Iraq

Iraq, officially known as the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the south, Turkey to the north, Iran to the east, the Persian Gulf and Kuwait to the southeast, Jordan to the southwest, and Syria to the west. The country covers an area of 438,317 square kilometres (169,235 sq mi) and has a population of over 46 million, making it the 58th largest country by area and the 31st most populous in the world. Baghdad, home to over 8 million people, is the capital city and the largest in Iraq.
Starting in the 6th millennium BC, the fertile plains between Iraq's Tigris and Euphrates rivers, referred to as Mesopotamia, fostered the rise of early cities, civilisations, and empires including Sumer, Akkad, and Assyria. Known as the cradle of civilisation, Mesopotamia saw the invention of writing systems, mathematics, navigation, timekeeping, a calendar, astrology, the wheel, the sailboat, and a law code. After the Muslim conquest of Mesopotamia, Baghdad became the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate and a global cultural and intellectual hub during the Islamic Golden Age, home to institutions such as the House of Wisdom. Following the city's destruction by the Mongols in 1258, the region faced a prolonged decline due to plagues and successive empires. Additionally, Iraq holds religious significance in Christianity, Judaism, Yazidism, and Mandaeism. It has a deep biblical history.
Since independence in 1932, Iraq has experienced spells of significant economic and military growth alongside periods of instability and conflict. It was part of the Ottoman Empire until the end of World War I, when Iraq was then established by the British in 1921. It transitioned into an independent kingdom in 1932. Following a coup in 1958, Iraq became a republic, first led by Abdul Karim Qasim, followed by Abdul Salam Arif and Abdul Rahman Arif. The Ba'ath Party took power in 1968, establishing a one-party state under Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr and later Saddam Hussein, who presided over war against Iran from 1980 to 1988 and then with Kuwait in 1990. In 2003, a U.S.-led coalition force invaded and occupied Iraq, overthrowing Saddam and triggering an insurgency and sectarian violence. Known as the Iraq War, it ended in 2011. From 2013 to 2017, Iraq faced another war with the rise and defeat of the Islamic State, as a result of an Islamist insurgency from 2011 to 2013. Today post-war conflict continues at a lower scale, hampering the stability of Iraq alongside the rising influence of Iran, since 2003.
A federal parliamentary republic, Iraq is considered an emerging middle power. It is home to a diverse population, geography and wildlife. Most Iraqis are Muslim, while significant minorities include Christians, Zoroastrians, Mandaens, Yazidis, Yarsanism and Jews. Iraqis are ethnically diverse; mostly Arabs, as well as Kurds, Turkmen, Yazidis, Assyrians, Armenians, Domcs, Persians and Shabakis. Arabic and Kurdish are the official languages of Iraq, while Suret, Turkish and Mandaic are spoken regionally. Iraq, home to one of the largest oil reserves in the world, has a significant oil and gas industry. It is also popular for its agriculture and tourism. At present, Iraq is rebuilding with foreign support.
There are several suggested origins for the name. One dates to the Sumerian city of Uruk and is thus ultimately of Sumerian origin. Another possible etymology for the name is from the Middle Persian word erāg, meaning "lowlands". An Arabic folk etymology for the name is "deeply rooted, well-watered; fertile".
During the medieval period, there was a region called ʿIrāq ʿArabī ("Arabian Iraq") for Lower Mesopotamia and ʿIrāq ʿAjamī ("Persian Iraq"), for the region now situated in Central and Western Iran. The term historically included the plain south of the Hamrin Mountains and did not include the northernmost and westernmost parts of the modern territory of Iraq. Prior to the middle of the 19th century, the term Eyraca Arabica was commonly used to describe Iraq.
The term Sawad was also used in early Islamic times for the region of the alluvial plain of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
As an Arabic word, عراق ʿirāq means "hem", "shore", "bank", or "edge", so that the name by folk etymology came to be interpreted as "the escarpment", such as at the south and east of the Jazira Plateau, which forms the northern and western edge of the "al-Iraq arabi" area.
The Arabic pronunciation is [ʕiˈrɑːq]. In English, it is either /ɪˈrɑːk/ (the only pronunciation listed in the Oxford English Dictionary and the first one in Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionary) or /ɪˈræk/ (listed first by MQD, the American Heritage Dictionary, and the Random House Dictionary.)
When the British established the Hashemite king on 23 August 1921, Faisal I of Iraq, the official English name of the country changed from Mesopotamia to the endonymic Iraq. Since January 1992, the official name of the state is "Republic of Iraq" (Jumhūriyyat al-ʿIrāq), reaffirmed in the 2005 Constitution.
The "Cradle of Civilisation" is a common term for the area comprising modern Iraq as it was home to the earliest known civilisation, the Sumerian civilisation, which arose in the fertile Tigris-Euphrates river valley of southern Iraq in the Chalcolithic (Ubaid period).
It was there, in the late 4th millennium BC, that the world's first known writing system emerged. The Sumerians were also the first known to harness the wheel and create city states; their writings record the first known evidence of mathematics, astronomy, astrology, written law, medicine and organised religion. The Sumerian language is a language isolate. The major city states of the early Sumerian period were Eridu, Bad-tibira, Larsa, Sippar, Shuruppak, Uruk, Kish, Ur, Nippur, Lagash, Girsu, Umma, Hamazi, Adab, Mari, Isin, Kutha, Der and Akshak.
The cities to the north like Ashur, Arbela (modern Erbil) and Arrapha (modern Kirkuk) were also extant in what was to be called Assyria from the 25th century BC; however, at this stage, they were Sumerian-ruled administrative centres.
Between 65,000 BC and 35,000 BC, northern Iraq was home to a Neanderthal culture, archaeological remains of which have been discovered at Shanidar Cave This region is also the location of a number of pre-Neolithic burials, dating from approximately 11,000 BC.
Since approximately 10,000 BC, Iraq, together with a large part of the Fertile Crescent, was a centre of a Neolithic culture known as Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA), where agriculture and cattle breeding appeared for the first time. In Iraq, this period has been excavated at sites like M'lefaat and Nemrik 9. The following Neolithic period, PPNB, is represented by rectangular houses. At the time of the pre-pottery Neolithic, people used vessels made of stone, gypsum and burnt lime (Vaisselle blanche). Finds of obsidian tools from Anatolia are evidences of early trade relations.
Further important sites of human advancement were Jarmo (circa 7100 BC), a number of sites belonging to the Halaf culture, and Tell al-'Ubaid, the type site of the Ubaid period (between 6500 BC and 3800 BC). The respective periods show ever-increasing levels of advancement in agriculture, tool-making and architecture.
In the 26th century BC, Eannatum of Lagash created a short-lived empire. Later, Lugal-Zage-Si, the priest-king of Umma, overthrew the primacy of the Lagash dynasty in the area, then conquered Uruk, making it his capital, and claimed an empire extending from the Persian Gulf to the Mediterranean. It was during this period that the Epic of Gilgamesh originates, which includes the tale of The Great Flood. The origin and location of Akkad remain unclear. Its people spoke Akkadian, an East Semitic language. Between the 29th and 24th centuries BC, a number of kingdoms and city states within Iraq began to have Akkadian speaking dynasties, including Assyria, Ekallatum, Isin and Larsa.
However, the Sumerians remained generally dominant until the rise of the Akkadian Empire (2335–2124 BC), based in the city of Akkad in central Iraq. Sargon of Akkad founded the empire, conquered all of the city states of southern and central Iraq, and subjugated the kings of Assyria, thus uniting the Sumerians and Akkadians in one state. The Akkadian Empire was the first ancient empire of Mesopotamia after the long-lived civilization of Sumer. He then set about expanding his empire, conquering Gutium, Elam in modern-day Iran, and had victories that did not result into a full conquest against the Amorites and Eblaites of the Levant. The empire of Akkad likely fell in the 22nd century BC, within 180 years of its founding, ushering in a "Dark Age" with no prominent imperial authority until the Third Dynasty of Ur. The region's political structure may have reverted to the status quo ante of local governance by city-states.
After the collapse of the Akkadian Empire in the late 22nd century BC, the Gutians occupied the south for a few decades, while Assyria reasserted its independence in the north. Most of southern Mesopotamia was again united under one ruler during the Ur III period, most notably during the rule of the prolific king Shulgi. His accomplishments include the completion of construction of the Great Ziggurat of Ur, begun by his father Ur-Nammu.
In 1792 BC, an Amorite ruler named Hammurabi came to power and immediately set about building Babylon into a major city, declaring himself its king. Hammurabi conquered southern and central Iraq, as well as Elam to the east and Mari to the west, then engaged in a protracted war with the Assyrian king Ishme-Dagan for domination of the region, creating the short-lived Babylonian Empire. He eventually prevailed over the successor of Ishme-Dagan and subjected Assyria and its Anatolian colonies. By the middle of the eighteenth century BC, the Sumerians had lost their cultural identity and ceased to exist as a distinct people. It is from the period of Hammurabi that southern Iraq came to be known as Babylonia, while the north had already coalesced into Assyria hundreds of years before. However, his empire was short-lived, and rapidly collapsed after his death, with both Assyria and southern Iraq, in the form of the Sealand Dynasty, falling back into native Akkadian hands.
After this, another foreign people, the Language Isolate speaking Kassites, seized control of Babylonia. Iraq was from this point divided into three polities: Assyria in the north, Kassite Babylonia in the south central region, and the Sealand Dynasty in the far south. The Sealand Dynasty was finally conquered by Kassite Babylonia circa 1380 BC. The origin of the Kassites is uncertain.
The Middle Assyrian Empire (1365–1020 BC) saw Assyria rise to be the most powerful nation in the known world. Beginning with the campaigns of Ashur-uballit I, Assyria destroyed the rival Hurrian-Mitanni Empire, annexed huge swathes of the Hittite Empire for itself, annexed northern Babylonia from the Kassites, forced the Egyptian Empire from the region, and defeated the Elamites, Phrygians, Canaanites, Phoenicians, Cilicians, Gutians, Dilmunites and Arameans. At its height, the Middle Assyrian Empire stretched from The Caucasus to Dilmun (modern Bahrain), and from the Mediterranean coasts of Phoenicia to the Zagros Mountains of Iran. In 1235 BC, Tukulti-Ninurta I of Assyria took the throne of Babylon.
During the Bronze Age collapse (1200–900 BC), Babylonia was in a state of chaos, dominated for long periods by Assyria and Elam. The Kassites were driven from power by Assyria and Elam, allowing native south Mesopotamian kings to rule Babylonia for the first time, although often subject to Assyrian or Elamite rulers. However, these Akkadian kings were unable to prevent new waves of West Semitic migrants entering southern Iraq, and during the 11th century BC Arameans and Suteans entered Babylonia from The Levant, and these were followed in the late 10th to early 9th century BC by the Chaldeans. However, the Chaldeans were absorbed and assimilated into the indigenous population of Babylonia.
