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Iraq
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Iraq
IRAQ
LOCATION, SIZE, AND EXTENT
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FAMOUS IRAQIS
DEPENDENCIES
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Republic of Iraq
Al-Jumhuriyah al-'Iraqiyah
CAPITAL: Baghdād
FLAG: The national flag is a tricolor of red, white, and black horizontal stripes, with three five-pointed stars in green in the center of the white stripe. In 1991 the phrase Allahu Akbar ("God is Great") was added in green Arabic script—Allahu to the right of the middle star and Akbar to the left of the middle star.
ANTHEM: Al-Salaam al-Jumhuri (Salute of the Republic).
MONETARY UNIT: The Iraqi dinar (id) is a paper currency of 1,000 fils. There are coins of 1, 5, 10, 25, 50, 100, and 250 fils, and notes of 250 and 500 fils and 1, 5, 10, 50, and 100 dinars. 1id = $0.00068 (or $1 = id1,475) as of 2005.
WEIGHTS AND MEASURES: The metric system is the legal standard, but weights and measures in general use vary, especially in domestic transactions. The unit of land is the dunam, which is equivalent to approximately 0.25 hectare (0.62 acre).
HOLIDAYS: New Year's Day, 1 January; Army Day, 6 January; 14th Ramadan Revolution Day, 8 February; Declaration of the Republic, 14 July; and Peaceful Revolution Day, 17 July. Muslim religious holidays include 'Id al-Fitr, 'Id al-'Adha', Milad an-Nabi, and Islamic New Year.
TIME: 3 pm = noon GMT.
Present-day Iraq, comprising an area of 437,072 sq km (168,754 sq mi), corresponds roughly to the former Turkish provinces of Baghdād, Al Mawşil (Mosul), and Al Başrah (Basra). Comparatively, the area occupied by Iraq is slightly more than twice the size of the state of Idaho. It extends 984 km (611 mi) sse–nnw and 730 km (454 mi) ene–wsw. Iraq is bordered on the n by Turkey, on the e by Iran, on the se by the Persian Gulf and Kuwait, on the s by Saudi Arabia, on the w by Jordan, and on the nw by Syria, with a total land boundary length of 3,650 km (2,268 mi) and a coastline of 58 km (36 mi).
Iraq's capital city, Baghdād, is located in the east central part of the country.
Iraq is divided into three distinct zones: the desert in the west and southwest; the plains; and the highlands in the northeast, which rise to 3,000 m (10,000 ft) or more. The desert is an upland region with altitudes of 600 to 900 m (2,000–3,000 ft) between Damascus in Syria and Ar-Rutbah in Iraq, but declines gently toward the Euphrates (Al-Furāt) River. The water supply comes from wells and wadis that at times carry torrential floods and that retain the winter rains.
Dominated by the river systems of the Tigris (Dijlah) and Euphrates (Al-Furāt), the plains area is composed of two regions divided by a ridge, some 75 m (250 ft) above the flood plain, between Ar Ramādi and a point south of Baghdād that marks the prehistoric coastline of the Persian Gulf. The lower valley, built up by the silt the two rivers carry, consists of marshland, crisscrossed by drainage channels. At Qarmat 'Ali, just above Al Başrah, the two rivers combine and form the Shatt al Arab, a broad waterway separating Iraq and Iran. The sources of the Euphrates and Tigris are in the Armenian Plateau. The Euphrates receives its main tributaries before entering Iraq, while the Tigris receives several streams on the eastern bank within the country.
Under the influence of the monsoons, Iraq in summer has a constant northwesterly wind (shamal), while in winter a strong southeasterly air current (sharqi) develops. The intensely hot and dry summers last from May to October, and during the hottest time of the day—often reaching 49°c (120°f) in the shade—people take refuge in underground shelters. Winters, lasting from December to March, are damp and comparatively cold, with temperatures averaging about 10°c (50°f). Spring and autumn are brief transition periods. Normally, no rain falls from the end of May to the end of September. With annual rainfall of less than 38 cm (15 in), agriculture is dependent on irrigation.
In the lower regions of the Tigris (Dijlah) and Euphrates (Al-Furāt) and in the alluvial plains, papyrus, lotus, and tall reeds form a thick underbrush; willow, poplar, and alder trees abound. On the upper and middle Euphrates (Al-Furāt), the licorice bush yields a juice that is extracted for commercial purposes; another bush growing wild in the semiarid steppe or desert yields gum tragacanth for pharmaceutical use. In the higher Zagros Mountains grows the valonia oak, the bark of which is used for tanning leather. About 30 million date palms produce one of Iraq's most important exports.
Wild animals include the hyena, jackal, fox, gazelle, antelope, jerboa, mole, porcupine, desert hare, and bat. Beaver, wild ass, and ostrich are rare. Wild ducks, geese, and partridge are the game
birds. Vultures, owls, and ravens live near the Euphrates. Falcons are trained for hunting. As of 2002, there were at least 81 species of mammals and 140 species of birds throughout the country.
Three major armed conflicts since 1980 have had a significant negative effect on the nation's environment. Chemical weapons deployed at various locations along the Iran-Iraq border during the 1980–88 war killed thousands of people. During the 1991 Gulf War, coalition forces initiated a massive air campaign that destroyed nuclear, biological, and chemical facilities, causing toxic agents to seep into the air, soil, and waterways. Electrical plants, oil facilities, and water and sewage treatment plants were heavily damaged in both the 1991 and 2003 conflicts, contributing increased levels of air, water, and soil pollution to an already distressed environment. Plus, the Iraqi government's tactic of setting oil fires to ward off coalition forces set a broad range of toxic chemicals into the air and threatened many of the marshland ecosystems of the Tigris (Dijlah)–Euphrates (Al-Furāt) river basin. Although the full environmental impact of the conflicts had not been assessed as of 2006, it was clear that the new Iraqi government was facing several challenges in restoring basic services of power, water, and sanitation to the population, as well as in addressing issues of environmental renewal.
In 2000, only about 1.8% of the total land area was forested. Desertification has long been a problem in the hot, dry climate. Salinization and soil erosion caused by river basin flooding has affected otherwise fertile agricultural lands. In 2003, there were no protected lands in the country. According to a 2006 report issued by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN), threatened species included 9 types of mammals, 18 species of birds, 2 types of reptiles, 1 species of amphibian, 3 species of fish, and 2 species of invertebrates. Th reatened species include the black vulture, the imperial eagle, the wild goat, the striped hyena, and the sand cat. The Saudi gazelle has become extinct.
The population of Iraq in 2005 was estimated by the United Nations (UN) at 28,807,000, which placed it at number 39 in population among the 193 nations of the world. In 2005, approximately 3% of the population was over 65 years of age, with another 42% of the population under 15 years of age. There were 103 males for every 100 females in the country. According to the UN, the annual population rate of change for 2005–10 was expected to be 2.7%, a rate the government viewed as satisfactory. The projected population for the year 2025 was 44,664,000. The population density was 66 per sq km (170 per sq mi), with Mesopotamia the most densely populated region.
