Statistical information Iraq 1992

Iraq in the World
top of pageBackground: Iraq lies in the lower part of the Tigris-Euphrates valley, the heart of one of the four great ancient civilizations. The area was overrun by Arab, Mongol, and Turkish conquerors and became a British mandate following World War I. Independence came in 1932. Iraq's pro-Western stance ended in 1958 with the overthrow of the monarchy. Its subsequent turbulent history has witnessed the dictatorship of SADDAM Husayn, civil war with the Kurds, a bloody conflict with neighboring Iran, and, in 1990, an invasion of Kuwait, swiftly turned back by a Western coalition led by the US. Noncooperation with UN Security Council resolution obligations and the UN's inspection of Iraq's nuclear, chemical, biological, and long-range missile weapons programs remain major problems.
top of pageLocationGeographic coordinatesMap referenceAreaTotal: 436,245 km²
Land: 435,292 km² (est.)
Comparative: slightly more than twice the size of Idaho
Land boundaries:
3,576 km; Iran 1,458 km, Jordan 134 km, Kuwait 240 km,
Saudi Arabia 808 km, Syria 605 km, Turkey 331 km
Coastline: 58 km
Maritime claimsContinental shelf: not specific
Territorial sea: 12 nm
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; a United Nations Boundary
Demarcation Commission is demarcating the Iraq-Kuwait boundary persuant to
Resolution 687, and, on 17 June 1992, the UN Security Council reaffirmed the finality of the Boundary Demarcation Commission's decisions; periodic disputes with upstream riparian Syria over Euphrates water rights; potential dispute over water development plans by Turkey for the Tigris and Euphrates
Rivers
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
Terrain: mostly broad plains; reedy marshes in southeast; mountains along borders with Iran and Turkey
ElevationNatural resources: crude oil, natural gas, phosphates, sulfur
Land use: arable land: 12%; permanent crops: 1%; meadows and pastures 9%; forest and woodland 3%; other 75%; includes irrigated 4%
Irrigated landMajor riversMajor watersheds area km²Total water withdrawalTotal renewable water resourcesNatural hazardsGeographytop of pagePopulation: 18,445,847 (July 1992), growth rate 3.7% (1992)
Nationality: noun - Iraqi(s; adjective - Iraqi
Ethnic groups: Arab 75-80%, Kurdish 15-20%, Turkoman, Assyrian or other 5%
Languages:
Arabic (official), Kurdish (official in Kurdish regions),
Assyrian, Armenian
Religions: Muslim 97%, (Shi`a 60-65%, Sunni 32-37%), Christian or other 3%
Demographic profileAge structureDependency ratiosMedian agePopulation growth rateBirth rate: 45 births/1000 population (1992)
Death rate: 9 deaths/1000 population (1992)
Net migration rate: NEGL migrants/1000 population (1992)
Population distributionUrbanizationMajor urban areasEnvironmentCurrent issues: development of Tigris-Euphrates Rivers system contingent upon agreements with upstream riparians (Syria, Turkey; air and water pollution; soil degradation (salinization) and erosion; desertification
Air pollutantsSex ratioMothers mean age at first birthMaternal mortality ratioInfant mortality rate: 84 deaths/1000 live births (1992)
Life expectancy at birth: 62 years male, 64 years female (1992)
Total fertility rate: 7.0 children born/woman (1992)
Contraceptive prevalence rateDrinking water sourceCurrent health expenditurePhysicians densityHospital bed densitySanitation facility accessHiv/AidsMajor infectious diseasesObesity adult prevalence rateAlcohol consumptionTobacco useChildren under the age of 5 years underweightEducation expendituresLiteracy: 60% (male 70%, female 49%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
School life expectancy primary to tertiary educationYouth unemploymenttop of pageCountry nameConventional long form: Republic of Iraq
Government type: republic
Capital: Baghdad
Administrative divisions:
18 provinces (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Anbar, Al Basrah, Al Muthanna, Al Qadisiyah, An Najaf, Arbil,
As Sulaymaniyah, At Ta'im, Babil, Baghdad, Dahuk, Dhi Qar, Diyala, Karbala,
Maysan, Ninawa, Salah ad Din, Wasit
Dependent areasIndependence:
3 October 1932 (from League of Nations mandate under
British administration)
National holiday: Anniversary of the Revolution, 17 July (1968)
Constitution:
22 September 1968, effective 16 July 1970 (interim
Constitution); new constitution drafted in 1990 but not adopted
Legal system: based on Islamic law in special religious courts, civil law system elsewhere; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
International law organization participationCitizenshipSuffrage: universal adult at age 18
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
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
Legislative branch: unicameral National Assembly (Majlis al-Watani)
Judicial branch: Court of Cassation
Political parties and leadersInternational organization participation:
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
Diplomatic representation:Iraq has an Interest Section in the Algerian
Embassy in Washington, DC; Chancery at 1801 P Street NW, Washington, DC 20,036; telephone (202) 483-7,500
US:no US representative in Baghdad since mid-January 1991; Embassy in
Masbah Quarter (opposite the Foreign Ministry Club), Baghdad (mailing address is P. O. Box 2,447 Alwiyah, Baghdad); telephone 964 (1) 719-6,138 or 719-6,139, 718-1840, 719-3,791
Diplomatic representationFlag description
: 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
National symbolsNational anthemNational heritagetop of pageEconomy 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 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 actions by an international coalition beginning in
January 1991 drastically changed the economic picture. Oil exports were cut to near zero, and industrial and transportation facilities were severely damaged. Throughout 1991, the UN's economic embargo worked to reduce exports and imports and to increase prices for most goods. The government's policy to allocate goods to key supporters of the regime exacerbated shortages.