After a period of comparative decline in Assyria, it once more began to expand with the Neo Assyrian Empire (935–605 BC). Because of its geopolitical dominance and ideology based in world domination, the Neo-Assyrian Empire is by many researchers regarded to have been the first world empire. At its height, the empire was the strongest military power in the world. Iraq became the centre of an empire stretching from Persia, Parthia and Elam in the east, to Cyprus and Antioch in the west, and from The Caucasus in the north to Egypt, Nubia and Arabia in the south. It was during this period that an Akkadian-influenced form of Eastern Aramaic was adopted by the Assyrians as their lingua franca, and Mesopotamian Aramaic began to supplant Akkadian as the spoken language of the general populace of both Assyria and Babylonia. The descendant dialects of this tongue survive amongst the Mandaeans of southern Iraq and Assyrians of northern Iraq. The Arabs and the Chaldeans are first mentioned in written history (circa 850 BC) in the annals of Shalmaneser III.
The Neo-Assyrian Empire left a legacy of great cultural significance. The political structures established by the Neo-Assyrian Empire became the model for the later empires that succeeded it and the ideology of universal rule promulgated by the Neo-Assyrian kings inspired similar ideas of rights to world domination in later empires. The Neo-Assyrian Empire became an important part of later folklore and literary traditions in northern Mesopotamia. Judaism, and thus in turn also Christianity and Islam, was profoundly affected by the period of Neo-Assyrian rule; numerous Biblical stories appear to draw on earlier Assyrian mythology and history and the Assyrian impact on early Jewish theology was immense. Although the Neo-Assyrian Empire is prominently remembered today for the supposed excessive brutality of the Neo-Assyrian army, the Assyrians were not excessively brutal when compared to other civilizations.
In the late 7th century BC, the Assyrian Empire tore itself apart with a series of brutal civil wars, weakening itself to such a degree that a coalition of its former subjects, the Babylonians, Chaldeans, Medes, Persians, Parthians, Scythians and Cimmerians, were able to attack Assyria, finally bringing its empire down by 605 BC. The short-lived Neo-Babylonian Empire (620–539 BC) succeeded that of Assyria. It failed to attain the size, power or longevity of its predecessor; however, it came to dominate The Levant, Canaan, Arabia, Israel and Judah, and to defeat Egypt. Initially, Babylon was ruled by the Chaldeans, who had migrated to the region in the late 10th or early 9th century BC. Its greatest king, Nebuchadnezzar II, rivalled Hammurabi as the greatest king of Babylon. However, by 556 BC, the Chaldeans had been deposed by the Assyrian-born Nabonidus and his son and regent Belshazzar.
The transfer of empire to Babylon marked the first time the city, and southern Mesopotamia in general, had risen to dominate the Ancient Near East since the collapse of Hammurabi's Old Babylonian Empire. The period of Neo-Babylonian rule saw unprecedented economic and population growth and a renaissance of culture and artwork. Nebuchadnezzar II succeeded Nabopolassar in 605 BC. The empire Nebuchadnezzar inherited was among the most powerful in the world, in which he quickly reinforced his father's alliance with the Medes by marrying Cyaxares's daughter or granddaughter, Amytis. Some sources suggest that the famous Hanging Gardens of Babylon, one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, were built by Nebuchadnezzar for his wife (though the existence of these gardens is debated). Nebuchadnezzar's 43-year reign would bring with it a golden age for Babylon, which was to become the most powerful kingdom in the Middle East.
In the 6th century BC, Cyrus the Great of neighbouring Persia defeated the Neo-Babylonian Empire at the Battle of Opis and Mesopotamia was subsumed into the Achaemenid Empire. The Achaemenids made Babylon their main capital. The Chaldeans disappeared at around this time, though both Assyria and Babylonia endured and thrived under Achaemenid rule (see Achaemenid Assyria). Their kings retained Assyrian Imperial Aramaic as the language of empire, together with the Assyrian imperial infrastructure, and an Assyrian style of art and architecture.
In the late 4th century BC, Alexander the Great conquered the region, putting it under Hellenistic Seleucid rule for over two centuries. The Parthians (247 BC – 224 AD) from Persia conquered the region during the reign of Mithridates I of Parthia (r. 171–138 BC). From northwestern Mesopotamia, the Romans invaded western parts of the region several times, and for over four centuries they ruled part of it, that were incorporated into the Mesopotamia province, until it was conquered by the Muslims in the 7th century. For a short period they also ruled Assyria, which was incorporated into the Assyria Provincia.
Christianity began to take hold in Iraq (particularly in Assyria) between the 1st and 3rd centuries, and Assyria became a centre of Syriac Christianity, the Church of the East and Syriac literature. A number of independent states evolved in the north during the Parthian era, such as Adiabene, Assur, Osroene and Hatra. The Sassanids of Persia under Ardashir I destroyed the Parthian Empire and conquered the region in 224 AD. During the 240s and 250s AD, the Sassanids gradually conquered the independent states, culminating with Assur in 256 AD. The region became the frontier and battleground between the Sassanid Empire and Byzantine Empire.
The first organised conflict between invading Arab-Muslim forces and occupying Sassanid domains in Mesopotamia seems to have been in 634, when the Arabs were defeated at the Battle of the Bridge. This was followed by Khalid ibn al-Walid's successful campaign which saw all of Iraq come under Arab rule within a year, with the exception of the Sassanid Empire's capital, Ctesiphon. By the end of 638, the Muslims had conquered all of the Western Sassanid provinces (including modern Iraq), and the last Sassanid Emperor, Yazdegerd III, had fled to central and then northern Persia, where he was killed in 651.
The Islamic expansions constituted the largest of the Semitic expansions in history. These new arrivals established two new garrison cities, at Kufa, near ancient Babylon, and at Basra in the south and established Islam in these cities, while the north remained largely Assyrian and Christian in character. The Abbasid Caliphate built the city of Baghdad along the Tigris in the 8th century as its capital, and the city became the leading metropolis of the Arab and Muslim world. Baghdad was the largest multicultural city of the Middle Ages, peaking at a population of more than a million, and was the centre of learning during the Islamic Golden Age. The Mongols destroyed the city and burned its library during the siege of Baghdad in the 13th century. In 1257, Hulagu Khan besieged Baghdad, sacked the city and massacred many of the inhabitants. Estimates of the number of dead range from 200,000 to a million.
The Mongols destroyed the Abbasid Caliphate and Baghdad's House of Wisdom. The city has never regained its previous pre-eminence as a major centre of culture and influence. Some historians believe that the Mongol invasion destroyed much of the irrigation infrastructure that had sustained Mesopotamia for millennia. Other historians point to soil salination as the culprit in the decline in agriculture.
The mid-14th-century Black Death ravaged much of the Islamic world. The best estimate for the Middle East is a death rate of roughly one-third. In 1401, a warlord of Mongol descent, Tamerlane (Timur Lenk), invaded Iraq. After the capture of Baghdad, 20,000 of its citizens were massacred. Timur also conducted massacres of the indigenous Assyrian Christian population, hitherto still the majority population in northern Mesopotamia, and it was during this time that the ancient Assyrian city of Assur was finally abandoned.
During the late 14th and early 15th centuries, the Black Sheep Turkmen ruled the area now known as Iraq. In 1466, the White Sheep Turkmen took control. From 1508, as with all territories of the former White Sheep Turkmen, Iraq fell into the hands of the Iranian Safavids. With the Treaty of Zuhab in 1639, most of the territory of present-day Iraq came under the control of Ottoman Empire as the eyalet of Baghdad as a result of wars with the neighbouring rival, Safavid Iran. Throughout most of the period of Ottoman rule (1533–1918), the territory of present-day Iraq was a battle zone between the rival regional empires and tribal alliances.
In 1523, the Portuguese commanded by António Tenreiro crossed from Aleppo to Basra trying to make alliances with local lords in the name of the Portuguese king. In 1550, the local kingdom of Basra and tribal rulers relied on the Portuguese against the Ottomans, after which the Portuguese threatened several times to invoke an invasion and conquest of Basra. From 1595, the Portuguese acted as military protectors of Basra, and in 1624 they helped the Ottoman pasha of Basra to repel a Persian invasion. The Portuguese were granted a share of customs revenue and exemption from tolls.
From approximately 1625 to 1668, Basra and the Delta marshes were in the hands of local chiefs independent of the Ottoman administration in Baghdad. In the 17th century, the frequent conflicts with the Safavids had sapped the strength of the Ottoman Empire and had weakened its control over its provinces. The nomadic population swelled with the influx of bedouins from Najd. Bedouin raids on settled areas became impossible to curb.
During the years 1747–1831, Iraq was ruled by a Mamluk dynasty of Georgian origin who succeeded in obtaining autonomy from the Ottoman Porte, suppressed tribal revolts, curbed the power of the Janissaries, restored order and introduced a programme of modernisation of economy and military. In 1802, Wahhabis from Najd attacked Karbala in Iraq, killing up to 5,000 people and plundering the Imam Husayn Shrine. In 1831, the Ottomans managed to overthrow the Mamluk regime and imposed their direct control over Iraq. The population of Iraq, estimated at 30 million in 800 AD, was only 5 million at the start of the 20th century.
By the 19th century, Baghdad emerged as a leading center for Jewish learning. The achievements of the Ottoman reforms in the 19th century, including the enactment of constitutions in 1876 and 1908, were beneficial to the people, laying the foundation for modern constitutional thought. Despite challenges faced during these reforms, they represented a sophisticated expression of reformation, attempting to modernize society by introducing new concepts like the nation-state, citizenship, representation, voting, civic freedoms, separation of powers, and accountability.
During World War I, the Ottomans sided with Germany and the Central Powers. In the Mesopotamian campaign against the Central Powers, British forces invaded the country and initially suffered a major defeat at the hands of the Turkish army during the Siege of Kut (1915–1916). However, the British began to gain the upper hand, and were further aided by the support of local Arabs and Assyrians. In 1916, the British and French made a plan for the post-war division of West Asia under the Sykes-Picot Agreement. British forces regrouped and captured Baghdad in 1917, and defeated the Ottomans. An armistice was signed in 1918.
Iraq's modern history began in the wake of World War I, as the region emerged from the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Arab forces, inspired by the promise of independence, had helped dismantle the Ottoman hold on the Middle East, but the dream of a united, sovereign Arab state was soon dashed. Despite agreements made with Hussein ibn Ali, the Sharif of Makkah, the European powers had different plans for the region. Following the British withdrawal of support for a unified Arab state, Hussein's son, Faisal, briefly declared the Kingdom of Syria in 1920, encompassing parts of what are now Lebanon, Palestine, Jordan, and Syria. However, the kingdom was short-lived, crushed by local opposition and the military might of France, which had been granted a mandate over Syria.