The UN estimated that 68% of the population lived in urban areas in 2005, and that urban areas were growing at an annual rate of 2.52%. The capital city, Baghdād, had a population of 5,620,000 in that year. Other major cities and their estimated populations included Arbil, 2,368,000, and Al Mawşil, 1,236,000.
Immigration into Iraq was limited until the beginning of the 1970s. However, the rise in oil prices and the increase of oil exports, as well as extensive public and private spending in the mid-1970s, created a market for foreign labor. The result was a stream of foreign (mainly Egyptian) workers, whose number may have risen as high as 1,600,000 before the Gulf War. During the Iran–Iraq war, many Egyptians worked in the public sector, filling a gap left by civil servants, farmers, and other workers who were fighting at the front. A number of Iraqis, mainly from southern Iraq and influenced by family ties and higher wages, migrated to Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. To weaken local support in the north for Kurdish rebels, the government forced tens of thousands of Kurds to resettle in the south; in September 1987, a Western diplomat in Baghdād claimed that at least 500 Kurdish villages had been razed and 100,000 to 500,000 Kurds relocated.
In 1991 some 1.5 million Iraqis fled the country for Turkey or Iran to escape Saddam Hussein's increasingly repressive rule, but fewer than 100,000 remained abroad as of 2005. Most of the refugees were Kurds who later resettled in areas in Iraq not controlled by the government. In September and October of 1996, around 65,000 Iraqi Kurds fled to Iran due to internal fighting between the Iraqi Kurds.
As of 1999, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) assisted 31,400 refugees in Iraq. Of these, some 19,000 were Iranian Kurds and 11,300 were Turkish Kurds. In 2004, Iraq had 241,403 refugees, 1,353 of these were asylum seekers and 193,990 returned refugees. Some 22,000 refugees were from the Occupied Palestinian Territory, 13,353 from Turkey, and 10,230 from Iran. Nearly 350,000 Iraqis were refugees themselves in 11 countries: 150,196 in Iran, 73,489 in Germany, and more than 23,000 each in Sweden and the United Kingdom. Iraq's asylum seekers in 2004 were from Iran. However, some 22,000 Iraqis sought asylum in 24 countries: 6,510 in Jordan, 5,351 in Sweden, 4,496 in Syria, some 2,000 each in Germany and the Netherlands, and over 1,000 each in Greece and Switzerland. Also in 2004, Iraq had 900,000 internally displaced persons.
In 2005, the net migration rate was estimated as zero migrants per 1,000 population.
Arabs constitute about 75–80% of the total population. The Kurds, an Islamic non-Arab people, are the largest and most important minority group, constituting about 15–20%. A seminomadic pastoral people, the Kurds live in the northeastern Zagros Mountains, mostly in isolated villages in the mountain valleys near Turkey and Iran. Kurdish opposition to Iraqi political dominance has occasioned violent clashes with government forces. Other minorities (5%) include Turkomans, living in the northeast; Yazidis, mostly in the Sinjar Mountains; Assyrians, mainly in the cities and northeastern rural areas; and Armenians.
Arabic is the national language and is the mother tongue of an estimated 79% of the population. Kurdish—the official language in Kurdish regions—or a dialect of it, is spoken by the Kurds and Yazidis. Aramaic, the ancient Syriac dialect, is retained by the Assyrians.
The Turkomans speak a Turkic dialect. Armenian is also spoken.
Islam is the national religion of Iraq, adhered to by some 97% of the population. Though the interim constitution provided for freedom of religion, that right is restricted by the government. About 60–65% of Muslims belong to the Shia sect and 32–37% to the Sunni sect. Traditionally, the Shia majority has been governed and generally oppressed by members of the Sunni minority. There are also some syncretic Muslim groups, such as the Yazidis, who consider Satan a fallen angel who will one day be reconciled with God. They propitiate him in their rites and regard the Old and New Testaments, as well as the Koran (Quran), as sacred.
About 3% of the population are adherents to Christianity and other religions. The Assyrians (who are not descended from the ancient Assyrians) are Nestorians. In the 19th century, under the influence of Roman Catholic missions, Christian Chaldeans joined the Uniate churches, which are in communion with Rome; their patriarch has his seat in Al Mawşil. The Sabaeans, or Mandaeans, are often called Christians of St. John, but their religious belief and their liturgy contain elements of many creeds, including some of pre-Christian Oriental origin. Since baptism is their main ritual, they always dwell near water and are concentrated on the riverbanks south of Baghdād. There are a small number of Jews.
Major cities, towns, and villages are connected by a modern network of highways and roads, which have made old caravan routes extinct. The city of Baghdād has been reshaped by the development of expressways through the city and by passes built since the 1970s. By 2002, Iraq had 45,550 km (28,304 mi) of roads, of which 38,400 km (23,861 mi) were paved. There were some 747,530 cars and 130,275 commercial vehicles in use as of 2003.
Railroads are owned and operated by the Iraqi State Railways Administration. A standard-gauge railroad connects Iraq with Jordan and Syria, and nearly all the old meter-gauge line connecting Arbil in the north with Al Başrah, by way of Kirkūk and Baghdād, has been replaced. In 2004, there were about 2,200 km (1,368 mi) of railway lines, all of it standard gauge.
Iraq had an estimated 111 airports in 2004, down from 150 in 2002. As of 2005, a total of 78 had paved runways, and there were 8 heliports. However, an unknown number of runways were damaged during the March–April 2003 war. Baghdād, Al Başrah, and Al Mawşil have international airports. Iraq Airways is the state-owned carrier; in the 1980s, its international flights landed only at night because of the Iraq-Iran war. The war also virtually closed Iraq's main port of Al Başrah and the new port of Umm Qasr on the Persian Gulf. Although Iraq had 5,275 km (3,281 mi) of inland waterways as of 2004, not all were navigable. Of those that were navigable, the Euphrates River (Al Furāt—2,815 km or 1,864 mi), the Tigris River (Dijlah—1,895 km or 1,178 mi) and the Th ird River (565 km or 351 mi) were the main waterways. In addition, the Shatt al Arab is usually navigable by maritime traffic for 130 km (81 mi). The Tigris and Euphrates have navigable sections for shallow-draft boats, and the Shatt al Al Başrah canal was navigable by shallow-draft craft before closing in 1991 because of the Gulf War. Expansion of Iraq's merchant marine, which totaled 1,470,000 gross registered tonnage (GRT) in 1980, was halted by the war with Iran and again by the Persian Gulf War. By 2005, the merchant marine totaled only 14 ships with 1,000 GRT or more, for a total capacity of 83,221 GRT.
Some of the earliest known human settlements have been found in present-day Iraq. Habitations, shrines, implements, and pottery found on various sites can be dated as early as the 5th millennium bc. Some sites bear names that are familiar from the Bible, which describes the region of the Tigris (Dijlah) and Euphrates (Al Furāt) rivers as the location of the Garden of Eden and the city of Ur as the birthplace of the patriarch Abraham. Scientific exploration and archaeological research have amplified the biblical accounts.
