Map of Iraq | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024 | More stats

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Background: Formerly part of the Ottoman Empire, Iraq was occupied by the United Kingdom during World War I and was declared a League of Nations mandate under UK administration in 1920. Iraq attained its independence as a kingdom in 1932. It was proclaimed a "republic" in 1958 after a coup overthrew the monarchy, but in actuality, a series of strongmen ruled the country until 2003. The last was SADDAM Husayn from 1979 to 2003. 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. After Iraq's expulsion, 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 led to the Second Gulf War in March 2003 and the ouster of the SADDAM Husayn regime by US-led forces.


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Location: Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iran and Kuwait

Geographic coordinates: 33 00 N, 44 00 E

Map reference: Middle East

Area
Total: 438,317 km²
Land: 437,367 km²
Water: 950 km²
Comparative: slightly more than three times the size of New York state

Land boundaries
Total: 3,809 km
Border countries: (6) Iran 1,599 km; Jordan 179 km; Kuwait 254 km; Saudi Arabia 811 km; Syria 599 km; Turkey 367 km

Coastline: 58 km

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Continental shelf: not specified

Climate: mostly desert; mild to cool winters with dry, hot, cloudless summers; northern mountainous regions along Iranian and Turkish borders experience cold winters with occasionally heavy snows that melt in early spring, sometimes causing extensive flooding in central and southern Iraq

Terrain: mostly broad plains; reedy marshes along Iranian border in south with large flooded areas; mountains along borders with Iran and Turkey

Elevation
Highest point: Cheekha Dar (Kurdish for "Black Tent") 3,611 m
Lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m
Mean elevation: 312 m

Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, phosphates, sulfur

Land use
Agricultural land: 18.1% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land arable land: 8.4% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land permanent crops: 0.5% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land permanent pasture: 9.2% (2018 est.)
Forest: 1.9% (2018 est.)
Other: 80% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land: 35,250 km² (2012)

Major rivers
By length in km:

Major watersheds area km²: Indian Ocean drainage: (Persian Gulf) Tigris and Euphrates (918,044 km²)

Total water withdrawal
Municipal: 6.9 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
Industrial: 5.49 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
Agricultural: 44.23 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Total renewable water resources: 89.86 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Natural hazards: dust storms; sandstorms; floods

Geography
Note: strategic location on Shatt al Arab waterway and at the head of the Persian Gulf


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Population
Distribution: population is concentrated in the north, center, and eastern parts of the country, with many of the larger urban agglomerations found along extensive parts of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers; much of the western and southern areas are either lightly populated or uninhabited: 41,266,109 (2023 est.)
Growth rate: 1.94% (2023 est.)
Below poverty line: 23% (2014 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Iraqi(s)
Adjective: Iraqi

Ethnic groups: Arab 75-80%, Kurdish 15-20%, other 5% (includes Turkmen, Yezidi, Shabak, Kaka'i, Bedouin, Romani, Assyrian, Circassian, Sabaean-Mandaean, Persian)
Note: data is a 1987 government estimate; no more recent reliable numbers are available

Languages: Arabic (official), Kurdish (official); Turkmen (a Turkish dialect) and Syriac (Neo-Aramaic) are recognized as official languages where native speakers of these languages are present; Iraqis have the right to be educated in their native language
Major-language samples:

Religions: Muslim (official) 95-98% (Shia 61-64%, Sunni 29-34%), Christian 1% (includes Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, Assyrian Church of the East), other 1-4% (2015 est.)
Note: the last census in Iraq was in 1997; while there has been voluntary relocation of many Christian families to northern Iraq, the overall Christian population has decreased at least 50% and perhaps as much as 90% since 2003, according to US Embassy estimates, with many fleeing to Syria, Jordan, and Lebanon

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 35.24% (male 7,428,445/female 7,113,723)
15-64 years: 61.17% (male 12,692,897/female 12,548,936)
65 years and over: 3.59% (2023 est.) (male 658,844/female 823,264)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 71
Youth dependency ratio: 65.2
Elderly dependency ratio: 5.8
Potential support ratio: 17.1 (2021 est.)

Median age
Total: 22.1 years (2023 est.)
Male: 21.7 years
Female: 22.4 years

Population growth rate: 1.94% (2023 est.)

