Iraq — map and facts

About Iraq

Iraq is a republic in the Middle East with a population of approximately 42 million people. Baghdad serves as the capital and largest city. The country operates as a federal parliamentary republic, with a president as head of state and a prime minister leading the government. Iraq holds some of the world's largest proven oil reserves, making hydrocarbons the dominant driver of its economy, accounting for the vast majority of government revenues and export earnings. The country is home to a diverse population comprising Arab Shia Muslims, Arab Sunni Muslims, and Kurds, alongside smaller communities of Christians, Yazidis, and Turkmen. The Kurdistan Region in the north operates with substantial autonomy under the federal constitution adopted in 2005. Arabic and Kurdish are the two official languages. Iraq remains in a period of reconstruction and political consolidation following decades of conflict, international sanctions, and regime change, with significant challenges remaining in governance, infrastructure, and security.

Geography and Landscape

Iraq occupies approximately 438,000 square kilometres in southwestern Asia, bordered by Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia to the south, Jordan and Syria to the west. The country's geography is dominated by the Mesopotamian plain, the ancient floodplain formed by the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, which flow roughly parallel from the northwest before merging near the city of Basra to form the Shatt al-Arab waterway, which drains into the Persian Gulf. The landscape transitions from mountainous terrain in the north and northeast, where the Zagros Mountains extend into Iraqi Kurdistan, to broad alluvial plains in the centre, and desert and semi-desert in the west and southwest. The Tigris and Euphrates have historically made Iraq one of the most agriculturally productive regions of the Middle East. The climate is predominantly arid to semi-arid, with hot, dry summers exceeding 45°C in the lowlands and cold winters in the northern highlands. Lake Tharthar is the country's largest inland water body.

History

The territory of modern Iraq encompasses ancient Mesopotamia, one of the cradles of human civilisation, where the Sumerian, Akkadian, Babylonian, and Assyrian empires successively flourished along the Tigris and Euphrates rivers from roughly 3500 BCE onward. Babylon, near present-day Hillah, was one of the ancient world's greatest cities. The region was conquered by the Achaemenid Persians in 539 BCE, by Alexander the Great in 331 BCE, and came under Parthian and later Sasanian rule. The Arab Muslim conquest of 637 CE transformed the region, and Baghdad, founded in 762 CE by Caliph al-Mansur, became the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate and a centre of medieval learning. The Mongol invasion of 1258 destroyed Baghdad and ended the Caliphate. The Ottoman Empire controlled the region from the early sixteenth century until World War One, after which Britain administered the territory under a League of Nations mandate. The Kingdom of Iraq gained independence in 1932. A republic was declared in 1958 following a military coup. The Baath Party came to power in 1968, and Saddam Hussein consolidated personal rule in 1979. A catastrophic war with Iran lasted from 1980 to 1988, followed by the Gulf War of 1990–1991 after Iraq's invasion of Kuwait. International sanctions severely damaged the economy through the 1990s. The US-led invasion of 2003 toppled Saddam Hussein's government, opening a prolonged period of instability, insurgency, and sectarian conflict. The rise and eventual territorial defeat of the Islamic State between 2014 and 2017 caused enormous destruction particularly in Mosul and Anbar Province.