Recorded history in Mesopotamia (the ancient name of Iraq, particularly the area between the Tigris and Euphrates) begins with the Sumerians, who by the 4th millennium bc had established city-states. Records and accounts on clay tablets prove that they had a complex economic organization before 3200 bc. The reign of Sumer was challenged by King Sargon of Akkad (r.c.2350 bc); a Sumero-Akkadian culture continued in Erech (Tall al-Warka') and Ur (Tall al-Muqayyar) until it was superseded by the Amorites or Babylonians (about 1900 bc), with their capital at Babylon. The cultural height of Babylonian history is represented by Hammurabi (r.c.1792–c.1750 bc), who compiled a celebrated code of laws. After Babylon was destroyed by the Hittites about 1550 bc, the Hurrians established the Mitanni kingdom in the north for about 200 years, and the Kassites ruled for about 400 years in the south.
From Assur, their stronghold in the north, the Assyrians overran Mesopotamia about 1350 bc and established their capital at Nineveh (Ninawa). Assyrian supremacy was interrupted during the 11th and 10th centuries bc by the Aramaeans, whose language, Aramaic, became a common language in the eastern Mediterranean area in later times. Assyrian power was finally crushed by the Chaldeans or Neo-Babylonians, who, in alliance with the Medes in Persia, destroyed Nineveh in 612 bc. Nebuchadnezzar II (r.c.605–c.560 bc) rebuilt the city-state of Babylon, but it fell to the Persians, under Cyrus of the Achaemenid dynasty, in 539 bc. Under his son Cambyses II, the Persian Empire extended from the Oxus (Amu Darya) River to the Mediterranean, with its center in Mesopotamia. Its might, in turn, was challenged by the Greeks. Led by the Macedonian conqueror Alexander the Great, they defeated the Persians by 327 bc and penetrated deep into Persian lands. The Seleucids, Alexander's successors in Syria, Mesopotamia, and Persia, built their capital, Seleucia, on the Tigris, just south of Baghdād. They had to yield power to the Parthians, who conquered Mesopotamia in 138 bc.
The Arabs conquered Iraq in ad 637. For a century, under the "Orthodox" and the Umayyad caliphs, Iraq remained a province of the Islamic Empire, but the 'Abbasids (750–1258) made it the focus of their power. In their new capital, Baghdād, their most illustrious member, Harun al-Rashid (ar-Rashid, r.786–809), became, through the Arabian Nights, a legend for all time. Under Harun and his son Al-Ma'mun, Baghdād was the center of brilliant intellectual and cultural life. Two centuries later, the Seljuk vizier Nizam al-Mulk established the famous Nizamiyah University,
one of whose professors was the philosopher Al-Ghazali (Ghazel, d.1111). A Mongol invasion in the early 13th century ended Iraq's flourishing economy and culture. In 1258, Genghis Khan's grandson Hulagu sacked Baghdād and destroyed the canal system on which the productivity of the region had depended. Timur, also known as Timur Lenk ("Timur the Lame") or Tamerlane, conquered Baghdād and Iraq in 1393. Meanwhile, the Ottoman Turks had established themselves in Asia Minor and, by capturing Cairo (1517), their sultans claimed legitimate succession to the caliphate. In 1534, Süleyman the Magnificent conquered Baghdād and, except for a short period of Persian control in the 17th century, Iraq remained an Ottoman province until World War I.
Late in 1914, the Ottoman Empire sided with the Central Powers, and a British expeditionary force landed in Iraq and occupied Al Başrah. The long campaign that followed ended in 1918, when the whole of Iraq fell under British military occupation. The collapse of the Ottoman Empire stimulated Iraqi hopes for freedom and independence, but in 1920, Iraq was declared a League of Nations mandate under UK administration. Riots and revolts led to the establishment of an Iraqi provisional government in October 1920. On 23 August 1921, Faisal I (Faysal), the son of Sharif Hussein (Husayn ibn-'Ali) of Mecca, became king of Iraq. In successive stages, the last of which was a treaty of preferential alliance with the United Kingdom (June 1930), Iraq gained independence in 1932 and was admitted to membership in the League of Nations.
Faisal died in 1933, and his son and successor, Ghazi, was killed in an accident in 1939. Until the accession to the throne of Faisal II, on attaining his majority in 1953, his uncle 'Abdul Ilah, Ghazi's cousin, acted as regent. On 14 July 1958, the army rebelled under the leadership of Gen. 'Abd al-Karim al-Qasim (Kassim). Faisal II, Crown Prince 'Abdul Ilah, and Prime Minister Nuri al-Sa'id (as-Sa'id) were killed. The monarchy was abolished, and a republic established. Iraq left the anticommunist Baghdād Pact, which the monarchy had joined in 1955. An agrarian reform law broke up the great landholdings of feudal leaders, and a new economic development program emphasized industrialization. In spite of some opposition from original supporters and political opponents, tribal uprisings, and several attempts at assassination, Qasim managed to remain the head of Iraq for four and a half years. On 9 February 1963, however, a military junta, led by Col. 'Abd as-Salam Muhammad 'Arif, overthrew his regime and executed Qasim.
Since 1961, Iraq's Kurdish minority has frequently opposed with violence attempts by Baghdād to impose authority over its regions. In an attempt to cope with this opposition, the Bakr government passed a constitutional amendment in July 1970 granting limited political, economic, and cultural autonomy to the Kurdish regions. But in March 1974, Kurdish insurgents, known as the Pesh Merga, again mounted a revolt, with Iranian military support. The Iraqi army countered with a major offensive. On 6 March 1975, Iraq and Iran concluded an agreement by which Iran renounced support for the Kurds and Iraq agreed to share sovereignty over the Shatt al Arab estuary. The new regime followed a policy based on neutralism and aimed to cooperate with Syria and Egypt and to improve relations with Turkey and Iran. These policies were continued after 'Arif was killed in an airplane crash in 1966 and was succeeded by his brother, 'Abd ar-Rahman 'Arif. Th is regime, however, was overthrown in July 1968, when Gen. (later Marshal) Ahmad Hasan al-Bakr, heading a section of the Ba'ath Party, staged a coup and established a new government with himself as president. In the 1970s, the Ba'ath regime focused increasingly on economic problems, nationalizing the petroleum industry in 1972–73 and allocating large sums for capital development. Bakr resigned in July 1979 and was followed as president by his chosen successor, Saddam Hussein (Husayn) al-Takriti.
Tensions between Iraq and Iran rose after the Iranian revolution of 1979 and the accession to power of Saddam Hussein. In September 1980, Iraq sought to take advantage of the turmoil in Iran by suddenly canceling the 1975 agreement and mounting a full-scale invasion. Iraqi soldiers seized key points in the Khuzistan region of southwestern Iran, captured the major southern city of Khorramshahr, and besieged Abadan, destroying its large oil refinery. The Iraqi army then took up defensive positions, a tactic that gave the demoralized Iranian forces time to regroup and launch a slow but successful counterattack that retook Khuzistan by May 1982. Iraq then sought peace and in June withdrew from Iranian areas it had occupied. Iran's response was to launch major offensives aimed at the oil port of Al Başrah. Entrenched in well-prepared positions on their own territory, Iraqi soldiers repelled the attacks, inflicting heavy losses, and the war ground to a stalemate, with tens of thousands of casualties on each side.
