Basic Facts

Iraq Facts at a Glance (As of April, 2003)

Geography

Area:		437,072 sq. km. (252,000 sq. mi.), about the size of California.
Terrain:		Alluvial plains, mountains, and desert.
Climate:		Mostly hot and dry.
Cities:		Population
	Baghdad	5,772,000
	Basrah	1,337,000
	Mosul	1,791,600
	Karkuk	755,700
	Sulemaniyah	662,600
	Nasiriyah	560,200

People

Nationality:

Noun and adjective: Iraqi(s)

Population:

24,011,816 (2002 est.)

Annual Population Growth Rate:

2.82%(2002 est.)

Main Ethnic Groups:

Arab	75-80%
Kurd	15-20%
Minor Ethnic Groups	<5%
Turkmen
Chaldean
Assyrian

Religions:

Shi'ai Muslim
Sunni Muslim
Christian
Jewish and Yezidi

60%
32-37%
3%
1%

Languages:

Arabic
Kurdish
Assyrian
Armenian

Education:

Years compulsory--primary school (age 6 through grade 6).
Literacy--58%

Health:

Infant mortality rate:

57.61/1,000 (2002 est.)

Life expectancy:

67.38 years

Work Force:

Overall
Agriculture
Industry
Services

4,400,000 (2000 est.)
44% (1989 est.)
36% (1989 est.)
21% (1989 est.)

Sources:
CIA World Factbook 2003 and State Department Country Background Notes (February 2003)

CIA World Factbook

The World Factbook is produced by the CIA's Directorate of Intelligence. It is a comprehensive resource of facts and statistics on more than 250 countries and other entities.

U.S. State Department Background Note

The U.S. Department of State has detailed background information on the people, geography, history and economy of Iraq.

1-866-352-IRAQ (4727)

KEY DOCS

Awarded Contracts and Grants

Transitional Administrative Law (TAL Annex)

Doing Business in Iraq FAQ
(5/14/04)

Traveling to Iraq FAQ
(6/28/04)

Business Guide for Iraq
(8/12/04)

Iraq Industry Sectors Overview
(6/4/04)

Department of State Weekly Report (500KB) Download the latest Dept. of Defense Weekly Report in PDF format

(10/13/04)
(Please note that the Iraq Fact Sheet has been consolidated into the DoS Weekly Report)

Overview of Commercial Law in Pre-War Iraq Download the Dept. of Commerce's Commercial Law Overview in PDF format

(9/12/03)

This site contains links to non-Federal Government Web sites. Linking to these sites do not imply endorsement of any products, services, organizations, companies, information providers or content by the U.S. Department of Commerce.

This page last updated on May 27, 2004 .