The 2005 CIA World Factbook. United States. Central Intelligence Agency

mostly desert; mild to cool winters with dry, hot, cloudless

       summers; northern mountainous regions along Iranian and Turkish

       borders experience cold winters with occasionally heavy snows that

       melt in early spring, sometimes causing extensive flooding in

       central and southern Iraq

      Terrain:

       mostly broad plains; reedy marshes along Iranian border in south

       with large flooded areas; mountains along borders with Iran and

       Turkey

      Elevation extremes:

       lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m

       highest point: unnamed peak; 3,611 m; note - this peak is not Gundah

       Zhur 3,607 m or Kuh-e Hajji-Ebrahim 3,595 m

      Natural resources:

       petroleum, natural gas, phosphates, sulfur

      Land use: arable land: 13.15% permanent crops: 0.78% other: 86.07% (2001)

      Irrigated land:

       35,250 sq km (1998 est.)

      Natural hazards:

       dust storms, sandstorms, floods

      Environment - current issues:

       government water control projects have drained most of the

       inhabited marsh areas east of An Nasiriyah by drying up or diverting

       the feeder streams and rivers; a once sizable population of Marsh

       Arabs, who inhabited these areas for thousands of years, has been

       displaced; furthermore, the destruction of the natural habitat poses

       serious threats to the area's wildlife populations; inadequate

       supplies of potable water; development of the Tigris and Euphrates

       rivers system contingent upon agreements with upstream riparian

       Turkey; air and water pollution; soil degradation (salination) and

       erosion; desertification

      Environment - international agreements:

       party to: Law of the Sea

       signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification

      Geography - note:

       strategic location on Shatt al Arab waterway and at the head of the

       Persian Gulf

      People Iraq

      Population:

       26,074,906 (July 2005 est.)

      Age structure:

       0–14 years: 40% (male 5,293,709/female 5,130,826)

       15–64 years: 57% (male 7,530,619/female 7,338,109)

       65 years and over: 3% (male 367,832/female 413,811) (2005 est.)

      Median age:

       total: 19.43 years

       male: 19.35 years

       female: 19.51 years (2005 est.)

      Population growth rate:

       2.7% (2005 est.)

      Birth rate:

       32.5 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)

      Death rate:

       5.49 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)

      Net migration rate:

       0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)

      Sex ratio:

       at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

       under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female

       15–64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female

       65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female

       total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2005 est.)

      Infant mortality rate:

       total: 50.25 deaths/1,000 live births

       male: 56.06 deaths/1,000 live births

       female: 44.14 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)

      Life expectancy at birth:

       total population: 68.7 years

       male: 67.49 years

       female: 69.97 years (2005 est.)

      Total fertility rate:

       4.28 children born/woman (2005 est.)

      HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:

       less than 0.1% (2001 est.)

      HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:

       less than 500 (2003 est.)

      HIV/AIDS - deaths:

       NA

      Nationality:

       noun: Iraqi(s)

       adjective: Iraqi

      Ethnic groups:

       Arab 75%-80%, Kurdish 15%-20%, Turkoman, Assyrian or other 5%

      Religions:

       Muslim 97% (Shi'a 60%-65%, Sunni 32%-37%), Christian or other 3%