Iraq — Mediated Wiki

{{Short description|Country in West Asia}} {{about|the country}} {{distinguish|text = Iran}} {{toolong|words=13119|date=February 2026}} {{pp-semi-indef}} {{pp-move}} {{Use dmy dates|date=April 2025}} {{Use British English|date=January 2025}} {{Infobox country | conventional_long_name = Republic of Iraq | native_name = {{unbulleted list|{{native name|ar|جُمْهُورِيَّة ٱلْعِرَاق|italics=off}} {{transliteration|ar|Jumhūriyyat al-ʿIrāq}}|{{native name|ku|کۆماری عێراق|italics=off}} {{transliteration|ku|Komarî Êraq}}<ref>{{cite web |title=دەستووری کۆماری عێراق |url=https://iq.parliament.iq/ku/ده-ستور/ |publisher=Parliament of Iraq |access-date=15 October 2008 |language=ku}}</ref>}} | common_name = Iraq | image_flag = Flag of Iraq.svg | image_coat = Coat of arms of Iraq.svg | coa_size = 80 | image_map = {{switcher|frameless|Show globe|frameless|Show map of Iraq}} | map_width = 250px | national_motto = | national_anthem = {{lang|ar|مَوْطِنِيْ}} {{transliteration|ar|Mawṭinī}} "My Homeland"{{parabr}}{{center|File:United States Navy Band - Mawtini.ogg}} | capital = Baghdad | coordinates = {{Coord|33|20|N|44|23|E|type:city(8,100,000)_region:IQ}} | largest_city = capital | official_languages = {{hlist|Arabic|Kurdish<ref name="Constitution of Iraq" />}} | languages2_type = {{ubl|Recognised regional languages}} | languages2 = {{ubl|Assyrian|Armenian|Turkmen<ref name="Constitution of Iraq" />}} | religion = {{Tree list}} * 90–95% Islam (official) ** 61% Shia ** 35% Sunni * 5-10% other religions{{efn|Christianity, Mandaeism, Yazidism, Judaism, Yarsanism, irreligion and others<ref>{{cite web |title=Iraqi religions |url=https://www.state.gov/reports/2020-report-on-international-religious-freedom/iraq/ |publisher=Office of International Religious Freedom |website=www.state.gov |date=12 May 2021 |quote=The constitution establishes Islam as the official religion and states no law may be enacted contradicting the "established provisions of Islam." It provides for freedom of religious belief and practice for all individuals, including Muslims, Christians, Yezidis, and Sabean-Mandeans, but does not explicitly mention followers of other religions or atheists.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/iraq/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260118091316/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/iraq/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=18 January 2026 |title=Iraq}}</ref>}} {{Tree list/end}} | religion_year = 2020 | religion_ref = <ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thearda.com/world-religion/national-profiles?u=111c |title=National Profiles}}</ref> | demonym = Iraqi | government_type = Federal parliamentary republic | leader_title1 = President | leader_name1 = Nizar Amidi | leader_title2 = Prime Minister | leader_name2 = Ali al-Zaidi | leader_title3 = Speaker | leader_name3 = Haibat al-Halbousi | sovereignty_type = Establishment | established_event1 = Sumer | established_date1 = {{circa|3300 BC}} | established_event2 = Akkadian Empire | established_date2 = {{circa|2334 BC}} | established_event3 = Assyria | established_date3 = {{circa|2025 BC}} | established_event4 = Babylonia | established_date4 = {{circa|1890 BC}} | established_event5 = Abbasid Caliphate | established_date5 = 750 AD | established_event6 = Mamluk Iraq | established_date6 = 1704 AD | established_event7 = Mandate of Mesopotamia | established_date7 = 14 April 1920 | established_event8 = Independence declared | established_date8 = 3 October 1932 | established_event9 = Republic declared | established_date9 = 14 July 1958 | established_event10 = {{nowrap|Current constitution}} | established_date10 = 15 October 2005 | area_rank = 58th  | area_km2 = 438,317 | area_sq_mi = 169,234  | percent_water = 4.93 (as of 2024)<ref>{{cite web |title=Surface water and surface water change |access-date=10 October 2023 |publisher=Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) |url=https://stats.oecd.org/Index.aspx?DataSetCode=SURFACE_WATER#}}</ref> | population_estimate = | legislature = Council of Representatives | lower_house = Council of Representatives | upper_house = Federation Council{{efn|The Federation Council is envisioned by article 65 of the constitution as an upper house but has never convened, meaning the legislature de-facto practices as a unicameral system solely under the Council of Representatives.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Without a Federation Council, State-building in Iraq remains elusive {{!}} MERI |url=https://www.meri-k.org/publication/without-a-federal-council-state-building-in-iraq-remains-elusive/ |access-date=26 March 2025 |website=www.meri-k.org |quote=The problem here does not lie in the topic, but in the fact that Iraq’s shaky Parliament is enjoying a monopoly in the country’s supreme legislative body and not subject to any form of checks and balances. Iraq was meant to have a Federation Council, an upper chamber, that can play a vital role in the country’s democracy, state-building and rule-of-law. This Council was mandated in Articles 48 and 65 of the 2005 Constitution, and was meant to be created during the term of the first Parliament (2006-2010).}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=13 March 2025 |title=Can the Federation Council help address Iraq's ongoing 'state' crisis? - Kalam |url=https://kalam.chathamhouse.org/articles/can-the-federation-council-help-address-iraqs-ongoing-state-crisis/ |access-date=26 March 2025 |language=en-US |quote=Article 65 of Iraq’s 2005 Constitution calls for the establishment of a second legislative chamber known as the Federation Council (FC). However, this article remains dormant, awaiting ‘to be regulated by law’ – just like many other suspended constitutional provisions.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Chomani |first=Kamal |date=8 November 2018 |title=Iraq's Missing Federation Council |url=https://timep.org/2018/11/08/iraqs-missing-federation-council/ |access-date=26 March 2025 |website=The Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy - |language=en-US |quote=The Iraqi parliament’s upper house, constitutionally defined as the Federation Council, has never been established. Establishing the Federation Council would be a step forward in Iraq’s democratization and ability to resolve disputes.}}</ref>}} | population_estimate_rank = 34th | population_estimate_year = | population_census = {{IncreaseNeutral}} 46,118,793<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jZGZ_gLSnRQ |title=نتائج تعداد 2024 Census results |date=23 March 2025 |publisher=Commission of Statistics and GIS, Ministry of Planning}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://ina.iq/eng/38495-planning-ministry-announces-key-census-results-population-reaches-46-million-118-thousand.html |title=Planning Ministry Announces Key Census Results: Population Reaches 46 Million 118 Thousand |publisher=Iraqi News Agency |access-date=24 February 2025 |archive-date=24 February 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250224105128/https://ina.iq/eng/38495-planning-ministry-announces-key-census-results-population-reaches-46-million-118-thousand.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> | population_census_year = 2024 | population_census_rank = 34th | population_density_km2 = 82.7 | population_density_sq_mi = 183.9  | population_density_rank = 125th | GDP_PPP = {{decrease}} $670.507 billion<ref name="IMFWEO.IQ">{{cite web |url=https://data.imf.org/en/Data-Explorer?datasetUrn=IMF.RES:WEO(9.0.0) |title=World Economic Outlook Database (April 2026 Edition) |publisher=International Monetary Fund |website=www.imf.org |date=14 April 2026}}</ref> | GDP_PPP_rank = 48th | GDP_PPP_year = 2026 | GDP_PPP_per_capita = {{decrease}} $14,376<ref name="IMFWEO.IQ" /> | GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = 110th | GDP_nominal_year = 2026 | GDP_nominal = {{increase}} $264.784 billion<ref name="IMFWEO.IQ" /> | GDP_nominal_rank = 54th | GDP_nominal_per_capita = {{decrease}} $5,677<ref name="IMFWEO.IQ" /> | GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank = 112th | Gini = 29.5 | Gini_year = 2012 | Gini_change =  | Gini_ref = <ref name="wb-gini">{{cite web |url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.GINI?locations=IQ |title=Gini Index - Iraq |publisher=World Bank |access-date=9 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221208203439/http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SI.POV.GINI/ |archive-date=8 December 2022 |url-status=live}}</ref> | Gini_rank = | HDI = 0.712  | HDI_year = 2024 | HDI_change = increase  | HDI_ref = <ref>{{cite book |url=https://hdr.undp.org/content/human-development-report-2025 |title=Human Development Report 2025 - A matter of choice: People and possibilities in the age of AI |date=6 May 2025 |publisher=United Nations Development Programme |isbn= |publication-date=6 May 2025 |pages= |access-date=6 May 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250506064128/https://hdr.undp.org/content/human-development-report-2025 |archive-date=6 May 2025}}</ref> | HDI_rank = 122nd | currency = Iraqi dinar | currency_code = IQD | time_zone = AST | utc_offset = +3 | calling_code = +964 | cctld = {{ublist |.iq |{{lang|ar|.العراق}}}} | today = | ethnic_groups = {{unbulleted list | 75–80% Arabs | 15–20% Kurds | 5–10% Assyrians, Turkmen, Jews, Persians, Yazidis, Mandaeans, and others}} | ethnic_groups_ref = <ref name=cia /> | ethnic_groups_year = 1987 }}

'''Iraq''',{{Efn|{{langx|ar|ٱلْعِرَاق|translit=al-ʿIrāq|engvar=gb}}; {{IPA|ar|lʕi.raːq|IPA}}; {{langx|ku|عێراق|translit=Êraq|engvar=gb}}; {{IPA|ku|ʕe̞ː.ɾaːq|IPA}}}} officially the '''Republic of Iraq''',{{Efn|{{langx|ar|جُمْهُورِيَّة ٱلْعِرَاق|engvar=gb}} ''{{transliteration|ar|{{Audio|Ar-Jumhūriyyat al-‘Irāq.oga|Jumhūriyyat al-ʿIrāq|help=no}}}}''; {{langx|ku|کۆماری عێراق|translit=Komarî Êraq|engvar=gb}}}} is a country in West Asia. Located within the Middle East, it is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south, Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and Kuwait to the southeast, Jordan to the southwest, and Syria to the west. The country covers an area of {{Convert|438,317|km2|sqmi}} and has a population of over 46 million, making it the 58th largest country by area and the 31st most populous in the world. Baghdad, home to over 8 million people, is the capital city and the largest in the country.

Starting in the 6th millennium BC, the fertile plains between Iraq's Tigris and Euphrates rivers, referred to as Mesopotamia, fostered the rise of early cities, civilisations, and empires including Sumer, Akkad, Babylonia, and Assyria. Known as the cradle of civilisation, Mesopotamia saw the invention of astrology, mathematics, navigation, timekeeping, writing systems, the wheel, the sailboat, a calendar, and a law code. After the Arab conquest of Mesopotamia in the 7th century, Iraq became the metropole of the Abbasid Caliphate with Baghdad emerging as a global cultural and intellectual hub during the Islamic Golden Age, home to institutions such as the House of Wisdom. Following Baghdad's destruction by the Mongols in 1258, Iraq came under successive empires, and from the 16th until the 20th century, it was governed within the Ottoman system as a defined region known administratively as Ottoman Iraq.

Since independence in 1932 after the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in World War I, Iraq has experienced spells of significant economic and military growth alongside periods of instability and conflict. Iraq emerged as a hashemite monarchy after centuries of Ottoman rule and a period under British administration. In 1958, a military coup led by Abdul Karim Qasim overthrew the monarchy and established a republic. Later, the Ba'ath Party took power in 1968, establishing a one-party state under Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr and later Saddam Hussein, who presided over war against Iran from 1980 to 1988 and then invaded Kuwait in 1990. In 2003, U.S.-led coalition forces invaded and occupied Iraq, overthrowing the government and triggering an insurgency and sectarian violence during the Iraq War, which ended in 2011. From 2013 to 2017, Iraq faced another major conflict with the rise and defeat of the Islamic State. Today post-war conflict continues at a lower scale, hampering stability alongside the rising influence of Iran.

A federal parliamentary republic, Iraq is considered an emerging middle power. It is home to a diverse population, geography and wildlife. Most Iraqis are Muslims, while significant religious minorities include Christians, Jews, Mandaeans, Yarsanis, and Yazidis. Iraqis are ethnically diverse; mostly Arabs, as well as Kurds, Turkmens, Yazidis, Assyrians, Armenians, Doms, and Shabaks. Arabic and Kurdish are the official languages of Iraq, while Assyrian, Turkmen and Mandaic are spoken regionally. Iraq, home to one of the largest oil reserves in the world, has a significant oil and gas industry. It is also popular for its agriculture and tourism. At present, Iraq is in the process of rebuilding.

== Name == {{anchor|Etymology}} There are several suggested origins for the name. One dates to the Sumerian city of Uruk and is thus ultimately of Sumerian origin.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=iraq |title=Online Etymology Dictionary |publisher=Etymonline.com |date=10 December 1979 |access-date=23 March 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Halloran |first=John A. |title=Sumerian Lexicon |url=http://sumerian.org/sumerlex.htm |year=2000 |quote=The name of the very ancient city of URUK- City of Gilgamesh is made up from the UR-city and UK- thought to mean existence (a-ku, a-Ki & a-ko. The Aramaic and Arabic root of IRQ and URQ denotes rivers or tributaries at the same times referring to condensation (of water).}}</ref> Another possible etymology for the name is from the Middle Persian word ''erāg'', meaning "lowlands".<ref>Wilhelm Eilers (1983). "Iran and Mesopotamia". In E. Yarshater, ''The Cambridge History of Iran'', vol. 3, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.</ref> An Arabic folk etymology for the name is "deeply rooted, well-watered; fertile".<ref>"often said to be from Arabic ''araqa'', covering notions such as "perspiring, deeply rooted, well-watered", which may reflect the impression the lush river-land made on desert Arabs. [http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?search=iraq etymonline.com]; see also "{{cite book |last=Rassam |first=Suha |title=Christianity in Iraq: Its Origins and Development to the Present Day |date=31 October 2005 |publisher=Gracewing Publishing |isbn=978-0-85244-633-1 |page=9}}</ref>

The name al-ʿIrāq is attested as a common toponym in pre-Islamic Arabic poetry. The sixth-century poet Adi ibn Zayd, from the Lakhmid court at al-Ḥirah, used the name in a demographic context, speaking of the "people of Iraq" (''ahl al-ʿIrāq''),<ref>{{Cite book |last=Yusuf |first=Husni 'Abd al-Jalil |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=2ktjAAAAMAAJ&q=بأهل+العراق |title=Al-Mufaraqa fi Shi'r 'Adi ibn Zayd |publisher=Al-Dar al-Thaqafiyya li'l-Nashr |year=2001 |location=Cairo |page=82 |isbn=978-977-5875-88-4 }}</ref> and in a geographical sense, referring to the "central area of Iraq" (''ṣaḥn al-ʿIrāq'').<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JLAZAAAAMAAJ&dq="اخوتي+ان+اتيت+صحن+العراق+أبلغا+عامرا+وابلغ"&pg=PA573 |title=Al-Hilal |publisher=Dar al-Hilal |year=1897 |editor-last=Ahmad |editor-first=Zaki |volume=5 |page=573}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=al-Ka'bi |first=Nasir |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b6ZjDwAAQBAJ&dq="معانيها+الكثير+من+الأعراق+والإثنيات"&pg=PT55 |title=مسمّى العراق وتخومه في المدوّنات البهلوية - الساسانية |publisher=Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies |year=2018 |trans-title=The Designation of Iraq and Its Boundaries in Pahlavi-Sasanian Records |chapter=أيديولوجيا المسمّى (الإمبراطورية) |trans-chapter=The Ideology of the Designation (The Empire) |isbn=978-614-445-193-9 }}</ref> His contemporary, Imruʾ al-Qais, used the name in social contexts, mentioning "the abundant food of Iraq" (''ṭaʿām al-ʿIrāq al-mustafīḍ'') and "the patterned fabric of Iraq" (''ḥawkk al-ʿIrāq al-munammaq''), and in a political context, stating "his kingdom stretches from Iraq to Oman" (''lahu mulk al-ʿIrāq ilā ʿUmān'').<ref>{{Cite book |last=al-Ka'bi |first=Nasir |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=b6ZjDwAAQBAJ&dq="معانيها+الكثير+من+الأعراق+والإثنيات"&pg=PT55 |title=مسمّى العراق وتخومه في المدوّنات البهلوية - الساسانية |publisher=Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies |year=2018 |trans-title=The Designation of Iraq and Its Boundaries in Pahlavi-Sasanian Records |chapter=العراق: مكامن تواري المسمّى وإشهاره |trans-chapter=Iraq: The Hideouts and Promulgation of the Designation |isbn=978-614-445-193-9 }}</ref> This usage continued into the early Islamic period. The tenth-century geographer al-Maqdisi, defending his use of "Iraq" instead of the ancient name "Babylonia", noted that it was the only name used in his time. He cited the precedent Abu Bakr, who reportedly said, "For Allah to grant a victory, even a handspan, of the Holy Land by my hand is more beloved to me than a district from the districts of Iraq" (''rustāq min rasātīq al-ʿIrāq''), and al-Maqdisi specifically pointed out that Abu Bakr did not say "Babylonia".<ref>{{Cite book |last=al-Maqdisi |url=https://archive.org/details/AhsanAlTakaseemFeyMarefatAlAkaleem |title=كتاب أحسن التقاسيم في معرفة الأقاليم |publisher=Brill |year=1906 |location=Leiden |page=116 |language=ar |trans-title=The Best Divisions for the Knowledge of the Regions}}</ref>

During the medieval period, there was a region called ''ʿIrāq ʿArabī'' ("Arabian Iraq") for Mesopotamia and ''ʿIrāq ʿAjamī'' ("Persian Iraq"),{{sfn|Bosworth|1998|p=538}} for the region now situated in Central and Western Iran.{{sfn|Bosworth|1998|p=538}} According to some historians, the term historically included the plain south of the Hamrin Mountains and did not include the northernmost and westernmost parts of the modern territory of Iraq.<ref name="Bernhardsson-97">{{cite book |author=Magnus Thorkell Bernhardsson |title=Reclaiming a Plundered Past: Archaeology And Nation Building in Modern Iraq |url={{Google books|MVHtRZwU-cAC |page=PA97 |keywords= |text= |plainurl=yes}} |year=2005 |publisher=University of Texas Press |isbn=978-0-292-70947-8 |page=97 |quote=The term Iraq did not encompass the regions north of the region of Tikrit on the Tigris and near Hīt on the Euphrates.}}</ref> However, contemporary medieval definitions of Iraq's extent varied. The 13th-century geographer Yaqut al-Hamawi, for example, defined Iraq as stretching "from Mosul to Abadan in length, and from Al-Qadisiyyah to Halwan in width".<ref>{{Cite book |last=al-Hamawi |first=Yaqut |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OCTlLaKhkoAC&dq="العراق+حديثة+الموصل"&pg=PA245 |title=Marāṣid al-iṭṭilāʿ ʿalā asmāʾ al-amkinah wa-al-biqaʿ |publisher=E.J. Brill |year=1852 |page=245 |language=ar}}</ref> Prior to the middle of the 19th century, the term ''Eyraca Arabica'' was commonly used to describe Iraq.<ref>{{cite book |last=Salmon |first=Thomas |title=A New Geographical and Historical Grammar |date=1767 |publisher=Sands, Murray, and Cochran |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FlttD01OMU4C&q=Eyraca |access-date=22 June 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite periodical |last=Martin |first=Benjamin |publisher=W. Owen |location=London |magazine=A New and Comprehensive System of Philology or A Treatise of the Literary Arts and Sciences, According to their Present State. |title=Philosophical Geography of Turkey in Asia |page=363 |date=1761 |issue=2 |volume=3 |series=The General Magazine of Arts and Sciences, Philosophical, Philological, Mathematical, and Mechanical |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MxdbAAAAYAAJ&q=Eyraca}}</ref> The term ''Sawad'' was also used in early Islamic times for the region of the alluvial plain of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.

As an Arabic word, {{lang|ar|عراق}} ''ʿirāq'' means "hem", "shore", "bank", or "edge", so that the name by folk etymology came to be interpreted as "the escarpment", such as at the south and east of the Jazira Plateau, which forms the northern and western edge of the "al-Iraq arabi" area.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Boesch |first=Hans H. |title=El-'Iraq |journal=Economic Geography |date=1 October 1939 |volume=15 |issue=4 |pages=325–361 |doi=10.2307/141771 |jstor=141771 |issn=0013-0095}}</ref> The Arabic pronunciation is {{IPA|ar|ʕiˈrɑːq|}}. In English, it is either {{IPAc-en|ɪ|ˈ|r|ɑː|k}} (the only pronunciation listed in the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' and the first one in ''Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary''<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Iraq |title=Definition of IRAQ |website=merriam-webster.com}}</ref>) or {{IPAc-en|ɪ|ˈ|r|æ|k}} (listed first by ''MQD'', the ''American Heritage Dictionary'',<ref>{{cite web |title=Iraq |website=The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language: Fourth Edition. 2000. |date=14 March 2008 |url=http://www.bartleby.com/61/81/I0228100.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080314173050/http://www.bartleby.com/61/81/I0228100.html |archive-date=14 March 2008}}</ref> and the ''Random House Dictionary''.<ref>{{cite web |title=Meaning of Iraq |website=InfoPlease |date=24 January 2017 |url=https://www.infoplease.com/dictionary/iraq}}</ref>)

When the British established the Hashemite king on 23 August 1921, Faisal I of Iraq, the official English name of the country changed from ''Mesopotamia'' to the endonymic ''Iraq''.<ref name="Los Angeles Times-1990">{{Cite web |date=2 September 1990 |title=How Mesopotamia Became Iraq (and Why It Matters) |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-09-02-bk-1977-story.html |access-date=2 August 2022 |website=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> Since January 1992, the official name of the state is "Republic of Iraq" (''Jumhūriyyat al-ʿIrāq''), reaffirmed in the 2005 Constitution.<ref name=Constitution>{{cite web |url=http://www.iraqinationality.gov.iq/attach/iraqi_constitution.pdf |title=Iraq, Ministry of Interior – General Directorate for Nationality: Iraqi Constitution (2005) |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110304074809/http://www.iraqinationality.gov.iq/attach/iraqi_constitution.pdf |archive-date=4 March 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://dds.crl.edu/item/252545 |title=DDS Center for Research Libraries}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6b4df40.html |title=Refworld | Iraq: Resolution No. 460 of 1991 (Official toponymy)}}</ref>

== History == {{main|Mesopotamia|History of Mesopotamia|History of Iraq}}

Iraq largely coincides with the ancient region of Mesopotamia, often referred to as the cradle of civilisation.<ref name="Kandela-2000">{{Cite journal |last=Kandela |first=Peter |date=July 2000 |title=The history and ancient civilisations of Iraq |journal=The Lancet |volume=356 |issue=9224 |page=171 |doi=10.1016/s0140-6736(00)02460-0 |issn=0140-6736}}</ref> The history of Mesopotamia extends back to the Lower Paleolithic period, with significant developments continuing through the establishment of the Caliphate in the late 7th century AD, after which the region became known as Iraq.