Attempts by the UN and by other Arab states to mediate the conflict were unsuccessful; in the later stages of the war, Iraq accepted but Iran regularly rejected proposals for a compromise peace. Although most Arab states supported Iraq, and the Gulf oil states helped finance Iraqi military equipment, the war had a destabilizing effect both on the national economy and on the ruling Ba'ath Party. France also aided Iraq with credits to buy advanced weapons (notably, Super Étendard fighters and Exocet missiles), and it provided the technology for Iraq to construct the Osirak nuclear reactor near Baghdād. (In June 1981, this installation was destroyed in a bombing raid by Israel, which claimed that the facility would be used to produce nuclear weapons, a charge Iraq denied.) Other Western countries provided supplies, financing, and intelligence to Iraq but denied the same to Iran.
In February 1986, the Iranians made their biggest gain in the war, crossing the Shatt al Arab and capturing Fao (Al-Faw) on the southernmost tip of land in Iraq. In early 1987, they seized several islands in the Shatt al Arab opposite Al Başrah. The war soon spread to Persian Gulf shipping, as both sides attacked oil tankers and ships transporting oil, goods, and arms to the belligerents or their supporters.
The war ended on 20 August 1988 after Iran accepted a UN cease-fire proposal on 18 July. Having suffered enormous casualties and physical damage plus a massive debt burden, Baghdād began the postwar process of reconstruction. Before and after the war, there were scores to settle, primarily against the Kurds, some of whom had helped Iran and were the victims of Iraqi poison gas attacks. Many border villages were demolished and their Kurdish populations relocated.
When Iraq's wartime allies seemed unwilling to ease financial terms or keep oil prices high and questioned Iraq's rearmament efforts, Saddam Hussein turned bitterly against them. Kuwait was the principal target. After threats and troop movements, Iraq reasserted its claim (which dated from the days of the monarchy) to that country and on 2 August 1990, invaded and occupied it. Saddam
Hussein was unflinching in the face of various peace proposals, economic sanctions, and the threatening buildup of coalition forces led by the United States.
A devastating air war led by the United States began on 17 January 1991 followed by ground attack on 24 February. Iraq was defeated, but not occupied. Despite vast destruction and several hundred thousand casualties, Saddam's regime remained firmly in control. It moved to crush uprisings from the Shia in the south and Kurds in the north. To protect those minorities, the United States and its allies imposed no-fly zones that gave the Kurds virtually
an independent state, but afforded much less defense for the rebellious Arabs in the south whose protecting marshes were being drained by Baghdād. There were several clashes between allied and Iraqi forces in both areas.
In 1996, in an effort to boost morale in Iraq and bolster its image abroad, Iraq conducted its first parliamentary elections since 1989. However, only candidates loyal to Saddam Hussein were allowed to run. A government screening committee reviewed and approved all 689 candidates, who either belonged to Hussein's Ba'ath Party or were independents that supported the 1968 coup that brought the party to power.
The Iraqi economy continued to decline throughout the 1990s, with the continuation of the UN sanctions, imposed in 1990, which prohibited Iraq from selling oil on the global market in major transactions and froze Iraqi assets overseas. The deteriorating living conditions imposed on the Iraqi population prompted consideration of emergency measures. In 1996 talks were held between Iraq and the United Nations on a proposed "oil for food" humanitarian program that would permit Iraq to sell a limited quantity of oil in order to purchase food and basic supplies for Iraqi citizens. The United States and Britain wanted money earmarked for Iraq's Kurdish provinces funneled through the existing United Nations assistance program there. They also raised the issue of equity with respect to Iraq's existing rationing system. In December 1996, the UN agreed to allow Iraq to export $2 billion in oil to buy food and medical supplies. Iraq began receiving 400,000 tons of wheat in the spring of 1997.
Since the end of the Gulf War, Iraq had demonstrated cooperation with UNSCOM, the special UN commission charged with monitoring weapons of mass destruction. However, Saddam Hussein refused to dismantle his country's biological weapons and had stopped cooperating with UNSCOM by August 1997, leading to increasing tension and a US military buildup in the region by early 1998. Personal intervention by UN Secretary General Kofi Annan helped diffuse the situation temporarily. However, renewed disagreements arose in the latter half of the year, ultimately leading to a December bombing campaign (Operation Desert Fox) by US and UK forces, with the goal of crippling Iraq's weapons capabilities. In late 1998 the US Congress also approved funding for Iraqi opposition groups, in hopes of toppling Saddam Hussein politically from within.
In 1999 the oil for food program was expanded to allow for the sale of $5.25 billion in oil by Iraq over a six-month period to buy goods and medicine. By 2000, most observers agreed that the decade-long UN sanctions, while impoverishing Iraq and threatening its population with a major humanitarian crisis, had failed in their goal of weakening Saddam's hold on power.
The situation in Iraq intensified in 2002. In his January 2002 State of the Union Address, US president George W. Bush labeled Iraq, along with Iran and North Korea, part of an "axis of evil"—states that threatened the world with weapons of mass destruction and sponsored terrorism. Throughout 2002, the United States, in partnership with the United Kingdom, brought the issue of the need to disarm the Iraqi regime of weapons of mass destruction (WMD) to the forefront of international attention. On 8 November 2002, the UN Security Council unanimously approved Resolution 1441, calling upon Iraq to disarm itself of all biological, chemical, and nuclear weapons and weapons capabilities, to allow for the immediate return of UN and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) weapons inspectors (they had been expelled from the country in 1998), and to comply with all previous UN resolutions regarding the country since the end of the Gulf War in 1991. UN and IAEA weapons inspectors returned to Iraq, but the United States and the United Kingdom were neither satisfied with their progress nor with Iraq's compliance with the inspectors. The United States and the United Kingdom began a military buildup in the Persian Gulf region (eventually 250,000 US and 45,000 British troops would be stationed there), and pressed the UN Security Council to issue another resolution authorizing the use of force to disarm the Iraqi regime. This move was met by stiff opposition from France, Germany, and Russia (all members of the Security Council at the time, with France and Russia being permanent members with veto power); the diplomatic impasse ended on 17 March 2003, when the United States, the United Kingdom, and Spain withdrew from the Security Council the resolution they had submitted that February that would have authorized the use of military force. War began on 19 March 2003, and by early April, the Iraqi regime had fallen.
The postwar period proved to be a diffi cult one for the United States and the United Kingdom, as their troops attempted to prevent looting and violence, to disarm Iraqis, and to begin the process of reconstruction. Especially contentious was the issue of the formation of a new Iraqi government: Iraqi exiles returned to the country, attempting to take up positions of power; Kurds demanded representation in a new political structure; and Shias (who make up some 60% of the Iraqi population) agitated for recognition and power. The United States initially installed retired US Army Lt. Gen. Jay Garner as head of the Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance to oversee Iraq's civil administration while a new government was to be installed. Garner was replaced by former US State Deparment official L. Paul Bremer III in May 2003 in what some called an effort to put a civilian face on the reconstruction effort. Many Iraqi political figures in June labeled the allied campaign to remove the Saddam Hussein regime more like an "occupation" than a "liberation," and called for elections to a national assembly that would produce a new constitution for the country.