GNP: $35 billion, per capita $1,940; real growth rate 10% (1989 est.)
Real gdp purchasing power parityReal gdp growth rateReal gdp per capitaGross national savingGdp composition by sector of origin
Gdp composition by end useGdp composition by sector of originAgriculture products: accounts for 11% of GNP but 30% of labor force; principal products - wheat, barley, rice, vegetables, dates, other fruit, cotton, wool; livestock - cattle, sheep; not self-sufficient in food output
Industries: petroleum production and refining, chemicals, textiles, construction materials, food processing
Industrial production growth rate: NA%; manufacturing accounts for 10% of GNP (1989)
Labor force: 4,400,000 (1989); services 48%, agriculture 30%, industry 22%, severe labor shortage; expatriate labor force about 1,600,000 (July 1990)
Organized labor: less than 10% of the labor force
Unemployment rate: less than 5% (1989 est.)
Youth unemploymentPopulation below poverty lineGini indexHousehold income or consumption by percentage shareDistribution of family income gini indexBudget: revenues $NA billion; expenditures $NA billion, including capital expenditures of NA (1989)
Taxes and other revenuesPublic debtRevenueFiscal year: calendar year
Inflation rate consumer pricesCentral bank discount rateCommercial bank prime lending rateStock of narrow moneyStock of broad moneyStock of domestic creditMarket value of publicly traded sharesCurrent account balanceExports: $10.4 billion (f.o.b., 1990)
Commodoties: crude oil and refined products, fertilizer, sulfur
Partners: US, Brazil, Turkey, Japan, Netherlands, Spain (1990)
Imports: $6.6 billion (c.i.f., 1990)
Commodoties: manufactures, food
Partners: FRG, US, Turkey, France, UK (1990)
Reserves of foreign exchange and goldDebt externalStock of direct foreign investment at homeStock of direct foreign investment abroadExchange rates: Iraqi dinars (ID) per US$1 - 3.1 (fixed official rate since 1982; black-market rate (December 1991) US$1 = 12 Iraqi dinars
top of pageElectricityProduction:3,800,000 kW available out of 9,902,000 kw capacity due to
Gulf war; 7,700 million kWh produced, 430 kWh per capita (1991)
CoalPetroleumCrude oilRefined petroleumNatural gasCarbon dioxide emissionsEnergy consumption per capitaIraq - Communication 1992
top of pageTelephonesTelephone systemBroadcast mediaInternetBroadband fixed subscriptionstop of pageMilitary expendituresPercent of gdp: exchange rate conversion - $NA, NA% of GNP
Military and security forcesMilitary service age and obligationSpace programTerrorist groupsIraq - Transportation 1992
top of pageNational air transport systemCivil aircraft registration country code prefixAirports:
113 total, 98 usable; 73 with permanent-surface runways; 8
with runways over 3,659 m; 52
with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 12
with runways 1,220-2,439 m
HeliportsPipelines: crude oil 4,350 km; petroleum products 725 km; natural gas 1,360 km
RailwaysRoadwaysWaterways:
1,015 km; Shatt-al-Arab usually navigable by maritime traffic for about 130 km, but closed since September 1980 because of
Iran-Iraq war; 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:
42 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 936,665
GRT/1,683,212 DWT; includes 1 passenger, 1 passenger-cargo, 16 cargo, 1 refrigerated cargo, 3 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 19 petroleum tanker, 1 chemical tanker; note - since the 2 August 1990 invasion of Kuwait by Iraqi forces, Iraq has sought to register at least part of its merchant fleet under convenience flags; none of the Iraqi flag merchant fleet was trading internationally as of 1 January 1992
Civil air: 34 major transport aircraft (including 7 grounded in Iran; excluding 12 IL-76s and 7 Kuwait Airlines)
Ports and terminalsIraq - Transnational issues 1992
top of pageDisputes internationalRefugees and internally displaced personsIllicit drugs