=== Bronze and Iron Age === [[File:Shanidar Cave - overview.jpg|thumb|left|The Shanidar Cave, where the remains of eight adults and two infant Neanderthals, dating from around 65,000–35,000 years ago were found<ref>{{Cite book |last=Murray |first=Tim |title=Milestones in Archaeology: A Chronological Encyclopedia |publisher=Abc-Clio |year=2007 |isbn=978-1-57607-186-1 |page=454}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Edwards |first=Owen |title="The Skeletons of Shanidar Cave" |publisher=Smithsonian |year=2010}}</ref>]] Within its borders lies the ancient land of Sumer, which emerged between 6000 and 5000 BC during the Neolithic Ubaid period.<ref name="Kandela-2000" /> Sumer is recognised as the world's earliest civilisation, marking the beginning of urban development, written language, and monumental architecture.<ref name="Kandela-2000" /> Sumer also had advanced canal systems.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Archaeologists discover ancient irrigation network in Mesopotamia |url=https://phys.org/news/2025-03-archaeologists-ancient-irrigation-network-mesopotamia.html |archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20260219235036/https://phys.org/news/2025-03-archaeologists-ancient-irrigation-network-mesopotamia.html |archive-date=2026-02-19 |access-date=2026-05-27 |language=en}}</ref> Iraq's territory also includes the heartlands of the Akkadian, Neo-Sumerian, Babylonian, Neo-Assyrian, and Neo-Babylonian empires, which dominated Mesopotamia and much of the Ancient Near East during the Bronze and Iron Ages.<ref name="Kandela-2000" />

=== Antiquity === [[File:Neo-Babylonian Empire under Nabonidus map.png|thumb|left|The Neo-Babylonian Empire under Nabonidus ({{reign|556 BC|539 BC}}) at its greatest territorial extent]] Following the Achaemenid conquest of Babylon in 539 BCE, Mesopotamia remained a core region of the Achaemenid Empire, with its existing population and local institutions continuing in use.{{sfn|Dandamayev|1988}} Maintaining Mesopotamian royal tradition, Cyrus the Great adopted titles such as King of Babylon, King of Sumer and Akkad, and King of the Four Corners,<ref>{{cite web |title=Cyrus Cylinder Translation |editor-last=van der Spek |editor-first=Bert |date=13 July 2020 |url=https://www.livius.org/sources/content/cyrus-cylinder/cyrus-cylinder-translation/}}</ref> while continuing the Assyrian-derived imperial title King of Kings,{{sfn|Peat|1989|p=199}} which remained in use into late antiquity.{{sfn|Frye|1983|p=116}} Babylon became an imperial capital of the empire,{{sfn|Yarshater|1993|p=482}} and Aramaic, long established in Mesopotamia, became the lingua franca of the empire for administration and interregional communication.{{sfn|Bae|2004|pp=1–20}}

After Mesopotamia came under Macedonian control following Alexander the Great's campaign in 331 BCE, Babylon surrendered without resistance. Alexander intended to make Babylon the capital of his empire, but this plan was abandoned after his death in 323 BCE,{{sfn|Dandamayev|1988}} with Seleucia established as the imperial capital in Mesopotamia.{{sfn|van der Spek|2009|pp=106–108}} Following the founding of Seleucia, the population of Babylon was resettled to it.{{sfn|Boiy|2004| p=45}} Under Seleucid rule, administrative and economic power remained centered in Mesopotamia.{{sfn|Aperghis|2004|pp=37–38}} Babylonian economic traditions persisted during this period, including the continued use of the silver shekel.{{sfn|Reger|2003|pp=331–353}} Babylonian chronicle fragments record Seleucid rulers engaging with local institutions, while temple authorities, scholarly traditions, and cuneiform writing continued to function during the Seleucid period.{{sfn|Sherwin-White|1983}}{{sfn|van der Spek|2009}} Archaeological evidence from Uruk indicates that Babylonian religious institutions and architectural traditions continued to function during this period.{{sfn|Petrie|2002}} In Babylonian contexts, Seleucid rulers were described as kings in Babylonia.{{sfn|Sherwin-White|Kuhrt|1993|p=40}}

In late antiquity, Mesopotamia formed part of the decentralized Parthian Empire, which contained numerous semi-autonomous kingdoms and maintained Aramaic as a lingua franca alongside Mesopotamian religious traditions.{{sfn|Brosius|2006|pp=67–68}}{{sfn|Lukonin|1983|p=701}}{{sfn|Green|1992|p=45}} During the Parthian and Sasanian periods, Ctesiphon gradually merged with Seleucia to form a cosmopolitan metropolis that served as the Sasanian capital, later known as al-Madāʾin.{{sfn|Kröger|1993|pp=446–448}} Under Sasanian rule this territory was organized as the province of Āsōristān, corresponding to the geography of Babylonia which Arabic-writing geographers referred to as al-ʿIrāq, a regional designation that continued into the Islamic period.{{sfn|Morony|1982|p=3}}

The capitals of Iranic empires shifted toward Mesopotamia, from Susa to Ctesiphon.{{sfn|Hodgson|1974|p=206}} The Iranic state came to be dependent on the Iraqi Sawad for its state revenues and centralized administration. When the Sasanians lost the Mesopotamian capital at Ctesiphon during the Arab conquests, Sasanian rule came to an end.{{sfn|Hodgson|1974|p=206}} Following the conquest, Iraq emerged as politically and culturally distinct from Syria, a division noted by Byzantine authors such as Theophanes, who referred to their inhabitants respectively as “Herakites” and “Isamites”.{{sfn|Komatina|2018|p=47}}

=== Middle Ages === {{Main|Arab conquest of Mesopotamia|Mongol invasion of Persia and Mesopotamia|Siege of Baghdad (1401)}}

[[File:Abbasid Caliphate 850AD.png|thumb|Abbasid Caliphate with capitals in Baghdad and Samarra c. 850]]In the decades after the conquest, the Rashidun caliph Ali ibn Abi Talib strengthened Iraq’s political importance by transferring the seat of the caliphate from Medina to Kufa.{{sfn|Kennedy|2004|pp=76–77}} Under Umayyad rule, the governor of Iraq frequently exercised authority over much of the empire’s eastern provinces.{{sfn|Blankinship|1994|pp=58–61}} After the Battle of Karbala in 680, Iraq became the primary locus of Alid political opposition, a legacy that the Abbasid Caliphate later mobilized when establishing their rule from Iraq.{{sfn|Kennedy|2004|p=124}}

Iraq was the metropole of the Abbasid Caliphate even before Baghdad was founded, and following earlier Mesopotamian precedents, Abbasid rulers spent large sums on restoring and extending canal systems and cultivating land.{{sfn|Kennedy|2016|loc=chapter 1}} With the founding of Baghdad in 762, Iraq became the political, economic, and intellectual core during the Islamic Golden Age, housing institutions such as the House of Wisdom.{{sfn|Sourdel|2012}} Abbasid Iraq generated the highest state revenues of the caliphate, reaching four times that of Egypt, the second richest province, drawing largely on the agricultural productivity of southern Iraq.{{sfn|Kennedy|2005|p=132}} During this period, large quantities of opaque glazed pottery were produced in Iraq and exported as mass-produced commercial goods across the Indian Ocean.{{sfn|Priestman|2011|pp=89–90, 107–110}} Abbasid literary culture in Iraq reflected long-term Mesopotamian narrative continuities, appearing across Muslim and Jewish texts despite religious and political change.{{sfn|Silverstein|2014|pp=293–296}} In his court narratives, al-Masʿūdī presents Iraq as a distinct regional point of comparison, including contrasts between Iraqi and Syrian officials in matters of administration,{{sfn|Masʿūdī|2010|pp=419–420}} accounts in which the people of Iraq are cited as rejecting Egyptian claims of environmental advantage,{{sfn|Masʿūdī|2010|pp=59–60}} and anecdotes in which legal practice in Mecca is discussed in terms of how it would be ridiculed by the Iraqis.{{sfn|Masʿūdī|2010|pp=279–280}}

From the tenth century onward, Iraq entered a period of political fragmentation as effective power shifted from the Abbasid caliphs to regional dynasties.{{sfn|Bosworth|2019|pp=85–93}} Authority within Iraq was exercised by a succession of local dynasties, including the Hamdanids, Buyids, Uqaylids, and Mazyadids, which competed and negotiated for control of Iraqi cities and territories.{{sfn|Bosworth|2019|pp=85–93}} During this period, regional rulers exercised authority in Iraq while receiving formal recognition from the Abbasid caliphs in Baghdad.{{sfn|Bosworth|2012a}} This period of decentralized rule in Iraq ended with the rise of the Seljuk Empire,{{sfn|Bosworth|2012}} whose capture of Baghdad in 1055 ended Buyid dominance and left the Abbasid caliphs as largely ceremonial figures under Seljuk rule.{{sfn|Cahen|2012}}{{sfn|Lewis|2012}}

The existing pattern of regional rule in Iraq was disrupted by the Mongol conquest in the thirteenth century.{{sfn|Morgan|2012}} In 1258, Mongol forces captured and sacked Baghdad, bringing Abbasid political rule in Iraq to an end and causing widespread destruction.{{sfn|Morgan|2012}} Iraq was subsequently incorporated into the Ilkhanate as a territorial province within the Mongol Empire.{{sfn|Spuler |Ettinghausen|2012}} Under Ilkhanid rule, elements of agricultural production and urban life in Iraq gradually recovered, and Iraq remained a populated and economically active region into the late medieval period.{{sfn|Spuler| Ettinghausen|2012}}

After the collapse of Mongol rule in the 14th century, Iraq came under the control of the Jalayirids, a dynasty of Mongol origin that ruled from Baghdad following the breakup of the Ilkhanate.<ref name=":1">{{Encyclopædia Iranica Online |volume=14 |fascicle=4 |article=Jalayerids |first=Peter |last=Jackson |url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/jalayerids |pages=415-419}}</ref>Their authority was eventually replaced by the Qara Qoyunlu, a Turkoman confederation that captured Baghdad in the early 15th century and extended its rule over much of Iraq.<ref name="KaraKoyunlu">{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Kara-Koyunlu|title=Kara Koyunlu | History, Meaning, & Capital | Britannica|website=www.britannica.com}}</ref> In the later 15th century, the Aq Qoyunlu defeated the Qara Qoyunlu and established control over Iraq as part of a wider regional empire.{{sfn|Minorsky|1954|p=282}} This period of Turkmen rule ended in 1508 when Shah Ismail I conquered Baghdad and incorporated Iraq into the Safavid Empire.<ref>{{harvnb|Savory|2007|p=213}}</ref>

=== Early Modern Period === {{Main|Ottoman Iraq|Portuguese–Safavid wars|Safavid invasions of Basra}}

Iraq was conquered by Sultan Suleiman I in 1534 and became part of the Ottoman Empire. During the 16th and 17th centuries, Iraq was a major frontier of the Ottoman–Safavid wars, with Baghdad changing hands several times until the Treaty of Zuhab in 1639 confirmed Ottoman control.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Finkel |first=Caroline |title=Osman's Dream: The History of the Ottoman Empire |publisher=Basic Books |year=2007 |isbn= |location=New York |page=203}}</ref> Administratively, Iraq was organised into the provinces of Baghdad, Basra, Mosul, and Shahrizor, which the Ottomans collectively referred to as Hıtta-i Irakiyye (“the Iraq region”).<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.devletarsivleri.gov.tr/cdn/file/download?fileId=37 |title=Musul – Kerkük ile İlgili Arşiv Belgeleri (1525–1919) |publisher=T.C. Başbakanlık Devlet Arşivleri Genel Müdürlüğü |year=1993 |location=Ankara |pages=47–48 |language=tr |quote=}}</ref><ref name=":9">{{Cite journal |last=Nuri |first=Nahar Muhammed |year=2018 |title=Iraq is not Artificial: Iraqi Trends and the Refutation of the Artificial State Hypothesis |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.31430/almuntaqa.1.3.0009 |journal=AlMuntaqa |publisher=Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies |volume=1 |issue=3 |pages=15 |doi=10.31430/almuntaqa.1.3.0009 |jstor=10.31430/almuntaqa.1.3.0009 |via=JSTOR|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Ceylan |first=Ebubekir |title=The Ottoman Origins of Modern Iraq: Political Reform, Modernization and Development in the Nineteenth Century Middle East |publisher=I.B. Tauris |year=2011 |location=London |pages=121}}</ref>

From 1749 to 1831, Iraq was ruled by a Mamluk dynasty of Georgian origin with considerable autonomy while maintaining nominal allegiance to the Ottoman sultan. After the dynasty was overthrown in 1831, the centralisation of Iraq under Baghdad began.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Longrigg |first=Stephen H. |title=Four Centuries of Modern Iraq |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=1925 |location=Oxford |pages=277–284}}</ref> Under the two-time Ottoman Viceroy, Namık Pasha, Baghdad's authority was expanded through military and administrative reforms.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Damdoom |first1=Ameen |last2=Mahboab |first2=Shahram |year=2023 |title=The Ottoman Empire and Provincial Centralization in Iraq: Rethinking State–Society Relations, 1831–1917 |journal=Migration Letters |volume=20 |issue=6 |pages=799–815}}</ref> Midhat Pasha introduced further reforms in taxation, land registration, infrastructure, education, and communications, reforms often seen as laying the groundwork for the modern Iraq.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Shaw |first1=Stanford J. |title=History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey: Volume II, Reform, Revolution, and Republic: The Rise of Modern Turkey, 1808–1975 |last2=Shaw |first2=Ezel Kural |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1977 |location=New York |pages=122}}</ref>

Iraq remained under Ottoman control until the First World War, when the British launched the Mesopotamian campaign. The campaign led to the occupation of Baghdad in 1917, and in 1920 Ottoman Iraq was formally dissolved with the establishment of the British Mandate of Mesopotamia.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Fantauzzo |first=Justin |year=2017 |title=The Finest Feats of the War? The Captures of Baghdad and Jerusalem during the First World War and Public Opinion throughout the British Empire |journal=War in History |publisher=Sage Publications, Ltd. |volume=24 |issue=1 |pages=64–86 |doi=10.1177/0968344515592911 |via=JSTOR}}</ref>

=== Modern Iraq === {{Main|Mandatory Iraq|Kingdom of Iraq}}

[[File:Nouri_Al-Saeed,_1950s.jpg|thumb|upright|Nuri Pasha al-Said (1888–1958) served eight terms as prime minister during Mandatory Iraq and the Hashemite Kingdom]] Iraq's modern history began in the wake of World War I, as the region emerged from the collapse of the Ottoman Empire.<ref name="TK" /> Arab forces, inspired by the promise of independence, had helped dismantle the Ottoman hold on the Middle East, but the dream of a united, sovereign Arab state was soon dashed.<ref name="TK" /> Despite agreements made with Hussein bin Ali, the Sharif of Makkah, the European powers had different plans for the region. Following the British withdrawal of support for a unified Arab state, Hussein's son, Faisal, briefly declared the Kingdom of Syria in 1920, encompassing parts of what are now Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, and Syria.<ref name="TK" /> However, the kingdom was short-lived, crushed by local opposition and the military might of France, which had been granted a mandate over Syria.<ref name="TK" />

The British unified three former Ottoman provinces—Mosul, Baghdad, and Basra—into the Mandate of Mesopotamia, which became Iraq.<ref name="TK" /> Under the British, tensions were rising as locals increasingly resisted foreign control.<ref name="TK" /> An anti-British rebellion erupted across the country, beginning with Baghdad.<ref name="TK" /> The British military responded by air bombing across the capital, where thousands of residents were killed.<ref name="TK" /> The need of a new strategy became clear.<ref name="TK" /> In 1921, the Cairo Conference, led by British officials including Winston Churchill and T.E. Lawrence, decided that Faisal, now exiled in London, would become the king of Iraq.<ref name="TK" /> The decision was seen as a way to maintain British influence in the region while placating local demands for leadership.<ref name="TK" /> Upon his coronation as king, Faisal focused on laying foundation of Iraq.<ref name="TK" /> He worked hard to gain support of Iraq's diverse population and paid special attention to the Shi'a community, symbolically choosing the date of his coronation to coincide with Eid al-Ghadeer, a key day for Shiite Muslims.<ref name="TK" />

His reign laid the foundations of modern Iraq.<ref name="TK" /> Faisal worked to establish key state institutions and fostered a sense of national identity.<ref name="TK" /> His education reforms included the founding of Ahl al-Bayt University in Baghdad, and he encouraged the migration of Syrian exiles to Iraq to serve as doctors and educators.<ref name="TK" /> Faisal also envisioned infrastructural links between Iraq, Syria, and Jordan, including plans for a railway and an oil pipeline to the Mediterranean.<ref name="TK" /> Although Faisal succeeded in securing greater autonomy for Iraq, British influence remained strong, particularly in the country's oil industry.<ref name="TK" /> In 1930, Iraq signed a treaty with Britain that gave the country a measure of political independence while maintaining British control over key aspects, including military presence and oil rights.<ref name="TK" /> By 1932, Iraq gained formal independence, becoming a member of the League of Nations.<ref name="TK" /> Faisal's reign was marked by his efforts to balance the pressures of external influence and internal demands for sovereignty.<ref name="TK" /> He was admired for his diplomatic skill and his commitment to steering Iraq towards self-determination.<ref name="TK" /> Untimely, he died from a heart attack on 8 September 1933, leaving his son Ghazi to inherit the throne.<ref name="TK" /> King Ghazi's reign was brief and turbulent, as Iraq was impacted by numerous coup attempts.<ref name="TK" /> He died in a motor vehicle accident in 1939, passing the throne to his young son, Faisal II, who ascended to the throne at just 3 years old.<ref name="TK" /> Faisal II's uncle, Crown Prince Abdullah, assumed regency until the young king came of age.<ref name="TK" />

On 1 April 1941, Rashid Ali al-Gaylani and members of the Golden Square staged a coup d'état and installed a pro-German and pro-Italian government.<ref name="TK" /> During the subsequent Anglo-Iraqi War, the United Kingdom invaded Iraq for fear that the government might cut oil supplies to Western nations because of its links to the Axis powers.<ref name="TK" /> The war started on 2 May, and the British, together with loyal Assyrian Levies, defeated the forces of Al-Gaylani, forcing an armistice on 31 May.<ref name="TK" /> Regency of King Faisal II ended on 2 May 1953, his 18th birthday, upon which he gained his majority.<ref name="TK" /> The hopes for Iraq's future under Faisal II were high, but the nation remained divided.<ref name="TK" /> Iraq's Sunni-dominated monarchy struggled to reconcile the diverse ethnic and religious groups, particularly the Shiite, Assyrian, Jewish and Kurdish populations, who felt marginalised.<ref name="TK" /> In 1958, these tensions culminated in a military coup, inspired by the revolutionary wave sweeping across the Arab world, particularly the 1952 Egyptian revolution.<ref name="RF" />

=== Republic and Ba'athist Iraq === {{Main|First Republic of Iraq|Ba'athist Iraq}}

upright=0.7|thumb|Saddam Hussein in 1980 Brigadier General and nationalist Abd al-Karim Qasim led a coup d'état known as the 14 July Revolution in 1958.<ref name="RF" /> This revolt was strongly anti-imperial and anti-monarchical in nature and had strong socialist elements.<ref name="RF" /> King Faisal II, Prince Abd al-Ilah, and Nuri al-Sa'id, along with the royal family were killed brutally.<ref name="RF" /> Qasim controlled Iraq through military rule and in 1958 he began a process of forcibly reducing surplus land owned by a few citizens and having the state redistribute the land.<ref name="RF" /> In 1959, Abd al-Wahab al-Shawaf led an uprising in Mosul against Qasim. The uprising was crushed by the government forces.<ref name="RF" /> Qasim claimed Kuwait as part of Iraq, when the former was granted independence in 1961.<ref name="RF" /> The United Kingdom deployed its army on the Iraq–Kuwait border, which forced Qasim to back down.<ref name="RF" /> He was overthrown by the Ba'ath Party in a February 1963 coup.<ref name="IA" /> However internal division within Ba'athist factions caused another coup in November, which brought Colonel Abdul Salam Arif to power.<ref name="IA" /> The new regime recognised Kuwait's independence.<ref name="IA" /> After the latter's death in 1966, he was succeeded by his brother, Abdul Rahman Arif.<ref name="IA" /> Under his rule, Iraq participated in the Six-Day War in 1967.<ref name="IA" />

The 17 July Revolution overthrew Arif and brought the Iraqi Ba'ath Party to power in 1968, with Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr as the president of Iraq.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Hirst |first=David |date=18 July 1968 |title=Ba'athists now put Iraq first |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/1968/jul/18/iraq.davidhirst |access-date=17 April 2025 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> However, the government gradually came under the control of Saddam Hussein, Iraq's then vice-president.<ref name="BP" /> Saddam sought to achieve stability between Iraq's ethnic and religious groups.<ref name="BP" /> The first Iraqi–Kurdish war ended in 1970, after which a peace treaty was signed between Saddam and Barzani, granting autonomy to Kurds.<ref>{{Cite news |date=15 March 2020 |title=From the Archives (March 16, 1970): Kurds of Iraq |url=https://www.thehindu.com/archives/from-the-archives-march-16-1970-kurds-of-iraq/article31075651.ece |access-date=17 April 2025 |work=The Hindu |language=en-IN |issn=0971-751X}}</ref> In the 1970s, the leadership offered peace initiatives to Assyrians in Iraq and invited exiled Iraqi Jews back to Iraq.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Twelfth periodic reports of States parties due in 1993 : Iraq. 14/06/96, Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (the Iraqi government's point of view) |url=http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/(Symbol)/CERD.C.240.Add.3.En?OpenDocument |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120206092250/http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/(Symbol)/CERD.C.240.Add.3.En?OpenDocument |archive-date=6 February 2012 |access-date=8 April 2014}}</ref><ref>Petrosian (2006), Pg 122–123</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Times |first=Bernard Gwertzman Special to The New York |date=12 December 1975 |title=Iraqi Offer to Let Jews Return Fails to Stir Much Enthusiasm |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/12/12/archives/iraqi-offer-to-let-jews-return-fails-to-stir-much-enthusiasm.html |access-date=17 April 2025 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> The government introduced free healthcare and education, nationalised oil, promoted women's rights and developed infrastructure.<ref>{{Cite news |title=For most ordinary Iraqis life was better under Saddam Hussein |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/it-was-better-to-live-in-iraq-under-saddam-9532742.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231211041618/https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/it-was-better-to-live-in-iraq-under-saddam-9532742.html |archive-date=11 December 2023 |access-date=17 April 2025 |work=The Independent |language=en-GB |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1974, the second Iraqi–Kurdish war began and border clashes with Iran took place on Shatt al-Arab. Iran supported Kurdish militants.<ref name="BP" /> The Algiers Agreement signed in 1975 by Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and Saddam resolved the dispute and Iran withdrew support for the Kurds, resulting in their defeat in the war.<ref>{{Cite news |date=7 March 1975 |title=Iraq and Iran Sign Accord To Settle Border Conflicts |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1975/03/07/archives/iraq-and-iran-sign-accord-to-settle-border-conflicts-iraq-and-iran.html |access-date=17 April 2025 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> In 1973, Iraq participated in the Yom Kippur War against Israel, alongside Syria and Egypt.<ref name="BP" /> An attempt to ban an annual pilgrimage to Karbala in 1977 caused an uprising by Shia Muslims across Iraq.<ref name="BP" /> Another Shia uprising took place from 1979 to 1980, as a followup to the Islamic Revolution in Iran.<ref name="BP" /> On 16 July 1979, Saddam acceded to the presidency and chairmanship of the Revolutionary Command Council, Iraq's then supreme executive body.<ref name="BP" />