On 13 December 2003, Saddam Hussein was found alive hiding in a hole 2.5-m (8-ft) deep near his hometown of Tikrit. He was taken into custody, and beginning in October 2005, was put on trial for the killing of 143 Shias from Dujail, in retaliation for a failed assassination attempt in 1982.
In June 2004, the United States disbanded the Coalition Provisional Authority led by Bremer and transferred sovereignty back to Iraq in the form of an interim government, headed by Prime Minister Iyad Allawi. On 30 January 2005, Iraqi voters elected a 275-member Transnational National Assembly. The Assembly was given the tasks of serving as Iraq's national legislature and forming a constitution. In April 2005, the National Assembly appointed Jalal Talabani, a prominent Kurdish leader, president. Ibrahim al-Jaafari, a Shia, whose United Iraq Alliance Party won the most votes in the January elections, was named prime minister. A constitution was written and presented to the people in a national referendum held on 15 October 2005: more than 63% of eligible voters turned out to vote. The constitution passed with a 78% majority, although three provinces voted against it, two of them by a two-thirds
majority. Under election rules, had two-thirds of voters in each of the three provinces voted against the constitution, it would have failed. The vote was sharply divided along ethnic and sectarian lines: Shias and Kurds generally supported the document. As it was, the constitution was largely drafted by Shias and Kurds, who together make up some 80% of the population. The Iraqi insurgency is largely composed of Sunni Arabs.
On 15 December 2005, the country turned out in new parliamentary elections to elect a permanent government. Turnout was high; 10.9 million out of 15.6 million registered voters cast ballots across the country. Some fraud was detected, but in general the elections were held in a free and democratic manner. Official results were announced in January 2006, showing that the Shia and Kurdish coalitions once again dominated the voting, although they came up short of the two-thirds majority needed to form a government of their own. Sunni Arab parties won 58 of the 275 seats, which was the second-largest bloc of seats, giving them a much larger voice than they had in the January 2005 elections. In all, four main coalitions won 250 of the 275 seats in the parliament, which was elected for a term lasting until 2009. Of the remaining 25 seats, most were won by smaller groups with ideological or geographic links to the winning coalitions. The United Iraqi Alliance, the alliance of the main Shia parties, took 128 seats. The Kurdistan Alliance, an alliance of the primary Kurdish parties, won 53 seats. The Iraqi Consensus Front, an alliance of predominantly Sunni parties, took 44 seats, and the Iraqi List, an alliance of the main secular parties, won 25 seats.
Although the election held the fragile promise of a stable government, by the end of February 2006, sectarian violence had reached new levels. On 22 February 2006, Sunni insurgents bombed the important Shia Askariya Shrine in Sunni-dominated Sāmarrā; the shrine's gold dome was reduced to rubble by explosives. Th ousands of Shias took to the streets in both peaceful demonstrations and retaliatory attacks: the sectarian violence that ensued left at least 138 people dead in two days, and political negotiations over the new government in ruins. Civil war was not an unthinkable future for Iraq as of mid-2006.
The coup d'état of 14 July 1958 established an autocratic regime headed by the military. Until his execution in February 1963, 'Abd al-Karim al-Qasim ruled Iraq, with a council of state and a cabinet. On 27 July 1958, a fortnight after taking over, Qasim's regime issued a provisional constitution, which has been repeatedly amended to accommodate changes in the status of the Kurdish regions. Since the 1968 coup, the Ba'ath Party ruled Iraq by means of the Revolutionary Command Council, "the supreme governing body of the state," which selected the president and a cabinet composed of military and civilian leaders. The president (Saddam Hussein from 1979–2003) served as chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council, which exercised both executive and legislative powers by decree. He was also prime minister, commander-in-chief of the armed forces, and secretary-general of the Ba'ath Party. A national assembly of 250 members that was elected by universal suffrage in 1980, 1984, 1989, 1996, and 2000, had little real power. Most senior officials were relatives or close associates of Saddam Hussein; nevertheless, their job security was not great.
The precarious nature of working in the regime of Saddam Hussein, even for relatives, was made evident in 1995 when two of his sons-in-law defected to Jordan along with President Hussein's daughters. The defection was widely reported in the international media and considered a great embarrassment to the regime as well as a strong indicator of how brutal and repressive its machinations were. After a promise of amnesty was delivered to the defectors by Iraq, the men returned and were executed shortly after crossing the border into Iraq.
In the aftermath of the Iraq war which began in March 2003, Iraq was effectively ruled by the US-installed Office of Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance, and then by a Coalition Provisional Authority. In December 2003, Saddam Hussein was captured and brought into US custody; beginning in October 2005, he went on trial for the killing of 143 Shias from Dujail. In June 2004, sovereignty was transferred back to Iraq and an interim Iraqi government was installed, led by Prime Minister Iyad Allawi. On 30 January 2005, Iraqi voters elected a 275-member Transnational National Assembly. In April 2005, the National Assembly appointed Jalal Talabani, a prominent Kurdish leader, president. Ibrahim al-Jaafari, a Shia, was named prime minister. A constitution was written and presented to the people in a national referendum held on 15 October 2005: more than 63% of eligible voters turned out to vote. The constitution passed with a 78% majority.
Under the 2005 constitution, the government is broken down into four branches: legislative, executive, judicial, and independent associations. In the legislative branch, two councils were created: a Council of Representatives, the main law-making body, and the Council of Union, whose primary task is to examine bills related to regions and provinces. The executive branch is composed of a president, who is not directly elected and whose powers are primarily ceremonial; a deputy president; a prime minister, who as head of government is appointed by the president from the leader of the majority party in the Council of Representatives; and a cabinet chosen by the prime minister. The judiciary is independent and composed of the following: a Supreme Judiciary Council; a Supreme Federal Court; a Federal Cassation Court; a Prosecutor's Office; a Judiciary Inspection Dept.; and other federal courts organized by law. The "fourth branch" is that of independent associations whose actions are subject to legislation and supervision by the other branches. They include: a Supreme Commission for Human Rights; a Supreme Independent Commission for Elections; an Integrity Agency; an Iraqi Central Bank; a Financial Inspection Office; a Media and Communications Agency; Offices of (religious) Endowments; Institution of the Martyrs; and the Federal Public Service Council.
On 15 December 2005, new parliamentary elections were held to elect a permanent government. Sunni Arab parties won 58 of the 275 seats in the Council of Representatives, which was the second-largest bloc of seats. In all, four main coalitions won 250 of the 275 seats in the parliament, which will lead the country until 2009. Of the remaining 25 seats, most were won by smaller groups with ideological or geographic links to the winning coalitions. The United Iraqi Alliance, the alliance of the main Shia parties, took 128 seats. The Kurdistan Alliance, an alliance of the primary Kurdish parties, won 53 seats. The Iraqi Consensus Front, an alliance
of predominantly Sunni parties, took 44 seats, and the Iraqi List, an alliance of the main secular parties, won 25 seats.