Birth rate: 24.2 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Death rate: 3.9 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Net migration rate: -1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Population distribution: population is concentrated in the north, center, and eastern parts of the country, with many of the larger urban agglomerations found along extensive parts of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers; much of the western and southern areas are either lightly populated or uninhabited

Urbanization
Urban population: 71.6% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization: 2.91% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Major urban areas
Population: 7.711 million BAGHDAD (capital), 1.792 million Mosul, 1.448 million Basra, 1.075 million Kirkuk, 958,000 Najaf, 897,000 Erbil (2023)

Environment
Current issues: government water control projects drained most of the inhabited marsh areas east of An Nasiriyah by drying up or diverting the feeder streams and rivers; a once sizable population of Marsh Arabs, who inhabited these areas for thousands of years, has been displaced; furthermore, the destruction of the natural habitat poses serious threats to the area's wildlife populations; inadequate supplies of potable water; soil degradation (salination) and erosion; desertification; military and industrial infrastructure has released heavy metals and other hazardous substances into the air, soil, and groundwater; major sources of environmental damage are effluents from oil refineries, factory and sewage discharges into rivers, fertilizer and chemical contamination of the soil, and industrial air pollution in urban areas
International agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
International agreements signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Environmental Modification

Air pollutants
Particulate matter emissions: 39.29 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
Carbon dioxide emissions: 190.06 megatons (2016 est.)
Methane emissions: 17.44 megatons (2020 est.)

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female
Total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2023 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio: 76 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 19.2 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
Male: 20.9 deaths/1,000 live births
Female: 17.4 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 73.5 years (2023 est.)
Male: 71.6 years
Female: 75.4 years

Total fertility rate: 3.17 children born/woman (2023 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 52.8% (2018)

Drinking water source
Improved urban: 100% of population
Improved rural: 97.4% of population
Improved total: 99.3% of population
Unimproved urban: 0% of population
Unimproved rural: 2.6% of population
Unimproved total: 0.7% of population (2020 est.)

Current health expenditure: 5.1% of GDP (2020)

Physicians density: 0.97 physicians/1,000 population (2020)

Hospital bed density: 1.3 beds/1,000 population (2017)

Sanitation facility access
Improved urban:
Unimproved urban:

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases
Degree of risk: intermediate (2023)
Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 30.4% (2016)

Alcohol consumption
Per capita total: 0.16 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita beer: 0.11 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita wine: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita spirits: 0.04 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita other alcohols: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

Tobacco use
Total: 18.5% (2020 est.)
Male: 35.1% (2020 est.)
Female: 1.8% (2020 est.)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 3.9% (2018)

Education expenditures: 4.7% of GDP (2016)

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 85.6%
Male: 91.2%
Female: 79.9% (2017)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment
Rate ages 15 24 total: 27.2% (2021 est.)
Rate ages 15 24 male: 23.5%
Rate ages 15 24 female: 65.2%


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Country name
Conventional long form: Republic of Iraq
Conventional short form: Iraq
Local long form: Jumhuriyat al-Iraq/Komar-i Eraq
Local short form: Al Iraq/Eraq
Former: Mesopotamia, Mandatory Iraq, Hashemite Kingdom of Iraq
Etymology: the name probably derives from "Uruk" (Biblical "Erech"), the ancient Sumerian and Babylonian city on the Euphrates River

Government type: federal parliamentary republic

Capital
Name: Baghdad
Geographic coordinates: 33 20 N, 44 24 E
Time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Etymology: although the origin of the name is disputed, it likely has compound Persian roots with bagh and dad meaning "god" and "given" respectively to create the meaning of "bestowed by God"

Administrative divisions: 18 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah (Arabic); parezgakan, singular - parezga (Kurdish)); 'Al Anbar; Al Basrah; Al Muthanna; Al Qadisiyah (Ad Diwaniyah); An Najaf; Arbil (Erbil) (Arabic), Hewler (Kurdish); As Sulaymaniyah (Arabic), Slemani (Kurdish); Babil; Baghdad; Dahuk (Arabic), Dihok (Kurdish); Dhi Qar; Diyala; Karbala'; Kirkuk; Maysan; Ninawa; Salah ad Din; Wasit
Note: Iraq's Kurdistan Regional Government administers Arbil, Dahuk, and As Sulaymaniyah (as Hewler, Dihok, and Slemani respectively)