Following months of cross-border raids with Iran, Saddam declared war on Iran in September 1980, initiating the Iran–Iraq War.<ref name="BP" /> Taking advantage of the post-Iranian Revolution chaos in Iran, Iraq captured some territories in southwest Iran, but Iran recaptured all of the lost territories within two years, and for the next six years Iran was on the offensive.[''page needed''] Sunni-led Arab countries and the United States supported Iraq throughout the war.<ref name="BP" /> In 1981, Israel destroyed a nuclear reactor of Iraq.<ref name="BP" /> In midst of the war, between 1983 and 1986, Kurds led rebellion against the regime.<ref name="BP" /> In retaliation, the government-coordinated Anfal campaign led to the killing of 50,000–100,000 civilians.<ref name="BP" /> During the war, Saddam extensively used chemical weapons against Iranians.<ref name="BP" /> The war, which ended in stalemate in 1988, killed between half a million and 1.5 million people.<ref name="BP" />

Kuwait's refusal to waive Iraq's debt and reducing oil prices pushed Saddam to take military action against it.<ref name="CL" /> On 2 August 1990, the Iraqi forces invaded and annexed Kuwait as its 19th governorate, starting the Gulf War.<ref name="CL" /> This led to military intervention by the US-led alliance.<ref name="CL" /> The coalition forces proceeded with a bombing campaign targeting military targets and then launched a 100-hour-long ground assault against Iraqi forces in southern Iraq and Kuwait.<ref name="CL" /> Iraq also attempted to invade Saudi Arabia and attacked Israel.<ref name="CL" /> Iraq's armed forces were devastated during the war.<ref name="CL" /> Sanctions were imposed on Iraq, following the invasion of Kuwait, which resulted in economic decline.<ref name="CL" /> After the end of the war in 1991, Iraqi Kurds and Shi'ite Muslims in northern and southern Iraq led several uprisings against Saddam's regime, but these were repressed.<ref name="CL" /> It is estimated that as many as 100,000 people, including many civilians, were killed.<ref name="CL" /> During the uprisings, the US, UK, Turkey and France, claiming authority under UNSC Resolution 688, established the Iraqi no-fly zones to protect Kurdish population from attacks and autonomy was given to Kurds.<ref name="CL" /> Iraq was also affected by the Iraqi Kurdish Civil War from 1994 to 1997.<ref name="CL" /> Around 40,000 fighters and civilians were killed.<ref name="CL" /> Between 2001 and 2003, the Kurdistan Regional Government and Ansar al-Islam engaged in conflict, which would merge with the upcoming war.<ref name="CL" />

=== Post-invasion Iraq === {{Main|Occupation of Iraq (2003–2011)|Iraq War|History of Iraq (2011–present)}}

After the 11 September 2001 attacks, U.S. President George W. Bush began planning the overthrow of Saddam in what is now widely regarded as a false pretense.<ref name="www.cfr.org" /> Saddam's Iraq was included in Bush's "axis of evil". The US Congress passed a joint resolution, which authorised the use of armed force against Iraq.<ref name="www.cfr.org" /> In November 2002 the UN Security Council passed resolution 1441.<ref name="www.cfr.org" /> On 20 March 2003, the US-led coalition invaded Iraq, as part of the global war on terror.<ref name="www.cfr.org" /> Within weeks, coalition forces occupied much of Iraq, with the Iraqi Army adopting guerrilla tactics to confront coalition forces.<ref name="www.cfr.org" /> Following the fall of Baghdad in the first week of April, Saddam's regime had completely lost control of Iraq.<ref name="www.cfr.org">{{Cite web |title=Timeline: The Iraq War |url=https://www.cfr.org/timeline/iraq-war |access-date=28 July 2024 |website=www.cfr.org}}</ref> A statue of Saddam was toppled in Baghdad, symbolising the end of his rule.<ref name="www.cfr.org" /> The US-created Coalition Provisional Authority enforced economic and political policies on Iraq that have created the current state system of the country, which depends on widespread corruption and patronage networks.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Mabon |first1=Simon |title=The origins of ISIS |publisher=IB Tauris |page=14}}</ref>

====Insurgency and Civil war==== The Coalition Provisional Authority disbanded the Iraqi military and expelled Ba'athists from the new government.<ref name="www.cfr.org" /> The insurgents fought against the coalition forces and the newly installed government.<ref name="www.cfr.org" /> Saddam was captured and executed.<ref name="www.cfr.org" /> The Shia–Sunni civil war took place from 2006 to 2008.<ref name="www.cfr.org" /> The coalition forces were accused of war crimes such as the Abu Ghraib torture, the Fallujah massacre, the Mahmudiyah rape and killings and the Mukaradeeb wedding party massacre.<ref name="www.cfr.org" /> Following the withdrawal of US troops in 2011, the occupation ceased and war ended. The war in Iraq has resulted in between 151,000 and 1.2 million Iraqis being killed.<ref name="www.cfr.org" />

The subsequent efforts to rebuild the country amidst sectarian violence was galvanised by continuing discontent over Nouri al-Maliki's government, which led to protests. In 2013, taking advantage of the ensuing chaos and popular discontent against the Iraqi government, Ba'athist and other Sunni militants (Al Qaida and ISIS) launched a number of attacks against the government during what is known as the Anbar campaign. What followed, was a large scale offensive by ISIS in Mosul, which marked the beginning of the rapid territorial expansion of the group, initiating full-scale war in Iraq. Sunni insurgents belonging to the Islamic State group seized control of large swathes of land including several major cities, like Tikrit, Fallujah and Mosul, creating hundreds of thousands of internally displaced persons amid reports of atrocities by ISIS fighters. An estimated 500,000 civilians fled from Mosul. Around 5,000 Yazidis were killed in the genocide by ISIS, as a part of the war. In June 2014, Iraq's leading Shii Grand Ayatollah, Ali al-Sistani issued a Fatwa calling on able-bodied men to join the Armed Forces to fight against ISIS. Even though the Fatwa specifically instructed Iraqis to join the official Armed Forces of the country (such as the Army or the Police), it nevertheless resulted in the creation of the Popular Mobilisation Forces.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://tcf.org/content/commentary/the-man-who-saved-iraq/ |title=The Man Who Saved Iraq |date=December 2023 |publisher=The Century Foundation}}</ref> During that time, the government of Iraq, headed by Haider al-Abadi requested the international community to assist Iraq against ISIS, resulting in the creation of the American-led Coalition against ISIS. Meanwhile, in an attempt to counter US influence, Khomeinist anti-US militias prompted Iranian intervention, which resulted in the latter expanding its influence. The Iraqi armed forces, supported by the US-led coalition, as well as the Popular Mobilisation Forces, Peshmerga and other allied anti-ISIS militias then initiated a counter-offensive to retake and liberate ISIS-held territory. In December 2017, when ISIS had lost all its territory in Iraq, the government declared victory.

====2019-2021 protests==== {{main|2019–2021 Iraqi protests}}

One of the main causes for popular discontent in Iraq is the lack of reliable electricity infrastructure and clean water. The electrical grid faces systemic pressures due to climate change, fuel shortages, and an increase in demand.<ref name="nbcnews.com" /><ref name="DW" /><ref name="Rodgers-2023" /> Corruption remains endemic throughout Iraqi governance while the United States-endorsed sectarian political system has driven increased levels of violent terrorism and sectarian conflicts.<ref name="nytimes.com" /><ref name="Karam" /><ref name="Rodgers-2023" /> Climate change is driving wide-scale droughts while water reserves are rapidly depleting.<ref name="Lukas" /> Nationwide protests erupted in Iraq in October 2019, demanding systemic reform, and the end of the party-based quota system as well as the disarmament of non-state militias and end to foreign interference. Despite heavy repression, hundreds of deaths, and widespread injuries, the movement remained united around calls for institutional reform and increased accountability. In 2020, the sitting prime minister Adil Abdul Mahdi resigned in the face of popular demand. He was succeeded by prime minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, whose tenure coincided with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. The subsequent macroeconomic shock caused a severe decline in oil prices, critically impacting Iraq's oil-dependent economy. The country has been in a prolonged drought since 2020 and experienced its second-driest season in the past four decades in 2021. Water flows in the Tigris and Euphrates were down 30-40% in 2023. Half the country's farmland is at risk of desertification.<ref name="Rodgers-2023" /> Nearly 40% of Iraq "has been overtaken by blowing desert sands that claim tens of thousands of acres of arable land every year".<ref name="CW" />

==== Period of stability (2022-present)==== In October 2022, the Council of Representatives elected Abdul Latif Rashid as president,<ref>{{cite news |date=14 October 2022 |title=Who are Iraq's new president Abdul Latif Rashid and PM nominee Mohammed Shia Al Sudani? |url=https://www.thenationalnews.com/mena/iraq/2022/10/14/who-are-iraqs-new-president-abdul-lateef-rasheed-and-pm-nominee-mohammad-al-sudani/ |work=The National}}</ref> and Mohammed Shia al-Sudani became Prime Minister.<ref>{{cite news |title=Iraq gets a new government after a year of deadlock – DW – 10/28/2022 |url=https://www.dw.com/en/iraq-gets-a-new-government-after-a-year-of-deadlock/a-63581601 |work=dw.com}}</ref> Since assuming office in October 2022, Prime Minister al-Sudani has overseen a period of relative political, security, and economic stabilisation.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Prime Minister: Iraq is witnessing political, security, and social stability and an economic renaissance |url=https://ina.iq/eng/39372-prime-minister-iraq-is-witnessing-political-security-and-social-stability-and-an-economic-renaissance.html |access-date=19 April 2025 |website=Iraqi News Agency }}{{Dead link|date=April 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref> Government officials have cited increased regional diplomacy, improved international relations, and economic diversification initiatives such as the Iraq–Europe Development Road project as key indicators of recovery.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bayancenter.org/en/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/y7t6rtd1.pdf |title=One Year After Its Formation: Evaluating the Performance of al-Sudani's Government in the Context of Iraqi International Relations |publisher=Bayan Center}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title="Sign of economic stability": Arab Bank back in Iraq after 80 years |url=https://shafaq.com/en/Economy/Sign-of-economic-stability-Arab-Bank-back-in-Iraq-after-80-years |access-date=19 April 2025 |website=Shafaq News |language=en}}</ref> In August 2023, al-Sudani established the Iraq Development Fund whose purpose is to strengthen the private sector and finance projects of crucial social and environmental value. In 2024, Iraq experienced unprecedented rainfall that —according to the Ministry of Water Resources— boosted Iraq's strategic water reserves by 10%, significantly easing the drought crisis.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thenationalnews.com/mena/iraq/2024/03/25/iraq-rains-floods/ |title=Hope and Tragedy After Unprecedented Heavy Rains Sweep Iraq |publisher=The National}}</ref> In February 2025, the Iraq Development Fund had gained $7bn in foreign direct investments, and signed Memoranda of Understanding with a number of countries including the United Kingdom and Japan. In May 2025, Iraqi Ministry of Planning announced that the unemployment rate in Iraq had dropped from 17% in 2022 to 13% in 2025.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://en.shafaqna.com/411570/unemployment-rate-in-iraq-drops-significantly/ |title=Iraq's unemployment rate drops significantly |date=30 May 2025 |publisher=Shafaqna |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250621113631/https://en.shafaqna.com/411570/unemployment-rate-in-iraq-drops-significantly/ |archive-date=21 June 2025 |access-date=8 June 2025 |url-status=live }}</ref> A report published on 24 July 2025 and submitted to the United Nations Security Council, assessed that ISIS "is at its weakest" in Iraq since its emergence.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://docs.un.org/en/S/2025/482 |publisher=United Nations |title=Letter dated 21 July 2025 from the Chair of the Security Council Committee pursuant to resolutions 1267 (1999), 1989 (2011) and 2253 (2015) concerning Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (Da'esh), Al-Qaida and associated individuals, groups, undertakings and entities addressed to the President of the Security Council |date=24 July 2025 |page=14}}</ref>

== Geography == {{main|Geography of Iraq|}}

{{multiple image | align = right | image1 = | width1 = 200 | alt1 = | caption1 = Cheekha Dar is the highest point in Iraq (around 3,611 meters). | image2 = | width2 = 211 | alt2 = | caption2 = Views from the Amedi gate. | width3 = 150 | alt3 = | footer = }} Iraq lies between latitudes 29° and 38° N, and longitudes 39° and 49° E (a small area lies west of 39°). Spanning {{convert|437072|km2|mi2|0|abbr=on}}, it is the 58th-largest country in the world.

It has a coastline measuring {{convert|58|km|mi|0|abbr=in}} on the northern Persian Gulf.<ref>{{cite web |date=26 November 2007 |title=Declaration of Principles for a Long-Term Relationship of Cooperation and Friendship Between the Republic of Iraq and the United States of America |url=https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2007/11/20071126-11.html}}</ref> Further north, but below the main headwaters only, the country easily encompasses the Mesopotamian Alluvial Plain. Two major rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates, run south through Iraq and into the Shatt al-Arab, thence the Persian Gulf. Broadly flanking this estuary (known as ''arvandrūd'': اروندرود among Iranians) are marshlands, semi-agricultural. Flanking and between the two major rivers are fertile alluvial plains, as the rivers carry about {{convert|60000000|m3|cuyd|0|abbr=on}} of silt annually to the delta.

The central part of the south, which slightly tapers in favour of other countries, is natural vegetation marsh mixed with rice paddies and is humid, relative to the rest of the plains.{{citation needed|date=January 2024}} Iraq has the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range and the eastern part of the Syrian Desert.

Rocky deserts cover about 40 percent of Iraq. Another 30 percent is mountainous with bitterly cold winters. The north of the country is mostly composed of mountains; the highest point being at {{convert|3611|m|ft|0|abbr=on}}. Iraq is home to seven terrestrial ecoregions: Zagros Mountains forest steppe, Middle East steppe, Mesopotamian Marshes, Eastern Mediterranean conifer-sclerophyllous-broadleaf forests, Arabian Desert, Mesopotamian shrub desert, and South Iran Nubo-Sindian desert and semi-desert.<ref name="DinersteinOlson2017">{{cite journal |last1=Dinerstein |first1=Eric |last2=Olson |first2=David |last3=Joshi |first3=Anup |last4=Vynne |first4=Carly |last5=Burgess |first5=Neil D. |last6=Wikramanayake |first6=Eric |last7=Hahn |first7=Nathan |last8=Palminteri |first8=Suzanne |last9=Hedao |first9=Prashant|last10=Noss|first10=Reed |last11=Hansen |first11=Matt |last12=Locke |first12=Harvey |last13=Ellis |first13=Erle C |last14=Jones |first14=Benjamin |last15=Barber |first15=Charles Victor |last16=Hayes |first16=Randy |last17=Kormos |first17=Cyril |last18=Martin |first18=Vance |last19=Crist |first19=Eileen|last20=Sechrest|first20=Wes |last21=Price |first21=Lori |last22=Baillie |first22=Jonathan E. M. |last23=Weeden |first23=Don |last24=Suckling |first24=Kierán |last25=Davis |first25=Crystal |last26=Sizer |first26=Nigel |last27=Moore |first27=Rebecca |last28=Thau |first28=David |last29=Birch |first29=Tanya|last30=Potapov|first30=Peter |last31=Turubanova |first31=Svetlana |last32=Tyukavina |first32=Alexandra |last33=de Souza |first33=Nadia |last34=Pintea |first34=Lilian |last35=Brito |first35=José C. |last36=Llewellyn |first36=Othman A. |last37=Miller |first37=Anthony G. |last38=Patzelt |first38=Annette |last39=Ghazanfar |first39=Shahina A.|last40=Timberlake|first40=Jonathan |last41=Klöser |first41=Heinz |last42=Shennan-Farpón |first42=Yara |last43=Kindt |first43=Roeland |last44=Lillesø |first44=Jens-Peter Barnekow |last45=van Breugel |first45=Paulo |last46=Graudal |first46=Lars |last47=Voge |first47=Maianna |last48=Al-Shammari |first48=Khalaf F. |last49=Saleem |first49=Muhammad |title=An Ecoregion-Based Approach to Protecting Half the Terrestrial Realm |journal=BioScience |volume=67 |issue=6 |year=2017 |pages=534–545 |issn=0006-3568 |doi=10.1093/biosci/bix014 |pmid=28608869 |pmc=5451287}}</ref>

=== Climate === {{main|Geography of Iraq#Climate{{!}}Climate of Iraq}}

thumb|upright=1.2|Köppen–Geiger climate classification Much of Iraq has a hot arid climate with subtropical influence. Summer temperatures average above {{convert|40|°C}} for most of the country and frequently exceed {{convert|48|°C|1}}. Winter temperatures infrequently exceed {{convert|15|°C|1}} with maxima roughly {{convert|5|to|10|°C|°F|1}} and night-time lows {{convert|1|to|5|°C|°F|1}}. Typically, precipitation is low; most places receive less than {{cvt|250|mm|in}} annually, with maximum rainfall occurring during the winter months. Rainfall during the summer is rare, except in northern parts of the country.

The northern mountainous regions have cold winters with occasional heavy snows, sometimes causing extensive flooding.{{citation needed|date=January 2024}} Iraq is highly vulnerable to climate change.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Migration, Environment, and Climate Change in Iraq |website=iraq.un.org |url=https://iraq.un.org/en/194355-migration-environment-and-climate-change-iraq,%20https://iraq.un.org/en/194355-migration-environment-and-climate-change-iraq |access-date=17 March 2023}}{{Dead link|date=August 2023 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> The country is subject to rising temperatures and reduced rainfall, and suffers from increasing water scarcity for a human population that rose tenfold between 1890 and 2010 and continues to rise.<ref>{{cite web |last=USAID |date=3 March 2017 |title=Climate Risk Profile: Iraq |url=https://www.climatelinks.org/resources/climate-change-risk-profile-iraq |access-date=10 August 2019 |website=Climatelinks |archive-date=31 December 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211231230441/https://www.climatelinks.org/resources/climate-risk-profile-iraq |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name="watercrisis2">{{cite news |date=5 November 2021 |title='All the trees have died': Iraqis face intensifying water crisis |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/11/5/all-the-trees-have-died-iraqis-face-persistent-water-crisis |work=Al Jazeera}}</ref>

The country's electrical grid faces systemic pressures due to climate change, fuel shortages, and an increase in demand.<ref name="nbcnews.com" /><ref name="DW" /> Corruption remains endemic throughout all levels of Iraqi governance while the political system has exacerbated sectarian conflict.<ref name="nytimes.com" /><ref name="Karam" /> Climate change is driving wide-scale droughts across the country while water reserves are rapidly depleting.<ref name="Lukas" /> The country has been in a prolonged drought since 2020 and experienced its second-driest season in the past four decades in 2021. Water flows in the Tigris and Euphrates are down between 30 and 40%. Half of the country's farmland is at risk of desertification.<ref name="Rodgers-2023" /> Nearly 40% of Iraq "has been overtaken by blowing desert sands that claim tens of thousands of acres of arable land every year".<ref name="CW" />

However, in 2023, Mohammed Shia al-Sudani announced that government was working on a wider "Iraqi vision for climate action". The plan would include promoting clean and renewable energy, new irrigation and water treatment projects and reduced industrial gas flaring, he said. Sudani said Iraq was "moving forward to conclude contracts for constructing renewable energy power plants to provide one-third of our electricity demand by 2030". In addition, Iraq will plant 5 million trees across the country and will create green belts around cities to act as windbreaks against dust storms.<ref>{{Cite web |date=12 March 2023 |title=Iraqi prime minister promises action to tackle climate change, transition to renewables |website=PBS News |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/iraqi-prime-minister-promises-action-to-tackle-climate-change-transition-to-renewables |access-date=16 August 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023 |title=Iraq announces new plans to tackle climate change, will plant 5 million trees |work=The New Arab |url=https://www.newarab.com/news/iraq-announces-new-plans-tackle-climate-change}}</ref>

In the same year, Iraq and TotalEnergies signed a $27 billion energy deal that aims to increase oil production and boost the country's capacity to produce energy with four oil, gas and renewables projects. According to experts, the project will "accelerate Iraq's path to energy self-sufficiency and advance Iraq's collective climate change objectives".<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023 |title=Iraq, TotalEnergies sign massive oil, gas, renewables deal |website=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/iraq-totalenergies-sign-27-bln-deal-energy-projects-2023-07-10/}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=2023 |title=Empowering Iraq: 27$ Billion Deal for Iraq's Energy Sufficiency |url=https://www.fpri.org/article/2023/09/empowering-iraq-the-27-billion-deal-for-iraqs-energy-sufficiency/}}</ref>

=== Biodiversity === {{main|Wildlife of Iraq}}

The wildlife of Iraq includes its flora and fauna and their natural habitats.<ref name="Hatt1959">{{cite book |author=Hatt, R. T. |url=https://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/handle/2027.42/56350/MP106.pdf?sequence=1 |title=The mammals of Iraq |publisher=Museum of Zoology, University of Michigan |year=1959 |location=Ann Arbor}}</ref> Iraq has multiple and diverse biomes which include the mountainous region in the north to the wet marshlands along the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, while western part of the country comprises mainly desert and some semi-arid regions. Many of Iraq's bird species were endangered, including seven of Iraq's mammal species and 12 of its bird species. The Mesopotamian marches in the middle and south are home to approximately 50 species of birds, and rare species of fish.<ref name="Wildlife Extra" /> At risk are some 50% of the world's marbled teal population that live in the marshes, along with 60% of the world's population of Basra reed-warbler.<ref name="Wildlife Extra">{{cite web |title=Iraq's Marshes Show Progress toward Recovery |url=http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/good-iraqimarshes.html#cr |access-date=7 August 2010 |publisher=Wildlife Extra|archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20120324152547/http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/news/good-iraqimarshes.html#cr|archive-date=2012-03-24}}</ref>

The Asiatic lion, in the present-day extinct in the region, has remained a prominent symbol of the country throughout history.<ref name="Benjamin Sass">Benjamin Sass, Joachim Marzahn. Aramaic and figural stamp impressions on bricks of the sixth century B.C. from Babylon. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, 2010. Pp. 181-182.</ref> Draining of the Mesopotamian Marshes, during the time of Saddam's government, caused there a significant drop in biological life.<ref name="Med-O-Med" /> Since the 2003–2011, flow is restored and the ecosystem has begun to recover.<ref name="Med-O-Med">{{Cite web |title=The Marshlands of Mesopotamia, IRAK |url=https://medomed.org/featured_item/the-marshlands-of-mesopotamia-cultural-landscape-irak/ |access-date=7 May 2022 |website=Med-O-Med}}</ref> Iraqi corals are some of the most extreme heat-tolerant as the seawater in this area ranges between 14 and 34 °C.<ref name="sr">{{cite journal |author=Thomas Pohl |author2=Sameh W. Al-Muqdadi |author3=Malik H. Ali |author4=Nadia Al-Mudaffar Fawzi |author5=Hermann Ehrlich |author6=Broder Merkel |date=6 March 2014 |title=Discovery of a living coral reef in the coastal waters of Iraq |journal=Scientific Reports |volume=4 |issue=1 |page=4250 |bibcode=2014NatSR...4.4250P |doi=10.1038/srep04250 |pmc=3945051 |pmid=24603901}}</ref> Aquatic or semi-aquatic wildlife occurs in and around these, the major lakes are Lake Habbaniyah, Lake Milh, Lake Qadisiyah and Lake Tharthar.<ref name="Scott1995">{{cite book |last=Scott |first=Derek A. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=IEDwAAAAMAAJ |title=A directory of wetlands in the Middle East |publisher=IUCN |year=1995 |isbn=978-2-8317-0270-4}}</ref>

== Government and politics == {{main|Politics of Iraq|Federal government of Iraq|Elections in Iraq}}

{{Multiple image | direction = horizontal | align = right | caption_align = center | total_width = 350px | image1 = | image2 = Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani in 2025 (cropped).jpg | caption1 = Nizar Amedi President | caption2 = Muhammad Shia al-Sudani Prime Minister }}

The Republic of Iraq is defined under the current constitution as a democratic, federal parliamentary republic. The system of government is composed of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, as well as numerous independent commissions. Iraq is administratively divided into subnational federal regions, governorates, districts and subdistricts with jurisdiction over various matters as defined by law.<ref name="Constitution" /><ref name="EB-2022" /> The president is the ceremonial head of state, while the prime minister is the head of government and the commander-in-chief of the armed forces with direct executive authority over general state policy. The constitution provides for two deliberative bodies, the Council of Representatives and the Council of Union. The judiciary is free and independent of the executive and the legislature.<ref name="EB-2022">{{cite web |title=Iraq – Government and society |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Iraq/Government-and-society |access-date=5 January 2022 |website=Encyclopædia Britannica}}</ref>

[[File:Baghdad Convention Center inside.jpg|thumb|Council of Representatives of Iraq meeting at Baghdad]] Baghdad is the capital, home to the seat of government;<ref name="bbc-gpi">{{cite news |date=11 November 2010 |title=Guide to political groups in Iraq |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-11730332 |work=BBC News}}</ref><ref name="EB-2022" /><ref name="vdem_dataset" /> the Green Zone, which contains governmental headquarters and the army, in addition to containing the embassies (including the largest embassy in the world) and headquarters of foreign organisations and intentions agencies.

