1993 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1993 (Project Gutenberg)
Geography
Area
total area: 437,072 km2 land area: 432,162 km2 comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of Idaho
Climate
mostly desert; mild to cool winters with dry, hot, cloudless summers; northernmost regions along Iranian and Turkish borders experience cold winters with occasionally heavy snows
Coastline
58 km
Environment
development of Tigris-Euphrates Rivers system contingent upon agreements with upstream riparians (Syria, Turkey); air and water pollution; soil degradation (salinization) and erosion; desertification
International disputes
Iran and Iraq restored diplomatic relations in 1990 but are still trying to work out written agreements settling outstanding disputes from their eight-year war concerning border demarcation, prisoners-of-war, and freedom of navigation and sovereignty over the Shatt al Arab waterway; in April 1991 official Iraqi acceptance of UN Security Council Resolution 687, which demands that Iraq accept the inviolability of the boundary set forth in its 1963 agreement with Kuwait, ending earlier claims to Bubiyan and Warbah Islands or to all of Kuwait; the 20 May 1993 final report of the UN Iraq/Kuwait Boundary Demarcation Commission was welcomed by the Security Council in Resolution 833 of 27 May 1993, which also reaffirmed that the decisions of the commission on the boundary were final, bringing to a completion the official demarcation of the Iraq-Kuwait boundary; Iraqi officials still make public statements claiming Kuwait; periodic disputes with upstream riparian Syria over Euphrates water rights; potential dispute over water development plans by Turkey for the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
Irrigated land
25,500 km2 (1989 est)
Land boundaries
total 3,631 km, Iran 1,458 km, Jordan 181 km, Kuwait 242 km, Saudi Arabia 814 km, Syria 605 km, Turkey 331 km
Land use
arable land: 12% permanent crops: 1% meadows and pastures: 9% forest and woodland: 3% other: 75%
Location
Middle East, between Iran and Saudi Arabia
Map references
Middle East, Standard Time Zones of the World
Maritime claims
continental shelf: not specified territorial sea: 12 nm
Natural resources
petroleum, natural gas, phosphates, sulfur
Terrain
mostly broad plains; reedy marshes in southeast; mountains along borders with Iran and Turkey
People and Society
Birth rate
44.57 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Death rate
7.71 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Ethnic divisions
Arab 75-80%, Kurdish 15-20%, Turkoman, Assyrian or other 5%
Infant mortality rate
71.8 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)
Labor force
4.4 million (1989) by occupation: services 48%, agriculture 30%, industry 22% note: severe labor shortage; expatriate labor force was about 1,600,000 (July 1990); since then, it has declined substantially
Languages
Arabic, Kurdish (official in Kurdish regions), Assyrian, Armenian
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 64.96 years male: 64.2 years female: 65.76 years (1993 est.)
Literacy
age 15 and over can read and write (1990) total population: 60% male: 70% female: 49%
Nationality
noun: Iraqi(s) adjective: Iraqi
Net migration rate
0.42 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Population
19,161,956 (July 1993 est.)
Population growth rate
3.73% (1993 est.)
Religions
Muslim 97% (Shi'a 60-65%, Sunni 32-37%), Christian or other 3%
Total fertility rate
6.86 children born/woman (1993 est.)
Government
Administrative divisions
18 provinces (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Anbar, Al Basrah, Al Muthanna, Al Qadisiyah, An Najaf, Arbil, As Sulaymaniyah, At Ta'mim, Babil, Baghdad, Dahuk, Dhi Qar, Diyala, Karbala', Maysan, Ninawa, Salah ad Din, Wasit
Capital
Baghdad
Chief of State
President SADDAM Husayn (since 16 July 1979); Vice President Taha Muhyi al-Din MA'RUF (since 21 April 1974); Vice President Taha Yasin RAMADAN (since 23 March 1991)
Constitution
22 September 1968, effective 16 July 1970 (interim Constitution); new constitution drafted in 1990 but not adopted
Digraph
IZ
Diplomatic representation in US
chief of mission: Iraq has an Interest Section in the Algerian embassy in Washington, DC chancery: Iraqi Interests Section, 1801 P Street NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: (202) 483-7500
Executive branch
president, vice president, chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council, vice chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council, prime minister, first deputy prime minister, Council of Ministers
FAX
(202) 462-5066
Flag
three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black with three green five-pointed stars in a horizontal line centered in the white band; the phrase ALLAHU AKBAR (God is Great) in green Arabic script - Allahu to the right of the middle star and Akbar to the left of the middle star - was added in January 1991 during the Persian Gulf crisis; similar to the flag of Syria that has two stars but no script and the flag of Yemen that has a plain white band; also similar to the flag of Egypt that has a symbolic eagle centered in the white band
Head of Government
Prime Minister Muhammad Hamza al-ZUBAYDI (since 13 September 1991); Deputy Prime Minister Tariq 'AZIZ (since NA 1979)
Independence
3 October 1932 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration)
Judicial branch
Court of Cassation
Legal system
based on Islamic law in special religious courts, civil law system elsewhere; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Legislative branch
unicameral National Assembly (Majlis al-Watani)
Member of
ABEDA, ACC, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-19, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Names
conventional long form: Republic of Iraq conventional short form: Iraq local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Iraqiyah local short form: Al Iraq
National Assembly
last held on 1 April 1989 (next to be held NA); results - Sunni Arabs 53%, Shi'a Arabs 30%, Kurds 15%, Christians 2% est.; seats - (250 total) number of seats by party NA note: in northern Iraq, a "Kurdish Assembly" was elected in May 1992 and calls for Kurdish self-determination within a federated Iraq
National holiday
Anniversary of the Revolution, 17 July (1968)
Other political or pressure groups