Until 1945, political parties existed but were ineffective as political factors. In 1946, five new parties were founded, including one that was Socialist (Al-Hizb al-Watani al-Dimuqrati, or the National Democratic Party), one avowedly close to communism (AshSha'b, or the People's Party), and one purely reformist (Al-Ittihad al-Watani, or the National Union Party).
The response to these parties alarmed the conservative politicians. The Palestine War (1948) provided the pretext for suppression of the Sha'b and Ittihad parties. Only the National Democratic Party functioned uninterruptedly; in 1950, with the lifting of martial law, the others resumed work. In 1949, Nuri as-Sa'id founded the Constitutional Union Party (Al-Ittihad ad-Dusturi), with a pro-Western, liberal reform program to attract both the old and the young generations. In opposition, Salih Jabr, a former partisan of Nuri's turned rival, founded the Nation's Socialist Party (Al-Ummah al-Ishtiraki), which advocated a democratic and nationalistic, pro-Western and pan-Arab policy. In 1954, however, Sa'id dissolved all parties, including his own Constitutional Union Party, on the ground that they had resorted to violence during the elections of that year.
After the coup of 1958, parties "voluntarily" discontinued their activities. In January 1960, Premier Qasim issued a new law allowing political parties to operate again. Meanwhile, the Ba'athists, who first gained strength in Syria in the 1950s as a pan-Arab movement with strong nationalist and socialist leanings, had attracted a following among elements of the Syrian military. In February 1963, Qasim was overthrown and executed by officers affiliated with a conservative wing of Iraq's Ba'ath movement. In November, a second coup was attempted by Ba'athist extremists from the left, who acted with complicity of the ruling Syrian wing of the party. With the 1968 coup, rightist elements of the Ba'ath Party were installed in prominent positions by Gen. Bakr. Since then, the Ba'athists, organized as the Arab Ba'ath Socialist Party, were the ruling political group in Iraq. In the national assembly elections of 1980, the Ba'athists won more than 75% of the seats at stake; in the 1984 elections, they won 73% of the seats. Elections were again held in March 1996, with only Ba'athists or independent supporters of Saddam Hussein allowed to run for seats in the Assembly. Altogether, 220 seats were contested by 689 candidates. Only Ba'ath Party members and supporters of the Saddam Hussein regime were allowed to run in the March 2000 elections as well. In the 1990s and into the mid-2000s, most real party activity in Iraq involved the country's Kurdish minority, which had established a number of political groups, most of them in opposition to the central government.
In 1991, the regime issued a decree theoretically allowing the formation of other political parties, but which in fact prohibited parties not supportive of the regime. Under the 1991 edict, all political parties had to be based in Baghdād and all were prohibited from having ethnic or religious affiliations.
Outside of Iraq, ethnic, religious and political opposition groups came together to organize a common front against Saddam Hussein, but they achieved very little until 2003. The Shia al Dawa Party was brutally suppressed by Saddam before the Iran-Iraq war.
In the aftermath of the 2003 war, certain Shia clerics, including Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani and Ayatollah Muhammad Bakr al-Hakim, emerged as political and religious leaders for the Shia community. In August 2003, al-Hakim was killed in a car bomb attack along with dozens of followers in the holy city of Najaf.
The two main Kurdish political parties as of 2003 were the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), led by Massoud Barzani, and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), led by Jalal Talabani. Long rivals, the two parties were called upon to reconcile differences so as to provide for a viable future for Iraq's Kurds. The Iraqi National Congress, based in Salahuddin in northern Iraq and in London, was led by Ahmad Chalabi.
In the parliamentary elections for a permanent government that were held on 15 December 2005, four main coalitions won 250 of the 275 seats in the parliament. The United Iraqi Alliance, the alliance of the main Shia parties, took 128 seats. The Kurdistan Alliance, an alliance of the primary Kurdish parties, won 53 seats. The Iraqi Consensus Front, an alliance of predominantly Sunni parties, took 44 seats, and the Iraqi List, an alliance of the main secular parties, won 25 seats. The remaining 25 seats were held by smaller groups with ideological or geographic links to the winning coalitions.
Iraq until 2003 was divided into 18 provinces (three of which formed an autonomous Kurdish region), each headed by an appointed governor. Provinces were subdivided into districts, each under a deputy governor; a district consists of counties, the smallest units, each under a director. Towns and cities were administered by municipal councils led by mayors. Baghdād's municipality, the "governorate of the capital," under its mayor, or "guardian of the capital," served as a model municipality. A settlement reached with the Kurds in 1970 provided for Kurdish autonomy on the local level. In 1974, the provisional constitution was further amended to provide the Kurdistan region with an elected 80-member legislative council; elections were held in 1980 and 1986, but, in fact, the Iraqi army controlled Kurdistan until the imposition of a UN-approved protected zone in the north at the end of the Gulf War. In May 1992, Kurds held elections there for a new 100-member parliament for the quasi-independent region. This marked the only relatively free elections held in Iraq in several decades.
Local governing authority broke down following the fall of the Iraqi regime in April 2003. US and British troops were responsible for policing the country, and for restoring electricity, running water, sanitation, and other essential services. By 2006, however, sectarian violence was worsening, and the country looked as if it might be on the path to civil war.
Under the 2005 constitution, Iraq's federal system is made up of the capital of Baghdād, regions, decentralized provinces, and local administrations. The country's future regions are to be established from its current 18 governorates (provinces). Any single province, or group of provinces, is entitled to request that it be recognized as a region, with such a request being made by either two-thirds of the members of the provincial councils in the provinces involved or by one-tenth of the registered voters in the province(s) in question. Provinces that are unwilling or unable to join a region still enjoy enough autonomy and resources to enable them to manage their own internal affairs according to the principle of administratative
decentralization. With the two parties' approval, federal government responsibilities may be delegated to the provinces, or vice versa. These decentralized provinces are headed by Provincial Governors, elected by Provincial Councils. The administrative levels within a province are defined, in descending order, as districts, counties and villages.
The court system until 2003 was made up of two distinct branches: a security component and a more conventional court system to handle other charges. There was no independence in the operation of the judiciary; the president could override any court decision.
The security courts had jurisdiction in all cases involving espionage, treason, political dissent, smuggling and currency exchange violations, and drug trafficking. The ordinary civil courts had jurisdiction over civil, commercial, and criminal cases except for those that fell under the jurisdiction of the religious courts. Courts of general jurisdiction were established at governorate headquarters and in the principal districts.
