Comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of Idaho
Land boundaries: 3,454 km total; Iran 1,458 km, Iraq - Saudi Arabia
Neutral Zone 191 km, Jordan 134 km, Kuwait 240 km, Saudi Arabia 495 km,
Syria 605 km, Turkey 331 km
Coastline: 58 km
Maritime claims:
Continental shelf: not specific;
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Disputes: Iraq began formal UN peace negotiations with Iran in August 1988 to end the war that began on 22 September 1980—sovereignty over the Shatt al Arab waterway, troop withdrawal, freedom of navigation, and prisoner of war exchange are the major issues for negotiation; Kurdish question among Iran, Iraq, Syria, Turkey, and the USSR; shares Neutral Zone with Saudi Arabia—in July 1975, Iraq and Saudi Arabia signed an agreement to divide the zone between them, but the agreement must be ratified before it becomes effective; disputes Kuwaiti ownership of Warbah and Bubiyan islands; periodic disputes with upstream riparian Syria over Euphrates water rights; potential dispute over water development plans by Turkey for the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers
Climate: desert; mild to cool winters with dry, hot, cloudless summers
Terrain: mostly broad plains; reedy marshes in southeast; mountains along borders with Iran and Turkey
Natural resources: crude oil, natural gas, phosphates, sulfur