In Iraq, under British mandate, tensions were rising as local forces increasingly resisted foreign control. A rebellion erupted, challenging British authority, and the need for a new strategy became clear. In 1921, the Cairo Conference, led by British officials including Winston Churchill and T. E. Lawrence, decided that Faisal, now exiled in London, would become the king of Iraq. This decision was seen as a way to maintain British influence in the region while placating local demands for leadership. Upon his coronation, he focused on unifying a land formerly divided into three Ottoman provinces—Mosul, Baghdad, and Basra. He worked hard to gain the support of Iraq's diverse population, including both Sunnis and Shiites, and paid special attention to the country's Shiite communities, symbolically choosing the date of his coronation to coincide with Eid al-Ghadeer, a key day for Shiite Muslims.
His reign laid the foundations of modern Iraq. Faisal worked to establish key state institutions. His education reforms included the founding of Ahl al-Bayt University in Baghdad, and he encouraged the migration of Syrian exiles to Iraq to serve as doctors and educators. Faisal also envisioned infrastructural links between Iraq, Syria, and Jordan, including plans for a railway and an oil pipeline to the Mediterranean. Although Faisal succeeded in securing greater autonomy for Iraq, British influence remained strong, particularly in the oil industry. In 1930, Iraq signed a treaty with Britain that gave the country a measure of political independence while maintaining British control over key aspects, including military presence and oil rights. By 1932, Iraq gained formal independence, becoming a member of the League of Nations. Faisal's reign was marked by his efforts to balance the pressures of external influence and internal demands for sovereignty. He was admired for his diplomatic skill and his commitment to steering Iraq towards self-determination. Untimely, he died from a heart attack on 8 September 1933, leaving his son Ghazi to inherit the throne. King Ghazi's reign was brief and turbulent, due to numerous coup attempts.
Ghazi died in a motor accident in 1939, passing the throne to his young son, Faisal II, who ascended to the throne at just 3 years old. Faisal II's uncle, Crown Prince Abdullah, assumed regency until the young king came of age. On 1 April 1941, Rashid Ali al-Gaylani and members of the Golden Square staged a coup d'état and installed a pro-German and pro-Italian government. During the subsequent Anglo-Iraqi War, the United Kingdom invaded Iraq for fear that the government might cut oil supplies to Western nations because of its links to the Axis powers. The war started on 2 May, and the British, together with loyal Assyrian Levies, defeated the forces of Al-Gaylani, forcing an armistice on 31 May. Regency of King Faisal II began in 1953. The hopes for Iraq's future under Faisal II were high, but the nation remained divided. Iraq's Sunni-dominated monarchy struggled to reconcile the diverse ethnic and religious groups, particularly the Shiite, Assyrian, Jewish and Kurdish populations, who felt marginalised. In 1958, these tensions culminated in a military coup, inspired by the revolutionary wave sweeping across the Arab world, particularly in Egypt.
A coup d'état known as the 14 July Revolution in 1958 was led by the Brigadier General and nationalist Abd al-Karim Qasim. This revolt was strongly anti-imperial and anti-monarchical in nature and had strong socialist elements. King Faisal II, Prince Abd al-Ilah, and Nuri al-Sa'id, along with the royal family, were killed brutally. Qasim controlled Iraq through military rule and in 1958 he began a process of forcibly reducing surplus land owned by a few citizens and having the state redistribute the land. In 1959, Abd al-Wahab al-Shawaf led an uprising in Mosul against Qasim. The uprising was crushed by the government forces. Qasim claimed Kuwait as part of Iraq, when the former was granted independence in 1961. The United Kingdom deployed its troops on the Iraq–Kuwait border, which forced Qasim to back down.
Qasim was overthrown in the February 1963 coup and the Ba'ath Party assumes power. However internal division within factions caused another coup in November, which brought Colonel Abdul Salam Arif to power. The new regime recognised Kuwait's independence. After the latter's death in 1966, he was succeeded by his brother, Abdul Rahman Arif. Under his rule, Iraq participated in the Six Day War in 1967.
Arif was overthrown in the 17 July Revolution in 1968. The Ba'ath Party came to power, with Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr as the president of Iraq. However, the government gradually came under the control of Saddam Hussein, Iraq's then vice-president. Saddam sought to achieve stability between Iraq's ethnic and religious groups. The first Iraqi–Kurdish war ended in 1970, after which a peace treaty was signed between Saddam and Barzani, granting autonomy to Kurds. The government also attempt to reconcile with Iraq's Assyrian and Jewish communities. Saddam introduced free health care and education, nationalised oil, promoted women's rights and developed infrastructure.
Iraq participated in the Yom Kippur War against Israel in 1973, and supported Syria and Egypt. In 1974, the second Iraqi–Kurdish war began and border clashes with Iran took place on Shatt al-Arab. Iran supported Kurdish militants. The Algiers Agreement signed in 1975 by Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and Saddam, resolved the dispute and Iran withdrew support for the Kurds, resulting in their defeat in the war. An attempt to ban an annual pilgrimage to Karbala caused an uprising by Shia Muslims across Iraq. Another Shia uprising took place from 1979 to 1980, as a followup to the Islamic Revolution in Iran. On 16 July 1979, Saddam acceded to the presidency and chairmanship of the supreme executive body in July 1979. Saddam consolidated his power.
Following months of cross-border raids with Iran, Saddam declared war on Iran in September 1980, initiating the Iran–Iraq War (or First Persian Gulf War). Taking the advantage of post–revolution chaos in Iran, Iraq captured some territories in southwest Iran. But Iran recaptured all of the lost territories within two years, and for the next six years Iran was on the offensive. In 1981, Israel destroyed a nuclear reactor of Iraq. In midst of the war, between 1983 to 1986, Kurds led rebellion against the regime. In retaliation, the government-coordinated Anfal campaign led to the killing of 50,000–100,000 civilians. During the war, Saddam extensively used chemical weapons against Iranians. Iraq also witnessed uprisings from Assyrians, that was supressed. The war, which ended in stalemate in 1988, killed between half a million and 1.5 million people.
Kuwait's refusal to waive Iraq's debt and reducing oil prices pushed Saddam to take military action against it. On 2 August 1990, the Iraqi forces invaded and annexed Kuwait as its 19th governorate, starting the Gulf War. This led to military intervention by the US-led alliance. The coalition forces proceeded with a bombing campaign targeting military targets and then launched a 100-hour-long ground assault against Iraqi forces in southern Iraq and Kuwait. Iraq also attempted to invade Saudi Arabia and attacked Israel. Iraq's armed forces were devastated during the war. Sanctions were imposed on Iraq, following the invasion of Kuwait, which resulted in economic decline.
After the end of the war in 1991, Iraqi Kurds and Shia Muslims in northern and southern Iraq led several uprisings against the government, but these were repressed. It is estimated that as many as 100,000 people, including many civilians, were killed. During the uprisings, the US, UK, Turkey and France, claiming authority under UNSC Resolution 688, established the Iraqi no-fly zones to protect Kurdish population from attacks. As a result, autonomy was given to the Kurds, and the region fell out of the Iraqi government's control. A second rebellion by Shi'as emerged in 1999, after the assassination of Muhammad Sadiq al-Sadr. In the Iraqi Kurdish Civil War from 1994 to 1997, around 40,000 fighters and civilians were killed and the Kurdistan Regional Government and Ansar al-Islam engaged in conflict, which would merge with the upcoming war.
Following the September 11 attacks, the regime of George W. Bush began planning to overthrow Saddam Hussein's government. In 2002, the U.S Congress passed the joint resolution to authorize the use of its military against Iraq and the UN Security Council passed UNSCR 1441. On 20 March 2003, a United States-organized coalition of its allies invaded Iraq, under the pretext that Iraq had failed to abandon its weapons of mass destruction program. On 09 April, the coalition forces captured Baghdad and seized control over Iraq, overthrowing Saddam. Following the invasion, the U.S established the Coalition Provisional Authority to govern Iraq. In May 2003 L. Paul Bremer, the chief executive of the CPA, issued orders to exclude Ba'ath Party members from the new Iraqi government and to disband the Iraqi Army. The decision dissolved the largely Sunni Iraqi Army and excluded many of the country's former government officials, including 40,000 school teachers who had joined it simply to keep their jobs, helping to bring about a chaotic post-invasion environment. It created a power vaccuum.
An insurgency against the U.S-led coalition-rule of Iraq began in summer within elements of the former Iraqi secret police and army, who formed guerrilla units. In fall 2003, jihadist groups began targeting coalition forces. Various Sunni militias were created, for example Jama'at al-Tawhid wal-Jihad led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. The insurgency included intense inter-ethnic violence between Sunnis and Shias. The Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse scandal came to light in late 2003. The Mahdi Army—a Shia militia created in the summer of 2003 by Muqtada al-Sadr—began to fight Coalition forces in April 2004. 2004 saw Sunni and Shia militants fighting against each other, the new Iraqi Interim Government installed in June 2004, and against Coalition forces, as well as the first and second battle of Fallujah in April and November. The Mahdi army would kidnap Sunni civilians as part of a genocide.
Insurgent attacks increased in 2005. By 2006, fighting continued and reached its highest levels of violence. More war crimes scandals were made public, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the leader of Al-Qaeda in Iraq was killed by the U.S forces and Saddam Hussein was hanged for crimes against humanity — Dujail massacre. Religious and ethnic minorities — Christians, Mandaeans, Yazidis and Jews were subjected to attacks. Chrurches and mandis were targeted. Fighting between Shias and Sunnis escalated into a civil war. In 2008, fighting continued and Iraq's newly trained armed forces launched attacks against the militants. Crime and violence initially spiked in the months following the US withdrawal from cities in mid-2009 but despite the initial increase in violence, in November 2009, the Interior Ministry officials reported that the civilian death toll in Iraq fell to its lowest level since the 2003 invasion.
On August 31, 2010, the U.S forces ended their combat mission in Iraq and the war officially ended on December 15, 2011. The accusation on Iraq possessing weapons of mass destruction and Saddam Hussein's links with Al-Qaeda was based on documents provided by the CIA and the British government that were later found to be unreliable. It has been argued though that the U.S. was actually pursuing national objectives to expand their spheres of power. This increased the positive legacy and nostalgia among Iraqis, regarding the era of Saddam Hussein, when Iraq was stable. The war in Iraq has resulted in between 151,000 and 1.2 million Iraqis being killed, 9.2 million people to be displaced, and more than 4.7 million people to experience moderate or severe food insecurity.. It also had huge impact globally. and was criticised heavily.
After the withdrawal of U.S troops, insurgency continued and Iraq suffered from political instability. In February 2011, the Arab Spring protests spread to Iraq; but the initial protests did not topple the government. The Iraqi National Movement boycotted the parliament for several weeks in late 2011 and early 2012, claiming that the Shiite-dominated government was striving to sideline Sunnis. In 2012 and 2013, levels of violence increased and armed groups inside Iraq were increasingly galvanized by the Syrian Civil War. Both Sunnis and Shias crossed the border to fight in Syria. Shi'as supported the government of Bashar al-Assad, while Sunnis supported opposition. In December 2012, Sunni Arabs protested against the government, who they claimed marginalised them. During 2013, Sunni militant groups stepped up attacks targeting the Iraq's population in an attempt to undermine confidence in the Nouri al-Maliki-led Shia dominated government. Shi'as and Christians were targets of these attacks, as well as Sunnis.
In 2014, Sunni insurgents belonging to the group of Islamic State seized control of large swathes of land including several major cities, like Tikrit, Fallujah and Mosul creating hundreds of thousands of internally displaced persons amid reports of atrocities by ISIL fighters. On 4 June 2014, insurgents began their efforts to capture Mosul. The Iraqi army officially had 30,000 soldiers and another 30,000 federal police stationed in the city, facing a 1,500-member attacking force. The Iraqi forces' actual numbers were much lower due to "ghost soldiers", severely reducing combat ability. After six days of combat and massive desertions, Iraqi soldiers received orders to retreat. The city of Mosul fell under ISIL's control. An estimated 500,000 civilians fled from the city. By late June, the government had lost control of its borders with both Jordan and Syria. The situation turned into a civil war in Iraq.
Maliki called for a national state of emergency on 10 June following the attack on Mosul. However, despite the security crisis, the parliament did not allow Maliki to declare a state of emergency; many legislators boycotted the session because they opposed expanding the prime minister's powers. After an inconclusive election in April 2014, Maliki served as caretaker-Prime-Minister. On 11 August, Iraq's highest court ruled that Maliki's bloc was the largest in parliament, meaning Maliki could stay Prime Minister. On 13 August, however, the president had tasked Haider al-Abadi with forming a new government, and the U.N, the U.S, the European Union, Saudi Arabia, Iran, and some politicians expressed their wish for a new leadership in Iraq. On 14 August, Maliki stepped down. On 8 September 2014, Haider al-Abadi became prime minister. Abadi promised to stamp out corruption and ease sectarian tensions. Intermittent conflict between Sunni, Shia and Kurdish factions has led to increasing debate about the splitting of Iraq into three autonomous regions: Kurdistan in the northeast, a Sunni state in the west and a Shia state in the southeast.
In response to rapid territorial gains made by the Islamic State in early 2014, and its universally-condemned executions and reported human rights abuses, many states began to intervene against it in the war. ISIL began losing ground in both Iraq and Syria. Tens of thousands of civilians have been killed in Iraq in ISIL-linked violence. The genocide of Yazidis by ISIL has led to the expulsion, flight and effective exile of the Yazidis. The 2016 Karrada bombing killed nearly 400 civilians and injured hundreds more. Ali al-Sistani issued a fatwa for the collective jihad on June 13, 2014, to defend Iraqi lands and the holy sites of Iraq. On June 15, 2014, the Popular Mobilization Forces were formed in response to the authority’s call. At first, it was made up of Shias and the so-called Shiite resistance factions. In the following months, Sunni citizens, Faylee Kurds, Christians and Turkmen joined the committee. On 17 March 2017, a US-led coalition airstrike in Mosul killed more than 200 civilians. By December 2017, ISIL had no remaining territory in Iraq, following the 2017 Western Iraq campaign. On 9 December 2017, then-Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi declared victory over ISIL and announced full liberation of borders with Syria from Islamic State militants.
In September 2017, a referendum was held regarding Kurdish independence in Iraq. 92% of Iraqi Kurds voted in favor of independence. The referendum was regarded as illegal by the federal government. In March 2018, Turkey launched military operations to eliminate active Kurdish separatist fighters in the far north of the country. Serious civil unrest rocked the country beginning in Baghdad and Najaf in July 2018 and spreading to other provinces in September as rallies to protest corruption, unemployment, and public service failures turned violent. Protests started again on 1 October 2019, against corruption, unemployment and inefficient public services, before they escalated into calls to overthrow the administration and to stop Iranian intervention. The government at times reacted harshly, resulting in over 500 deaths by 12 December 2019.
On 27 December 2019, the K-1 Air Base was attacked by more than 30 rockets, killing a U.S. civilian contractor and injuring others. The U.S. blamed the Iranian-backed Kata'ib Hezbollah militia. Later that month, the U.S. bombed five Kata'ib Hezbollah militia's positions in Iraq and Syria. On 31 December, dozens of Iraqi Shia militiamen and their supporters marched into the Green Zone of Baghdad and surrounded the U.S. embassy. Three days later, amid rising tensions between the U.S and Iran, the U.S. launched a drone strike on a convoy traveling near Baghdad Airport, killing Qasem Soleimani, Iranian major-general and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and Quds Force commander, the second most powerful person of Iran; Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy commander of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF or PMU); four senior Iranian officers; and four Iraqi officers.
Following months of protests that broke out across Iraq in October 2019 and the resignation of Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi and his cabinet, Mustafa al-Kadhimi became a leading contender for the Premiership. On 9 April 2020, he was named by President Barham Salih as prime minister-designate. On 30 November 2021, the political bloc led by Shia clerical leader Muqtada al-Sadr was confirmed the winner of the October election. A period of political crisis and near-deadlock of eleven months followed. On 27 July 2022, the parliament building was stormed by protesters for the second time in a week.
Corruption remains endemic throughout all levels of governance while the U.S-endorsed sectarian political system has driven increased levels of violent terrorism and sectarian conflicts within Iraq. Climate change is driving wide-scale droughts across the country while water reserves are rapidly depleting. The country has been in a prolonged drought since 2020 and experienced its second-driest season in the past four decades in 2021. Water flows in the Tigris and Euphrates are down between 30 and 40%. Half of the Iraq's farmland is at risk of desertification. Nearly 40% of Iraq "has been overtaken by blowing desert sands that claim tens of thousands of acres of arable land every year."
Iraq lies between latitudes 29° and 38° N, and longitudes 39° and 49° E (a small area lies west of 39°). Spanning 437,072 km (168,754 sq mi), it is the 58th-largest country in the world. It is bordered by Turkey to the north, Saudi Arabia to the south, Iran to the east, Syria to the west, the Persian Gulf and Kuwait to the southeast, and Jordan to the southwest.
It has a coastline measuring 58 km (36 mi) on the northern Persian Gulf. Further north, but below the main headwaters only, the country easily encompasses the Mesopotamian Alluvial Plain. Two major rivers, the Tigris and Euphrates, run south through Iraq and into the Shatt al-Arab, thence the Persian Gulf. Broadly flanking this estuary (known as arvandrūd: اروندرود among Iranians) are marshlands, semi-agricultural. Flanking and between the two major rivers are fertile alluvial plains, as the rivers carry about 60,000,000 m (78,000,000 cu yd) of silt annually to the delta.
The central part of the south, which slightly tapers in favour of other countries, is natural vegetation marsh mixed with rice paddies and is humid, relative to the rest of the plains. Iraq has the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range and the eastern part of the Syrian Desert. Around the city of Karbala, is home to world's largest oasis of palm trees. In 2023, it surpassed Saudi Arabia's Al-Ahsa Oasis.
Rocky deserts cover about 40 percent of Iraq. Another 30 percent is mountainous with bitterly cold winters. The north of the country is mostly composed of mountains; the highest point being at 3,611 m (11,847 ft). Iraq is home to seven terrestrial ecoregions: Zagros Mountains forest steppe, Middle East steppe, Mesopotamian Marshes, Eastern Mediterranean conifer-sclerophyllous-broadleaf forests, Arabian Desert, Mesopotamian shrub desert, and South Iran Nubo-Sindian desert and semi-desert.
Much of Iraq has a hot arid climate with subtropical influence. Summer temperatures average above 40 °C (104 °F) for most of the country and frequently exceed 48 °C (118.4 °F). Winter temperatures infrequently exceed 15 °C (59.0 °F) with maxima roughly 5 to 10 °C (41.0 to 50.0 °F) and night-time lows 1 to 5 °C (33.8 to 41.0 °F). Typically, precipitation is low; most places receive less than 250 mm (9.8 in) annually, with maximum rainfall occurring during the winter months. Rainfall during the summer is rare, except in northern parts of the country.
The northern mountainous regions have cold winters with occasional heavy snows, sometimes causing extensive flooding. Iraq is highly vulnerable to climate change. The country is subject to rising temperatures and reduced rainfall, and suffers from increasing water scarcity for a human population that rose tenfold between 1890 and 2010 and continues to rise.
The country's electrical grid faces systemic pressures due to climate change, fuel shortages, and an increase in demand. Corruption remains endemic throughout all levels of Iraqi governance while the political system has exacerbated sectarian conflict. Climate change is driving wide-scale droughts across the country while water reserves are rapidly depleting. The country has been in a prolonged drought since 2020 and experienced its second-driest season in the past four decades in 2021. Water flows in the Tigris and Euphrates are down between 30 and 40%. Half of the country's farmland is at risk of desertification. Nearly 40% of Iraq "has been overtaken by blowing desert sands that claim tens of thousands of acres of arable land every year".
However, in 2023, Mohammed Shia al-Sudani announced that government was working on a wider "Iraqi vision for climate action". The plan would include promoting clean and renewable energy, new irrigation and water treatment projects and reduced industrial gas flaring, he said. Sudani said Iraq was "moving forward to conclude contracts for constructing renewable energy power plants to provide one-third of our electricity demand by 2030". In addition, Iraq will plant 5 million trees across the country and will create green belts around cities to act as windbreaks against dust storms.
In the same year, Iraq and TotalEnergies signed a $27 billion energy deal that aims to increase oil production and boost the country's capacity to produce energy with four oil, gas and renewables projects. According to experts, the project will "accelerate Iraq's path to energy self-sufficiency and advance Iraq's collective climate change objectives".
The wildlife of Iraq includes its flora and fauna and their natural habitats. Iraq has multiple and diverse biomes which include the mountainous region in the north to the wet marshlands along the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, while western part of the country comprises mainly desert and some semi-arid regions. Many of Iraq's bird species were endangered, including seven of Iraq's mammal species and 12 of its bird species. The Mesopotamian marches in the middle and south are home to approximately 50 species of birds, and rare species of fish. At risk are some 50% of the world's marbled teal population that live in the marshes, along with 60% of the world's population of Basra reed-warbler.
The Asiatic lion, in the present-day extinct in the region, has remained a prominent symbol of the country throughout history. Draining of the Mesopotamian Marshes, during the time of Saddam's government, caused there a significant drop in biological life. Since the 2003–2011, flow is restored and the ecosystem has begun to recover. Iraqi corals are some of the most extreme heat-tolerant as the seawater in this area ranges between 14 and 34 °C. Aquatic or semi-aquatic wildlife occurs in and around these, the major lakes are Lake Habbaniyah, Lake Milh, Lake Qadisiyah and Lake Tharthar.
