Geography

Economics

Demographics

Military

Politics

Surface

Surface (in square kilometers)

Surface (in square miles)

Surface (water)

Water Surface (in square kilometers)

Water Surface (in square miles)

Share of water (%)

Temperature

Average temperature (in Celcius)

Average temperature (in Farenheit)

Average high temperature (in Celcius)

Average high temperature (in Farenheit)

Average low temperature (in Celcius)

Average low temperature (in Farenheit)

Rainfall

Average rainfall (mm)

Average rainfall (inch)

Distance to other capitals (kilometers)

Distance to other capitals (miles)

Proximity

The economy of Iraq is characterized as a mixed economy with a strong centralized planning and limited private freedom. Since 2010, most of its revenue, which corresponds to more than 80 percent, is extracted from the export of oil of which Iraq has the fifth largest reserves in the world. Another product that is largely exported is gold. However, due to high amounts of government corruption, most of the profits do not go to the Iraqi revenue service. 

Iraq is a member of nine international economic organizations which makes it the 167th most economically interconnected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations: 

  • Federation of Euro-Asian Stock Exchanges 
  • International Monetary Fund 
  • Islamic Development Bank 
  •  OPEC   Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries  
  • World Bank Group 
  • World Customs Organization 
  • World Trade Organization 
  • International Renewable Energy Agency 
  • Group of 77 

Economic organizations

Gross Domestic Product (US$)

Gross Domestic Product per capita

Amount of memberships (economic organizations)

Absolute earnings for every 1$

Relative earnings

GDP in PPP per capita (in US$)

 

GDP in PPP per capita

Gross Domestic product (in million US$)

GDP per capita (in US$)

Surface GDP

GDP per square kilometer (in US$)

GDP per square mile(in US$)

Relative GDP in PPP

Population

Population density

Emigration

Immigration

Literacy

Health

Population density (in km2)

Population density (in mi2)

Religion

Christianity (share of the total population)

Islam (share of the total population)

Buddhism (share of the total population)

Hinduism (share of the total population)

Judaism (share of the total population)

Other religions (share of the total population)

Non-religious (share of the total population)

Military spending (in % of GDP)

Military spending

In total, Iraq spends 7.6 billion US dollars, or 4.27 percent of its GDP on its military which makes it the 29th highest funded military in the world. 

The Iraqi Armed Forces consists of an army, a navy and an Air Force. It is currently under development as a result of the disbandment and restructuring by the United States up until 2008. In total, Iraq spends 7.6 billion US dollars, or 4.27 percent of its GDP on its military which makes it the 29th highest funded military in the world. 

Military membership

It is a member of five international military organizations which makes it the 73rd most connected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations: 

  • Conference on Disarmament 

  • Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons 

  • Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty 

  • International Atomic Energy Agency 

  • Non-Aligned Movement 

Military membership

International wars

Iraq has partaken in 12 international wars. These are: 

  • World War II 1939-1945 
  •  Arab–Israeli War 1948-1949 
  • Six-Day War 1967-1967 
  • Samita border skirmish 1973-1973 
  • Yom Kippur War 1973-1973 
  •  Shatt al-Arab clashes 1974-1975 
  • Iran–Iraq War 1980-1988 
  • Gulf War 1990-1991 
  • Iraqi Kurdish Civil War 1994-1997 
  • Second Intifada 1000-1005 
  • Iraq War 2003-2011 
  •  Iraqi–Kurdish conflict 2017-2017 

Number of international wars fought

Military spending (in US$ million)

Membership (international political organizations)

Iraq is a member of 12 international political organizations which makes it the 87th most politically connected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations: 

  • Member state of the United Nations 
  • International Labour Organization 
  • Asian–African Legal Consultative Organization 
  • International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property 
  • Arab League 
  • Organization of Islamic Cooperation 
  • UNIDROIT 
  • Interpol 

Political Membership

Democracy/dictatorship rating

Despite having elections, the government of Iraq is plagued with corruption as well as economic mismanagement and embezzlement. Therefore, Iraq is the 118th most democratic state in the world. 

