Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Iraq
conventional short form: Iraq
local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Iraqiyah
local short form: Al Iraq
Data code: IZ
Government 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'mim, 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)
National holiday: Anniversary of the Revolution, 17 July (1968)
Constitution: 22 September 1968, effective 16 July 1970
(provisional 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
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal