Iraq

Formerly part of the Ottoman Empire, Iraq was occupied by Britain during the course of World War I; in 1920, it was declared a League of Nations mandate under UK administration. In stages over the next dozen years, Iraq attained its independence as a kingdom in 1932. A "republic" was proclaimed in 1958, but in actuality a series of strongmen ruled the country until 2003. The last was SADDAM Husayn. Territorial disputes with Iran led to an inconclusive and costly eight-year war (1980-88). In August 1990, Iraq seized Kuwait but was expelled by US-led, UN coalition forces during the Gulf War of January-February 1991. Following Kuwait's liberation, the UN Security Council (UNSC) required Iraq to scrap all weapons of mass destruction and long-range missiles and to allow UN verification inspections. Continued Iraqi noncompliance with UNSC resolutions over a period of 12 years led to the US-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003 and the ouster of the SADDAM Husayn regime. US forces remained in Iraq under a UNSC mandate through 2009 and under a bilateral security agreement thereafter, helping to provide security and to train and mentor Iraqi security forces. In October 2005, Iraqis approved a constitution in a national referendum and, pursuant to this document, elected a 275-member Council of Representatives (CoR) in December 2005. After the election, Ibrahim al-JAAFARI was selected as prime minister; he was replaced by Nuri al-MALIKI in May 2006. The CoR approved most cabinet ministers in May 2006, marking the transition to Iraq's first constitutional government in nearly a half century. On 31 January 2009, Iraq held elections for provincial councils in all provinces except for the three provinces comprising the Kurdistan Regional Government and at-Ta'mim (Kirkuk) province.
==Economical characteristics==
* Currency: Iraqi dinar (ISO code: IQD)
* Central bank discount rate: 7% (31 December 2009)
* Commercial banks lending rate: 9% (31 December 2009)
* Stock of money (M1): $26.1 billion (31 December 2008)
* Quasi money (with M1 makes M2): $5.415 billion (31 December 2008)
===Statistics===
Statistic / Year 	1999 	2000 	2001 	2002 	2003 	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008
GDP (million USD)World Bank. "Iraq: GDP", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-30. 	17 942	25 857	18 936	18 970	12 602	 	 	 	 	
Govt. debt (% of GDP)World Bank. "Iraq: government debt", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-30. 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Govt. revenue (% of GDP)World Bank. "Iraq: government revenue", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-30. 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Govt. expenses (% of GDP)World Bank. "Iraq: government expenses", from World Bank Data. Referenced 2010-09-30.	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
Debt to revenue (years) 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	 	
==References==
Note: statistical data was rounded. Different sources may use different methodologies for their estimates. Debt to revenue is calculated by dividing the two variables from their original ('unrounded') values. It represents how long it would a government take to repay its entire debt if it used its whole revenue for this purpose.
==External links==
* Iraq on Wikipedia
* Central bank of Iraq
* Studies from the Library of Congress (1986-1998)
* BBC country profile
* Iraq Economic Policy by Alex Tabarrok, December 2004
* Money in War-Ravaged Iraq by Edward Gonzalez, October 2009
* Iraqi Swiss dinar
Category:Countries