Democracy/Dictatorship

With the adoption of the new Constitution during the occupation of the United States, the current politics of Iraq are characterized by a federal parliamentary democracy. 

  • Permanent Court of Arbitration 

  • Association of World Election Bodies 

  • South Centre (organization) 

  • World Organization for Animal Health 

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Iraq 

Known for being home to one of the oldest civilizations in history, Iraq has had a turbulent last 50 years. Its ancient history is characterized by being the center for Mesopotamia which existed between 4000 BC and 1500 BC. The area was incorporated by the Babylonian and Assyrian empires. After being invaded during the Arab conquest of the seventh century, Iraq converted to Islam. After that, Iraq have been incorporated into the Ottoman and the Persian Empire the former of which established full control at start of the 19th century. After the first world war, with the decline of the Ottoman Empire, the United Kingdom took over the area and turned it into a kingdom of Iraq by 1932. After several attempts to depose the Iraqi royal family, in finally succeeded in 1958. In 1963 the Baathist government was installed. After several coups, the Baathist government regained power in 1968 and saw the rise of Saddam Hussein in 1979. Shortly following the instalment of Saddam Hussein, Iraq went to war with Iran which ended in a stalemate in 1988. Shortly after that, Iraq invaded Kuwait which prompted a military response from the United States which prompted a quick withdrawal of Iraqi troops in 1991. After withdrawing from several chemical and nuclear weapon reduction treaties, the United States accused Iraq of making weapons of mass destruction and once again invaded Iraq and deposed Saddam Hussein in 2003. After occupying Iraq for more than 7 years, the United States withdrew in 2011 which has led to political and economic unrest. With the rise of the Islamic State in 2013, large portions of northern Iraq were captured. After large atrocities against non-Sunni Muslims, the popular mobilization forces, which comprises of Shia, Christian and Yazidi groups started to push back the Islamic state and reduce it to small swats of land in 2017. Since then, political unrest has decreased, but is still present. .

Most of its water is derived from surface water which mainly comes from the Tigris and Euphrates River which account for 0.22 percent of Iraq's surface. 

Iraq 

 The geography of Iraq is made up of high mountains to its north, a third tile plane that runs from its northwest to its south east in the center and a desert that runs from the northwest it to the south east towards its southern border. It borders Turkey to the north, Iran to its east, Kuwait to its south east, Saudi Arabia to its south and Syria and Jordan to its west. 

It is the 58th largest state in the world being slightly smaller than Morocco and slightly larger than Paraguay with a total surface area of 440,000 square kilometers or 170,000 square miles. 

It has approximately 955 square kilometers or 372 square miles of water making it the 109th state with the highest amount of surface water. 

 

Below, a graph is shown which displays the absolute amount of water of each state in square kilometers and square miles.

Most of Iraq’s climate is characterized as a subtropical climate with a large desert area to its south. Aside from this subtropical climate, Iraq has a northern part which is characterized as a Mediterranean climate. Most of its summers are hot and dry while most of its winters are relatively cool. The average temperature is 21.9 degrees Celsius or 71.4 degrees Fahrenheit which makes Iraq the 95th warmest state in the world. 

During the summer period, from June to September, the average temperature goes up to 28.9 degrees Celsius or 84 degrees Fahrenheit. 

During the winter period, the average temperature drops down to 15.7 degrees Celsius or 60.3 degrees Fahrenheit. 

During the winter period, Iraq receives most of its rainfall between December to February. However, Iraq has a severe water shortage with only 23 centimetres or 9 inches of rainfall per year. This makes Iraq the 181st state with the highest amount of rainfall. 

The capital of Iraq, Baghdad, is home to around 6.3 million people. The capital that is closest located to Baghdad is Kuwait City of Kuwait with a distance of 563 kilometers or 350 miles. The capital that is furthest removed from Baghdag of is Nuku'alofa of Tonga with a distance of 15,942 kilometers or 9906 miles. 