Magistrates' courts tried criminal cases in the first instance, but they could not try cases involving punishment of more than seven years in prison. Such cases were tried in courts of sessions that were also appellate instances for magistrates' courts. Each judicial district had courts of sessions presided over by a bench of three judges. There were no jury trials. Special courts to try national security cases were set up in 1965; verdicts of these courts could be appealed to the military supreme court. In other cases, the highest court of appeal was the court of cassation in Baghdād, with civil and criminal divisions. It was composed of at least 15 judges, including a president and two vice presidents.
For every court of first instance, there was a Shariah (Islamic) court that ruled on questions involving religious matters and personal status. Trials were public and defendants were entitled to free counsel in the case of indigents. The government protected certain groups from prosecution. A 1992 decree granted immunity from prosecution to members of the Ba'ath Party. A 1990 decree granted immunity to men who killed their mothers, daughters, and other female family members who had committed "immoral deeds" such as adultery and fornication.
Under the constitution ratified in 2005, the judiciary is independent and composed of the following: a Supreme Judiciary Council; a Supreme Federal Court; a Federal Cassation Court; a Prosecutor's Office; a Judiciary Inspection Dept.; and other federal courts organized by law. The Supreme Judiciary Council administers the judicial branch, nominates members of the courts and departments, and presents the judicial budget to the legislature. The Supreme Federal Court is the highest court in Iraq, oversees election results, and rules in the case of accusations against the president or prime minister. Private courts are banned.
The Iraqi security forces in 2005 had 179,800 active personnel. The Army, including the National Guard, had an estimated 79,000 active personnel, followed by the Navy with an estimated 700 personnel and the Air Wing, which had an estimated 200 active members. In addition to the military forces, Iraq's security forces included an estimated 32,900 Ministry of Interior Forces and 67,000 active members of the Iraqi Police Service. Major naval units consisted of 10 patrol/coastal vessels operated by the Iraqi Coastal Defense Force. The Iraqi Air Wing was under the Department of Border Enforcement, and was equipped with 16 reconnaissance and six transport fixed wing aircraft, plus 36 support and 20 utility helicopters. As of 2005, there was no data available on defense spending by Iraq.
Iraq is a charter member of the United Nations, having joined on 21 December 1945, and participates in ESCWA and several nonregional specialized agencies. A founding member of the Arab League, Iraq also participates in the Arab fund for Economic and Social Development, the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa, the Arab Monetary Fund, the Council of Arab Economic Unity, Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), G-19, G-77, OAPEC, and OPEC. Iraq holds observer status in the WTO.
Iraq has given both military and economic support to Arab parties in the conflict with Israel. The war with Iran preoccupied Iraq during the 1980s, and Iraq's relations with other countries in the Arab world have varied. During the 1980s, Iraq maintained friendly relations with some Western countries, notably France, a major arms supplier to Iraq.
In November 1984, diplomatic relations between Iraq and the United States were renewed after a break of 17 years, but were broken off again when Iraq invaded Kuwait in August of 1990. The United States and its allies launched an air war against Iraq after diplomatic efforts and economic sanctions failed to convince Iraq to leave Kuwait. Iraq's international standing deteriorated badly and the nation was placed under an international trade embargo. Iraq was attacked by US and British forces beginning on 19 March 2003, and the regime led by Saddam Hussein was defeated by those forces that April. In the postwar period, the country is undergoing reconstruction and the government is in transition. A Transitional National Assembly (TNA) was formed by direct democratic elections held on 30 January 2005. On 15 December 2005, a permanent 275-seat Council of Representatives was elected.
Iraq is a member of the Nonaligned Movement. In environmental cooperation, Iraq is part of the Nuclear Test Ban Treaty and the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea.
In 1973, Iraqi oil revenue was $1.8 billion. By 1978, oil revenues peaked at $23.6 billion. In 2002, oil revenues were estimated at about $15 billion. Oil production growth was forecast to be constrained by security problems and long-standing underinvestment over the period 2006–07, but modest increases in output were expected to improve real GDP growth.
GDP growth was in double digits from 1973 to 1980 with the exception of 1974, when it was 7.2%. It was from these lofty heights that the regime of Saddam Hussein launched two wars whose effects on the Iraqi economy, even aside from the tragic human costs, proved devastating. The Iraq-Iran War (1980–88) began with Iraq's attempt to seize control of the economically and strategically important Shatt al Arab from Iran, which the countries had agreed to divide in a treaty in 1975. Saddam miscalculated that Iran could be easily dismembered during its revolutionary upheavals, and when the war ended eight bloody years later,
the Shatt al Arab and all other border issues returned to the status quo antebellum, leaving Iraq with no material gain and a debt of over $100 billion, much of it owed to Kuwait. Annual oil revenues for Iraq and Kuwait were roughly even—averaging about $16 billion a year—but Kuwait, instead of spending on armaments, had invested sizeable amounts in the West, essentially doubling its returns. Kuwait refused to see the debts owed it by Iraq as money spent for its own defense, and insisted on being repaid, providing the economic trigger for Iraq's second disastrous foray—the invasion of Kuwait on 2 August 1990. For the first time the UN Security Council agreed to support collective action against an aggressive power and Iraqi forces were driven out of Kuwait in the first Gulf War in February 1991. The UN imposed comprehensive economic, financial, and military sanctions, placing the Iraqi economy under siege. Acting on its own, the United States also froze all Iraqi assets in the United States and barred all economic transactions between US citizens and Iraq. Many other countries imposed similar sanctions on top of the UN-imposed embargo. UN Security Council resolutions authorized the export of Iraqi crude oil worth up to $1.6 billion over a limited time to finance humanitarian imports for the Iraqi people.
The effect of war in Kuwait and continuing economic sanctions reduced real GDP by at least 75% in 1991, on the basis of an 85% decline in oil production, and the destruction of the industrial and service sectors of the economy. Living standards deteriorated and the inflation rate reached 8,000% in 1992. Estimates for 1993 indicated that unemployment hovered around 50% and that inflation was as high as 1,000%. Because UN costs and reparations for Kuwait were taken out of permitted oil sales before being handed over to the Iraqi regime, the government's revenues were lower than total oil sales. The Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) reported that Iraqi oil revenues at current prices were $365 million in 1994, $370 million in 1995 and $680 million in 1996. After the first Gulf War Iraq refused to provide economic data to the UN or any other international organization, and all estimates therefore were subject to wide variability and questions of reliability. Uncertainty was increased by a flourishing black market that was responsible for an increasing share of domestic commerce. There were widespread expectations that the Hussein regime would soon fall from the weight of its disastrous political and economic miscalculations, but this did not happen, and by 1995 it had become apparent that the tight restrictions on oil sales were resulting in serious harm to the Iraqi people. The UN passed its first oil-for-food program (which the Iraqi regime refused to accept until 1996) allowing oil worth $5.26 billion to be sold every six months, with strict controls over how the money was spent. OAPEC reported that Iraqi oil revenues were about $4.6 billion in 1997 and $6.8 billion in 1998. In December 1999 the UN Security Council lifted the limits on Iraq's oil production, which then rose from 550,000 billion barrels per day (bbl/d) in November 1996 to an average of about 2.6 million bbl/d during 2000. Real GDP growth fell by 5.7% in 2001 due to the slowdown in the world economy and lower oil prices.