According to International IDEA’s Global State of Democracy (GSoD) Indices and Democracy Tracker, Iraq performs in the low to mid-range on overall democratic measures, with particular weaknesses in political equality, including economic equality and social group equality.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Iraq {{!}} The Global State of Democracy |url=https://www.idea.int/democracytracker/country/iraq |access-date=2025-09-29 |website=www.idea.int |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Global State of Democracy Indices {{!}} The Global State of Democracy |url=https://www.idea.int/democracytracker/gsod-indices |access-date=2025-09-29 |website=www.idea.int}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Home {{!}} The Global State of Democracy |url=https://www.idea.int/democracytracker/ |access-date=2025-09-29 |website=www.idea.int}}</ref> Additionally, according to the 2023 V-Dem Democracy indices Iraq was the third most electoral democratic country in the Middle East.<ref name="vdem_dataset">{{cite web |last=V-Dem Institute |date=2023 |title=The V-Dem Dataset |url=https://www.v-dem.net/data/the-v-dem-dataset/ |access-date=14 October 2023}}</ref> Under Saddam, the government employed 1 million employees, but this increased to around 7 million in 2016. In combination with decreased oil prices, the government budget deficit is near 25% of GDP {{as of|2016|lc=y}}.<ref>{{Cite news |title=Abadi agonistes |newspaper=The Economist |issn=0013-0613 |url=https://www.economist.com/news/middle-east-and-africa/21696954-two-new-governments-month-abadi-agonistes |access-date=21 April 2016}}</ref>

=== Law === {{main|Law of Iraq}}

In October 2005, the new Constitution of Iraq was approved in a referendum with a 78% overall majority, although the percentage of support varied widely between the country's territories.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=1248677 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060218133809/https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=1248677 |archive-date=18 February 2006 |title=Iraq's Constitution Adopted by Voters |author=Wagner, Thomas |work=ABC News |date=25 October 2005 |access-date=25 January 2013}}</ref> The new constitution was backed by the Shia and Kurdish communities, but was rejected by Sunni Arabs. Under the terms of the constitution, the country conducted fresh nationwide parliamentary elections on 15 December 2005. All three major ethnic groups in Iraq voted along ethnic lines, as did Assyrian and Turcoman minorities. Law no. 188 of the year 1959 (Personal Status Law)<ref>{{cite web |title=Iraq Personal Status Law of 1959 (ABA Translation) |url=http://apps.americanbar.org/rol/publications/iraq_personal_status_law_1959_english_translation.pdf |publisher=American Bar Association |access-date=17 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150714055355/http://apps.americanbar.org/rol/publications/iraq_personal_status_law_1959_english_translation.pdf |archive-date=14 July 2015}}</ref> made polygamy extremely difficult, granted child custody to the mother in case of divorce, prohibited repudiation and marriage under the age of 16.<ref name="unesco1">{{cite web |title=Women In Personal Status Laws: Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Palestine, Syria |url=http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/SHS/pdf/Women_in_Personal_Status_Laws.pdf |work=SHS Papers in Women's Studies/ Gender Research, No. 4 |publisher=UNESCO |date=July 2005|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140118112933/http://www.unesco.org/new/fileadmin/MULTIMEDIA/HQ/SHS/pdf/Women_in_Personal_Status_Laws.pdf|archive-date=2014-01-18}}</ref> Article 1 of Civil Code also identifies Islamic law as a formal source of law.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.law.emory.edu/ifl/legal/iraq.htm |title=Iraq, Republic of |publisher=Law.emory.edu |date=16 March 1983 |access-date=18 February 2013}}</ref> Iraq had no Sharia courts but civil courts used Sharia for issues of personal status including marriage and divorce. In 1995 Iraq introduced Sharia punishment for certain types of criminal offences.<ref>{{cite book |author=Fox, Jonathan |title=A World Survey of Religion and the State |url={{Google books|rE0NcgxNaKEC |page=PA238 |keywords= |text= |plainurl=yes}} |year=2008 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-139-47259-3 |page=238 |access-date=17 August 2016}}</ref> The code is based on French civil law as well as Sunni and Jafari (Shi'ite) interpretations of Sharia.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.islamopediaonline.org/country-profile/iraq/islam-and-legal-system/religion-law-and-iraq%E2%80%99s-personal-status-code |title=Religion, Law, and Iraq's Personal Status Code |publisher=Islamopedia Online |access-date=17 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130530225211/http://www.islamopediaonline.org/country-profile/iraq/islam-and-legal-system/religion-law-and-iraq%E2%80%99s-personal-status-code |archive-date=30 May 2013}}</ref>

In 2004, the CPA chief executive L. Paul Bremer said he would veto any constitutional draft stating that sharia is the principal basis of law.<ref>{{cite web |title=Bremer will reject Islam as source for law |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna4276149 |work=NBC News |date=16 February 2004 |access-date=21 February 2013}}</ref> The declaration enraged many local Shia clerics,<ref>{{cite web |title=Shia fume over Bremer sharia threat |url=http://www.aljazeera.com/archive/2004/02/20084916951281437.html |publisher=Al Jazeera English |access-date=21 February 2013}}</ref> and by 2005 the US had relented, allowing a role for sharia in the constitution to help end a stalemate on the draft constitution.<ref>{{cite news |title=US relents on Islamic law to reach Iraq deal |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2005/aug/22/iraq.rorycarroll |publisher=The Guardian, 21 August 2005 |location=London |first1=Rory |last1=Carroll |first2=Julian |last2=Borger |date=22 August 2005}}</ref> The Iraqi Penal Code is the statutory law of Iraq.

=== Military and law enforcement === {{main|Iraqi Armed Forces}}

{{multiple image | direction = vertical | image1 = Iraqi F-16 (cropped).jpg | caption1 = An F-16 Fighting Falcon, the main combat aircraft of the Iraqi Air Force, during a take-off | image2 = القوات الخاصه العراقيه.jpg | caption2 = ISOF during training in Babylon, 2021 }}

Iraqi security forces are composed of forces serving under the Ministry of Interior (MOI) and the Ministry of Defense (MOD), as well as the Iraqi Counter Terrorism Bureau, reporting directly to the Prime Minister of Iraq, which oversees the Iraqi Special Operations Forces. MOD forces include the Iraqi Army (including the Iraqi Army Aviation Command), the Iraqi Air Force, the Iraqi Air Defence Command and the Iraqi Navy.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Iraq's constitution 2005 |url=https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Iraq_2005.pdf?lang=en}}</ref> The MOD also runs a Joint Staff College, training army, navy, and air force officers, with support from the NATO Training Mission - Iraq. The college was established at Ar Rustamiyah on 27 September 2005.<ref>[http://www.afsouth.nato.int/JFCN_Missions/NTM-I/Articles/NTMI_A_10_05.htm NATO opens the Joint Staff College in Ar Rustamiyah in Baghdad, Iraq] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070612211242/http://www.afsouth.nato.int/JFCN_Missions/NTM-I/Articles/NTMI_A_10_05.htm|date=12 June 2007}} – NATO Training Mission – Iraq</ref> The center runs Junior Staff and Senior Staff Officer Courses designed for first lieutenants to majors.

The current Iraqi armed forces were rebuilt after the US invasion of Iraq, with large amounts of American military aid at all levels. The army consists of 14 divisions, all of them infantry, except for the ninth division, which is motorized infantry. Each division consists of four brigades and comprises 14,000 soldiers. Before 2003, Iraq was mostly equipped with Soviet-made military equipment, the country has since turned to Western suppliers.<ref>{{cite web |title=Military balance |url=http://csis.org/files/publication/100422_GulfMilBal.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303191050/http://csis.org/files/publication/100422_GulfMilBal.pdf |archive-date=3 March 2016 |access-date=5 January 2022}}</ref>

The Iraqi air force is designed to support ground forces with surveillance, reconnaissance and troop lift. Two reconnaissance squadrons use light aircraft, three helicopter squadrons are used to move troops and one air transportation squadron uses C-130 transport aircraft to move troops, equipment, and supplies. The air force currently has 5,000 personnel.<ref>{{cite web |title=Arab Aviation > Air Power > Iraqi Air Force |url=http://www.arabaviation.com/en-us/airpower/iraqiairforce.aspx |access-date=28 December 2021 |website=www.arabaviation.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140209014340/http://www.arabaviation.com/en-us/airpower/iraqiairforce.aspx|archive-date=2014-02-09}}</ref> It was planned to increase to 18,000 personnel, with 550 aircraft by 2018, but that did not happen as planned.<ref name="The New Iraqi Security Forces">{{cite web |date=20 April 2006 |title=The New Iraqi Security Forces |url=http://www.mnf-iraq.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=20&Itemid=11 |url-status=usurped |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060718161447/http://www.mnf-iraq.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=20&Itemid=11 |archive-date=18 July 2006 |access-date=25 January 2013}}</ref>

As of February 2011, the navy had approximately 5,000 sailors, including 800 marines. The navy consists of an operational headquarters, five afloat squadrons, and two marine battalions, designed to protect shorelines and inland waterways from insurgent infiltration.

On 4 November 2019, more than 100 Australian Defence Force personnel left Darwin for the 10th rotation of Task Group Taji, based north of Baghdad. The Australian contingent mentors the Iraqi School of Infantry, where the Iraqi Security Forces are trained. However, Australia's contribution was reduced from 250 to 120 ADF personnel, which along with New Zealand had trained over 45,000 ISF members before that.<ref>{{cite web |date=4 November 2019 |title=Iraqis take on military training from Aust |url=https://www.theislanderonline.com.au/story/6474585/iraqis-take-on-military-training-from-aust/ |access-date=4 November 2019 |website=The Islander}}</ref>

=== Foreign relations === {{main|Foreign relations of Iraq}}

[[File:Secretary_Blinken_Meets_with_Iraqi_Prime_Minister.jpg|thumb|Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani meets with Secretary Antony Blinken in Munich, Germany, 2023.]] After the end of the Iraq War, Iraq sought and strengthened regional economic cooperation and improved relations with neighbouring countries.<ref name="in2">{{cite journal |last1=Deepika |first1=Saraswat |date=7 December 2018 |title=Iraq's Relations with its Arab Neighbours and Iran: Quest for a Pragmatic Balance |url=https://www.icwa.in/show_content.php?lang=1&level=3&ls_id=4824&lid=2828 |journal=Research Fellow |publisher=Indian Council of World Affairs}}</ref> On 12 February 2009, Iraq officially became the 186th State Party to the Chemical Weapons Convention. Under the provisions of this treaty, Iraq is considered a party with declared stockpiles of chemical weapons. Because of their late accession, Iraq is the only State Party exempt from the existing timeline for destruction of their chemical weapons.<ref>{{cite web |title=Iraq Joins the Chemical Weapons Convention |url=http://www.opcw.org/news/article/iraq-joins-the-chemical-weapons-convention |access-date=19 June 2011 |publisher=The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons -Opcw.org}}</ref>

Since the situation eased, Iraq reengaged with its Arab neighbours while maintaining relations with Iran in an attempt to position Iraq as a country that would not exacerbate the security concerns of its neighbours and seeking a pragmatic balance in foreign relations.<ref name="in2"/> Iran–Iraq relations have flourished since 2005 by the exchange of high-level visits.<ref name="in2" /> A conflict occurred in December 2009, when Iraq accused Iran of seizing an oil well on the border.<ref>{{cite news |author=Muhanad Mohammed |date=19 December 2012 |title=Iran, Iraq seek diplomatic end to border dispute |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iraq-iran-idUSTRE5BH1Y920091219 |access-date=18 August 2012 |work=Reuters}}</ref> Relations with Turkey are tense, largely because of the Kurdistan Regional Government, as clashes between Turkey and the PKK continue.<ref>{{cite web |date=30 October 2007 |title=TURKEY:Relations with Iraq become explosive |url=http://www.ipsnews.net/2007/10/turkey-relations-with-iraq-become-explosive/ |publisher=Ipsnews.net}}</ref> In October 2011, the Turkish parliament renewed a law that gives Turkish forces the ability to pursue rebels over the border in Iraq.<ref>{{cite news |date=19 October 2011 |title=24 soldiers killed in attack in Turkey |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2011/10/19/world/meast/turkey-attack/index.html |work=CNN}}</ref> Turkey's "Great Anatolia Project" reduced Iraq's water supply and affected agriculture.<ref>{{cite news |date=4 July 2018 |title=Why water is a growing faultline between Turkey and Iraq |url=https://www.ft.com/content/82ca2e3c-6369-11e8-90c2-9563a0613e56 |work=Financial Times}}</ref><ref name="watercrisis2"/> Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani has sought to normalise relations with Syria in order to expand cooperation.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Iraqi PM al-Sudani visits Syria to normalize relations |url=https://www.dw.com/en/iraqi-pm-al-sudani-visits-syria-to-normalize-relations/a-66248830 |access-date=31 July 2023 |website=Deutsche Welle}}</ref> Iraq is also seeking to deepen its ties with the Gulf Cooperation Council countries.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Layal |first1=Niazy |date=1 June 2022 |title=Tumultuous yet Promising: The Evolution of GCC-Iraq Relations |url=https://www.grc.net/documents/62a9917b71502GCCIRAQLAYAL.pdf |publisher=Gulf research center}}</ref> Foreign ministers of Iraq and Kuwait have announced that they were working on a definitive agreement on border demarcation.<ref>{{Cite web |date=30 July 2023 |title=Iraq And Kuwait Seek To Solve Contested Border Issue |url=https://www.barrons.com/news/iraq-and-kuwait-seek-to-solve-contested-border-issue-211370a9 |access-date=31 July 2023 |website=Barron's}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Azhari |first=Timour |date=16 July 2023 |title=Iraqi PM Sudani, Syria's Assad hold talks on security, water in Damascus |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/iraqi-pm-visits-syria-first-trip-since-syrian-war-2023-07-16/ |access-date=31 July 2023 |work=Reuters}}</ref> left|thumb|States with which Iraq has diplomatic relations. On 17 November 2008, the US and Iraq agreed to a Status of Forces Agreement,<ref>{{cite web |title=US-Iraq SOFA |url=https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/infocus/iraq/SE_SOFA.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090825022056/http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/infocus/iraq/SE_SOFA.pdf |archive-date=25 August 2009 |access-date=18 December 2008}}</ref> as part of the broader Strategic Framework Agreement.<ref>{{cite web |title=Strategic Framework Agreement |url=https://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2008/11/20081127-2.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100414161624/http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/infocus/iraq/SE_SFA.pdf |archive-date=14 April 2010 |access-date=16 November 2015 |page=8 |format=PDF}}</ref> On 5 January 2020, the Iraqi parliament voted for a resolution that urges the government to work on expelling US troops from Iraq. The resolution was passed two days after a US drone strike that killed Iranian Major General Qasem Soleimani of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, commander of the Quds Force. The resolution specifically calls for ending of a 2014 agreement allowing Washington to help Iraq against Islamic State groups by sending troops.<ref>{{cite web |title=Iraqi parliament votes to expel US troops |url=https://www.dw.com/en/iraqi-parliament-votes-to-expel-us-troops-awaits-government-approval/a-51892888 |access-date=5 January 2020 |publisher=Deutsche Welle}}</ref> This resolution will also signify ending an agreement with Washington to station troops in Iraq as Iran vows to retaliate after the killing.<ref>{{cite web |title=US to send more troops to Middle East |url=https://www.dw.com/en/us-to-send-more-troops-to-middle-east-as-iran-vows-retaliation-after-killing-of-top-general-as-it-happened/a-51874503 |access-date=3 January 2020 |publisher=Deutsche Welle}}</ref> On 28 September 2020, Washington made preparations to withdraw diplomats from Iraq, as a result of Iranian-backed militias firing rockets at the American Embassy in Baghdad. The officials said that the move was seen as an escalation of American confrontation with Iran.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Wong |first1=Edward |last2=Jakes |first2=Lara |last3=Schmitt |first3=Eric |date=29 September 2020 |title=Pompeo Threatens to Close U.S. Embassy in Iraq Unless Militias Halt Attacks |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/29/us/politics/pompeo-embassy-baghdad-iraq.html |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200929201016/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/29/us/politics/pompeo-embassy-baghdad-iraq.html |archive-date=29 September 2020 |access-date=29 September 2020 |website=The New York Times}}</ref> The United States significantly reduced its military presence in Iraq after the defeat of ISIS.<ref>{{cite news |date=28 December 2021 |title=Armed group in Iraq demands U.S. forces withdraw by end of 2021, threatens violence |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/armed-group-in-iraq-demands-u-s-forces-withdraw-by-end-of-2021-threatens-violence |agency=PBS}}</ref>

=== Human rights === {{main|Human rights in Iraq}} {{See also|Human rights in ISIL-controlled territory|Mass executions in ISIL occupied Mosul}}

Relations between Iraq and its Kurdish population have been sour in recent history, especially with Saddam Hussein's genocidal campaign against them in the 1980s. After uprisings during the early 90s, many Kurds fled their homeland and no-fly zones were established in northern Iraq to prevent more conflicts. Despite historically poor relations, some progress has been made, and Iraq elected its first Kurdish president, Jalal Talabani, in 2005. Furthermore, Kurdish is now an official language of Iraq alongside Arabic according to Article 4 of the Constitution.<ref name=Constitution/>

LGBT rights in Iraq remain limited. Although decriminalised, homosexuality remains stigmatised in Iraqi society.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/worldviews/wp/2014/02/24/here-are-the-10-countries-where-homosexuality-may-be-punished-by-death/ |title=Here are the 10 countries where homosexuality may be punished by death |date=24 February 2014 |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> Human rights in Islamic State-controlled territory have been recorded as highly violated. It included mass executions in Islamic State-occupied part of Mosul and genocide of the Yazidis in Yazidi populated Sinjar, which is in northern Iraq.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Genocide |url=https://www.nadiasinitiative.org/the-genocide |access-date=28 May 2024 |website=Nadia's Initiative}}</ref>

=== Administrative divisions === {{main|Federal regions of Iraq|Governorates of Iraq|Districts of Iraq|Subdistricts of Iraq}}

In terms of administrative divisions, Iraq is currently composed of a single federal region ({{langx|ar|italic=yes|iqlīm ittihādi}}) and nineteen governorates ({{langx|ar|italic=yes|muhafadhat}}, singular {{lang|ar|muhafadhah}}). The governorates are divided into districts (or {{langx|ar|italic=yes|aqdhiyah}}, singular ''qadhā''), which are further divided into sub-districts (or {{langx|ar|italic=yes|nawāḥī}}, singular ''nāhiyah''). There are 120 districts and 394 subdistricts in Iraq. {| width=100% |- |width=30%|{{Portal:Iraq/Governorates Image Map}} |width=70%|{{columns-list|colwidth=9em | * Dohuk * Nineveh * Erbil * Kirkuk * Sulaymaniyah * Saladin * Al Anbar * Baghdad * Diyala * Karbala * Babylon * Wasit * Najaf * Al-Qadisiyyah * Maysan * Muthanna * Dhi Qar * Basra * Halabja }} |}

== Economy == {{main|Economy of Iraq}}

thumb|Historical economic growth of Iraq According to the International Fund for Agricultural Development, Iraq is an oil-rich upper-middle-income country.<ref name="IFAD-2025">{{Cite web |title=Iraq |url=https://www.ifad.org/en/w/countries/iraq |access-date=19 February 2025 |website=IFAD |language=en-US}}</ref> Iraq's economy is dominated by the oil sector, which has traditionally provided about 95% of foreign exchange earnings.<ref name="IFAD-2025" /> The lack of development in other sectors has resulted in 18%–30% unemployed and a per capita GDP of $4,812.<ref name=cia>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/iraq/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20260118091316/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/iraq/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=18 January 2026 |title=Iraq |work=The World Factbook |date=27 September 2021}}</ref><ref name="IFAD-2025" /> Public sector employment accounted for nearly 60% of full-time employment in 2011.<ref name=usaid11>{{cite web |title=Unemployment Threatens Democracy in Iraq |publisher=USAID Iraq |date=January 2011 |url=https://www.inma-iraq.com/sites/default/files/10_unemployment_threatens_democracy_2011jan00.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130511015353/https://www.inma-iraq.com/sites/default/files/10_unemployment_threatens_democracy_2011jan00.pdf |archive-date=11 May 2013}}</ref> The oil export industry, which dominates the Iraqi economy, generates little employment.<ref name=usaid11/> Currently only a modest percentage of women (the highest estimate for 2011 was 22%) participate in the labour force.<ref name=usaid11/> The official currency in Iraq is the Iraqi dinar. The Central Provisional Authority issued new dinar coins and notes, with the notes printed by De La Rue using modern anti-forgery techniques.<ref>{{cite web |title=Iraq Currency Exchange |url=http://www.cpa-iraq.org/budget/IraqCurrencyExchange.html |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070515093736/http://www.cpa-iraq.org/budget/IraqCurrencyExchange.html |archive-date=15 May 2007 |access-date=28 May 2007 |publisher=Coalition Provisional Authority}}</ref> Jim Cramer's 20 October 2009 endorsement of the Iraqi dinar on CNBC has further piqued interest in the investment.<ref>{{cite web |author=Odio, Sam |title=Jim Cramer (CNBC Mad Money) On The Iraqi Dinar |url=http://dinarprofits.com/iraqi_dinar_information/jim_cramer_mad_money/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100724214847/http://dinarprofits.com/iraqi_dinar_information/jim_cramer_mad_money/ |archive-date=24 July 2010 |url-status=usurped |website=DinarProfits.com}}</ref> thumb|right|Erbil skyline at night Prior to the 2003 invasion, Iraq's centrally planned economy prohibited the foreign ownership of businesses, ran most large industries as state-owned enterprises, and imposed large tariffs to keep the foreign goods out.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://reliefweb.int/report/iraq/iraqs-economy-past-present-future |title=Iraq's economy: Past, present, future |publisher=Reliefweb.int |date=3 June 2003 |access-date=7 January 2013}}</ref><ref name="Tooze-2023">{{Cite web |last=Tooze |first=Adam |date=24 March 2023 |title=Chartbook 204: Iraq's economic impasse twenty years after the invasion. |url=https://adamtooze.substack.com/p/chartbook-204-iraqs-economic-impasse |access-date=15 August 2024 |website=Chartbook}}</ref> Oil was nationalised in 1972 and its revenue was spent on government development projects. Iraq was one of the most advanced countries in the Middle East. But it faced economic decline as a result of sanctions. After 2003, the Coalition Provisional Authority quickly began issuing many binding orders privatising the Iraqi economy and opening it up to foreign investment.<ref name="Tooze-2023" /> On 20 November 2004, the Paris Club of creditor countries agreed to write off 80% ($33 billion) of Iraq's $42 billion debt to Club members. Iraq's total external debt was around $120 billion at the time of the invasion, and had grown another $5 billion by 2004. The debt relief was to be implemented in three stages: two of 30% each and one of 20%.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=6874713 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041121210518/https://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=worldNews&storyID=6874713 |archive-date=21 November 2004 |title=G7, Paris Club Agree on Iraq Debt Relief |date=21 November 2004 |access-date=19 June 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