Its GDP is the 52nd highest in the world and represents 0.248 percent of total global GDP. It is estimated that its GDP is more than US$200 billion, but due to corruption this number is uncertain. 

Its GDP per square kilometer is US$471,000 or US$1.2 billion per square mile making it the 96th highest in the world. 

Its GDP per capita is the 103rd highest in the world with US$5253. 

The absolute earnings (GDP per capita) reflect the average yearly income. The figure below shows how much, on average, an inhabitant of another state earns for every $1 earned by a citizen of this state.

Its purchasing power is US$12,772 making it the 100th highest in the world. 

The relative Gross Domestic Product in Purchasing Power Parity compares the purchasing power of this state with that of the rest of the world. The graph on the left shows how much purchasing power of 1$ compared to the purchasing power of other states

Despite having a large Arab majority population, Iraq also has a significant Kurdish population. Other minorities are Turkmen and Armenians which are mainly located along the border area. In total, Iraq is home to nearly 40 million people making it the 36th most populous state in the world. 

It has the 95th highest population density in the world with 89 people per square kilometer or 231 people per square mile. 

Just over 2 million people, or 5.2 percent of its population have migrated to other states. These are mainly refugees that migrated to wealthier states such as Germany Sweden and the United States which combined represent around 50 percent of all migrants. 

Immigration to Iraq is represented by 0.87 percent, or around 350,000 people. Even though immigration to Iraq is fairly dangerous due to its political instability as well as it being deterred by local officials, immigration still takes place with Turkey and Iran being the second and third largest supplier of immigrants. The largest supplier of immigrants is Syria due to the Syrian civil war which solely is responsible for nearly 70 percent of all immigration. 

After several decades of war, its educational system has been crumbling and a large portion of the population lacks access to education. Aside from this, less than half of all Iraqi women have attended school in their lifetime and are considered to be illiterate. This has led to an average literacy rate of 46.5 percent which makes Iraq the 159th most literate state in the world. 

The health care system of Iraq is underdeveloped with destroyed infrastructure as well as a lack of doctors and nurses. The leading cause of death is noncommunicable diseases which is followed by injuries, such as car accidents or injuries from armed conflict. On average, the life expectancy is 71.1 years with women reaching 73.2 years and men reaching 69 years which makes Iraq the 113th state with the highest life expectancy. 

Despite being a predominantly Muslim state, Iraq has a roughly equal divide between the Sunni and Shia denomination. During the time of Saddam Hussein, Iraq was ruled by a Sunni government. However, currently Iraq is ruled by a Shiite government. According to our estimates, Iraq is one of the least multi religious state in the world with a rank of 183. 

Christianity is one of the oldest religions in Iraq. 1.2 percent of the population adheres to Christianity which ranks Iraq is the 184th most Christian state in the world with the Christian Orthodox Church being the largest denomination. The number of Christians used to be higher at the turn of the 21st century, but due to the rise of the Islamic State as well as the persecution of Christians, many Christians perished or fled Iraq.

With the spread of Islam through the seventh century, Iraq became one of the largest Islamic centres in the Arab world. Today, around 97.9 percent of the population adheres to Islam, with the Shia denomination being a slight majority followed by the Sunni denomination. This makes Iraq the 12th most Islamic state in the world.   

There are no official Buddhist organizations in Iraq. 

There are no official Hindu organizations in Iraq. 

Judaism has been present in Iraq since the eighth century BC. During this period, around 120,000 Jews migrated up until the start of the 20th century. Many Jews were blamed for the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire and consequently executed or extradited. The remaining Jews faced capital punishment during the 20th century if they adhered to the Zionism. Today, there are a few thousand Jews residing in Iraq. 

Other religions are followed by 0.09 percent of the population with Zoroastrianism being its largest. This religion is mainly followed by the Kurdish minority that lives in the northern part of Iraq and has around 20,000 followers. 

It is estimated that 0.07 percent of the population is not religious. However, the official numbers are disputed due to a risk of persecution by religious groups in Iraq.