Dependent areas

Independence: 3 October 1932 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration); note - on 28 June 2004 the Coalition Provisional Authority transferred sovereignty to the Iraqi Interim Government

National holiday: Independence Day, 3 October (1932); Republic Day, 14 July (1958)

Constitution
History: several previous; latest adopted by referendum 15 October 2005
Amendments: proposed by the president of the republic and the Council of Minsters collectively, or by one fifth of the Council of Representatives members; passage requires at least two-thirds majority vote by the Council of Representatives, approval by referendum, and ratification by the president; passage of amendments to articles on citizen rights and liberties requires two-thirds majority vote of Council of Representatives members after two successive electoral terms, approval in a referendum, and ratification by the president

Legal system: mixed legal system of civil and Islamic law

International law organization participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

Citizenship
Citizenship by birth: no
Citizenship by descent only: at least one parent must be a citizen of Iraq
Dual citizenship recognized: yes
Residency requirement for naturalization: 10 years

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Latif RASHID (since 13 October 2022; vice presidents (vacant)
Head of government: Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-SUDANI (since 27 October 2022)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers proposed by the prime minister, approved by Council of Representatives (COR)
Elections/appointments: president indirectly elected by COR to serve a 4-year term (eligible for a second term); COR parliamentary election for president last held on 13 October 2022 (next to be held NA)
Election results:

Legislative branch
Description: unicameral Council of Representatives of Iraq (COR) or Majlis an-Nuwwab al-Iraqiyy (329 seats; 320 members directly elected in 83 multi-seat constituencies by single nontransferable vote, 9 seats elected by religious minorities - 5 by Christians, 1 each by Sabaean-Mandaeans, Yazidis, Shabaks andFayli Kurds, and 25% of seats allocated to women; members serve 4-year terms)
Elections: last held on 10 October 2021 (next to be held in 2025)
Election results:

Judicial branch
Highest courts: Federal Supreme Court or FSC (consists of 9 judges); note - court jurisdiction limited to constitutional issues, application of federal laws, ratification of election results for the COR, judicial competency disputes, and disputes between regions or governorates and the central government; Court of Cassation (consists of a court president, 5 vice presidents, and at least 24 judges)
Judge selection and term of office: Federal Supreme Court (FSC) judges nominated by the High Judicial Council (HJC) president, the FSC chief justice, the public prosecutor's office chief, and the head of the Judicial Oversight Commission; FSC members required to retire at age 72; Court of Cassation judges appointed by the HJC and confirmed by the Council of Representatives to serve until retirement, nominally at age 63, but can be extended to age 66 by the HJC
Subordinate courts: Courts of Appeal (governorate level); civil courts, including first instance, personal status, labor, and customs; criminal courts including felony, misdemeanor, investigative, major crimes, juvenile, and traffic courts

Political parties and leaders:

International organization participation: ABEDA, AFESD, AMF, CAEU, CICA, EITI (compliant country), FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Nazar Issa Abdulhadi AL-KHIRULLAH (since 30 June 2023)
In the us chancery: 1801 P Street NW, Washington, DC 20,036
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 483-7,500
In the us FAX: [1] (202) 462-8,815
In the us email address and website:
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Alina L. ROMANOWSKI (since 2 June 2022)
From the us embassy: Al-Kindi Street, International Zone, Baghdad; note - consulate in Al Basrah closed as of 28 September 2018
From the us mailing address: 6,060 Baghdad Place, Washington DC 20,521-6,060
From the us telephone: 0760-030-3,000
From the us email address and website:

Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black; the Takbir (Arabic expression meaning "God is great") in green Arabic script is centered in the white band; the band colors derive from the Arab Liberation flag and represent oppression (black), overcome through bloody struggle (red), to be replaced by a bright future (white); the Council of Representatives approved this flag in 2008 as a compromise replacement for the Ba'thist SADDAM-era flag
Note: similar to the flag of Syria, which has two stars but no script; Yemen, which has a plain white band; and that of Egypt, which has a golden Eagle of Saladin centered in the white band