Five years after the invasion, an estimated 2.4 million people were internally displaced (with a further two million refugees outside Iraq), four million Iraqis were considered food-insecure (a quarter of children were chronically malnourished) and only a third of Iraqi children had access to safe drinking water.<ref name="ODI1">{{cite web |url=http://www.odi.org.uk/resources/details.asp?id=1089&title=humanitarian-action-iraq |title=Humanitarian action in Iraq: putting the pieces together |author=Sarah Bailey and Rachel Atkinson |publisher=Overseas Development Institute |date=19 November 2012 |access-date=25 January 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120515071043/http://www.odi.org.uk/resources/details.asp?id=1089&title=humanitarian-action-iraq |archive-date=15 May 2012}}</ref> In 2022, and after more than 30 years after the UN Compensation Commission was created to ensure restitution for Kuwait following the invasion of 1990, the reparations body announced that Iraq has paid a total of $52.4 billion in war reparations to Kuwait.<ref>{{cite web |date=9 February 2022 |title=Iraq makes final reparation payment to Kuwait for 1990 invasion |url=https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/02/1111632 |access-date=12 February 2022 |website=UN News}}</ref> According to the Overseas Development Institute, international NGOs face challenges in carrying out their mission, leaving their assistance "piecemeal and largely conducted undercover, hindered by insecurity, a lack of coordinated funding, limited operational capacity and patchy information".<ref name="ODI1" /> International NGOs have been targeted and during the first 5 years, 94 aid workers were killed, 248 injured, 24 arrested or detained and 89 kidnapped or abducted.<ref name="ODI1" />

thumb|right|The Amwaj Residential Towers in Baghdad, a modern high-rise complex that represents part of the city's recent urban development projects. The economy has been heavily affected by the war.<ref>{{Cite web |date=10 March 2004 |title=Iraqi holy cities bow to capitalist impulse |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna4491607 |access-date=15 August 2024 |website=NBC News}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last= |first= |date= |title=Economic boom bypasses man on street |work=The Australian |publisher= |location= |url=https://www.theaustralian.com.au/subscribe/news/1/?sourceCode=TAWEB_WRE170_a_GGL&dest=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theaustralian.com.au%2Fnation%2Fworld%2Firaqs-economic-boom-bypasses-man-on-street%2Fnews-story%2F34c1c90faabc5b73eddb8508f084c3b5&memtype=anonymous&mode=premium&v21=HIGH-Segment-2-SCORE&V21spcbehaviour=appendend |url-access=subscription |access-date=}}{{Full citation needed|date=February 2025}}</ref> According to a report by the Arab News, Iraq has shown positive signs of recovery.<ref>{{Cite web |date=13 August 2023 |title=How Iraq can boost its economic recovery |url=https://www.arabnews.com/node/2354596 |access-date=23 February 2025 |website=Arab News |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=12 September 2023 |title=The Underbelly of Iraq's 'Economic Boom' |url=https://auis.edu.krd/iris/publications/underbelly_iraqs_economic_boom |access-date=20 March 2025 |website=IRIS |language=en}}</ref> The Kurdish and Shia populated regions of Iraq experienced an economic boom after the end of the war,<ref>{{Cite web |date=30 December 2006 |title=The Mini Economic Boom in Iraq That Is Hardly Reported |url=https://www.arabnews.com/node/292817 |access-date=15 August 2024 |website=Arab News}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=The pilgrimage sites of Iraq's timeless and holy cities |url=https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20240611-the-pilgrimage-sites-of-iraqs-timeless-and-holy-cities |access-date=15 August 2024 |website=www.bbc.com |date=11 June 2024}}</ref><ref name="alarabiya.net">{{Cite web |date=4 April 2013 |title=Iraq's holy cities enjoy boom in religious tourism |url=https://english.alarabiya.net/life-style/art-and-culture/2013/04/04/Iraq-s-holy-cities-enjoy-boom-in-religious-tourism}}</ref> and until 2023,<ref name=Conv>{{cite web |last1=Nouri |first1=Bamo |editor-first1=Sam |editor-last1=Phelps |url=https://theconversation.com/iraqi-kurdistan-faces-a-deepening-economic-crisis-as-unpaid-wages-pile-up-251550 |title=Iraqi Kurdistan faces a deepening economic crisis as unpaid wages pile up |date=11 March 2025 |publisher=The Conversation |doi=10.64628/AB.7pr9w6yap }}</ref><ref name="NSI">{{cite web |url=https://nishtmansi.com/blog/kurdistan-s-youth-exodus--economic-struggles-and-mass-migration |title=Kurdistan's Youth Exodus: Economic Struggles and Mass Migration |publisher=Nishtman Strategy Institute|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250125081454/https://nishtmansi.com/blog/kurdistan-s-youth-exodus--economic-struggles-and-mass-migration|archive-date=2025-01-25}}</ref> Kurdistan Region was considered economically more stable —mostly driven by hitherto independent oil exports.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://jpt.spe.org/the-kurdistan-region-of-iraq-a-decade-of-challenges-and-increased-oil-and-gas-production |title=The Kurdistan Region of Iraq: A Decade of Challenges and Increased Oil and Gas Production |date=August 2024 |publisher=Journal of Petroleum Technology}}</ref> Recent developments in the internal political dynamics of the country has seen Baghdad reassert full control over the oil industry of the country<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.fpri.org/article/2023/07/autonomy-curbed-kurdish-oil-exports-hit-snags-from-turkey-and-baghdad/ |title=Autonomy Curbed? Kurdish Oil Exports Hit Snags from Turkey and Baghdad |publisher=Foreign Policy Research Institute}}</ref> and has been since considered more stable and prosperous,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thenationalnews.com/opinion/comment/2025/06/13/the-longstanding-baghdad-kurdistan-feud-is-about-more-than-just-energy/ |title=The longstanding Baghdad-Kurdistan feud is about more than just energy |publisher=The National}}</ref> while Kurdistan Region has experienced an economic downfall.<ref name=Conv/><ref name=NSI/> In recent years, Sunni-populated provinces in Iraq have also made economic progress, as evidenced by numerous new construction projects.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Ebrahim |first=Hudhaifa |date=21 January 2023 |title=Prosperity Comes to Sunni Provinces of Iraq - The Media Line |url=https://themedialine.org/top-stories/prosperity-comes-to-sunni-provinces-of-iraq/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230614191954/https://themedialine.org/top-stories/prosperity-comes-to-sunni-provinces-of-iraq/ |archive-date=14 June 2023 |access-date=23 February 2025 |work=The Media Line |language=en-US |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Baghdad revisited: Iraq balances on a tightrope |url=https://www.mei.edu/blog/baghdad-revisited-iraq-balances-tightrope |access-date=20 March 2025 |website=Middle East Institute |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=internationalbanker |date=19 November 2024 |title=Iraq Continues to Play a Delicate Geopolitical and Economic Balancing Act |url=https://internationalbanker.com/finance/iraq-continues-to-play-a-delicate-geopolitical-and-economic-balancing-act/ |access-date=20 March 2025 |website=International Banker |language=en-GB}}</ref> In 2025, parliament speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani stressed that Iraq is stable in terms of security and economy and has taken a non-aligned approach.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Al-Mashhadani: Iraq's economy and security are stable, and it has adopted a non-aligned stance |url=https://ina.iq/eng/38539-al-mashhadani-iraqs-economy-and-security-are-stable-and-it-has-adopted-a-non-aligned-stance.html |access-date=22 March 2025 |website=Iraqi News Agency }}{{Dead link|date=April 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref> According to a new report from the Arab Investment & Export Credit Guarantee Corporation ("Dhaman"), the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Iraq, and Algeria, the leading contributors to the Arab economy and 72% of the region's GDP.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Iraq: Top 5 Arab economy in 2024 |url=https://shafaq.com/en/Economy/Iraq-Top-5-Arab-economy-in-2024 |access-date=20 March 2025 |website=Shafaq News |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Iraq, four Arab nations dominate 70% of regional GDP in 2024 |url=https://shafaq.com/en/Economy/Iraq-four-Arab-nations-dominate-70-of-regional-GDP-in-2024 |access-date=20 March 2025 |website=Shafaq News |language=en}}</ref> In addition, Iraq is an agricultural country.<ref>{{Cite web |title=ERROR |url=https://www.rudaw.net/notfound.html |access-date=20 March 2025 |website=www.rudaw.net}}</ref> Tourism in Iraq stands to be a major growth sector, including archaeological tourism and religious tourism while the country is also considered to be a potential location for ecotourism.<ref>{{cite news |title=Iraq: the world's next big eco-tourism destination? |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/travel/travelnews/10000817/Iraq-the-worlds-next-big-eco-tourism-destination.html |access-date=18 November 2015 |newspaper=Telegraph}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=24 May 2019 |title=Iraqis turn to budding ecotourism to save marshes |website=France 24 |url=https://www.france24.com/en/20190524-iraqis-turn-budding-ecotourism-save-marshes |access-date=9 August 2024}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=15 July 2020 |title=New Project Launched to Promote Socio-Economic Growth through Eco-Tourism and Heritage Preservation in Dhi Qar, Iraq |url=https://savethetigris.org/new-project-launched-to-promote-socio-economic-growth-through-eco-tourism-and-heritage-preservation-in-dhi-qar-iraq/ |access-date=9 August 2024 |website=Save the Tigris Foundation}}</ref>

=== Tourism === {{main|Tourism in Iraq}}

[[File:Street in Babylon.jpg|thumb|A reconstructed portion of the ruins of Babylon]] Iraq was an important tourist destination for many years but that changed dramatically during the war with Iran and after the invasion by the US and allies.<ref>{{Cite web |date=7 March 2003 |title=Iraq war seen devastating for world tourism sector |url=https://timesofmalta.com/article/iraq-war-seen-devastating-for-world-tourism-sector.154980 |access-date=10 March 2024 |website=Times of Malta}}</ref> As Iraq continues to develop and stabilises, tourism in Iraq is still facing many challenges, and little has been made by the government to meet its tremendous potential as a global tourist destination, and gain the associated economic benefits, mainly due to conflicts.<ref>{{Cite web |title=After years of bloody conflict, Iraq is enjoying a 'mini-boom' in tourism |url=https://ina.iq/eng/18557-after-years-of-bloody-conflict-iraq-is-enjoying-a-mini-boom-in-tourism.html |access-date=10 March 2024 |website=Iraqi News Agency |archive-date=10 March 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240310123629/https://ina.iq/eng/18557-after-years-of-bloody-conflict-iraq-is-enjoying-a-mini-boom-in-tourism.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> Sites from Iraq's ancient past are numerous and many that are close to large cities have been excavated. Babylon has seen major recent restoration; known for its famous ''Ziggurat'' (the inspiration for the Biblical Tower of Babel), the Hanging Gardens (one of the Seven Wonders of the World), and the Ishtar Gate, making it a prime destination.

Nineveh, a rival to Babylon, has also seen significant restoration and reconstruction.<ref name="Iraq" /> Ur, one of the first Sumerian cities, which is near Nasiriyya, has been partially restored.<ref name="Iraq" /> This is a list of examples of some significant sites in a country with a tremendous archaeological and historic wealth.<ref name="Iraq">{{Cite web |url=https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/pt/547671468040505626/pdf/780700BRI0QN870nowledge0note0series.pdf |title=Iraq's Tourism Potential |access-date=11 February 2022 |archive-date=11 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220211081646/https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/pt/547671468040505626/pdf/780700BRI0QN870nowledge0note0series.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> Iraq is considered to be a potential location for ecotourism.<ref>{{cite web |title=Travel And Tourism in Iraq |website=Euromonitor |url=https://www.euromonitor.com/travel-and-tourism-in-iraq/report |access-date=11 February 2022 |archive-date=11 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220211110210/https://www.euromonitor.com/travel-and-tourism-in-iraq/report |url-status=dead}}</ref> The tourism in Iraq includes also making pilgrimages to holy Shia Islamic sites near Karbala and Najaf.<ref name="alarabiya.net" /> Since 2003, Najaf and Karbala have experienced economic boom, due to religious tourism.<ref name="alarabiya.net" /> Mosul Museum is the second largest museum in Iraq after the Iraq Museum in Baghdad. It contains ancient Mesopotamian artefacts.

Saddam Hussein built hundreds of palaces and monuments across the country. Some of them include Al-Faw Palace, As-Salam Palace and Radwaniyah Palace.<ref name="Vince-2016">{{Cite web |last=Vince |first=Owen |date=4 September 2016 |title=Architecture After Excess: The Palaces of Saddam's Baghdad |website=Failed Architecture |url=https://failedarchitecture.com/architecture-after-excess-the-palaces-of-saddams-baghdad/ |access-date=7 June 2024}}</ref> Al-Faw Palace is currently occupied by the American University of Iraq. Since Saddam's overthrow, the palaces are open to tourists, though they are not officially functioning, and the government of Iraq is considering to sell them for useful purposes. A majority of these structures were built after the 1991 Gulf War, when Iraq was put under sanctions by the United Nations.<ref name="Vince-2016" /> Saddam reconstructed part of Babylon, one of the world's earliest cities, using bricks inscribed with his name to associate himself with the region's past glories.<ref>{{Cite web |date=27 February 2023 |title=Ruins, Palaces And Cult Of Saddam Hussein |url=https://mypluralist.com/2023/02/27/saddam-hussein-iraq/ |access-date=7 June 2024 |website=MyPluralist}}</ref> One of his palaces in Basra was turned into a museum, despite it was time when Iraq allied with the US was engaged in war with the ISIS.<ref>{{Cite web |first=Andrew |last=Lawler |date=7 May 2016 |title=Iraq Is Turning Saddam Hussein's Palace Into a Museum |website=Andrew Lawler |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/160411-iraq-saddam-palace-basra-art-museum#:~:text=Iraq%20Is%20Turning%20Saddam%20Hussein's%20Palace%20Into%20a%20Museum&text=Saddam's%20former%20palace%20in%20Basra,turning%20it%20into%20a%20museum. |access-date=7 June 2024}}</ref>{{clarify|date=June 2024|reason=second clause doesn't make sense}}

=== Transport === {{Main|Transport in Iraq}}

[[File:Erbil 120M Motorway.gif|thumb|The 150 Meter Motorway is Erbil’s largest ring road, built to improve traffic flow and connect expanding areas of the city.]] Iraq has a modern network of motorways. Roadways extended {{cvt|45,550|km}}.<ref name="sites.google.com">{{Cite web |title=Road numbering systems - Iraq national roads |url=https://sites.google.com/site/roadnumberingsystems/home/route-lists/iraq-national-roads |access-date=7 June 2024 |website=sites.google.com}}</ref> The roadway also connect Iraq to neighbouring countries of Iran, Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.<ref name="sites.google.com" /> There are more than seven million passenger cars, over million commercial taxis, buses, and trucks in use. On major motorways the maximum speed is {{cvt|110|km/h|0}}.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-13909905 |title=Iraq: France's Alstom signs high-speed highways with KRG deal |publisher=BBC News |date=24 June 2011 |access-date=27 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110627032731/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-13909905 |archive-date=27 June 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Many of the roads were constructed in the late 1970s and early 1980s and were designed with a 20-year lifespan.<ref name="ITA-2021">{{Cite web |date=2 November 2021 |title=Iraq - Country Commercial Guide {{!}} Transportation |url=https://www.trade.gov/country-commercial-guides/iraq-transportation |access-date=3 February 2025 |website=www.trade.gov |publisher=International Trade Administration |language=en}}</ref> Most of these facilities were damaged in enduring wars, that Iraq experienced.<ref name="ITA-2021" /> Since then traffic has been a serious issue, specially in Baghdad.

Iraqi Republic Railways is the responsible body for railway transportation in Iraq.<ref name="Iraq-2011">{{cite news |date=24 June 2011 |title=Iraq: France's Alstom signs high-speed highways with KRG deal |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-13909905 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110627032731/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-13909905 |archive-date=27 June 2011 |access-date=27 June 2011 |publisher=BBC News}}</ref> The railway infrastructure consists of {{Convert|2405|km|mi|abbr=on}} of track, 109 stations, 31 locomotives and 1,685 units of rolling stock.<ref name="Iraq-2011" /> The government is attempting to establish railway links with Turkey, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia to complete a continuous Euro-Gulf rail route.<ref name="Iraq-2011" /> Currently, a large project is underway to connect Karbala and Najaf.

Most of Iraq's oil exports are done through its ports.<ref name="ITA-2021" /> Basra is the only coastal governorate of Iraq.<ref name="ITA-2021" /> It is home to all of Iraq's six ports — Abu Flous Port, Al Başrah Oil Terminal, Grand Faw Port, Khor Al Amaya Oil Terminal, Khor Al Zubair Port, Port of Basra and Umm Qasr Port.<ref name="ITA-2021" /> Iraq has about 104 airports as of 2012.<ref name="Iraq-2011" /> Major airports at Baghdad, Basra, Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, Kirkuk and Najaf.<ref name="Iraq-2011" /> The government is constructing international airports for Karbala and Nasiriyah. Nasiriyah Airport is in partnership with China and reoping of Mosul Airport, which was closed during the 2013–2017 civil war.<ref name="Iraq-2011" /><ref>{{Cite web |last=Kumar |first=Pramod |date=17 July 2024 |title=Iraq signs deals to advance new civil airport project |url=https://www.agbi.com/aviation/2024/07/iraq-signs-deals-to-advance-new-civil-airport-project/ |access-date=15 August 2024 |website=AGBI}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Tastekin |first=Fehim |date=13 January 2021 |title=France scores big Iraqi construction project at Turkey's expense |url=https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2021/01/turkey-iraq-france-ankara-lost-construction-project-in-mosul.html |access-date=23 February 2021 |website=Al-Monitor}}</ref><ref name="Frbiu 03-2017">{{cite news |date=7 March 2017 |title=$500 Million Airport Scandal Exposes Industrial Scale Corruption in Holy Karbala |url=https://www.frbiu.com/articles/500-million-airport-scandal-exposes-industrial-scale-corruption-in-holy-karbala |access-date=21 November 2018 |publisher=Foreign Relations Bureau - Iraq}}</ref>

=== Oil and energy === {{main|Oil reserves in Iraq|Energy in Iraq}}

[[File:US Navy 050701-N-4309A-242 As the sun-sets over the Khawr Al Amaya Oil Terminal (KAAOT), another day passes safely under the watchful eye of masters-at-arms assigned to Mobile Security Detachment Two Five (MSD-25).jpg|thumb|Khawr Al Amaya Oil Terminal]] With its {{convert|143.1|Goilbbl|m3}} of proved oil reserves, Iraq ranks third in the world behind Venezuela and Saudi Arabia in the amount of oil reserves.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/international/reserves.html |title=World Proved Reserves of Oil and Natural Gas, Most Recent Estimates |publisher=Energy Information Administration |date=3 March 2009 |access-date=25 January 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/meast/10/04/iraq.oil.reserves/index.html |work=CNN |title=Iraqi oil reserves estimated at 143B barrels |date=4 October 2010}}</ref> Oil production levels reached 3.4 million barrels per day by December 2012.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2013/feb/3/iraqs-flood-of-cheap-oil-could-rock-world-markets-/?page=all |title=Iraq's flood of 'cheap oil' could rock world markets |newspaper=The Washington Times |date=3 February 2013 |access-date=7 February 2013}}</ref> Only about 2,000 oil wells have been drilled in Iraq, compared with about 1 million wells in Texas alone.<ref>{{cite web |date=26 July 2010 |title=U.S. Electricity Imports from and Electricity Exports to Canada and Mexico Data for 2008 |url=http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epa/epat6p3.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101109035129/http://www.eia.doe.gov/cneaf/electricity/epa/epat6p3.html |archive-date=9 November 2010 |access-date=25 January 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref> Iraq was one of the founding members of OPEC.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.opec.org/opec_web/en/about_us/164.htm |title=Iraq facts and figures |publisher=OPEC |access-date=7 February 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.iraqidinar123.com/opec-announces-it-will-absorb/ |title=OPEC Announces it Will Absorb The Increase in Iraq's |publisher=Iraqidinar123 |access-date=29 January 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160307111950/http://www.iraqidinar123.com/opec-announces-it-will-absorb/ |archive-date=7 March 2016 |url-status=live }}</ref>

During the 1970s Iraq produced up to 3.5 million barrels per day, but sanctions imposed against Iraq after its invasion of Kuwait in 1990 crippled the country's oil sector. The sanctions prohibited Iraq from exporting oil until 1996 and Iraq's output declined by 85% in the years following the First Gulf War. The sanctions were lifted in 2003 after the US-led invasion removed Saddam Hussein from power, but development of Iraq's oil resources has been hampered by the ongoing conflict.<ref name=atlantic /> {{As of|2010}}, despite improved security and billions of dollars in oil revenue, Iraq still generates about half the electricity that customers demand, leading to protests during the hot summer months.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=128000162 |title=Iraqi Minister Resigns Over Electricity Shortages |newspaper=NPR.org |access-date=23 July 2010 |date=22 June 2010}}</ref> The Iraq oil law, a proposed piece of legislation submitted to the Council of Representatives of Iraq in 2007, has failed to gain approval due to disagreements among Iraq's various political blocs.<ref>Lionel Beehner and Greg Bruno, [https://www.cfr.org/backgrounder/why-iraqis-cannot-agree-oil-law Backgrounder: Why Iraqis Cannot Agree on an Oil Law], Council on Foreign Relations (last updated 22 February 2008).</ref><ref>Ahmed Rasheed, [https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iraq-oil-law/iraq-oil-law-deal-festers-as-crisis-drags-on-idUSTRE80P0S720120126 Iraq oil law deal festers as crisis drags on], Reuters (26 January 2012).</ref> Al Başrah Oil Terminal is a trans-shipment facility from the pipelines to the tankers and uses supertankers.

