plus. More orders established the flat revenue enhancement of 15% & permitted foreign corporations to repatriate 100% of successfully earned around Iraq. Opposition from either senior Iraqi officials, together by using a unfortunate security situation intended that Bremer's denationalisation project was non implemented when you took his tenure, though his orders remain in situ. Privatization of the oil business, additionally to around 200 more state-owned businesses, is presently scheduled to commence onetime in late 2005. [http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=3&article_id=15131]
A 2nd attempt to liberalize Iraq's economy is linked to the Iran-Iraq war debt. a creditors world health organization financed a Iran-Iraq war experienced presented post-Saddam Iraq by owning a bill of about America$130 billion of debt & past-due-interest, which got non been serviced in the period of the Xiii years of sanctions. A Jubilee Iraq campaign argued that these debts were odious (or outlaw) given that it come from either loans to the dictator fighting the war which caused the Iraqi population much of harm, & should so exist as written off unconditionally. the creditors, all the same, offered sole a unfair reduction & rescheduling of their claims reciprocally for an Iraqi commitment to implement an International Monetary Fund economic program. This treat, using a Paris Club cartel of creditors including the U.S. & Britain, was sign-language in 20 November 2004. a below day a interim Iraqi National Assembly issued a strongly worded guide rejecting the Paris Club's terms & declaring that a debt was execrable.
Demographics
Independent article: Demographics of Iraq
Between 75-80% of Iraq's people consists of Arabic speakers (mainly Iraqi however occasionally Hejazi); a more major ethnic groups come a Kurds (15-20%), Assyrians (4%), and Turkomans (3%) who mostly sleep in a northward & northward-east of the united states. A Assyrians, Kurds & Turkomans differ from either Arabs within numbers of ways including culture, history, wear, & language.A Assyrians besides refer themselves when a original population of Iraq. More distinct groups come Persians, Lurs, Armenians (possible descendent of the ancient Mesopotamian culture). Just about 2,500 Jews and 20,000 - 50,000 Marsh Arabs live in Iraq.
Arabic and Kurdish are official languages and English is the most normally spoken American language. Assyrian is also utilized per united states's Assyrian people.
There are other Arab Iraqi Muslim members of the Shiite sect than there are Arab Iraqi Muslim of the Sunni sect, but there is a big Sunni population as well, manufactured higher of mostly Arabs, Kurds. (Shiite 60% of aggregate people mass produced higher of mostly Arabs). Little communities of Christians, Baha'is, Mandaeans, Shabaks, and Yezidis also exist. Virtually all Kurds come Sunni Muslims.
Demographic trading tools from either a 2004 edition of the CIA's The World Factbook:
Ethnic groups: Arab 75-80%, Kurdish 15-25%, Assyrian or even more 5%
Religions: Muslim 93-95% (Shi'ite 60%, Sunni 40%), Christian, Yezidi or even more Five-7%
Culture
Independent article: Culture of Iraq
Music of Iraq
Miscellaneous topics
Economy: Iraq Stock Exchange, Iraqi Dinar, Economy of Iraq
Cases: 2005 in Iraq, 2004 in Iraq, 2003 Invasion of Iraq, Post-invasion Iraq, 2003-2005, Iraqi insurgency
Geographics: List of places in Iraq, Communications of Iraq, Transportation in Iraq, Arab Tribes in Iraq
Politics: Politics of Iraq, New Iraqi Army, Foreign relations of Iraq, Human rights violations in Iraq, Iraqi insurgency
History: List of Kings of Iraq, List of Presidents of Iraq, List of Prime Ministers of Iraq, British Mandate of Iraq, History of the Jews in Iraq
Others: Postage stamps and postal history of Iraq gay rights in Iraq
Iraqi Sports OnLine
News, articles, polls, reviews, forums, and downloads.
Football United Iraq
A project which aims to encourage youth participation in football throughout Iraq and through this to promote relations between the UK and all Iraqis.
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