National symbols: golden eagle; national colors: red, white, black

National anthem
Name: "Mawtini" (My Homeland)
Lyrics/music: Ibrahim TOUQAN/Mohammad FLAYFEL
Note: adopted 2004; following the ouster of SADDAM Husayn, Iraq adopted "Mawtini," a popular folk song throughout the Arab world; also serves as an unofficial anthem of the Palestinian people

National heritage
Total World Heritage Sites: 6 (5 cultural, 1 mixed)
Selected World Heritage Site locales:


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Economy overview: oil-dependent Middle Eastern economy; COVID-19 disruption and domestic economy fragility post-US presence; poverty increases; currency devaluation leading to inflation; import-dependent for most sectors; evaluating fiscal and monetary restructuring

Real gdp purchasing power parity:
Note: data are in 2017 dollars

Real gdp growth rate:

Real gdp per capita:
Note: data are in 2017 dollars

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 50.4% (2013 est.)
Government consumption: 22.9% (2016 est.)
Investment in fixed capital: 20.6% (2016 est.)
Investment in inventories: 0% (2016 est.)
Exports of goods and services: 32.5% (2016 est.)
Imports of goods and services: -40.9% (2016 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 3.3% (2017 est.)
Industry: 51% (2017 est.)
Services: 45.8% (2017 est.)

Agriculture products: wheat, barley, dates, tomatoes, rice, maize, grapes, potatoes, rice, watermelons

Industries: petroleum, chemicals, textiles, leather, construction materials, food processing, fertilizer, metal fabrication/processing

Industrial production growth rate: -1.14% (2021 est.)

Labor force: 11.184 million (2021 est.)

Unemployment rate:

Youth unemployment
Rate ages 15 24 total: 27.2% (2021 est.)
Rate ages 15 24 male: 23.5%
Rate ages 15 24 female: 65.2%

Population below poverty line: 23% (2014 est.)

Gini index
Coefficient distribution of family income: 29.5 (2012 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10%: 3.6%
Highest 10%: 25.7% (2007 est.)

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $51.534 billion (2020 est.)
Expenditures: $85.546 billion (2020 est.)
Surplus  or deficit: -4.2% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

Taxes and other revenues: 1.34% (of GDP) (2019 est.)

Public debt:

Revenue
From forest resources: 0% of GDP (2018 est.)
From coal: 0% of GDP (2018 est.)

Fiscal year: calendar year

Inflation rate consumer prices:

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance:

Exports:
Partners: China 26%, India 24%, South Korea 9%, United States 8%, Italy 6%, Greece 6% (2019)
Commodities: crude petroleum, refined petroleum, gold, petroleum coke, natural gas (2021)

Imports:
Partners: United Arab Emirates 28%, Turkey 21%, China 19% (2019)
Commodities: refined petroleum, broadcasting equipment, cars, jewelry, cigarettes (2019)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:

Debt external:

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates:


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Electricity
Access electrification-total population: 100% (2021)
Installed generating capacity: 28.369 million kW (2020 est.)
Consumption: 46.493 billion kWh (2019 est.)
Exports: 0 kWh (2019 est.)
Imports: 14.18 billion kWh (2019 est.)
Transmission/distribution losses: 58.502 billion kWh (2019 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels: 97.8% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources solar: 0.1% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources wind: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 2.1% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources tide and wave: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources geothermal: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources biomass and waste: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)

Coal
Production: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
Consumption: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
Exports: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
Imports: 0 metric tons (2020 est.)
Proven reserves: 0 metric tons (2019 est.)

Petroleum
Total petroleum production: 4.162 million bbl/day (2021 est.)
Refined petroleum consumption: 863,300 bbl/day (2019 est.)
Crude oil and lease condensate exports: 3.976 million bbl/day (2018 est.)
Crude oil and lease condensate imports: 0 bbl/day (2018 est.)
Crude oil estimated reserves: 145.019 billion barrels (2021 est.)

Crude oil

Refined petroleum
Products production: 398,000 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products exports: 8,284 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products imports: 255,100 bbl/day (2015 est.)

Natural gas
Production: 10.711 billion cubic meters (2019 est.)
Consumption: 18.014 billion cubic meters (2019 est.)
Exports: 0 cubic meters (2021 est.)
Imports: 7.303 billion cubic meters (2019 est.)
Proven reserves: 3.729 trillion cubic meters (2021 est.)