According to a US Study from May 2007, between {{convert|100000|oilbbl/d|m3/d}} and {{convert|300000|oilbbl/d|m3/d}} of Iraq's declared oil production over the past four years could have been siphoned off through corruption or smuggling.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/oil/2007/0512billionsoil.htm |title=Billions in Oil Missing in Iraq, US Study Says |newspaper=New York Times |author=Glanz, James |date=12 May 2007}}</ref> In 2008, Al Jazeera reported $13 billion of Iraqi oil revenues in American care was improperly accounted for, of which $2.6 billion is totally unaccounted for.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=noT9auswz0A |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211219/noT9auswz0A |archive-date=19 December 2021 |url-status=live |title=Inside Story – Iraq's missing billions |publisher=YouTube |date=29 July 2010 |access-date=19 June 2011}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Some reports that the government has reduced corruption in public procurement of oil; however, reliable reports of bribery and kickbacks to government officials persist.<ref>{{cite web |title=Iraq Country Profile |url=http://www.business-anti-corruption.com/country-profiles/iraq |publisher=Business Anti-Corruption Portal |access-date=6 October 2016 |archive-date=15 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180615214351/https://www.business-anti-corruption.com/country-profiles/iraq/ |url-status=dead}}</ref>

On 30 June and 11 December 2009, the Ministry of Oil awarded service contracts to international oil companies for some of Iraq's many oil fields.<ref name="aljazeera091211">{{cite web |url=http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/12/200912117243440687.html |title=Oil firms awarded Iraq contracts |publisher=English.aljazeera.net |date=11 December 2009 |access-date=19 June 2011}}</ref><ref name="aljazeera090630">{{cite web |url=http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2009/06/200963093615637434.html |title="BP group wins Iraq oil contract", Al Jazeera English, 30 June 2009 |publisher=English.aljazeera.net |date=30 June 2009 |access-date=19 June 2011}}</ref> Oil fields contracted include the "super-giant" Majnoon oil field, Halfaya Field, West Qurna Field and Rumaila Field.<ref name="aljazeera090630"/> BP and China National Petroleum Corporation won a deal to develop Rumaila, the largest oil field in Iraq.<ref>Wong, Edward (28 June 2011) [https://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/29/world/asia/29chinairaq.html "China Opens Oil Field in Iraq"]. The New York Times.</ref><ref>1 October 2013 [http://www.iraqidinar123.com/export-of-iraq/ "Development is Main Dependent on Export of Iraq"]. Iraq123 News.</ref> On 14 March 2014, the International Energy Agency said Iraq's oil output jumped by half a million barrels a day in February to average 3.6 million barrels a day. The country had not pumped that much oil since 1979, when Saddam Hussein rose to power.<ref>14 March 2014 [https://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702304914904579438860227481506 "Iraq's Oil Output Surges to Highest Level in Over 30 Years"]. The Wall Street Journal.</ref> However, on 14 July 2014, as sectarian strife had taken hold, Kurdistan Regional Government forces seized control of the Bai Hassan and Kirkuk oilfields in the north of the country, taking them from Iraq's control. Baghdad condemned the seizure and threatened "dire consequences" if the fields were not returned.<ref name="KurdsOilfields">{{cite news |title=Tensions mount between Baghdad and Kurdish region as Kurds seize oil fields |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/tensions-mount-between-baghdad-and-iraqs-kurds/2014/07/11/7baeea5e-2bfe-4d07-942b-1653af3d60a3_story.html |access-date=11 July 2014 |newspaper=Washington Post}}</ref> On 2018, the UN estimated that oil accounts for 99% of Iraq's revenue.<ref name="atlantic">{{Cite news |issn=1072-7825 |last=Calamur |first=Krishnadev |title=Oil Was Supposed to Rebuild Iraq |work=The Atlantic |access-date=20 March 2018 |date=19 March 2018 |url=https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2018/03/iraq-oil/555827/}}</ref> As of 2021, the oil sector provided about 92% of foreign exchange earnings.<ref>{{Cite news |title=مستشار الكاظمي يؤكد تراجع دين العراق إلى 20 مليار دولار بفضل انتعاش أسعار النفط |url=https://www.aljazeera.net/ebusiness/2021/11/13/دين-العراق-الخارجي-انخفض-إلى-20-مليار |access-date=26 December 2021 |newspaper=الجزيرة نت |language=ar}}</ref>

=== Water supply and sanitation === {{Main|Water supply and sanitation in Iraq}}

[[File: 5. Lake Dukan, Sulaymaniyah Governorate, Iraqi Kurdistan.jpg|thumb|Lake Dukan]] Three decades of war greatly cut the existing water resources management system for several major cities. This prompted widespread water supply and sanitation shortfalls thus poor water and service quality.<ref name="watercrisis2"/> This is combined with few businesses and households who are fully environmentally aware and legally compliant however the large lakes, as pictured, alleviate supply relative to many comparators in Western Asia beset by more regular drought. Access to potable water diverges among governorates and between urban and rural areas. 91% of the population has access to potable water. Forming this figure: in rural areas, 77% of people have access to improved (treated or fully naturally filtered) drinking water sources; and 98% in urban areas.<ref name="UNWater">{{cite web |url=http://www.iraqicivilsociety.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/Water-Factsheet.pdf |title=Water in Iraq Factsheet |access-date=3 February 2018 |date=March 2013 |author=((UN Iraq Joint Analysis and Policy Unit))}}</ref> Much water is discarded during treatment, due to much outmoded equipment, raising energy burden and reducing supply.<ref name="UNWater" />

=== Infrastructure === {{Main|Investment in post-invasion Iraq}}

Although many infrastructure projects had already begun, at the end of 2013 Iraq had a housing crisis. The then war-ravaged country was set to complete 5 percent of the 2.5 million homes it needs to build by 2016 to keep up with demand, confirmed the Minister for Construction and Housing.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/iraq-housing-idUSL5N0HC2GD20130916 |work=Reuters |first=Matt |last=Smith |title=Iraq faces chronic housing shortage, needs foreign investment -minister |date=16 September 2013}}</ref> In 2009, the Iraq Britain Business Council formed. Its key impetus was House of Lords member and trade expert Lady Nicholson. In 2013, South Korean firm Daewoo reached a deal to build Bismayah New City of about 600,000 residents in 100,000 homes.<ref>{{cite web |title=Bismayah – National Investment Commission |url=https://investpromo.gov.iq/bismayah/ |access-date=23 December 2021}}</ref>

In December 2020, Al-Sudani launched the second phase of the Grand Faw Port via winning bid of project head contractor Daewoo at $2.7 billion.<ref>{{Cite news |date=23 December 2020 |title=Iraq to sign $2.625 billion Grand Faw port contract with S.Korea's Daewoo |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/iraq-ports-int-idUSKBN28X1C3 |access-date=23 December 2021 |work=Reuters}}</ref> In late 2023, the government announced that it will build a total of 15 new cities across Iraq, in an attempt to tackle a persistent housing problem, according to officials.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Iraq approves plans for 15 new cities |url=https://www.zawya.com/en/projects/construction/iraq-approves-plans-for-15-new-cities-vd1esfgl |access-date=24 April 2024 |website=www.zawya.com}}</ref> This project falls under the government's plan and strategy to establish new residential cities outside city centres, aiming to alleviate the urban housing crisis.<ref name="INA-2024" /> The first 5 new cities will be located in Baghdad, Babylon, Nineveh, Anbar and Karbala, while another 10 new residential cities will be launched in other governorates.<ref name="INA-2024" /> The initial phase of the [housing] plan began in late 2023, when Al-Sudani laid the foundation stone of Al-Jawahiri city.<ref name="INA-2024" /> Located west of the capital, the new city will host 30,000 housing units which will cost $2 billion.<ref name="INA-2024" /> It is expected to be completed in four to five years. According to officials, none of it is financed by the government.<ref>{{Cite web |date=28 December 2023 |title=Iraq Breaks Ground on $2 Billion Project to Build New City |url=https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/iraq-breaks-ground-on-2-billion-project-to-build-new-city-1.2016197 |access-date=24 April 2024 |website=BNN}}</ref><ref name="iraqinews.com">{{Cite web |date=27 December 2023 |title=Iraq to unveil 10 new cities in different governorates |url=https://www.iraqinews.com/iraq/iraq-to-unveil-10-new-cities-in-different-governorates/ |access-date=24 April 2024 |website=Iraqi News|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231227140103/https://www.iraqinews.com/iraq/iraq-to-unveil-10-new-cities-in-different-governorates/|archive-date=2023-12-27}}</ref><ref name="INA-2024">{{Cite web |title=In Abu Ghraib district, Al-Sudani places the foundation stone for Al-Jawahiri city |url=https://ina.iq/eng/30598-in-abu-ghraib-district-al-sudani-places-the-cornerstone-for-future-al-jawahiri-city.html |access-date=24 April 2024 |website=Iraqi News Agency }}{{Dead link|date=April 2026 |bot=InternetArchiveBot }}</ref>

In 2024, and during a visit to Baghdad by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a quadrilateral memorandum of understanding regarding cooperation in the Iraq–Europe Development Road project was signed between Iraq, Turkey, Qatar, UAE. The deal was inked by the transportation ministers from each country. The 1,200-km project with railway and motorways which will connect the Grand Faw Port, aimed to be the largest port in the Middle East. According to officials, it is a strategic international project which will strengthen Iraq's geopolitical position.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=22 April 2024 |title=Iraq, Turkey, Qatar, UAE sign preliminary deal to cooperate on Development Road project |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/middle-east/iraq-turkey-qatar-uae-sign-preliminary-deal-cooperate-development-road-project-2024-04-22/ |website=Reuters}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=21 September 2021 |title=Iraq's Al Faw port to become largest in Middle East |url=https://www.globalconstructionreview.com/iraqs-al-faw-port-to-become-largest-in-middle-east/ |access-date=23 December 2021 |website=Global Construction Review}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |date=14 April 2021 |title=PM lays Foundation Stone for next phase of Grand Faw Port {{!}} Iraq Business News |url=https://www.iraq-businessnews.com/2021/04/14/pm-lays-foundation-stone-for-next-phase-of-grand-faw-port/ |access-date=23 December 2021}}</ref>

== Demographics == {{main|Demographics of Iraq|List of largest cities of Iraq}}

The {{UN_Population|Year}} estimate of the total Iraqi population is {{UN_Population|Iraq}}.{{UN_Population|ref}} Iraq's population was estimated to be 2 million in 1878.<ref name="Issawi1988">{{cite book |author=Charles Philip Issawi |title=The Fertile Crescent, 1800–1914: A Documentary Economic History |url={{Google books|F2TGkO7G43oC |page=PA17 |keywords= |text= |plainurl=yes}} |year=1988 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-504951-0 |page=17 |access-date=17 August 2016}}</ref> In 2013 Iraq's population reached 35 million amid a post-war population boom.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://en.aswataliraq.info/(S(s0hfzsnuvqwhq445fuqqwg55))/Default1.aspx?page=article_page&id=153148&l=1 |title=Iraqi population reaches about 35 million |publisher=Aswat Al Iraq |date=27 April 2013 |access-date=1 July 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150114203319/http://en.aswataliraq.info/%28S%28j2xgdq450hsdyz455nf0n125%29%29/Default1.aspx?page=article_page&id=153148&l=1 |archive-date=14 January 2015}}</ref> It is the most populous country in the Arabian Plate.<ref name="geodatathe">{{cite book |last1=McCoy |first1=John |url=https://archive.org/details/geodata00john |title=Geo-data: the world geographical encyclopedia |date=2003 |publisher=Thomson-Gale |isbn=978-0-7876-5581-5 |page=[https://archive.org/details/geodata00john/page/281 281] |url-access=registration}}</ref> Iraq is made up of three former administrative divisions (''vilayets'') of the Ottoman Empire — Mosul, Basra and Baghdad — which were designated as concentration of different ethnic groups.

=== Cities and towns === {{Main|List of cities in Iraq}}

{{Largest cities|city_1=Baghdad|div_1=Baghdad Governorate {{!}} Baghdad|city_2=Mosul|div_2=Mosul Governorate {{!}} Nineveh|city_3=Basra|city_4=Erbil|pop_1=6,719,477|pop_2=1,361,819|pop_3=1,340,827|pop_4=1,550,071|pop_5=972,272|pop_6=747,261|pop_7=711,530|pop_8=676,492|pop_9=558,446|pop_10=527,472|pop_11=455,741|pop_12=403,796|pop_13=389,376|pop_14=340,871|pop_15=300,751|pop_16=279,133|pop_17=250,884|pop_18=223,525|pop_19=221,743|pop_20=211,964|city_5=Kirkuk|city_6=Najaf|city_7=Karbala|city_8=Sulaymaniyah|city_9=Nasiriyah|city_10=Amarah|city_11=Hillah|city_12=Diwaniyah|city_13=Kut|city_14=Dohuk|city_15=Az Zubayr|city_16=Baqubah|city_17=Fallujah|city_18=Ramadi|city_19=Samawah|city_20=Zakho|country=Iraq|div_name=Governorate|div_3=Basra Governorate {{!}} Basra|div_4=Erbil Governorate {{!}} Erbil|div_15=Basra Governorate {{!}} Basra|div_5=Kirkuk Governorate {{!}} Kirkuk|div_6=Najaf Governorate {{!}} Najaf as-Sharif|div_7=Karbala Governorate {{!}} Karbala|div_8=Sulaymaniyah Governorate {{!}} Sulaymaniyah|div_9=Dhi Qar Governorate {{!}} Dhi Qar|div_19=Muthanna Governorate {{!}} Muthanna|div_11=Babylon Governorate {{!}} Babylon|div_10=Maysan Governorate {{!}} Maysan|div_12=Al-Qādisiyyah Governorate {{!}} Al-Qādisiyyah|div_13=Wasit Governorate {{!}} Wasit|div_14=Dohuk Governorate {{!}} Dohuk|div_16=Diyala Governorate {{!}} Diyala|div_17=Anbar Governorate {{!}} Anbar|div_18=Anbar Governorate {{!}} Anbar|div_20=Dohuk Governorate {{!}} Dohuk|stat_ref=<ref>{{Cite web |date=16 December 2020 |title=Iraq cities |url=https://www.citypopulation.de/en/iraq/cities/ |access-date=14 October 2023 |website=citypopulation.de}}</ref>}}

=== Ethnic groups === thumb| {{legend|#aaffcc|Sunni Arabs}} {{legend|#ffaaaa|Shiite Arabs}} {{legend|#eeffaa|Sunni Kurds}} {{legend|#ccaaff|Assyrians}} {{legend|#cdde87|Yazidis}} {{legend|#ff9955|Turkmen}} Map of all majority-group clusters of the country's ethnic groups in large, deliberately grouped, census output areas as at the 2006 to 2008 study|224x224px Iraq's native population is predominantly Arab, but also includes other ethnic groups such as Kurds, Turkmens, Assyrians, Yazidis, Shabaks, Armenians, Mandaeans, Circassians, and Kawliya.

A report by the European Parliamentary Research Service suggests that, in 2015, there were 24 million Arabs (14 million Shia and 9 million Sunni); 4.7 million Sunni Kurds (plus 500,000 Faili Kurds and 200,000 Kaka'i); 3 million (mostly Sunni) Iraqi Turkmens; 1 million Black Iraqis; 500,000 Christians (including Assyrians and Armenians); 500,000 Yazidis; 250,000 Shabaks; 50,000 Roma; 3,000 Mandaeans; 2,000 Circassians; 1,000 of the Baháʼí Faith; and a few dozen Jews.<ref name="EPRS" />

According to the CIA World Factbook, citing a 1987 Iraqi government estimate,<ref name="cia" /> the population of Iraq is 75–80% Arab followed by 15–20% Kurds.<ref name="cia" /> In addition, the estimate claims that other minorities form 5% of the country's population, including the Turkmen/Turcoman, Assyrians, Yezidis, Shabak, Kaka'i, Bedouins, Roma, Circassians, Mandaeans, and Persians.<ref name="cia" /> However, the International Crisis Group points out that figures from the 1987 census, as well as the 1967, 1977, and 1997 censuses, "are all considered highly problematic, due to suspicions of regime manipulation" because Iraqi citizens were only allowed to indicate belonging to either the Arab or Kurdish ethnic groups;<ref name="ICG">{{cite web |year=2008 |title=Turkey and the Iraqi Kurds: Conflict or Cooperation? |url=http://www.genocidewatch.org/images/Iraq_08_11_13_Turkey_and_Iraqi_Kurds_Conflict_or_Cooperation.pdf |publisher=International Crisis Group |page=16 |access-date=19 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190808043240/http://www.genocidewatch.org/images/Iraq_08_11_13_Turkey_and_Iraqi_Kurds_Conflict_or_Cooperation.pdf |archive-date=8 August 2019 |url-status=dead}}</ref> consequently, this skewed the number of other ethnic minorities, such as Iraq's third largest ethnic group – the Turkmens.<ref name="ICG" />

The historic Assyrian Quarter in Baghdad housed 150,000 Armenians in 2003. Most of them fled, following the escalation of war, and today only 1,500 Armenians are found in the city. Around 20,000 Marsh Arabs live in southern Iraq.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/2807821.stm |title=BBC News – Iraq's 'devastated' Marsh Arabs |date=3 March 2003 |access-date=1 May 2008 |first=Heather |last=Sharp}}</ref> Iraq has a community of 2,500 Chechens,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/publication/12785/chechens_in_the_middle_east.html |title=Chechens in the Middle East: Between Original and Host Cultures |publisher=Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs |date=18 September 2002 |access-date=21 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110722061015/http://belfercenter.ksg.harvard.edu/publication/12785/chechens_in_the_middle_east.html |archive-date=22 July 2011 |url-status=dead}}</ref> and some 20,000 Armenians.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Logan |first=Darren L. |date=2010 |title=A Remnant Remaining: Armenians amid Northern Iraq's Christian Minority |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/25703837 |journal=Iran & the Caucasus |volume=14 |issue=1 |pages=143–157 |doi=10.1163/157338410X12743419189540 |jstor=25703837 |issn=1609-8498 |url-access=subscription}}</ref> In southern Iraq, there is a community of Iraqis of African descent, a legacy of the slavery practised in the Islamic Caliphate beginning before the Zanj Rebellion of the 9th century, and Basra's role as a key port.<ref name="zanj">{{cite news |last=Williams |first=Timothy |title=In Iraq's African Enclave, Color Is Plainly Seen |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/03/world/middleeast/03basra.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091203060958/http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/03/world/middleeast/03basra.html |archive-date=3 December 2009 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |newspaper=The New York Times |date=2 December 2009}}</ref> It is the most populous country in the Arabian Plate.<ref name="geodatathe" />

=== Languages === {{main|Languages of Iraq}}

[[File:Children puppy sulaimania.jpg|thumb|Children in a village near the city of Sulaymaniyah|left]] The main languages spoken in Iraq are Mesopotamian Arabic and Kurdish, followed by the Iraqi Turkmen/Turkoman dialect of Turkish, and the Neo-Aramaic languages (specifically Chaldean and Assyrian dialects).<ref>{{citation |last=Jastrow |first=Otto O. |year=2006 |chapter=Iraq |title=Encyclopedia of Arabic Language and Linguistics |volume=2 |page=414 |editor1-last=Versteegh |editor1-first=Kees |editor2-last=Eid |editor2-first=Mushira |editor3-last=Elgibali |editor3-first=Alaa |editor4-last=Woidich |editor4-first=Manfred |editor5-last=Zaborski |editor5-first=Andrzej |publisher=Brill Publishers |isbn=978-90-04-14474-3}}</ref> Arabic and Kurdish are written with versions of the Arabic script. Since 2005, the Turkmen/Turkoman have switched from the Arabic script to the Turkish alphabet.<ref name="Shanks 2016 loc=57">{{citation |last=Shanks |first=Kelsey |year=2016 |title=Education and Ethno-Politics: Defending Identity in Iraq |page=57 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-317-52043-6}}</ref> In addition, the Neo-Aramaic languages use the Syriac script. Other smaller minority languages include Mandaic, Shabaki, Armenian, Circassian and Persian.

Prior to the invasion in 2003, Arabic was the sole official language. Since the new Constitution of Iraq was approved in 2005, both Arabic and Kurdish are recognised (Article 4) as official languages of Iraq, while three other languages, Turkmen, Syriac and Armenian, are also recognised as minority languages. In addition, any region or province may declare other languages official if a majority of the population approves in a general referendum.<ref name=Constitution/>

According to the Constitution of Iraq (Article 4): The Arabic language and the Kurdish language are the two official languages of Iraq. The right of Iraqis to educate their children in their mother tongue, such as Turkmen, Syriac, and Armenian shall be guaranteed in government educational institutions in accordance with educational guidelines, or in any other language in private educational institutions.<ref name="Constitution" />

=== Religion === {{Main|Religion in Iraq}}

{{see also|Irreligion in Iraq}}{{Further|Islam in Iraq|Christianity in Iraq|Judaism in Iraq}} [[File:Shrine in Karbala.jpg|thumb|Shrine in Karbala, showing use of Arabesque]] Religions in Iraq are dominantly Abrahamic religions.<ref name="IF" /> In 2020, the Association of Religion Data Archives (ARDA) estimated that 97% Iraqis followed Islam, with 61% being Shia and 35% Sunni.<ref>{{Cite web |title=National Profiles {{!}} World Religion |url=https://www.thearda.com/world-religion/national-profiles?u=111c |access-date=2025-05-21 |website=The Association of Religion Data Archives (the ARDA) |language=en-gb}}</ref> An older estimate in 2015 by the CIA World Factbook that reported between 90 and 95% of Iraqis followed Islam, with 61–64% being Shia and 29–34% being Sunni. Christianity accounted for 1%, and the rest (1-4%) practiced Yazidism, Mandaeism, and other religions.<ref name="IF" /> In 2011, Pew Research estimated that 51% of Muslims in Iraq see themselves as Shia, 42% as Sunni, while 5% as "just a Muslim".<ref>{{cite web |date=18 June 2014 |title=Iraq's unique place in the Sunni-Shia divide – Pew Research Center |url=http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2014/06/18/the-sunni-shia-divide-where-they-live-what-they-believe-and-how-they-view-each-other/ |work=Pew Research Center}}</ref> Iraq is also home to two of the holiest places among the Shias – Najaf and Karbala.<ref>On Point: The United States Army In Operation Iraqi Freedom – Page 265, Gregory Fontenot – 2004</ref> Shia Muslims are mostly concentrated in southern Iraq and in parts of north region and Baghdad. Sunni Muslims are found in the Sunni Triangle region, in cities such as Ramadi, Tikrit and Fallujah, where Sunnis make majority.