The federal government of Iraq is defined under the current constitution as a democratic, federal parliamentary republic. The federal government is composed of the executive, legislative, and judicial branches, as well as numerous independent commissions. Aside from the federal government, there are regions (made of one or more governorates), governorates, and districts within Iraq with jurisdiction over various matters as defined by law. The president is the head of state, the prime minister is the head of government, and the constitution provides for two deliberative bodies, the Council of Representatives and the Council of Union. The judiciary is free and independent of the executive and the legislature.
The National Alliance is the main Shia parliamentary bloc, and was established as a result of a merger of Prime Minister Nouri Maliki's State of Law Coalition and the Iraqi National Alliance. The Iraqi National Movement is led by Iyad Allawi, a secular Shia widely supported by Sunnis. The party has a more consistent anti-sectarian perspective than most of its rivals. The Kurdistan List is dominated by two parties, the Kurdistan Democratic Party led by Masood Barzani and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan headed by Jalal Talabani. Baghdad is Iraq's capital, home to the seat of government. Located in the Green Zone, which contains governmental headquarters and the army, in addition to containing the headquarters of the American embassy and the headquarters of foreign organisations and agencies for other countries.
According to the 2023 V-Dem Democracy indices Iraq was the third most electoral democratic country in the Middle East. Under Saddam, the government employed 1 million employees, but this increased to around 7 million in 2016. In combination with decreased oil prices, the government budget deficit is near 25% of GDP as of 2016.
In October 2005, the new Constitution of Iraq was approved in a referendum with a 78% overall majority, although the percentage of support varied widely between the country's territories. The new constitution was backed by the Shia and Kurdish communities, but was rejected by Arab Sunnis. Under the terms of the constitution, the country conducted fresh nationwide parliamentary elections on 15 December 2005. All three major ethnic groups in Iraq voted along ethnic lines, as did Assyrian and Turcoman minorities. Law no. 188 of the year 1959 (Personal Status Law) made polygamy extremely difficult, granted child custody to the mother in case of divorce, prohibited repudiation and marriage under the age of 16. Article 1 of Civil Code also identifies Islamic law as a formal source of law. Iraq had no Sharia courts but civil courts used Sharia for issues of personal status including marriage and divorce. In 1995 Iraq introduced Sharia punishment for certain types of criminal offences. The code is based on French civil law as well as Sunni and Jafari (Shi'ite) interpretations of Sharia.
In 2004, the CPA chief executive L. Paul Bremer said he would veto any constitutional draft stating that sharia is the principal basis of law. The declaration enraged many local Shia clerics, and by 2005 the US had relented, allowing a role for sharia in the constitution to help end a stalemate on the draft constitution. The Iraqi Penal Code is the statutory law of Iraq.
Iraqi security forces are composed of forces serving under the Ministry of Interior and Defence, as well as the Iraqi Counter Terrorism Bureau (CTB), which oversees the Iraqi Special Operations Forces, and the Popular Mobilisation Committee (PMC). Both CTB and PMC report directly to the Prime Minister of Iraq. Forces under the defense ministry include the Army, the Air Force, Navy, and the Air Defence Command. The defence ministry also runs a Joint Staff College, training army, navy, and air force officers, with support from the NATO Training Mission — Iraq. It was established at Ar Rustamiyah on 27 September 2005. The centre runs Junior Staff and Senior Staff Officer Courses designed for first lieutenants to majors.
The current armed forces were rebuilt on an American foundation. The army consists of 13 infantry divisions and one motorised infantry. Each division consists of four brigades and comprises 14,000 soldiers. Before 2003, Iraq was mostly equipped with Soviet-made military equipment, but since then, the country has turned to Western suppliers. The Air Force is designed to support ground forces with surveillance, reconnaissance, and troop lift. Two reconnaissance squadrons use light aircraft, three helicopter squadrons are used to move troops, and one air transportation squadron uses C-130 transport aircraft to move troops, equipment, and supplies. The air force currently has 5,000 personnel.
As of February 2011, the navy had approximately 5,000 sailors, including 800 marines. The navy consists of an operational headquarters, five afloat squadrons, and two marine battalions, designed to protect shorelines and inland waterways from insurgent infiltration. On 4 November 2019, more than 100 Australian Defence Force personnel left Darwin for the 10th rotation of Task Group Taji, based north of Baghdad. The Australian contingent mentors the Iraqi School of Infantry, where the Iraqi Security Forces are trained. However, Australia's contribution was reduced from 250 to 120 ADF personnel, which, along with New Zealand, had trained over 45,000 ISF members before that.
On 17 November 2008, the U.S and Iraq agreed to a Status of Forces Agreement, as part of the broader Strategic Framework Agreement. On 5 January 2020, the parliament voted for a resolution that urges the government to work on expelling U.S troops from Iraq. The resolution was passed two days after an U.S drone strike that killed Qasem Soleimani, commander of the Quds Force. The resolution specifically calls for ending of 2014 agreement allowing the U.S to help Iraq against Islamic State groups by sending troops. This resolution will also signify ending an agreement with Washington to station troops in Iraq as Iran vows to retaliate after the killing. On 28 September 2020, Washington made preparations to withdraw diplomats from Iraq, as a result of Iranian-backed militias firing rockets at the American Embassy in Baghdad. The officials said that the move was seen as an escalation of American confrontation with Iran. The US significantly reduced its military presence in Iraq after the defeat of ISIS.
Throughout the history, Iraq has followed different foreign policies under various regimes. It has been a founding member of the United Nations, the Arab League and OPEC. Under monarchical rule, it was pro-Western and part of the Baghdad Pact, an alliance against the Soviet Union during the Cold War and a member of the Saadabad Pact with Turkey, Iran and Afghanistan. During the time of Abdul Karim Qasim, Iraq withdrew from the pact, formed close ties with the Eastern Bloc and claimed Kuwait as a part of Iraq, but successive regimes recognised Kuwait's independence. Under Saddam Hussein, Iraq was a regional power. It maintained ties with pro-Soviet countries, close trade relations with China, India, France and Jordan. Iraq also provided financial support to North Vietnam during the Vietnam War and aid for the post-war reconstruction in Vietnam. But received support from the US, the UK and France during the war with Iran. However, relations were deteriorated as a result of Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990. This led to the invasion of Iraq, which was strongly opposed by France, Germany, Belarus, Russia and China. After the end of the war, Iraq sought to improve relations with neighboring countries. Since the situation eased, Iraq re-engaged with its Arab neighbors while maintaining relations with Iran in an attempt to position Iraq as a country that would not exacerbate the security concerns of its neighbors and seeking a pragmatic balance in foreign relations. Relations with Iran have flourished since 2005 by the exchange of high-level visits. Relations with Turkey are mixed with tensions and cooperation, largely because of the Kurdistan Regional Government, as clashes between Turkey and the PKK continue. In October 2011, the Turkish parliament renewed a law that gives Turkish forces the ability to pursue rebels over the border in Iraq. Turkey's "Great Anatolia Project" reduced Iraq's water supply and affected agriculture. But at the same time Turkey has invested significantly in Iraq. Iraq has sought to normalize relations with Syria in order to expand co-operation. In 2022, Iraq finished paying reparations to Kuwait for its invasion. Recently foreign ministers of Iraq and Kuwait have announced that they were working on a definitive agreement on border demarcation.
The country is an emerging middle power and has been playing the role of a mediator for several regional crisis. Baghdad hosted direct mediation talks between Iran and Saudi Arabia. It has taken on the role of mediator attempting to mediate between Egypt, Jordan, and Iran after its success in mediating between Saudi Arabia and Iran and expressed its willingness to mediate and find a solution for the ongoing Yemeni crisis. Since 2019, Iraq has attempted to play a mediating role between the U.S and Iran following the withdrawal of Donald Trump's administration from the landmark 2015 Iranian nuclear deal. Earlier, Baghdad hosted Iran–U.S nuclear deal in 2012 under the Obama administration. Iraq has also attempt to mediate between Turkey and Syria, as well between Bashar al-Assad's government, the opposition groups and the Arab League during the civil war in Syria.
Iraq has strengthened regional economic cooperation. It is playing an influential role in the global oil market. Iraq is also seeking to deepen its ties with the Gulf Cooperation Council countries. China and GCC countries, such as Saudi Arabia and Qatar have invested on various projects in Iraq. In 2021, Baghdad hosted regional security summit, that included Iran, Syria, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Kuwait, Qatar, France, the United Arab Emirates, Egypt and the European Union. It has also hosted an economic conference in 2023, for Economic Integration and Regional Stability. On 12 February 2009, Iraq officially became the 186th State Party to the Chemical Weapons Convention. Under the provisions of this treaty, Iraq is considered a party with declared stockpiles of chemical weapons. Because of their late accession, Iraq is the only State Party exempt from the existing timeline for destruction of their chemical weapons. However, this progressive diplomacy of Iraq has met by numerous challenges, such as the rising influence of the United States and Iran in Iraq's political arena, post-war impact and chaos, and identity crisis among Iraq's diverse population.
Relations between Iraq and its Kurdish population have been sour in recent history, especially with Saddam Hussein's genocidal campaign against them in the 1980s. After uprisings during the early 90s, many Kurds fled their homeland and no-fly zones were established in northern Iraq to prevent more conflicts. Despite historically poor relations, some progress has been made, and Iraq elected its first Kurdish president, Jalal Talabani, in 2005. Furthermore, Kurdish is now an official language of Iraq alongside Arabic according to Article 4 of the Constitution.
LGBT rights in Iraq remain limited. Although decriminalised, homosexuality remains stigmatised in Iraqi society. Human rights in Islamic State-controlled territory have been recorded as highly violated. It included mass executions in Islamic State-occupied part of Mosul, genocide of the Yazidis in Sinjar, and expulsion of Assyrian Christians in Iraq.
Iraq is composed of eighteen governorates (or provinces) (Arabic: muhafadhat, singular muhafadhah). The governorates are subdivided into districts (or qadhas), which are further divided into sub-districts (or nawāḥī). A nineteenth governorate, Halabja Governorate, is unrecognised by the Iraqi government.
Iraq is an oil-rich upper-middle-income country (IFAD). Along with the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Algeria, Iraq is one of the leading contributors to the economy of the Arab world and constitute 72% of the region’s GDP together. The economy of Iraq is dominated by the oil sector, which has traditionally provided about 95% of foreign exchange earnings. The lack of development in other sectors has resulted in 18%–30% unemployed and a per capita GDP of $4,812. Public sector employment accounted for nearly 60% of full-time employment in 2011. The oil export industry, which dominates the Iraqi economy, generates little employment. Currently only a modest percentage of women (the highest estimate for 2011 was 22%) participate in the labour force. The official currency in Iraq is the Iraqi dinar. The Central Provisional Authority issued new dinar coins and notes, with the notes printed by De La Rue using modern anti-forgery techniques. Jim Cramer's 20 October 2009 endorsement of the Iraqi dinar on CNBC has further piqued interest in the investment.
