Long-form name:
Republic of Iraq
Type:
republic
Capital:
Baghdad
Administrative divisions:
18 provinces (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Anbar, Al Basrah, Al
Muthanna, Al Qadisiyah, An Najaf, Arbil, As Sulaymaniyah, At Ta'im, Babil,
Baghdad, Dahuk, Dhi Qar, Diyala, Karbala, Maysan, Ninawa, Salah ad Din,
Wasit
Independence:
3 October 1932 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration)
Constitution:
22 September 1968, effective 16 July 1970 (interim Constitution); new
constitution drafted in 1990 but not adopted
Legal system:
based on Islamic law in special religious courts, civil law system
elsewhere; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday:
Anniversary of the Revolution, 17 July (1968)
Executive branch:
president, vice president, chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council,
vice chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council, prime minister, first
deputy prime minister, Council of Ministers
Legislative branch:
unicameral National Assembly (Majlis al-Watani)
Judicial branch:
Court of Cassation
Leaders:
Chief of State:
President SADDAM Husayn (since 16 July 1979); Vice President Taha Muhyi
al-Din MA'RUF (since 21 April 1974); Vice President Taha Yasin RAMADAN
(since 23 March 1991)
Head of Government:
Prime Minister Muhammad Hamza al-ZUBAYDI (since 13 September 1991); Deputy
Prime Minister Tariq `AZIZ (since NA 1979)
Suffrage:
universal adult at age 18
Elections:
National Assembly:
last held on 1 April 1989 (next to be held NA); results - Sunni Arabs 53%,
Shi`a Arabs 30%, Kurds 15%, Christians 2% est.; seats - (250 total) number
of seats by party NA
Other political or pressure groups:
political parties and activity severely restricted; possibly some opposition
to regime from disaffected members of the regime, Army officers, and Shi`a
religious and Kurdish ethnic dissidents
Member of:
ABEDA, ACC, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, 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:
Iraq has an Interest Section in the Algerian Embassy in Washington, DC;
Chancery at 1801 P Street NW, Washington, DC 20036; telephone (202) 483-7500
:Iraq Government
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
:Iraq Economy
Overview:
The Ba`thist 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 were severely damaged. Throughout
1991, the UN's economic embargo worked to reduce exports and imports and to
increase prices for most goods. The government's policy to allocate goods to
key supporters of the regime exacerbated shortages.
GNP:
$35 billion, per capita $1,940; real growth rate 10% (1989 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
45% (1989)
Unemployment rate:
less than 5% (1989 est.)
Budget:
revenues $NA billion; expenditures $NA billion, including capital
expenditures of NA (1989)
Exports:
$10.4 billion (f.o.b., 1990)
commodities:
crude oil and refined products, fertilizer, sulfur
partners:
US, Brazil, Turkey, Japan, Netherlands, Spain (1990)
Imports:
$6.6 billion (c.i.f., 1990)
commodities:
manufactures, food
partners:
FRG, US, Turkey, France, UK (1990)
External debt:
$45 billion (1989 est.), excluding debt of about $35 billion owed to Arab
Gulf states
Industrial production:
NA%; manufacturing accounts for 10% of GNP (1989)
Electricity:
3,800,000 kW available out of 9,902,000 kw capacity due to Gulf war; 7,700
million kWh produced, 430 kWh per capita (1991)
Industries:
petroleum production and refining, chemicals, textiles, construction
materials, food processing
Agriculture:
accounts for 11% of GNP but 30% of labor force; principal products - wheat,
barley, rice, vegetables, dates, other fruit, cotton, wool; livestock -
cattle, sheep; not self-sufficient in food output
:Iraq Economy
Economic aid:
US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-80), $3 million; Western (non-US)
countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $647 million;
Communist countries (1970-89), $3.9 billion
Currency:
Iraqi dinar (plural - dinars); 1 Iraqi dinar (ID) = 1,000 fils
Exchange rates:
Iraqi dinars (ID) per US$1 - 3.1 (fixed official rate since 1982);
black-market rate (December 1991) US$1 = 12 Iraqi dinars
Fiscal year:
calendar year
:Iraq Communications
Railroads:
2,457 km 1.435-meter standard gauge
Highways:
34,700 km total; 17,500 km paved, 5,500 km improved earth, 11,700 km
unimproved earth
Inland waterways:
1,015 km; Shatt-al-Arab usually navigable by maritime traffic for about 130
km, but closed since September 1980 because of Iran-Iraq war; Tigris and
Euphrates Rivers have navigable sections for shallow-draft watercraft;
Shatt-al-Basrah canal was navigable by shallow-draft craft before closing in
1991 because of the Persian Gulf war
Pipelines:
crude oil 4,350 km; petroleum products 725 km; natural gas 1,360 km
Ports:
Umm Qasr, Khawr az Zubayr, Al Basrah (closed since 1980)
Merchant marine:
42 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 936,665 GRT/1,683,212 DWT; includes 1
passenger, 1 passenger-cargo, 16 cargo, 1 refrigerated cargo, 3
roll-on/roll-off cargo, 19 petroleum tanker, 1 chemical tanker; note - since
the 2 August 1990 invasion of Kuwait by Iraqi forces, Iraq has sought to
register at least part of its merchant fleet under convenience flags; none
of the Iraqi flag merchant fleet was trading internationally as of 1 January
1992
Civil air:
34 major transport aircraft (including 7 grounded in Iran; excluding 12
IL-76s and 7 Kuwait Airlines)
Airports:
113 total, 98 usable; 73 with permanent-surface runways; 8 with runways over
3,659 m; 52 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 12 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Telecommunications:
reconstitution of damaged telecommunication infrastructure began after
Desert Storm; the network consists of coaxial cables and microwave links;
632,000 telephones; the network is operational; broadcast stations - 16 AM,
1 FM, 13 TV; satellite earth stations - 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT, 1 Indian
Ocean INTELSAT, 1 GORIZONT Atlantic Ocean in the Intersputnik system and 1
ARABSAT; coaxial cable and microwave to Jordan, Kuwait, Syria, and Turkey
:Iraq Defense Forces