{{Pie chart | thumb = right | caption = Religion in Iraq (ARDA 2020 est.)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thearda.com/world-religion/national-profiles?u=111|title=Religions in Iraq | Arda|website=www.thearda.com|access-date=9 April 2026}}</ref> | label1 = Shia | value1 = 61.23 | color1 = Light Green | label2 = Sunni | value2 = 35.32 | color2 = Green | label3 = Other Muslim | value3 = 0.84 | color3 = Dark Green | label4 = Christianity | value4 = 0.48 | color4 = Blue | label5 = No religion | value5 = 0.66 | color5 = Black | label6 = other | value6 = 1.47 | color6 = White }}

Christianity in Iraq has its roots from the conception of the Church of the East in the 5th century AD, predating the existence of Islam in the region of Iraq.<ref name="CNEWA-2024">{{Cite web |title=Fact Sheet: Christianity in Iraq |url=https://cnewa.org/magazine/fact-sheet-christianity-in-iraq-33110/ |access-date=24 September 2024 |website=CNEWA |language=en-US}}</ref> Iraqi Christians are predominantly native Assyrians belonging to the Ancient Church of the East, Assyrian Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Catholic Church and Syriac Orthodox Church.<ref name="CNEWA-2024" /><ref name="Guardian" /> There is also a significant population of Armenian Christians in Iraq who had fled Turkey during the Armenian genocide.<ref name="CNEWA-2024" /><ref name="Guardian" /> Christians numbered over 1.4 million in 1987 or 8% of the estimated population of 16.3 million and 550,000 in 1947 or 12% of the population of 4.6 millions.<ref>{{cite news |date=19 October 2006 |title=IRAQ: Christians live in fear of death squads |url=http://www.irinnews.org/report/61897/iraq-christians-live-in-fear-of-death-squads |access-date=21 October 2013 |work=IRIN Middle East |publisher=IRIN|archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20160202184801/http://www.irinnews.org/report/61897/iraq-christians-live-in-fear-of-death-squads|archive-date=2016-02-02}}</ref> After the 2003 invasion of Iraq, violence against Christians rose, with reports of abduction, torture, bombings, and killings.<ref name="besieged">{{cite news |last=Harrison |first=Frances |date=13 March 2008 |title=Christians besieged in Iraq |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/7295145.stm |access-date=31 October 2010 |work=BBC}}</ref><ref name="euaa.europa.eu-2024">{{Cite web |title=2.15. Religious and ethnic minorities, and stateless persons {{!}} European Union Agency for Asylum |url=https://euaa.europa.eu/country-guidance-iraq-2021/215-religious-and-ethnic-minorities-and-stateless-persons |access-date=24 September 2024 |website=euaa.europa.eu |archive-date=7 October 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241007095512/https://euaa.europa.eu/country-guidance-iraq-2021/215-religious-and-ethnic-minorities-and-stateless-persons |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref name="Guardian">{{cite news |last1=Bowcott |first1=Owen |last2=Jones |first2=Sam |date=8 August 2014 |title=Isis persecution of Iraqi Christians has become genocide, says religious leaders |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/08/isis-persecution-iraqi-christians-genocide-asylum |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140809003137/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/aug/08/isis-persecution-iraqi-christians-genocide-asylum |archive-date=9 August 2014 |access-date=8 August 2014 |newspaper=The Guardian}}</ref> The post-2003 war has displaced much of the remaining Christian community from their homeland as a result of ethnic and religious persecution at the hands of Islamic extremists.<ref>{{Cite news |date=7 August 2014 |title=Iraq Christians flee as Islamic State takes Qaraqosh |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-28686998 |access-date=5 March 2015 |work=BBC News}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Iraq: Christian Population Dwindling Due To Threats, Attacks |work=Radio Free Europe |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/1076841.html |url-status=live |access-date=18 June 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160311162347/http://www.rferl.org/content/article/1076841.html |archive-date=11 March 2016 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |author=Mardean Isaac |date=24 December 2011 |title=The desperate plight of Iraq's Assyrians and other minorities |url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2011/dec/24/iraq-minorities-assyrians |access-date=5 March 2015 |newspaper=The Guardian}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |date=2 August 2004 |title=Analysis: Iraq's Christians under attack |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3529364.stm |access-date=25 April 2010 |work=BBC News}}</ref><ref name="Telegraph-1">{{cite news |last=McQuade |first=Romsin |date=30 July 2014 |title=Iraq's persecuted Assyrian Christians are in limbo |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iraq/11000168/Iraqs-persecuted-Assyrian-Christians-are-in-limbo.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140809003145/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iraq/11000168/Iraqs-persecuted-Assyrian-Christians-are-in-limbo.html |archive-date=9 August 2014 |access-date=8 August 2014 |newspaper=The Telegraph}}</ref>

Iraq is home to one of the oldest Jewish communities in the Middle East and the first Jewish diaspora.<ref name="Stone-2003">{{cite news |last=Stone |first=Andrea |date=27 July 2003 |title=Embattled Jewish community down to last survivors |url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2003-07-27-iraq-jews-usat_x.htm |access-date=19 June 2011 |publisher=Usatoday.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131219153043/http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2003-07-27-iraq-jews-usat_x.htm|archive-date=2013-12-19}}</ref> In 1948, the Jewish population was estimated at 200,000, although some sources suggest the population may have been even higher.<ref name="Stone-2003" /> After the establishment of Israel in 1948, Jews emigrated, fleeing persecution in Iraq, while 100,000 of them remained.<ref>{{Cite news |date=15 April 2003 |title=Now Baghdad's last Jews have some hope |url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/now-baghdads-last-jews-have-some-hope/28042122.html |access-date=7 December 2024 |work=BelfastTelegraph.co.uk |language=en-GB |issn=0307-1235}}</ref> By the time Saddam Hussein came to power, their population had reached 15,000.<ref name="Margit-2021">{{Cite web |last=Margit |first=Maya |date=27 October 2021 |title=The End of Exile: Iraqi Jew Recalls Escape From Baghdad 70 Years Ago |url=https://themedialine.org/life-lines/history/the-end-of-exile-iraqi-jew-recalls-escape-from-baghdad-70-years-ago/ |access-date=1 December 2024 |website=The Media Line |language=en-US}}</ref><ref name="Amwaj-2024">{{Cite web |title=Once thriving, Iraq's Jews on verge of vanishing |url=https://amwaj.media/article/once-thriving-iraq-s-jews-on-verge-of-vanishing |access-date=1 December 2024 |website=Amwaj.media |language=en}}</ref> Under his rule, the population dwindled—not due to persecution, but because the government lifted travel restrictions, allowing many Jews to emigrate abroad and visiting Iraq occasionally.<ref name="NYT-1971">{{Cite news |title=Iraqi Jews Leave in a Steady Flow |work=The New York Times |date=12 December 1971 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1971/12/12/archives/iraqi-jews-leave-in-a-steady-flow-5-or-6-families-going-weekly.html#}}</ref> At this point, around 1,500 Jews remained.<ref name="Shenon-1990">{{Cite news |date=12 December 1990 |title=Standoff in the Gulf |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1990/12/12/world/standoff-gulf-synagogue-s-keeper-tells-standing-watch-for-baghdad-s-dwindling.html |last1=Shenon |first1=Philip}}</ref> After 2003, fear among the Jewish community increased, leading to their further decline.<ref name="By-1998">{{Cite web |date=13 November 1998 |title=In Iraq, respect for the Jews Baghdad: A tiny minority that has seen good days and bad is treated well under Saddam Hussein. |url=https://www.baltimoresun.com/1998/11/13/in-iraq-respect-for-the-jews-baghdad-a-tiny-minority-that-has-seen-good-days-and-bad-is-treated-well-under-saddam-hussein/ |access-date=15 October 2024 |website=Baltimore Sun |language=en-US}}</ref> Today, it is estimated that only around 400 Jews remain in Iraq.<ref name="ijao-2018">{{Cite web |last=ijao |date=23 September 2018 |title=A Group of Young Iraqis Risk Imprisonment to Reconnect With Their Country's Jewish Past |url=https://ijao.ca/a-group-of-young-iraqis-risk-imprisonment-to-reconnect-with-their-countrys-jewish-past/ |access-date=15 October 2024 |website=Iraqi Jewish Association Of Ontario |language=en-US}}</ref> Iraq is home to over 250 Jewish sites.

There are also small ethno-religious minority populations of Mandaeans, Shabaks, Yarsan and Yezidis remaining.<ref name="euaa.europa.eu-2024" /> Prior to 2003 their numbers together may have been 2 million, the majority Yarsan, a non-Islamic religion with roots in pre-Islamic and pre-Christian religion.<ref name="euaa.europa.eu-2024" /> Yazidis are mostly concentrated around the Sinjar Mountains.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Yazidis in Iraq: between a rock and a hard place - European Commission |url=https://civil-protection-humanitarian-aid.ec.europa.eu/news-stories/stories/yazidis-iraq-between-rock-and-hard-place_en |access-date=24 September 2024 |website=civil-protection-humanitarian-aid.ec.europa.eu}}</ref><ref name="euaa.europa.eu-2024" /> Mandaeans live primarily around Baghdad, Fallujah, Basra and Hillah.<ref name="Al-Saadi-2024">{{Cite web |last=Al-Saadi |first=Qais |title=The Mandaean Sabians, twenty years after the American occupation |url=https://cfri-irak.com/en/article/the-mandaean-sabians-twenty-years-after-the-american-occupation-political-and-social-transformations-in-iraq-and-the-diaspora-2024-01-05 |access-date=24 September 2024 |website=cfri-irak.com}}</ref><ref name="euaa.europa.eu-2024" />

Religious freedom in Iraq is limited due to a risk of persecution or violence in case of religious conversion away from Islam.<ref name="k813">{{cite web | title=3.9. Individuals considered to have committed blasphemy and/or apostasy, including converts and atheists | website=European Union Agency for Asylum | date=2024 | url=https://www.euaa.europa.eu/country-guidance-iraq-2024/39-individuals-considered-have-committed-blasphemy-andor-apostasy-including-converts-and-atheists | access-date=2026-05-15}}</ref>

=== Diaspora and refugees === {{main|Refugees of Iraq|Assyrian exodus from Iraq}}

The dispersion of native Iraqis to other countries is known as the Iraqi diaspora. The UN High Commission for Refugees has estimated that nearly two million Iraqis fled the country after the multinational invasion of Iraq in 2003.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6286129.stm |title=Warnings of Iraq refugee crisis |work=BBC News |date=22 January 2007 |access-date=18 August 2007}}</ref> The UN Refugee agency estimated in 2021 that 1.1 million were displaced within the country.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.internal-displacement.org/middle-east-and-north-africa/iraq/2007/iraq-a-displacement-crisis/ |title=A displacement crisis |date=30 March 2007 |access-date=13 November 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151117030941/http://www.internal-displacement.org/middle-east-and-north-africa/iraq/2007/iraq-a-displacement-crisis/ |archive-date=17 November 2015 |url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2007, the UN said that about 40% of Iraq's middle class was believed to have fled and that most had fled systematic persecution and had no desire to return.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/01/16/MNG2MNJBIS1.DTL |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070810084550/http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2007/01/16/MNG2MNJBIS1.DTL |url-status=dead |archive-date=10 August 2007 |title=40% of middle class believed to have fled crumbling nation |work=The San Francisco Chronicle |first=Carolyn |last=Lochhead |date=16 January 2007}}</ref> Subsequently, the diaspora seemed to be returning, as security improved; the Iraqi government claimed that 46,000 refugees returned to their homes in October 2007 alone.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/Iraq/Story/0,,2214918,00.html |title=Iraqi refugees start to head home |format=PDF |work=The Guardian |location=London |first=Ian |last=Black |date=22 November 2007 |access-date=5 May 2010}}</ref>

In 2011, nearly 3 million Iraqis had been displaced, with 1.3 million within Iraq and 1.6 million in neighbouring countries, mainly Jordan and Syria.<ref>{{cite news |title=Will Iraq's 1.3 million refugees ever be able to go home? |newspaper=The Independent |date=16 December 2011 |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/will-iraqs-13-million-refugees-ever-be-able-to-go-home-6277667.html |location=London}}</ref><ref name="BBC-2010" /><ref name="Sabah-2007" /> More than half of Iraqi Christians had fled the country since the US-led invasion.<ref name="BBC-2010">{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-11724378 |title=Christian areas targeted in Baghdad attacks |date=10 November 2010 |work=BBC |access-date=10 November 2010}}</ref><ref name="Sabah-2007">{{cite news |url=http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2007-03-22-christians-iraq_N.htm |title=Christians, targeted and suffering, flee Iraq |newspaper=USA Today |date=23 March 2007 |first1=Zaid |last1=Sabah |first2=Rick |last2=Jervis}}</ref> According to official US Citizenship and Immigration Services statistics, 58,811 Iraqis had been granted refugee-status citizenship {{as of|2011|May|25|lc=y}}.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextchannel=68439c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD&vgnextoid=df4c47c9de5ba110VgnVCM1000004718190aRCRD |title=USCIS – Iraqi Refugee ProcessingFact Sheet |publisher=Uscis.gov |access-date=2 December 2011 |archive-date=10 December 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111210131849/http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=df4c47c9de5ba110VgnVCM1000004718190aRCRD&vgnextchannel=68439c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD |url-status=dead}}</ref> After the start of the Syrian Civil War in 2011, numerous Iraqis in Syria returned to their native country.<ref>{{cite web |title=Iraqi refugees flee war-torn Syria and seek safety back home |url=http://www.unhcr.org/51c0399c9.html |publisher=UNHCR |date=18 June 2013}}</ref> To escape the Syrian civil war, over 252,000 Syrian refugees of varying ethnicities have fled to Iraq since 2012.<ref>{{cite web |title=Situation Syria Regional Refugee Response |url=https://data2.unhcr.org/en/situations/syria/location/5 |access-date=18 December 2021 |website=data2.unhcr.org |archive-date=2 March 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180302192733/http://data.unhcr.org/syrianrefugees/country.php?id=103 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Health === {{main|Health in Iraq}}

In 2010, spending on healthcare accounted for 6.84% of the country's GDP. In 2008, there were 6.96 physicians and 13.92 nurses per 10,000 inhabitants.<ref>{{cite web |title=Health |url=http://www.sesrtcic.org/oic-member-countries-infigures.php?c_code=24&cat_code=8 |publisher=SESRIC |access-date=17 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303214323/http://www.sesrtcic.org/oic-member-countries-infigures.php?c_code=24&cat_code=8 |archive-date=3 March 2016 |url-status=usurped}}</ref> The life expectancy at birth was 68.49 years in 2010, or 65.13 years for males and 72.01 years for females.<ref>{{cite web |title=Demography |url=http://www.sesrtcic.org/oic-member-countries-infigures.php?c_code=24&cat_code=7 |publisher=SESRIC |access-date=17 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303215053/http://www.sesrtcic.org/oic-member-countries-infigures.php?c_code=24&cat_code=7 |archive-date=3 March 2016 |url-status=usurped}}</ref> This is down from a peak life expectancy of 71.31 years in 1996.<ref>{{cite web |title=Life expectancy at birth, total (Iraq) |url=http://www.sesrtcic.org/oic-member-countries-linecharts.php?ind_code=12&c_code=24 |publisher=SESRIC |access-date=17 August 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304000400/http://www.sesrtcic.org/oic-member-countries-linecharts.php?ind_code=12&c_code=24 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |url-status=usurped}}</ref> Officially, healthcare is free in Iraq.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Iraq's troubled young hearts |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2010/8/31/iraqs-troubled-young-hearts |access-date=17 April 2025 |website=Al Jazeera |language=en}}</ref> However, years of wars, conflicts, and instability have left a deep impact of healthcare, just like other sectors of Iraq.

Iraq had developed a centralised free health care system in the 1970s using a hospital based, capital-intensive model of curative care.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2 May 2013 |title=Iraq 10 years on: War leaves lasting impact on healthcare - Iraq {{!}} ReliefWeb |url=https://reliefweb.int/report/iraq/iraq-10-years-war-leaves-lasting-impact-healthcare |access-date=17 April 2025 |website=reliefweb.int |language=en}}</ref> The country depended on large-scale imports of medicines, medical equipment and even nurses, paid for with oil export income, according to a "Watching Brief" report issued jointly by the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health Organization in July 2003.<ref name="corpwatch" /> Unlike other poorer countries, which focused on mass health care using primary care practitioners, Iraq developed a Westernised system of sophisticated hospitals with advanced medical procedures, provided by specialist physicians.<ref name="corpwatch" /> The UNICEF/WHO report noted that prior to 1990, 97% of urban dwellers and 71% of the rural population had access to free primary health care; just 2% of hospital beds were privately managed.<ref name="corpwatch">{{cite web |title=High-Tech Healthcare in Iraq, Minus the Healthcare |url=http://www.warprofiteers.com/article.php?id=14290 |publisher=CorpWatch |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070717084814/http://www.warprofiteers.com/article.php?id=14290 |archive-date=17 July 2007 |date=8 January 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

In 2024, Mohammed Shia' al-Sudani officially inaugurated Shaab General Hospital, Baghdad's first new general hospital in nearly 40 years.<ref name="IBN-2024" /> The 246-bed facility, which was a long-delayed project was completed under a collaborative management model, which boasts state-of-the-art infrastructure, with advanced medical equipment, and a full range of healthcare services according to Sudani.<ref name="IBN-2024">{{Cite web |last= |date=29 December 2024 |title=Baghdad opens first General Hospital in nearly 40 years |work=Iraq Business News |url=https://www.iraq-businessnews.com/2024/12/29/baghdad-opens-first-general-hospital-in-nearly-40-years/ |access-date=1 January 2025 |language=en-GB}}</ref> Minister of Health Salih Hasnawi highlighted the ministry's accomplishments over the past two years, including the construction of 13 new hospitals, three specialised centres, two burn units, and 25 kidney treatment centres in different governorates, while plans are in place to build 16 new hospitals, each with 100 beds, to be managed by qualified companies.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Salem |first=Amr |date=17 November 2024 |title=Iraq opens new hospital in Baghdad's Medical City |website=Iraqi News |url=https://www.iraqinews.com/iraq/iraq-opens-new-hospital-in-baghdads-medical-city/ |access-date=1 January 2025 |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=29 July 2024 |title=Iraqi PM inaugurates joint operation program for modern hospitals in Najaf |publisher=Kurdistan24 |url=https://www.kurdistan24.net/en/story/396047/Iraqi-PM-inaugurates-joint-operation-program-for-modern-hospitals-in-Najaf |access-date=1 January 2025 |language=en}}</ref> In the same year, the government launched the implementation of a joint operation and management programme for modern hospitals at the newly opened Najaf Teaching Hospital.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Al-Sudani declares that six provinces will use hospital joint management system with global companies |url=https://ina.iq/eng/33867-al-sudani-declares-that-six-provinces-will-use-hospital-joint-management-system-with-global-companies.html |access-date=1 January 2025 |website=Iraqi News Agency |archive-date=1 January 2025 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250101044709/https://ina.iq/eng/33867-al-sudani-declares-that-six-provinces-will-use-hospital-joint-management-system-with-global-companies.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

=== Education === {{main|Education in Iraq}}

thumb|University students in Iraq, 2016 Before 1990 and later 2003, Iraq already had an advanced and successful education system.<ref name="de Santisteban-2005">{{Cite journal |last=de Santisteban |first=Agustin Velloso |date=2005 |title=Sanctions, War, Occupation and the De-Development of Education in Iraq |journal=International Review of Education |volume=51 |issue=1 |pages=59–71 |bibcode=2005IREdu..51...59S |doi=10.1007/s11159-005-0587-8 |s2cid=144395039}}</ref> However, it has now been "de-developing" in its educational success.<ref name="de Santisteban-2005" /> During his rule, Saddam turned Iraq into a leading centre of higher education.<ref name="de Santisteban-2005" /> Since the implementation of the MDGs, education has shown improvement in Iraq.<ref name="de Santisteban-2005" /> Enrollment numbers nearly doubled from 2000 to 2012, reaching six million students.<ref name="unicef.org">{{cite web |title=The Cost and Benefit of Education in Iraq |url=https://www.unicef.org/iraq/TheCostOfEducationInIraq-EN.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180804182022/https://www.unicef.org/iraq/TheCostOfEducationInIraq-EN.pdf |archive-date=4 August 2018 |website=unicef.org}}</ref> By 2015–2016, around 9.2 million children were attending school, with a steady annual increase of 4.1% in enrollment rates.<ref name="unicef.org" />

However, the rapid increase in primary education students has strained the system.<ref name="unicef.org"/> Education receives only 5.7% of government spending, leading to a lack of investment in schools and poor educational rankings in the region.<ref name="unicef.org"/> UNICEF found that funding has been wasted, resulting in increasing dropout and repetition rates.<ref name="unicef.org"/> Dropout rates range from 1.5% to 2.5%, with girls being affected more due to economic or family reasons. Repetition rates have reached almost 17%, causing a loss of approximately 20% of education funding in 2014–2015.<ref name="unicef.org"/>

Regional disparities greatly impact enrollment rates for children in primary education in Iraq.<ref name="unicef.org" /> Conflict-ridden areas like Saladin Governorate have seen over 90% of school-age children out of school due to the conversion of schools into shelters or military bases.<ref name="unicef.org" /> Limited resources strain the education system, hindering access to education.<ref name="unicef.org" /> However, efforts have been made to reopen closed schools, with success seen in Mosul, where over 380,000 children are back in school.<ref name="unicef.org" /> Access to education varies depending on location, and there are disparities between boys and girls.<ref name="unicef.org" />

In 2024, the government inaugurated 790 new schools across the country, as part of a framework agreement with China to build 1,000 schools. This initiative aims to address overcrowding and the issue of triple shifts in schools, which have been exacerbated by the destruction caused by years of conflict.<ref name="Shafaq News-2025" /> Many schools have had to operate multiple shifts, sometimes giving students as little as four hours of learning per day, which negatively affects educational outcomes.<ref name="Shafaq News-2025">{{Cite web |title=PM Al-Sudani opens 790 model schools nationwide under Iraq-China Framework Agreement |url=https://shafaq.com/en/Iraq/PM-Al-Sudani-opens-790-model-schools-nationwide-under-Iraq-China-Framework-Agreement |access-date=3 January 2025 |website=Shafaq News |language=en}}</ref><ref name="Salem-2024">{{Cite web |last=Salem |first=Amr |date=24 November 2024 |title=Iraq opens 790 new schools |url=https://www.iraqinews.com/iraq/iraq-opens-790-new-schools/ |access-date=3 January 2025 |website=Iraqi News |language=en-US}}</ref> The school construction project stems from a 2021 agreement between the Iraqi and Chinese governments to build 1,000 schools. Additionally, the Iraqi Prime Minister announced that the Iraq Development Fund will soon collaborate with the private sector to build 400 more schools, addressing the current shortage of over 8,000 schools in the country.<ref name="Shafaq News-2025" /><ref name="Salem-2024" />

== Culture == {{main|Culture of Iraq}}

Iraq's culture has a deep heritage that extends back in time to ancient Mesopotamian culture. Iraq has one of the longest written traditions in the world including architecture, literature, music, dance, painting, weaving, pottery, calligraphy, stonemasonry and metalworking. The culture of Iraq or Mesopotamia is one of the world's oldest cultural histories and is considered one of the most influential cultures in the world.

Mesopotamian legacy went on to influence and shape the civilisations of the Old World in different ways such as inventing writing system, mathematics, time, calendar, astrology and the law code.<ref name="Encyclopædia Britannica">{{cite web |title=Iraq {{!}} History, Map, Flag, Population, & Facts |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Iraq |access-date=7 February 2022 |website=Encyclopædia Britannica}}</ref><ref name="World History Encyclopedia">{{cite web |last1=Mark |first1=Joshua J. |title=Mesopotamian Inventions |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1859/mesopotamian-inventions/ |access-date=7 February 2022 |website=World History Encyclopedia |date=20 October 2021 }}</ref> Iraq is home to diverse ethnic groups that have each contributed in different ways to the country's long and rich heritage. The country is known for its poets, architects, painters and sculptors, who are among the best in the region, some of them being world-class. Iraq is known for producing fine handicrafts, including rugs and carpets.