Prior to the 2003 invasion, Iraq's centrally planned economy prohibited the foreign ownership of businesses, ran most large industries as state-owned enterprises, and imposed large tariffs to keep the foreign goods out . Oil was nationalised in 1972 and its revenue was spent on government development projects. Iraq was one of the most advanced countries in the Middle East. But it faced economic decline as a result of sanctions. After 2003, the Coalition Provisional Authority quickly began issuing many binding orders privatising the Iraqi economy and opening it up to foreign investment. On 20 November 2004, the Paris Club of creditor countries agreed to write off 80% ($33 billion) of Iraq's $42 billion debt to Club members. Iraq's total external debt was around $120 billion at the time of the invasion, and had grown another $5 billion by 2004. The debt relief was to be implemented in three stages: two of 30% each and one of 20%.
Five years after the invasion, an estimated 2.4 million people were internally displaced (with a further two million refugees outside Iraq), four million Iraqis were considered food-insecure (a quarter of children were chronically malnourished) and only a third of Iraqi children had access to safe drinking water. In 2022, and after more than 30 years after the United Nations Compensation Commission was created to ensure restitution for Kuwait following the invasion of 1990, the reparations body announced that Iraq has paid a total of $52.4 billion in war reparations to Kuwait. According to the Overseas Development Institute, international NGOs face challenges in carrying out their mission, leaving their assistance "piecemeal and largely conducted undercover, hindered by insecurity, a lack of coordinated funding, limited operational capacity and patchy information". International NGOs have been targeted and during the first 5 years, 94 aid workers were killed, 248 injured, 24 arrested or detained and 89 kidnapped or abducted.
The war have left heavy impact on the economy. According to a report by the Arab News, Iraq has shown positive signs of recovery. The Kurdish and Shia populated regions of Iraq have experienced economic boom since the end of the war. The Kurdistan Region is economically more stable. In recent years, Sunni-populated provinces in Iraq have also made economic progress, as evidenced by numerous new construction projects. In 2025, parliament speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani stressed that that Iraq is stable in terms of security and economy and has taken a non-aligned approach. In addition, Iraq is an agricultural country. Tourism in Iraq stands to be a major growth sector, including archaeological tourism and religious tourism while the country is also considered to be a potential location for ecotourism.
Iraq was an important tourist destination for many years but that changed dramatically during the war with Iran and after the invasion of Iraq by the U.S and allies. As Iraq continues to develop and stabilizes, tourism in Iraq is still facing many challenges, and little has been made by the government to meet its tremendous potential as a global tourist destination, and gain the associated economic benefits, mainly due to conflicts. Sites from Iraq's ancient past are numerous and many that are close to large cities have been excavated. Babylon has seen major recent restoration; known for its famous Ziggurat (the inspiration for the Biblical Tower of Babel), the Hanging Gardens (one of the Seven Wonders of the World), and the Ishtar Gate, making it a prime destination.
Nineveh, a rival to Babylon, has also seen significant restoration and reconstruction. Ur, one of the first Sumerian cities, which is near Nasiriyya, has been partially restored. It is revered by Jews, as the birthplace of Abraham. Other popular sites includes Wasit, Nimrud, Nippur, Lagash, Assur, Salman Pak, and Hatra. This is a list of examples of some significant sites in a country with a tremendous archaeological and historic wealth. Iraq is considered to be a potential location for ecotourism. The Mesopotamian Marshes across southern Iraq is popular. However, it was drained during 1991 uprisings by the government. In recent years, the marshes has seen revival.
Religious tourism has also seen growth since 2003, specially to holy Shia Islamic sites around Karbala and Najaf, as well as in Baghdad and Samarra. Iraq is home to numerous places associated with Islam, Christianity, Judaism, Yazidism, Zoroastrianism, and Mandaeism. Some of the well-known Jewish sites in Iraq includes the Prophet Nahum Synagogue, Ezekiel's Tomb, the Tomb of Ezra, the Great Synagogue of Baghdad, and Rabbi Cohen Shrine. Before 2003, these sites were visited by local Jews. Iraq is home to second highest number of Christian sites in the world after Israel–Palestine region. Mosul and the surrounding region has been cultural heartland for the Christians. It is home to some of the oldest Christian sites, churches and monastries such as Mor Mattai Monastery, Monastery of Mar Behnam, and Mart Meskinta Chaldean Church. Recent years saw hope in revival in Christian tourism in Iraq.
Saddam Hussein built hundreds of palaces and monuments across the country. Some of them include Al-Faw Palace, As-Salam Palace and Radwaniyah Palace. Al-Faw Palace is currently occupied by the American University of Iraq. Since Saddam's overthrow, the palaces are open to tourists, though they are not officially functioning, and the government of Iraq is considering to sell them for useful purposes. A majority of these structures were built after the 1991 Gulf War, when Iraq was put under sanctions by the United Nations. Saddam reconstructed part of Babylon, one of the world's earliest cities, using bricks inscribed with his name to associate himself with the region's past glories. One of his palaces in Basra was turned into a museum, despite it was time when Iraq allied with the US was engaged in war with the ISIS.
Iraq has a modern network of motorways. Roadways extended 45,550 km (28,300 mi). The roadway also connect Iraq to neighbouring countries of Iran, Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. There are more than seven million passenger cars, over million commercial taxis, buses, and trucks in use. On major motorways the maximum speed is 110 km/h (68 mph). Many of the roads were constructed in the late 1970s and early 1980s and were designed with a 20-year lifespan. Most of these facilities were damaged in enduring wars, that Iraq experienced. Since then traffic has been a serious issue, specially in Baghdad.
Iraqi Republic Railways is the responsible body for railway transportation in Iraq. The railway infrastructure consists of 2,405 km (1,494 mi) of track, 109 stations, 31 locomotives and 1,685 units of rolling stock. The government is attempting to establish railway links with Turkey, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia to complete a continuous Euro-Gulf rail route. Currently, a large project is underway to connect Karbala and Najaf.
Most of Iraq's oil exports are done through its ports. Basra is the only coastal governorate of Iraq. It is home to all of Iraq's six ports — Abu Flous Port, Al Başrah Oil Terminal, Grand Faw Port, Khor Al Amaya Oil Terminal, Khor Al Zubair Port, Port of Basra and Umm Qasr Port. Iraq has about 104 airports as of 2012. Major airports at Baghdad, Basra, Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, Kirkuk and Najaf. The government is constructing international airports for Karbala and Nasiriyah. Nasiriyah Airport is in partnership with China and reoping of Mosul Airport, which was closed during the 2013–2017 civil war.
With its 143.1 billion barrels (2.275×10 m) of proved oil reserves, Iraq ranks third in the world behind Venezuela and Saudi Arabia in the amount of oil reserves. Oil production levels reached 3.4 million barrels per day by December 2012. Only about 2,000 oil wells have been drilled in Iraq, compared with about 1 million wells in Texas alone. Iraq was one of the founding members of OPEC. It's foundation stone was laid during a conference in Baghdad in 1960.
During the 1970s Iraq produced up to 3.5 million barrels per day, but sanctions imposed against Iraq after its invasion of Kuwait in 1990 crippled the country's oil sector. The sanctions prohibited Iraq from exporting oil until 1996 and Iraq's output declined by 85% in the years following the First Gulf War. The sanctions were lifted in 2003 after the US-led invasion removed Saddam Hussein from power, but development of Iraq's oil resources has been hampered by the ongoing conflict. As of 2010, despite improved security and billions of dollars in oil revenue, Iraq still generates about half the electricity that customers demand, leading to protests during the hot summer months. The Iraq oil law, a proposed piece of legislation submitted to the Council of Representatives of Iraq in 2007, has failed to gain approval due to disagreements among Iraq's various political blocs.
According to a US Study from May 2007, between 100,000 barrels per day (16,000 m/d) and 300,000 barrels per day (48,000 m/d) of Iraq's declared oil production over the past four years could have been siphoned off through corruption or smuggling. In 2008, Al Jazeera reported $13 billion of Iraqi oil revenues in American care was improperly accounted for, of which $2.6 billion is totally unaccounted for. Some reports that the government has reduced corruption in public procurement of oil; however, reliable reports of bribery and kickbacks to government officials persist.
On 30 June and 11 December 2009, the Ministry of Oil awarded service contracts to international oil companies for some of Iraq's many oil fields. Oil fields contracted include the "super-giant" Majnoon oil field, Halfaya Field, West Qurna Field and Rumaila Field. BP and China National Petroleum Corporation won a deal to develop Rumaila, the largest oil field in Iraq. On 14 March 2014, the International Energy Agency said Iraq's oil output jumped by half a million barrels a day in February to average 3.6 million barrels a day. The country had not pumped that much oil since 1979, when Saddam Hussein rose to power. However, on 14 July 2014, as sectarian strife had taken hold, Kurdistan Regional Government forces seized control of the Bai Hassan and Kirkuk oilfields in the north of the country, taking them from Iraq's control. Baghdad condemned the seizure and threatened "dire consequences" if the fields were not returned. On 2018, the UN estimated that oil accounts for 99% of Iraq's revenue. As of 2021, the oil sector provided about 92% of foreign exchange earnings.
Three decades of war greatly cut the existing water resources management system for several major cities. This
prompted widespread water supply and sanitation shortfalls thus poor water and service quality. This is combined with few businesses and households who are fully environmentally aware and legally compliant however the large lakes, as pictured, alleviate supply relative to many comparators in Western Asia beset by more regular drought. Access to potable water diverges among governorates and between urban and rural areas. 91% of the population has access to potable water. Forming this figure: in rural areas, 77% of people have access to improved (treated or fully naturally filtered) drinking water sources; and 98% in urban areas. Much water is discarded during treatment, due to much outmoded equipment, raising energy burden and reducing supply.
Although many infrastructure projects had already begun, at the end of 2013 Iraq had a housing crisis. The then war-ravaged country was set to complete 5 percent of the 2.5 million homes it needs to build by 2016 to keep up with demand, confirmed the Minister for Construction and Housing. In 2009, the Iraq Britain Business Council formed. Its key impetus was House of Lords member and trade expert Lady Nicholson. In 2013, South Korean firm Daewoo reached a deal to build Bismayah New City of about 600,000 residents in 100,000 homes.
In December 2020, Al-Sudani launched the second phase of the Grand Faw Port via winning bid of project head contractor Daewoo at $2.7 billion. In late 2023, the government announced that it will build a total of 15 new cities across Iraq, in an attempt to tackle a persistent housing problem, according to officials. This project falls under the government's plan and strategy to establish new residential cities outside city centres, aiming to alleviate the urban housing crisis. The first 5 new cities will be located in Baghdad, Babylon, Nineveh, Anbar and Karbala, while another 10 new residential cities will be launched in other governorates. The initial phase of the [housing] plan began in late 2023, when Al-Sudani laid the foundation stone of Al-Jawahiri city. Located west of the capital, the new city will host 30,000 housing units which will cost $2 billion. It is expected to be completed in four to five years. According to officials, none of it is financed by the government.
