_#_Member of: ABEDA, ACC, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, ESCWA, FAO, G-19,
G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT,
INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPEC,
PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
_#_Diplomatic representation: no Iraqi representative in Washington; Chancery at 1801 P Street NW, Washington DC 20036; telephone (202) 483-7500;
US—no US representative in Baghdad since mid-January 1991; Embassy in Masbah Quarter (opposite the Foreign Ministry Club), Baghdad (mailing address is P. O. Box 2447 Alwiyah, Baghdad); telephone [964] (1) 719-6138 or 719-6139, 718-1840, 719-3791
_#_Flag: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black with three green five-pointed stars in a horizontal line centered in the white band; the phrase Allahu Akbar (God is Great) in green Arabic script—Allahu to the right of the middle star and Akbar to the left of the middle star—was added in January 1991 during the Persian Gulf crisis; similar to the flag of Syria that has two stars but no script and the flag of Yemen that has a plain white band; also similar to the flag of Egypt that has a symbolic eagle centered in the white band
_*Economy #_Overview: The Bathist regime engages in extensive central planning and management of industrial production and foreign trade while leaving some small-scale industry and services and most agriculture to private enterprise. The economy has been dominated by the oil sector, which has provided about 95% of foreign exchange earnings. In the 1980s financial problems, caused by massive expenditures in the eight-year war with Iran and damage to oil export facilities by Iran, led the government to implement austerity measures and to borrow heavily and later reschedule foreign debt payments. After the end of hostilities in 1988, oil exports gradually increased with the construction of new pipelines and restoration of damaged facilities. Agricultural development remained hampered by labor shortages, salinization, and dislocations caused by previous land reform and collectivization programs. The industrial sector, although accorded high priority by the government, also was under financial constraints. Iraq's seizure of Kuwait in August 1990, subsequent international economic embargoes, and military actions by an international coalition beginning in January 1991 drastically changed the economic picture. Oil exports were cut to near zero, and industrial and transportation facilities severely damaged.
_#_GNP: $35 billion, per capita $1,940; real growth rate 5% (1989 est.)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 30-40% (1989 est.)
_#_Unemployment rate: less than 5% (1989 est.)
_#_Budget: revenues $NA billion; expenditures $35 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (1989)
_#_Exports: $12.1 billion (f.o.b., 1989);