=== Art === {{main|Art of Mesopotamia|Iraqi art}}

[[File:Al-Wasiti-Discussion near a village.jpg|thumb|222x222px|Wasiti's illustrations served as an inspiration for the modern Baghdad art movement in the 20th-century.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Wijdan |first=A |title=Contemporary Art From The Islamic World |pages=166}}</ref>]] There were several interconnected traditions of art in ancient Iraq. The Abbasid Dynasty developed in the Abbasid Caliphate between 750 and 945, primarily in its heartland of Mesopotamia. The Abbasids were influenced mainly by Mesopotamian art traditions and later influenced Persian as well as Central Asian styles. Between the 8th and 13th centuries during the Abbasid period, pottery achieved a high level of sophistication, calligraphy began to be used to decorate the surface of decorative objects and illuminated manuscripts, particularly Q'ranic texts became more complex and stylised. Iraq's first art school was established during this period, allowing artisans and crafts to flourish.<ref>Dabrowska, K. and Hann, G., ''Iraq Then and Now: A Guide to the Country and Its People,'' Bradt Travel Guides, 2008, p. 278</ref>

At the height of the Abbasid period, in the late 12th century, a stylistic movement of manuscript illustration and calligraphy emerged. Now known as the ''Baghdad School'', this movement of Islamic art was characterised by representations of everyday life and the use of highly expressive faces rather than the stereotypical characters that had been used in the past.<ref name="Online">"Baghdad school", in: ''Encyclopædia Britannica,'' [https://www.britannica.com/art/Baghdad-school Online:]</ref>

=== Architecture === {{Main|Architecture of Iraq}}

[[File:Zaha_Hadid_in_Heydar_Aliyev_Cultural_center_in_Baku_nov_2013.jpg|left|thumb|Zaha Hadid (1950–2016), an acclaimed architect]] The architecture of Iraq has a long history, encompassing several distinct cultures and spanning a period from the 10th millennium BC and features both the Mesopotamian and Abbasid architecture.<ref name="ARCADE-2017">{{cite web |date=15 May 2017 |title=Contemporary Iraqi Architects |url=https://arcade.stanford.edu/blogs/contemporary-iraqi-architects |access-date=12 February 2022 |website=ARCADE |archive-date=14 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220214234706/https://arcade.stanford.edu/blogs/contemporary-iraqi-architects |url-status=dead}}</ref> Baghdad and Mosul have plethora of cultural and heritage buildings. There are numerous historic mosques in Baghdad and Basra, old churches in Mosul and synagogues in Baghdad.<ref name="ARCADE-2017" /> Modern prominent architects include Zaha Hadid, Basil Bayati, Rifat Chadirji and Hisham N. Ashkouri among others.<ref name="ARCADE-2017" />

The capital, Ninus or Nineveh, was taken by the Medes under Cyaxares, and some 200 years after Xenophon passed over its site, then mere mounds of earth. It remained buried until 1845, when Botta and Layard discovered the ruins of the Assyrian cities. The principal remains are those of Khorsabad, {{cvt|10|mi|km|order=flip}} northeast of Mosul; of Nimroud, supposed to be the ancient Calah; and of Kouyunjik, in all probability the ancient Nineveh. In these cities are found fragments of several great buildings which seem to have been palace-temples. They were constructed chiefly of sun-dried bricks, and all that remains of them is the lower part of the walls, decorated with sculpture and paintings, portions of the pavements, a few indications of the elevation, and some works connected with the drainage.

In recent years, modern buildings include shopping malls and high-rise towers.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=الگاردينيا - مجلة ثقافية عامة - اوروزدي باك .. اول مول في العراق |url=https://www.algardenia.com/2014-04-04-19-52-20/zamanmadejamel/10198-2014-05-03-11-11-12.html |access-date=2025-05-22 |website=www.algardenia.com}}</ref> Iraq was of the first countries along with Egypt, to adopt mall culture in the Arab world and the Middle East.<ref name=":0" /> Al-Adil Shopping Center (formerly Ozdi Pak) in Baghdad was the second mall in the region after Egypt.<ref name=":0" />

Important cultural institutions in the capital include the Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra – rehearsals and performances were briefly interrupted during the occupation of Iraq but have since returned to normal.<ref>{{Cite web |date=24 October 2008 |title=President Bush, Secretary Powell welcome Iraqi musicians to Kennedy - Information about the Iraqi Dinar |url=http://www.cpa-iraq.org/pressreleases/20031209_Dec9_Iraq_Symphony.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081024195710/http://www.cpa-iraq.org/pressreleases/20031209_Dec9_Iraq_Symphony.html |archive-date=24 October 2008 |access-date=8 May 2022}}</ref> The National Theatre of Iraq was looted during the 2003 invasion, but efforts are underway to restore it. The live theatre scene received a boost during the 1990s when UN sanctions limited the import of foreign films. As many as 30 cinemas were reported to have been converted to live stages, producing a wide range of comedies and dramatic productions.[[File:اثار الحضر 2 - نينوى.jpg|thumb|Facade of Temple at Hatra near Mosul was declared World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1985<ref>{{cite web |title=Hatra |url=https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/277/ |access-date=12 February 2022 |website=UNESCO World Heritage Centre}}</ref>]]

Institutions offering cultural education in Baghdad include the Academy of Music, Institute of Fine Arts and the Music and Ballet School Baghdad. Baghdad also features a number of museums including the National Museum of Iraq – which houses the world's largest and finest collection of artefacts and relics of Ancient Iraqi civilisations; some of which were stolen during the occupation of Iraq. On 2021, it was announced that Iraq had reclaimed about 17,000 looted artefacts, which was considered to be the biggest repatriation.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Arraf |first=Jane |date=3 August 2021 |title=Iraq Reclaims 17,000 Looted Artifacts, Its Biggest-Ever Repatriation |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/08/03/world/middleeast/iraq-looted-artifacts-return.html |access-date=8 May 2022 |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331}}</ref>

=== Literature === {{main|Akkadian literature|Sumerian literature|Iraqi literature}}

thumb|upright|An Akkadian inscription The literature in Iraq is often referred to as "Mesopotamian literature" due to the flourishing of various civilisations as a result of the mixture of these cultures and has been called Mesopotamian or Babylonian literature in allusion to the geographical territory that such cultures occupied in the Middle East between the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.<ref>{{cite web |title=Mesopotamian Literature: Characteristics, Authors, Historical Context |url=https://www.lifepersona.com/mesopotamian-literature-characteristics-authors-historical-context |access-date=23 December 2021 |website=Life Persona|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211222091931/https://www.lifepersona.com/mesopotamian-literature-characteristics-authors-historical-context|archive-date=2021-12-22}}</ref> The Sumerian literature was unique because it does not belong to any known linguistic root. Its appearance began with symbols of the things denoting it, then it turned with time to the cuneiform line on tablets. The literature during this time were mainly about mythical and epic texts dealing with creation issues, the emergence of the world, the gods, descriptions of the heavens, and the lives of heroes in the wars that broke out between the nomads and the urbanites. They also deal with religious teachings, moral advice, astrology, legislation, and history. One of which was the Epic of Gilgamesh, which is regarded as the earliest surviving notable literature.<ref>{{cite web |title=Epic of Gilgamesh |website=britannica.com |url=https://www.britannica.com/topic/Epic-of-Gilgamesh |access-date=23 December 2021}}</ref>

During the Abbasid Caliphate, the House of Wisdom in Baghdad, which was a public academy and intellectual fulcrum, hosted numerous scholars and writers. A number of stories in ''One Thousand and One Nights'' feature famous Abbasid figures.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Gutas |first=Dimitri |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6cm_KK6Ubk8C&pg=PA53 |title=Greek Thought, Arabic Culture: The Graeco-Arabic Translation Movement in Baghdad and Early ʻAbbāsid Society (2nd–4th/8th–10th Centuries) |publisher=Psychology Press |year=1998 |isbn=978-0-415-06132-2 |pages=53–60}}</ref> Iraq has various medieval poets, most remarkably Hariri of Basra, Mutanabbi, Abu Nuwas, and Al-Jahiz. In modern times, various languages are used in Iraqi literature including Arabic, Neo-Aramaic, Kurdish and Turkish, although the Arabic literature remains the most influential literature. Notably poets include Jawahiri, Safa Khulusi and Dunya Mikhail.

=== Music === {{main|Music of Iraq}}

[[File:Kazem Main.jpg|thumb|Kadim Al Sahir known as "'''The''' '''Caesar"''' of Arabic songs. Considered as one of the most successful singers in the history of the Arab World.]]

Iraq is known primarily for its rich maqam heritage which has been passed down orally by the masters of the maqam in an unbroken chain of transmission leading up to the present. The Iraqi maqam is considered to be the most noble and perfect form of maqam. Al-maqam al-Iraqi is the collection of sung poems written either in one of the 16 meters of classical Arabic or in Iraqi dialect (Zuhayri).<ref>{{cite book |last=Touma |first=Habib Hassan |author-link=Habib Hassan Touma |title=The Music of the Arabs |publisher=Amadeus Press |year=1996 |isbn=978-1-57467-081-3}}</ref> This form of art is recognised by UNESCO as "an intangible heritage of humanity".<ref>{{cite web |title=UNESCO - Intangible Heritage Home |url=https://ich.unesco.org/en/home |website=ich.unesco.org}}</ref>

Early in the 20th century, many of the most prominent musicians in Iraq were Jewish.<ref name="Kojaman">{{cite web |last=Kojaman |title=Jewish Role in Iraqi Music |url=http://www.dangoor.com/72page42.html |access-date=9 September 2007}}</ref> In 1936, Iraq Radio was established with an ensemble made up entirely of Jews, with the exception of the percussion player.<ref name="Kojaman" /> At the nightclubs of Baghdad, ensembles consisted of oud, qanun and two percussionists, while the same format with a ney and cello were used on the radio.<ref name="Kojaman" />

The most famous singer of the 1930s–1940s was perhaps Salima Pasha (later Salima Murad).<ref name="Kojaman" /><ref name="Manasseh">{{cite news |last=Manasseh |first=Sara |date=February 2004 |title=An Iraqi samai of Salim Al-Nur |url=http://www.soas.ac.uk/ahrbmusicanddance/newsletter/musicanddance3.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20051202084829/http://www.soas.ac.uk/ahrbmusicanddance/newsletter/musicanddance3.pdf |archive-date=2 December 2005 |access-date=9 September 2007 |periodical=Newsletter |publisher=Arts and Humanities Research Board Research Centre for Cross-Cultural Music and Dance Performance |location=London |page=7 |issue=3}}</ref> The respect and adoration for Pasha were unusual at the time since public performance by women was considered shameful.<ref name="Kojaman" /> The most famous early composer from Iraq was Ezra Aharon, an oud player, while the most prominent instrumentalist was Yusuf Za'arur.{{citation needed|date=June 2014}} Za'arus formed the official ensemble for the Iraqi radio station and were responsible for introducing the cello and ney into the traditional ensemble.<ref name="Kojaman" />

=== Media === {{main|Media of Iraq|Television in Iraq|Cinema of Iraq|List of Iraqi films}}

thumb|upright|An image showing a page from Iraq newspaper, 5 June 1920

Iraq was home to the second television station in the Middle East, which began during the 1950s. As part of a plan to help Iraq modernise, English telecommunications company Pye Limited built and commissioned a television broadcast station in the capital city of Baghdad.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Blattenberger |first=Kirt |title=Middle East Gets Its First Television Station, June 1955 Popular Electronics |website=RF Cafe |url=https://www.rfcafe.com/references/popular-electronics/middle-east-first-tv-station-popular-electronics-june-1955.htm |access-date=23 December 2021}}</ref>

After the end of the full state control in 2003, there was a period of significant growth in the broadcast media in Iraq.<ref>{{cite news |title=صناعة "الخبر" في الفضائيات العراقية |url=https://ultrairaq.ultrasawt.com/صناعة-الخبر-في-الفضائيات-العراقية/سمير-داود-حنوش/قول |access-date=23 December 2021 |newspaper=الترا عراق | Ultra Iraq}}</ref> By 2003, according to a BBC report, there were 20 radio stations from 0.15 to 17 television stations owned by Iraqis, and 200 Iraqi newspapers owned and operated.

Iraqi media expert and author of a number of reports on this subject, Ibrahim Al Marashi, identifies four stages of the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 where they had been taking the steps that have significant effects on the way for the later of the Iraqi media since then. Stages are: pre-invasion preparation, and the war and the actual choice of targets, the first post-war period, and a growing insurgency and hand over power to the Iraqi Interim Government (IIG) and Prime Minister Iyad Allawi.<ref>{{cite web |last=Al-Marashi |first=Ibrahim |year=2007 |title=Toward an Understanding of Media Policy and Media Systems in Iraq |url=http://repository.upenn.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1058&context=asc_papers |access-date=17 August 2016 |series=Center for Global Communications Studies, Occasional Paper Series}}</ref>{{page needed|date=March 2013}}

=== Cuisine === {{main|Iraqi cuisine}}

[[File:MosulDolma.jpg|thumb|Dolma, a popular Iraqi dish]]

Iraqi cuisine can be traced back some 10,000 years – to the Sumerians, Akkadians, Babylonians, Assyrians and Ancient Persians.<ref name="Salloum">{{cite web |title=Foods of Iraq: Enshrined With A Long History |url=http://www.thingsasian.com/stories-photos/3592 |access-date=19 June 2011 |publisher=ThingsAsian|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120111190703/http://www.thingsasian.com/stories-photos/3592|archive-date=2012-01-11}}</ref> Tablets found in ancient ruins in Iraq show recipes prepared in the temples during religious festivals – the first cookbooks in the world.<ref name="Salloum" /> Ancient Iraq, or ''Mesopotamia'', was home to many sophisticated and highly advanced civilisations, in all fields of knowledge – including the culinary arts.<ref name="Salloum" /> However, it was in the medieval era when Baghdad was the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate that the Iraqi kitchen reached its zenith.<ref name="Salloum" /> Today the cuisine of Iraq reflects this rich inheritance as well as strong influences from the culinary traditions of neighbouring Turkey, Iran and the Greater Syria area.<ref name="Salloum" />

Some characteristic ingredients of Iraqi cuisine include – vegetables such as aubergine, tomato, okra, onion, potato, courgette, garlic, peppers and chilli, cereals such as rice, bulgur wheat and barley, pulses and legumes such as lentils, chickpeas and cannellini, fruits such as dates, raisins, apricots, figs, grapes, melon, pomegranate and citrus fruits, especially lemon and lime.<ref name="Salloum" />

Similarly with other countries of Western Asia, chicken and especially lamb are the favourite meats. Most dishes are served with rice – usually Basmati, grown in the marshes of southern Iraq.<ref name="Salloum" /> Bulgur wheat is used in many dishes, having been a staple in the country since the days of the Ancient Assyrians.<ref name="Salloum" />

=== Sport === {{main|Sport in Iraq}}

[[File:ملعب جذع النخلة 2022.jpg|thumb|Basra International Stadium]]

Football is the most popular sport in Iraq. Basketball, swimming, weightlifting, bodybuilding, boxing, kick boxing and tennis are also popular sports.

The Iraq Football Association is the governing body of football in Iraq, controlling the Iraq national football team and the Iraq Stars League. It was founded in 1948, and has been a member of FIFA since 1950 and the Asian Football Confederation since 1971. Iraq were champions of the 2007 AFC Asian Cup, and they participated in the 1986 FIFA World Cup, the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup and the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

== See also == * Outline of Iraq {{Clear}}

== References == {{notelist}} {{reflist|30em|refs=

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<ref name="CL">{{Cite web |title=The Complex Legacy of Saddam Hussein |url=https://www.iwm.org.uk/history/the-complex-legacy-of-saddam-hussein |access-date=25 September 2024 |website=Imperial War Museums |language=en}}</ref>

<ref name="Constitution of Iraq">{{cite web |title=Constitution of Iraq |publisher=Constitute |url=https://www.constituteproject.org/constitution/Iraq_2005 |access-date=31 May 2024}}</ref>

<ref name="CW">{{Cite news |last1=Rubin |first1=Alissa J. |last2=Denton |first2=Bryan |date=30 July 2023 |title=A Climate Warning from the Cradle of Civilization |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/29/world/middleeast/iraq-water-crisis-desertification.html |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |access-date=31 July 2023}}</ref>

<ref name="DW">{{Cite web |date=30 July 2023 |title=Iraq substation fire causes major power outage |website=Deutsche Welle |url=https://www.dw.com/en/iraq-substation-fire-causes-major-power-outage/a-66386036 |access-date=31 July 2023}}</ref>

<ref name="EPRS">{{cite web |year=2015 |title=Minorities in Iraq Pushed to the brink of existence |url=http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/BRIE/2015/548988/EPRS_BRI(2015)548988_REV1_EN.pdf |publisher=European Parliamentary Research Service |pages=3–4 |access-date=19 June 2018}}</ref>

<ref name="IA">{{Cite web |title=Musings on Iraq: Arif Brothers Govt (1963-68) |url=http://musingsoniraq.blogspot.com/p/iraq-history-sub-timeline-arif-brothers.html |website=musingsoniraq.blogspot.com |access-date=24 November 2024}}</ref>

<ref name="IF">{{Cite web |date=27 April 2022 |title=Iraq - the World Factbook |url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/iraq/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240320130209/https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/iraq/ |archive-date=20 March 2024}}</ref>

<ref name="Karam">{{Cite web |last=Karam |first=Patricia |date=16 June 2023 |title=Sudani's Premiership Is Failing in the Iraqi Fight Against Corruption |url=https://arabcenterdc.org/resource/sudanis-premiership-is-failing-in-the-iraqi-fight-against-corruption/ |website=Arab Center Washington DC |access-date=31 July 2023}}</ref>

<ref name="Lukas">{{Cite web |last=Lukas |first=Stefan |date=26 July 2023 |title=Iraq is running out of water |url=https://www.ips-journal.eu/topics/economy-and-ecology/iraq-is-running-out-of-water-6872/ |website=ips-journal.eu |access-date=31 July 2023}}</ref>

<ref name="nbcnews.com">{{Cite web |date=30 July 2023 |title=Blasts at power station fire cut off electricity in much of scorching Iraq |website=NBC News |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/iraq-explosion-fire-power-station-heat-wave-electricity-rcna97123 |access-date=31 July 2023}}</ref>

<ref name="nytimes.com">{{Cite news |last=Rubin |first=Alissa J. |date=18 March 2023 |title=20 Years After U.S. Invasion, Iraq Is a Freer Place, but Not a Hopeful One |work=The New York Times |issn=0362-4331 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/18/world/middleeast/iraq-war-20th-anniversary.html |access-date=31 July 2023}}</ref>

<ref name="RF">{{Cite web |last=Taylor |first=Katharine |date=May 2018 |title=Revolutionary Fervor: The History and Legacy of Communism in Abd al-Karim Qasim's Iraq 1958-1963 |url=https://repositories.lib.utexas.edu/items/dd07e7e5-ad39-4300-a0eb-f5bb698ae016}}</ref>

<ref name="Rodgers-2023">{{Cite web |last=Rodgers |first=Winthrop |date=25 July 2023 |title=The Cradle of Civilization Is Drying Up |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/07/25/iraq-kurdistan-climate-change-rivers-tigris-euphrates/ |website=Foreign Policy |access-date=31 July 2023}}</ref>

<ref name="TK">{{Cite web |last1=Aldroubi |first1=Mina |last2=Mahmoud |first2=Sinan |title=The three kings of Iraq: How a short-lived monarchy changed the country forever |url=https://www.thenationalnews.com/mena/iraq/2021/08/23/the-three-kings-of-iraq-how-a-short-lived-monarchy-changed-the-country-forever/ |website=The National |language=en |access-date=15 November 2024}}</ref>

}}

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J. |publisher=Brill |year=2012 |doi=10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_0002 |issn=1573-3912 }} * {{cite encyclopedia |last=Kröger |first=Jens |title=Ctesiphon |encyclopedia=Encyclopaedia Iranica |date=15 December 1993 |url=https://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/ctesiphon |publisher=Encyclopaedia Iranica Foundation}} * {{cite book |title=Cambridge History of Iran |volume=3b |last=Lukonin |first=V.G. |chapter=Political, Social and Administrative Institutions: Taxes and Trade |year=1983 |pages=681–746 |doi=10.1017/CHOL9780521246934.003}} * {{cite book | last=Masʿūdī | first=ʿAlī ibn al-Ḥusayn | author-link=al-Masʿūdī | title=The Meadows of Gold | editor-last1=Lunde | editor-first1=Paul | editor-last2=Stone | editor-first2=Caroline | publisher=Routledge | year=2010 | orig-year=10th century | isbn=978-0-7103-0246-5}} * {{cite journal |last=Minorsky |first=V. |date=1954 |title=Jihān-Shāh Qara-Qoyunlu and His Poetry (Turkmenica, 9) |jstor=609169 |journal=Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies |volume=16 |issue=2 |pages=271–97 |doi=10.1017/s0041977x00105981|s2cid=154352923 }} * {{cite encyclopedia |last=Morgan |first=D. 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== Further reading == {{refbegin}} * {{cite web |title=Iraqi Constitution |url=http://www.iraqinationality.gov.iq/attach/iraqi_constitution.pdf |publisher=Ministry of Interior – General Directorate For Nationality |access-date=18 February 2013 |date=30 January 2006 |ref={{harvid|Iraqi Constitution}} |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161128152712/http://www.iraqinationality.gov.iq/attach/iraqi_constitution.pdf |archive-date=28 November 2016}} * Hanna Batatu, "The Old Social Classes and the Revolutionary Movements of Iraq", Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1978. * Benjamin Busch, "'Today is Better than Tomorrow'. A Marine returns to a divided Iraq", ''Harper's Magazine'', October 2014, pp. 29–44. * Charles Glass, "The Northern Front: A Wartime Diary"' Saqi Books, London, 2004. {{ISBN|0-86356-770-3}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20050402090804/http://fax.libs.uga.edu/DS49x2xW684B/ By Desert Ways to Baghdad], by Louisa Jebb (Mrs. Roland Wilkins) With illustrations and a map, 1908 (1909 ed.) ''(a searchable facsimile at the University of Georgia Libraries; DjVu & [https://web.archive.org/web/20050906060015/http://fax.libs.uga.edu/DS49x2xW684B/1f/desert_ways_to_baghdad.pdf layered PDF] format)''. * {{cite book |first=Robert |last=Lyman |series=Campaign |title=Iraq 1941: The Battles for Basra, Habbaniya, Fallujah and Baghdad |publisher=Osprey |location=Oxford |year=2006 |isbn=1-84176-991-6}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20050525231213/http://fax.libs.uga.edu/ds49x2xm465d/ A Dweller in Mesopotamia], being the adventures of an official artist in the garden of Eden, by Donald Maxwell, 1921 ''(a searchable facsimile at the University of Georgia Libraries; DjVu & [https://web.archive.org/web/20050906055955/http://fax.libs.uga.edu/DS49x2xM465D/1f/dweller_in_mesopotamia.pdf layered PDF] format)''. * {{cite book |last=Polk |first=William Roe |year=2005 |title=Understanding Iraq |publisher=I.B. Tauris |isbn=978-0-85771-764-1}} * Shadid, Anthony 2005. ''Night Draws Near''. Henry Holt and Co., NY, US. {{ISBN|0-8050-7602-6}} * {{cite book |last=Simons |first=Geoff |year=1996 |title=Iraq: From Sumer to Saddam |publisher=St. Martin's Press |isbn=978-0-312-16052-4}} * {{cite book |author-link=Charles R. H. Tripp |last=Tripp |first=Charles R. H. |title=A History of Iraq |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-521-87823-4}} * [https://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/notes/2009/N3248.pdf Global Arms Exports to Iraq 1960–1990, Rand Research report] {{refend}}

== External links == {{Library resources box}} * [https://www.ifs.du.edu/ifs/frm_CountryProfile.aspx?Country=IQ Key Development Forecasts for Iraq] from International Futures

=== Government === * [https://ur.gov.iq/ Ur Portal] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20250804073617/https://ur.gov.iq/ |date=4 August 2025 }} – gateway to government sites * [https://presidency.iq/EN/ Presidency] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230404190359/https://www.presidency.iq/EN/ |date=4 April 2023 }} – official website of the president of Iraq * [https://pmo.iq/ Prime Minister] – official website of the prime minister of Iraq * [https://cosit.gov.iq Statistics] – Official website of Central Statistical Organization

=== History === * [https://www.iraqiembassy.us/page/iraqs-history-an-interactive-timeline "History"] – Iraqi History at Embassy of the Republic of Iraq in Washington

=== Maps === * {{Wikiatlas}} * {{Osmrelation-inline|304934}}

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