In 2024, and during a visit to Baghdad by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a quadrilateral memorandum of understanding regarding cooperation in Iraq Development Road project was signed between Iraq, Türkiye, Qatar, UAE. The deal was inked by the transportation ministers from each country. The 1,200-km project with railway and motorways which will connect the Grand Faw Port, aimed to be the largest port in the Middle East. It is planned to be completed by 2025 to the Turkish border at an expected cost of $17 billion. According to officials, it is a strategic national project for Iraq, and will become the largest sea port in the Middle East, as such strengthening Iraq's geopolitical position. According to beliefs, it would rival Egypt's Suez Canal.
The 2021 estimate of the total Iraqi population is 43,533,592. Iraq's population was estimated to be 2 million in 1878. In 2013 Iraq's population reached 35 million amid a post-war population boom. It is the most populous country in the Arabian Plate. Iraq is made up of three former administrative divisions (vilayets) of the Ottoman Empire — Mosul, Basra and Baghdad — which were designated as concentration of different ethnic groups.
Iraq's native population is predominantly Arab, but also includes other ethnic groups such as Kurds, Turkmens, Assyrians, Yazidis, Shabaks, Armenians, Mandaeans, Circassians, and Kawliya. A report by the European Parliamentary Research Service suggests that, in 2015, there were 24 million Arabs (14 million Shia and 9 million Sunni); 4.7 million Sunni Kurds (plus 500,000 Faili Kurds and 200,000 Kaka'i); 3 million (mostly Sunni) Iraqi Turkmens; 1 million Black Iraqis; 500,000 Christians (including Assyrians and Armenians); 500,000 Yazidis; 250,000 Shabaks; 50,000 Roma; 3,000 Mandaeans; 2,000 Circassians; 1,000 of the Baháʼí Faith; and a few hundred Jews.
As per recent estimates, out of Iraq's total population, 75–80% are Arabs, 15–20% Kurds and 9–13% Turkmen (Turcoman). Remaining includes the Yazidis (500,000–700,000), Persians (486,000), Kaka'i (110,000–200,000), Bedouins (1,500), Shabaks (200,000–500,000), Assyrians (150,000), Kawliya (50,000–200,000), Circassians (30,000–50,000), Armenians (20,000), and Chechens (2,500). Ethnic groups in Iraq are spread across various regions.
According to the CIA World Factbook, citing a 1987 Iraqi government estimate, the population of Iraq is 75–80% Arab followed by 15–20% Kurds. In addition, the estimate claims that other minorities form 5% of the country's population, including the Turkmen (Turcoman), Assyrians, Yezidis, Shabak, Kaka'i, Bedouins, Roma, Circassians, Mandaeans, and Persians. However, the International Crisis Group points out that figures from the 1987 census, as well as the 1967, 1977, and 1997 censuses, "are all considered highly problematic, due to suspicions of regime manipulation" because the Iraqi citizens were only allowed to indicate belonging to either the Arab or Kurdish ethnic groups; consequently, this skewed the number of other ethnic minorities, such as Iraq's third largest ethnic group – the Turkmens in Northern Iraq. Many ethnic groups have faced significant turning points throughout the history of Iraq, specially since 2003.
Within Arabs, around 20,000 Marsh Arabs live in southern Iraq. In southern Iraq, there is a community of Iraqis of African descent, a legacy of slavery practiced in the Islamic Caliphate beginning before the Zanj Rebellion of the 9th century, and Basra's role as a key port. Kurds primarily inhabit the Kurdistan Region, while Turkmen are mainly found in the Turkmeneli region and Kirkuk. Yazidis are concentrated in Sinjar and Shekhan district, and Assyrians, who are predominantly Christian, reside in the Nineveh Plains in Northern Iraq, where they are in majority. Due to Arabisation policies and seizing better opportunities, many moved to big cities like Baghdad and Basra. The historic Assyrian Quarter in Baghdad housed 150,000 Assyrians in 2003. Most of them fled, following the escalation of war, and today only 1,500 Assyrians remained. Smaller groups such as the Kawliya, Circassians, and Armenians are primarily located in Baghdad and other governorates of Iraq.
The main languages spoken in Iraq are Mesopotamian Arabic and Kurdish, followed by the Iraqi Turkmen/Turkoman dialect of Turkish, and the Neo-Aramaic languages (specifically Chaldean and Assyrian dialects). Arabic and Kurdish are written with versions of the Arabic script. Since 2005, the Turkmen/Turkoman have switched from the Arabic script to the Turkish alphabet. In addition, the Neo-Aramaic languages use the Syriac script. Other smaller minority languages include Mandaic, Shabaki, Armenian, Circassian and Persian.
Prior to the invasion in 2003, Arabic was the sole official language. Since the new Constitution of Iraq was approved in 2005, both Arabic and Kurdish are recognised (Article 4) as official languages of Iraq, while three other languages, Turkmen, Syriac and Armenian, are also recognised as minority languages. In addition, any region or province may declare other languages official if a majority of the population approves in a general referendum.
According to the Constitution of Iraq (Article 4): The Arabic language and the Kurdish language are the two official languages of Iraq. The right of Iraqis to educate their children in their mother tongue, such as Turkmen, Syriac, and Armenian shall be guaranteed in government educational institutions in accordance with educational guidelines, or in any other language in private educational institutions.
Religions in Iraq are dominantly Abrahamic religions. The CIA World Factbook estimated in 2015 that between 90 and 95% of Iraqis followed Islam, with 61–64% being Shia and 29–34% being Sunni. Christianity accounted for 1%, and the rest (1-4%) practiced Yazidism, Mandaeism, and other religions. An older 2011 Pew Research estimated that 51% of Muslims in Iraq see themselves as Shia, 42% as Sunni, while 5% as "just a Muslim". Iraq is also home to two of the holiest places among the Shi'as – Najaf and Karbala. Shia Muslims are mostly concentrated in southern Iraq and in parts of north region and Baghdad. Sunni Muslims are found in the Sunni Triangle region, in cities such as Ramadi, Tikrit and Fallujah, where Sunnis make majority.
Christianity in Iraq has its roots from the conception of the Church of the East in the 5th century AD, predating the existence of Islam in the region of Iraq. Iraqi Christians are predominantly native Assyrians belonging to the Ancient Church of the East, Assyrian Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Catholic Church and Syriac Orthodox Church. There is also a significant population of Armenian Christians in Iraq who had fled Turkey during the Armenian genocide. Christians numbered over 1.4 million in 1987 or 8% of the estimated population of 16.3 million and 550,000 in 1947 or 12% of the population of 4.6 millions. After the 2003 invasion of Iraq, violence against Christians rose, with reports of abduction, torture, bombings, and killings. The post-2003 war has displaced much of the remaining Christian community from their homeland as a result of ethnic and religious persecution at the hands of Islamic extremists.
Iraq is home to one of the oldest Jewish communities in the Middle East and the first Jewish diaspora. In 1948, the Jewish population was estimated at 200,000, although some sources suggest the population may have been even higher. After the establishment of Israel in 1948, Jews emigrated, fleeing persecution in Iraq, while 100,000 of them remained. By the time Saddam Hussein came to power, their population had reached 15,000. Under his rule, the population dwindled—not due to persecution, but because the government lifted travel restrictions, allowing many Jews to emigrate abroad and visiting Iraq occasionally. At this point, around 1,500 Jews remained. After 2003, fear among the Jewish community increased, leading to their further decline. Today, it is estimated that only around 400 Jews remain in Iraq. Iraq is home to over 250 Jewish sites.
There are also small ethno-religious minority populations of Mandaeans, Shabaks, Yarsan and Yezidis remaining. Prior to 2003 their numbers together may have been 2 million, the majority Yarsan, a non-Islamic religion with roots in pre-Islamic and pre-Christian religion. Yazidis are mostly concentrated around the Sinjar Mountains. Mandaeans live primarily around Baghdad, Fallujah, Basra and Hillah.
The dispersion of native Iraqis to other countries is known as the Iraqi diaspora. The UN High Commission for Refugees has estimated that nearly two million Iraqis fled the country after the multinational invasion of Iraq in 2003. The UN Refugee agency estimated in 2021 that 1.1 million were displaced within the country. In 2007, the UN said that about 40% of Iraq's middle class was believed to have fled and that most had fled systematic persecution and had no desire to return. Subsequently, the diaspora seemed to be returning, as security improved; the Iraqi government claimed that 46,000 refugees returned to their homes in October 2007 alone.
In 2011, nearly 3 million Iraqis had been displaced, with 1.3 million within Iraq and 1.6 million in neighbouring countries, mainly Jordan and Syria. More than half of Iraqi Christians had fled the country since the US-led invasion. According to official US Citizenship and Immigration Services statistics, 58,811 Iraqis had been granted refugee-status citizenship as of 25 May 2011. After the start of the Syrian Civil War in 2011, numerous Iraqis in Syria returned to their native country. To escape the Syrian civil war, over 252,000 Syrian refugees of varying ethnicities have fled to Iraq since 2012.
In 2010, spending on healthcare accounted for 6.84% of the country's GDP. In 2008, there were 6.96 physicians and 13.92 nurses per 10,000 inhabitants. The life expectancy at birth was 68.49 years in 2010, or 65.13 years for males and 72.01 years for females. This is down from a peak life expectancy of 71.31 years in 1996.
Iraq had developed a centralised free health care system in the 1970s using a hospital based, capital-intensive model of curative care. The country depended on large-scale imports of medicines, medical equipment and even nurses, paid for with oil export income, according to a "Watching Brief" report issued jointly by the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the WHO in July 2003. Unlike other poorer countries, which focused on mass health care using primary care practitioners, Iraq developed a Westernised system of sophisticated hospitals with advanced medical procedures, provided by specialist physicians. The UNICEF/WHO report noted that prior to 1990, 97% of the urban dwellers and 71% of the rural population had access to free primary health care; just 2% of hospital beds were privately managed.
In 2024, Mohammed Shi'a Al-Sudani officially inaugurated Shaab General Hospital, Baghdad's first new general hospital in nearly 40 years. The 246-bed facility, which was a long-delayed project was completed under a collaborative management model, which boasts state-of-the-art infrastructure, with advanced medical equipment, and a full range of healthcare services according to Sudani. Minister of Health Salih Hasnawi highlighted the ministry's accomplishments over the past two years, including the construction of 13 new hospitals, three specialised centres, two burn units, and 25 kidney treatment centres in different governorates, while plans are in place to build 16 new hospitals, each with 100 beds, to be managed by qualified companies. In the same year, the government launched the implementation of a joint operation and management programme for modern hospitals at the newly opened Najaf Teaching Hospital.
