Iraq

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Country summary

Capital

Baghdad

Borders

Iran 1,458 km, Jordan 181 km, Kuwait 240 km, Saudi Arabia 814 km, Syria 605 km, Turkey 352 km

Government type

parliamentary democracy

Population

28,945,569 (July 2010 est.)[1]

Population growth

2.506% (2010 est.)[1]

Life expectancy

69.95 years[1]

Unemployment

15.2% (2008 est.)[1]

Corruption Perceptions Index

176[2]

Doing Business ranking

153[3]


Formerly part of the Ottoman Empire, Iraq was occupied by Britain during the course of World War I; in 1920, it was declared a League of Nations mandate under UK administration. In stages over the next dozen years, Iraq attained its independence as a kingdom in 1932. A "republic" was proclaimed in 1958, but in actuality a series of strongmen ruled the country until 2003. The last was SADDAM Husayn. Territorial disputes with Iran led to an inconclusive and costly eight-year war (1980-88). In August 1990, Iraq seized Kuwait but was expelled by US-led, UN coalition forces during the Gulf War of January-February 1991. Following Kuwait's liberation, the UN Security Council (UNSC) required Iraq to scrap all weapons of mass destruction and long-range missiles and to allow UN verification inspections. Continued Iraqi noncompliance with UNSC resolutions over a period of 12 years led to the US-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003 and the ouster of the SADDAM Husayn regime. US forces remained in Iraq under a UNSC mandate through 2009 and under a bilateral security agreement thereafter, helping to provide security and to train and mentor Iraqi security forces. In October 2005, Iraqis approved a constitution in a national referendum and, pursuant to this document, elected a 275-member Council of Representatives (CoR) in December 2005. After the election, Ibrahim al-JAAFARI was selected as prime minister; he was replaced by Nuri al-MALIKI in May 2006. The CoR approved most cabinet ministers in May 2006, marking the transition to Iraq's first constitutional government in nearly a half century. On 31 January 2009, Iraq held elections for provincial councils in all provinces except for the three provinces comprising the Kurdistan Regional Government and at-Ta'mim (Kirkuk) province.[1]

Economical characteristics

  • Currency: Iraqi dinar (ISO code: IQD)
  • Central bank discount rate: 7% (31 December 2009)[1]
  • Commercial banks lending rate: 9% (31 December 2009)[1]
  • Stock of money (M1): $26.1 billion (31 December 2008)[1]
  • Quasi money (with M1 makes M2): $5.415 billion (31 December 2008)[1]


Statistics

Statistic / Year 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
GDP (million USD)[4] 17 942 25 857 18 936 18 970 12 602
Govt. debt (% of GDP)[5]
Govt. revenue (% of GDP)[6]
Govt. expenses (% of GDP)[7]
Debt to revenue (years)

References

Note: statistical data was rounded. Different sources may use different methodologies for their estimates. Debt to revenue is calculated by dividing the two variables from their original ('unrounded') values. It represents how long it would a government take to repay its entire debt if it used its whole revenue for this purpose.

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 CIA - The World Factbook. "Iraq", from The World Factbook. Referenced 2010-09-30.
  2. ↑ Transparency International. "Iraq", Corruption Perceptions Index 2009. A lower ranking is better; but please note that the numbers cannot be compared between countries or years due to different methodology. Referenced 2010-09-30.
  3. ↑ Doing Business. "Iraq", Doing Business 2010 (part of The World Bank Group). A lower ranking is better; but please be careful when comparing between different countries or years. Referenced 2010-09-30.
  4. ↑ World Bank. "Iraq: GDP", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-30.
  5. ↑ World Bank. "Iraq: government debt", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-30.
  6. ↑ World Bank. "Iraq: government revenue", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-30.
  7. ↑ World Bank. "Iraq: government expenses", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-30.

Links

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