Carbon dioxide emissions: 143.479 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From coal and metallurgical coke: 0 metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From petroleum and other liquids: 108.14 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From consumed natural gas: 35.339 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)

Energy consumption per capita: 63.174 million Btu/person (2019 est.)


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Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 2,392,422 (2022 est.)
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 7 (2021 est.)
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 37,649,112 (2021 est.)
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 86 (2021 est.)

Telephone system

Broadcast media: the number of private radio and TV stations has increased rapidly since 2003; government-owned TV and radio stations are operated by the publicly funded Iraqi Media Network; private broadcast media are mostly linked to political, ethnic, or religious groups; satellite TV is available to an estimated 70% of viewers and many of the broadcasters are based abroad; transmissions of multiple international radio broadcasters are accessible (2019)

Internet
Country code: .iq
Users total: 21.56 million (2021 est.)
Users percent of population: 49% (2021 est.)

Broadband fixed subscriptions
Total: 6,254,099 (2020 est.)
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 16 (2020 est.)


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Military expenditures:

Military and security forces:

Military service age and obligation: 18-40 years of age for voluntary military service; no conscription (2022)
Note: service in the armed forces was mandatory in Iraq from 1935 up until 2003; in 2021, the Iraqi cabinet approved a draft law to reinstate compulsory military service and referred the proposed law, called the “Service Under the Flag Law,” to the Iraqi parliament 

Space program
Overview: stated purpose of current program is to acquire satellites for security, economic, agricultural, industrial, environmental and military purposes; status unclear (2023)
Overview note: further details about the key activities, programs, and milestones of the country’s space program, as well as government spending estimates on the space sector, appear in space programs

Terrorist groups
Terrorist groups: Ansar al-Islam; Asa'ib Ahl al-Haq; Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)/Qods Force; Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS); Jaysh Rijal al-Tariq al-Naqshabandi; Kata'ib Hizballah; Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)
Note: details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in terrorist organizations


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National air transport system
Number of registered air carriers: 4 (2020)
Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 34
Annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 2,075,065 (2018)
Annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 16.2 million (2018) mt-km

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: YI

Airports: 102 (2021)
With paved runways: 72
With paved runways note: paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 m (16,000 ft.), but the “typical” length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 m (8,000-13,000 ft.)
With unpaved runways: 30
With unpaved runways note: unpaved runways have a surface composition such as grass or packed earth and are most suited to the operation of light aircraft; unpaved runways are usually short, often less than 1,000 m (3,280 ft.) in length; airports with unpaved runways often lack facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control

Heliports: 16 (2021)

Pipelines: 2,455 km gas, 913 km liquid petroleum gas, 5,432 km oil, 1,637 km refined products (2013)

Railways
Total: 2,272 km (2014)
Standard gauge: 2,272 km (2014) 1.435-m gauge

Roadways
Total: 59,623 km (2012)
Paved: 59,623 km (2012) (includes Kurdistan region)

Waterways: 5,279 km (2012) (the Euphrates River (2,815 km), Tigris River (1,899 km), and Third River (565 km) are the principal waterways)

Merchant marine
Total: 75 (2022)
By type: general cargo 1, oil tanker 7, other 67

Ports and terminals
River ports: Al Basrah (Shatt al Arab); Khawr az Zubayr, Umm Qasr (Khawr az Zubayr waterway)


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Disputes international:

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Refugees country of origin: 7,864 (West Bank and Gaza Strip) (mid-year 2022); 271,732 (Syria), 8,575 (Iran), 8,091 (Turkey) (2023)
IDPs: 1.142 million (displacement in central and northern Iraq since January 2014) (2023)
Stateless persons: 47,253 (2022); note - in the 1970s and 1980s under SADDAM Husayn's regime, thousands of Iraq's Faili Kurds, followers of Shia Islam, were stripped of their Iraqi citizenship, had their property seized by the government, and many were deported; some Faili Kurds had their citizenship reinstated under the 2006 Iraqi Nationality Law, but others lack the documentation to prove their Iraqi origins; some Palestinian refugees persecuted by the SADDAM regime remain stateless

Illicit drugs