Before 1990 and later 2003, Iraq already had an advanced and successful education system. However, it has now been "de-developing" in its educational success. During his rule, Saddam turned Iraq into a leading centre of higher education. Since the implementation of the MDGs, education has shown improvement in Iraq. Enrollment numbers nearly doubled from 2000 to 2012, reaching six million students. By 2015–2016, around 9.2 million children were attending school, with a steady annual increase of 4.1% in enrollment rates.
However, the rapid increase in primary education students has strained the system. Education receives only 5.7% of government spending, leading to a lack of investment in schools and poor educational rankings in the region. UNICEF found that funding has been wasted, resulting in increasing dropout and repetition rates. Dropout rates range from 1.5% to 2.5%, with girls being affected more due to economic or family reasons. Repetition rates have reached almost 17%, causing a loss of approximately 20% of education funding in 2014–2015.
Regional disparities greatly impact enrollment rates for children in primary education in Iraq. Conflict-ridden areas like Saladin Governorate have seen over 90% of school-age children out of school due to the conversion of schools into shelters or military bases. Limited resources strain the education system, hindering access to education. However, efforts have been made to reopen closed schools, with success seen in Mosul, where over 380,000 children are back in school. Access to education varies depending on location, and there are disparities between boys and girls.
In 2024, the government inaugurated 790 new schools across the country, as part of a framework agreement with China to build 1,000 schools. This initiative aims to address overcrowding and the issue of triple shifts in schools, which have been exacerbated by the destruction caused by years of conflict. Many schools have had to operate multiple shifts, sometimes giving students as little as four hours of learning per day, which negatively affects educational outcomes. The school construction project stems from a 2021 agreement between the Iraqi and Chinese governments to build 1,000 schools. Additionally, the Iraqi Prime Minister announced that the Development Fund for Iraq (DFI) will soon collaborate with the private sector to build 400 more schools, addressing the current shortage of over 8,000 schools in the country.
Iraq's culture has a deep heritage that extends back in time to ancient Mesopotamian culture. Iraq has one of the longest written traditions in the world including architecture, literature, music, dance, painting, weaving, pottery, calligraphy, stonemasonry and metalworking. The culture of Iraq or Mesopotamia is one of the world's oldest cultural histories and is considered one of the most influential cultures in the world.
Mesopotamian legacy went on to influence and shape the civilisations of the Old World in different ways such as inventing writing system, mathematics, time, calendar, astrology and the law code. Iraq is home to diverse ethnic groups that have each contributed in different ways to the country's long and rich heritage. The country is known for its poets, architects, painters and sculptors, who are among the best in the region, some of them being world-class. Iraq is known for producing fine handicrafts, including rugs and carpets.
There were several interconnected traditions of art in ancient Iraq. The Abbasid Dynasty developed in the Abbasid Caliphate between 750 and 945, primarily in its heartland of Mesopotamia. The Abbasids were influenced mainly by Mesopotamian art traditions and later influenced Persian as well as Central Asian styles. Between the 8th and 13th centuries during the Abbasid period, pottery achieved a high level of sophistication, calligraphy began to be used to decorate the surface of decorative objects and illuminated manuscripts, particularly Q'ranic texts became more complex and stylised. Iraq's first art school was established during this period, allowing artisans and crafts to flourish.
At the height of the Abbasid period, in the late 12th century, a stylistic movement of manuscript illustration and calligraphy emerged. Now known as the Baghdad School, this movement of Islamic art was characterised by representations of everyday life and the use of highly expressive faces rather than the stereotypical characters that had been used in the past.
The architecture of Iraq has a long history, encompassing several distinct cultures and spanning a period from the 10th millennium BC and features the Mesopotamian (Assyrian, Babylonian and Sumerian), Islamic (Umayyad and Abbasid), Ottoman and modern architecture. Modern prominent architects include Zaha Hadid, Basil Bayati, Rifat Chadirji and Hisham N. Ashkouri among others.
Baghdad and Mosul have plethora of cultural and heritage buildings. Baghdad is home to numerous historic mosques and synagogues. While Mosul has numerous Islamic sites and churches.
The capital, Ninus or Nineveh, was taken by the Medes under Cyaxares, and some 200 years after Xenophon passed over its site, then mere mounds of earth. It remained buried until 1845, when Botta and Layard discovered the ruins of the Assyrian cities. The principal remains are those of Khorsabad, 16 km (10 mi) northeast of Mosul; of Nimroud, supposed to be the ancient Calah; and of Kouyunjik, in all probability the ancient Nineveh. In these cities are found fragments of several great buildings which seem to have been palace-temples. They were constructed chiefly of sun-dried bricks, and all that remains of them is the lower part of the walls, decorated with sculpture and paintings, portions of the pavements, a few indications of the elevation, and some works connected with the drainage. Recent years modern buildings includes shopping malls and high-rise towers.
Important cultural institutions in the capital include the Iraqi National Symphony Orchestra – rehearsals and performances were briefly interrupted during the occupation of Iraq but have since returned to normal. The National Theatre of Iraq was looted during the 2003 invasion, but efforts are underway to restore it. The live theatre scene received a boost during the 1990s when UN sanctions limited the import of foreign films. As many as 30 cinemas were reported to have been converted to live stages, producing a wide range of comedies and dramatic productions.
Institutions offering cultural education in Baghdad include the Academy of Music, Institute of Fine Arts and the Music and Ballet School Baghdad. Baghdad also features a number of museums including the National Museum of Iraq – which houses the world's largest and finest collection of artefacts and relics of Ancient Iraqi civilisations; some of which were stolen during the occupation of Iraq. On 2021, it was announced that Iraq had reclaimed about 17,000 looted artefacts, which was considered to be the biggest repatriation.
The literature in Iraq is often referred to as "Mesopotamian literature" due to the flourishing of various civilisations as a result of the mixture of these cultures and has been called Mesopotamian or Babylonian literature in allusion to the geographical territory that such cultures occupied in the Middle East between the banks of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The Sumerian literature was unique because it does not belong to any known linguistic root. Its appearance began with symbols of the things denoting it, then it turned with time to the cuneiform line on tablets. The literature during this time were mainly about mythical and epic texts dealing with creation issues, the emergence of the world, the gods, descriptions of the heavens, and the lives of heroes in the wars that broke out between the nomads and the urbanites. They also deal with religious teachings, moral advice, astrology, legislation, and history. One of which was the Epic of Gilgamesh, which is regarded as the earliest surviving notable literature.
During the Abbasid Caliphate, the House of Wisdom in Baghdad, which was a public academy and intellectual fulcrum, hosted numerous scholars and writers. A number of stories in One Thousand and One Nights feature famous Abbasid figures. Iraq has various medieval poets, most remarkably Hariri of Basra, Mutanabbi, Abu Nuwas, and Al-Jahiz. In modern times, various languages are used in Iraqi literature including Arabic, Neo-Aramaic, Kurdish and Turkish, although the Arabic literature remains the most influential literature. Notably poets include Jawahiri, Safa Khulusi and Dunya Mikhail.
Iraq is known primarily for its rich maqam heritage which has been passed down orally by the masters of the maqam in an unbroken chain of transmission leading up to the present. The Iraqi maqam is considered to be the most noble and perfect form of maqam. Al-maqam al-Iraqi is the collection of sung poems written either in one of the 16 meters of classical Arabic or in Iraqi dialect (Zuhayri). This form of art is recognised by UNESCO as "an intangible heritage of humanity".
Early in the 20th century, many of the most prominent musicians in Iraq were Jewish. In 1936, Iraq Radio was established with an ensemble made up entirely of Jews, with the exception of the percussion player. At the nightclubs of Baghdad, ensembles consisted of oud, qanun and two percussionists, while the same format with a ney and cello were used on the radio.
The most famous singer of the 1930s–1940s was perhaps Salima Pasha. The respect and adoration for her were unusual at the time since public performance by women was considered shameful. The most famous early composer from Iraq was Ezra Aharon, an oud player, while the most prominent instrumentalist was Yusuf Za'arur. Za'arus formed the official ensemble for the Iraqi radio station and were responsible for introducing the cello and ney into the traditional ensemble.
Iraq was home to the second television station in the Middle East, which began during the 1950s. As part of a plan to help Iraq modernise, English telecommunications company Pye Limited built and commissioned a television broadcast station in the capital city of Baghdad.
After the end of the full state control in 2003, there was a period of significant growth in the broadcast media in Iraq. By 2003, according to a BBC report, there were 20 radio stations from 0.15 to 17 television stations owned by Iraqis, and 200 Iraqi newspapers owned and operated.
Iraqi media expert and author of a number of reports on this subject, Ibrahim Al Marashi, identifies four stages of the US invasion of Iraq in 2003 where they had been taking the steps that have significant effects on the way for the later of the Iraqi media since then. Stages are: pre-invasion preparation, and the war and the actual choice of targets, the first post-war period, and a growing insurgency and hand over power to the Iraqi Interim Government (IIG) and Prime Minister Iyad Allawi.
Iraqi cuisine can be traced back some 10,000 years – to the Sumerians, Akkadians, Babylonians, Assyrians and Ancient Persians. Tablets found in ancient ruins in Iraq show recipes prepared in the temples during religious festivals – the first cookbooks in the world. Ancient Iraq, or Mesopotamia, was home to many sophisticated and highly advanced civilisations, in all fields of knowledge – including the culinary arts. However, it was in the medieval era when Baghdad was the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate that the Iraqi kitchen reached its zenith. Today the cuisine of Iraq reflects this rich inheritance as well as strong influences from the culinary traditions of neighbouring Turkey, Iran and the Greater Syria area.
Some characteristic ingredients of Iraqi cuisine include – vegetables such as aubergine, tomato, okra, onion, potato, courgette, garlic, peppers and chilli, cereals such as rice, bulgur wheat and barley, pulses and legumes such as lentils, chickpeas and cannellini, fruits such as dates, raisins, apricots, figs, grapes, melon, pomegranate and citrus fruits, especially lemon and lime.
Similarly with other countries of Western Asia, chicken and especially lamb are the favourite meats. Most dishes are served with rice – usually Basmati, grown in the marshes of southern Iraq. Bulgur wheat is used in many dishes, having been a staple in the country since the days of the Ancient Assyrians.
Football is the most popular sport in Iraq. Basketball, swimming, weightlifting, bodybuilding, boxing, kick boxing and tennis are also popular sports.
The Iraq Football Association is the governing body of football in Iraq, controlling the Iraq national football team and the Iraq Stars League. It was founded in 1948, and has been a member of FIFA since 1950 and the Asian Football Confederation since 1971. Iraq were champions of the 2007 AFC Asian Cup, and they participated in the 1986 FIFA World Cup and the 2009 FIFA Confederations Cup.
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