political parties and activity severely restricted; possibly some opposition to regime from disaffected members of the regime, Army officers, and Shi'a religious and Kurdish ethnic dissidents; the Green Party (government-controlled)
Political parties and leaders
Ba'th Party
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal
Type
republic
US diplomatic representation
chief of mission: (vacant); note - operations have been temporarily suspended; a US Interests Section is located in Poland's embassy in Baghdad embassy: Masbah Quarter (opposite the Foreign Ministry Club), Baghdad mailing address: P. O. Box 2447 Alwiyah, Baghdad telephone: [964] (1) 719-6138 or 719-6139, 718-1840, 719-3791
Economy
Agriculture
accounts for 11% of GNP and 30% of labor force; principal products - wheat, barley, rice, vegetables, dates, other fruit, cotton, wool; livestock - cattle, sheep; not self-sufficient in food output
Budget
revenues $NA; expenditures $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA
Currency
1 Iraqi dinar (ID) = 1,000 fils
Economic aid
US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-80), $3 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $647 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $3.9 billion
Electricity
7,300,000 kW available out of 9,902,000 kW capacity due to Gulf war; 12,900 million kWh produced, 700 kWh per capita (1992)
Exchange rates
Iraqi dinars (ID) per US$1 - 3.2 (fixed official rate since 1982); black-market rate (April 1993) US$1 = 53.5 Iraqi dinars
Exports
$10.4 billion (f.o.b., 1990) commodities: crude oil and refined products, fertilizer, sulfur partners: US, Brazil, Turkey, Japan, Netherlands, Spain (1990)
External debt
$45 billion (1989 est.), excluding debt of about $35 billion owed to Arab Gulf states
Fiscal year
calendar year
Imports
$6.6 billion (c.i.f., 1990) commodities: manufactures, food partners: Germany, US, Turkey, France, UK (1990)
Industrial production
NA%; manufacturing accounts for 10% of GNP (1989)
Industries
petroleum production and refining, chemicals, textiles, construction materials, food processing
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
200% (1992 est.)
National product
GNP - exchange rate conversion - $35 billion (1989 est.)
National product per capita
$1,940 (1989 est.)
National product real growth rate
10% (1989 est.)
Overview
The Ba'thist regime engages in extensive central planning and management of industrial production and foreign trade while leaving some small-scale industry and services and most agriculture to private enterprise. The economy has been dominated by the oil sector, which has traditionally provided about 95% of foreign exchange earnings. In the 1980s, financial problems caused by massive expenditures in the eight-year war with Iran and damage to oil export facilities by Iran, led the government to implement austerity measures and to borrow heavily and later reschedule foreign debt payments. After the end of hostilities in 1988, oil exports gradually increased with the construction of new pipelines and restoration of damaged facilities. Agricultural development remained hampered by labor shortages, salinization, and dislocations caused by previous land reform and collectivization programs. The industrial sector, although accorded high priority by the government, also was under financial constraints. Iraq's seizure of Kuwait in August 1990, subsequent international economic embargoes, and military action by an international coalition beginning in January 1991 drastically changed the economic picture. Industrial and transportation facilities suffered severe damage and have been only partially restored. Oil exports remain at less than 10% of the previous level. Shortages of spare parts continue. Living standards deteriorated even further in 1992 and early 1993; consumer prices at least tripled in 1992. The UN-sponsored economic embargo has reduced exports and imports and has contributed to the sharp rise in prices. The government's policies of supporting large military and internal security forces and of allocating resources to key supporters of the regime have exacerbated shortages. In brief, per capita output in early 1993 is far below the 1989-90 level, but no reliable estimate is available.
Unemployment rate
less than 5% (1989 est.)
Communications
Airports
total: 114 usable: 99 with permanent-surface runways: 74 with runways over 3,659 m: 9 with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 52 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 12
Highways
34,700 km total; 17,500 km paved, 5,500 km improved earth, 11,700 km unimproved earth
Inland waterways
1,015 km; Shatt al Arab is usually navigable by maritime traffic for about 130 km; channel has been dredged to 3 meters and is in use; Tigris and Euphrates Rivers have navigable sections for shallow-draft watercraft; Shatt al Basrah canal was navigable by shallow-draft craft before closing in 1991 because of the Persian Gulf war
Merchant marine
41 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 930,780 GRT/1,674,878 DWT; includes 1 passenger, 1 passenger-cargo, 15 cargo, 1 refrigerated cargo, 3 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 19 oil tanker, 1 chemical tanker; note - none of the Iraqi flag merchant fleet was trading internationally as of 1 January 1993
Pipelines
crude oil 4,350 km; petroleum products 725 km; natural gas 1,360 km
Ports
Umm Qasr, Khawr az Zubayr, Al Basrah (closed since 1980)
Railroads
2,457 km 1.435-meter standard gauge
Telecommunications
reconstitution of damaged telecommunication facilities began after Desert Storm, most damaged facilities have been rebuilt; the network consists of coaxial cables and microwave radio relay links; 632,000 telephones; broadcast stations - 16 AM, 1 FM, 13 TV; satellite earth stations - 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT, 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT, 1 Atlantic Ocean GORIZONT in the Intersputnik system and 1 ARABSAT; coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Jordan, Kuwait, Syria, and Turkey, Kuwait line is probably non-operational
Military and Security
Branches
Army and Republican Guard, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Force, Border Guard Force, Internal Security Forces
Defense expenditures
exchange rate conversion - $NA, NA% of GNP
Manpower availability
males age 15-49 4,235,321; fit for military service 2,379,999; reach military age (18) annually 211,776 (1993 est.)