By 2002, crude exports from Iraq had fallen below normal capacity (about 2 million bbl/d) to an average of 630,000 bbl/d. According to UN assessments, this low export level created a $2.64 billion shortfall in the oil-for-food program. Low exports were blamed on illegal surcharges of about 15–45 cents per barrel being levied by Iraq from about December 2000, and the tactic of "retroactive pricing" adopted by the United States and the United Kingdom in January 2001 to combat these surcharges. Both the surcharges and the retroactive pricing—whereby the price charged for Iraqi oil was revealed only after the sale, and then set at a level too high for a surcharge to be paid and still make a profit—raised the price and reduced demand for Iraqi oil. The concerns by the United States and the United Kingdom were that the surcharges were being used to fund a secret military build-up by Iraq. UN estimates are that from 1996 to 2002 the "oil-for-food" program generated about $60 billion. The US government estimates that through smuggling and illegal surcharges the Iraqi government secured about $6.6 billion from 1997 to 2001. On 14 May 2002, after Iraq had resumed oil exports, the UN Security Council approved a change in the oil-for-food program to add an extensive list of "dual-use" goods (goods that could be used for military as well as nonmilitary purposes) that Iraq could not purchase with its oil revenues.
On 16 October 2002, US president George W. Bush signed a resolution passed by the US Congress authorizing the use of force in Iraq. On 8 November 2002 the UN Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 1441 demanding UN arms inspectors be given unconditional access to search anywhere in Iraq for banned weapons, and requiring a "accurate, full and complete" accounting of all of its weapons of mass destruction within 30 days. After failure to secure a second resolution from the UN Security Council in February 2003 explicitly supporting a military invasion of Iraq—all members of the Council were opposed except the United Kingdom—the United States and United Kingdom held to their intention to act without the UN. The US-led attack on Iraq was launched on 19 March 2003. Baghdād fell on 9 April 2003, and President Bush announced the end of major combat operations on 1 May 2003.
Sanctions against Iraq were lifted in May 2003, allowing reconstruction efforts to begin, but serious security problems arising from an Iraqi insurgency hampered the rebuilding effort. In 2003, real GDP growth stood at–21.8%, and the inflation rate was 29.3%. The "oil-for-food" program was phased out that May. A transitional government was elected in January 2005, and constitution-writing began. A referendum on the constitution was held in October 2005, with the constitution being approved overwhelmingly. Elections for a permanent government were held in December 2005. Iraq's unemployment rate in 2005–06 remained high (27–40%), but the overall Iraqi economy appeared to be improving somewhat. The continued sabotage of oil installations put a drag on the economy, however, but real GDP was forecast to grow at a rate of around 6% in 2006. In October 2003, a new Iraqi currency, the "new Iraqi dinar" was introduced, and by 2006 it had appreciated sharply. As of that date, Iraq had requested formal membership in the WTO. In November 2005, the World Bank approved a $100 million loan (for education purposes) to Iraq. Iraq assumed a heavy debt burden during the Saddam Hussein years of some $100–$250 billion, if debts to Gulf states, Russia, and reparations payment claims stemming from the 1990 invasion of Kuwait are included. Iraq's oil export earnings were immune from legal proceedings, including debt collection, until the end of 2007. In 2004, the Paris Club of 19 creditor nations agreed to forgive up to 80% on $42 billion worth of loans, but the relief was contingent upon Iraq reaching an economic stabilization program with the IMF.
The country's oil exports in 2005 were below 2004 levels. Oil production by 2006 had not returned to its prewar levels: it remained below 2 million barrels per day compared with a level of some 2.5 million barrels per day before the 2003 invasion. Persistent fuel shortages forced the government to raise the heavily subsidized price of gasoline in 2005. This sparked protests and rioting throughout Iraq. Oil exports for 2005 were 1.39 million barrels per day, down from 1.5 million barrels per day in 2004. The poor oil production figures were largely due to attacks on pumping and distribution facilities; death threats were also made to tanker drivers, which led to the closing of a refinery in northern Iraq. More than 75% of the country's GDP comes from oil. The high price of oil (more than $63 per barrel in the first week of January 2006) mitigated the economic damage from lower production, and oil prices were forecast to remain high over the long term.
The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) reported that in 2005 Iraq's gross domestic product (GDP) was estimated at $94.1 billion. The per capita GDP was estimated at $3,400. The annual growth rate of GDP was estimated at 2.4%. The average inflation rate in 2005 was 40%. The CIA defines GDP as the value of all final goods and services produced within a nation in a given year and computed on the basis of purchasing power parity (PPP) rather than value as measured on the basis of the rate of exchange. In 2004, it was estimated that agriculture accounted for 7.3% of GDP, industry 66.6%, and services 26.1%. More than $33 billion in foreign aid was pledged for 2004–07.
In 2004, Iraq's labor force was estimated at 7.4 million; however, there was no data available as to its occupational breakdown. Unemployment in 2005 was estimated to fall within the 25–30% range. The Trade Union Organization Law of 1987 established a centralized trade union structure of committees linked to trade unions, which in turn are part of provincial trade union federations under the control of the Iraqi General Federation of Trade Unions, and ultimately are controlled by the ruling Ba'ath Party. Although workers are legally allowed to strike upon informing the Labor Ministry, no strike has been reported in over 20 years.
Child labor is strictly controlled and in many cases prohibited. The minimum working age is 14, although economic necessity and lack of government enforcement have increased the number of children of all ages that are employed. There is a 6-day, 48-hour workweek, although this does not apply to agricultural workers. Historically, working women have been accepted in Iraq, but the number of women in the workforce dramatically increased because of the prolonged war with Iran as well as the Persian Gulf War, as women replaced men in the labor market.
In many cases, rural labor and farmers employed in government projects get reasonable salaries and good housing, but small, independent farmers receive fewer benefits. Since 1958, the Iraqi government has passed a number of agrarian reform laws. As a general rule, however, the quality of life differs greatly between rural areas and the cities, especially that in Baghdād. Th is differential has resulted in massive rural to urban migration.
The rich alluvial soil of the lowlands and an elaborate system of irrigation canals made Iraq a granary in ancient times and in the Middle Ages. After the irrigation works were destroyed in the Mongol invasion, agriculture decayed. Today, about 13% of the land is considered arable. Unlike the rain-fed north, southern Iraq depends entirely on irrigation, which is in turn heavily reliant on electricity and fuel supply to run the pumping networks. There are similar diffi culties with the spring crop of vegetables in the south, also entirely dependent on irrigation. Over half the irrigated area in southern Iraq is affected by water-logging and salinity, diminishing crop production and farm incomes. Agriculture is Iraq's largest employer and the second-largest sector in value.
Under various agrarian reform laws—including a 1970 law that limited permissible landholdings to 4–202 hectares (10–500 acres), depending on location, fertility, and available irrigation facilities—about 400,000 previously landless peasants received land. Agrarian reform was accompanied by irrigation and drainage works, and by the establishment of cooperative societies for the provision of implements and machinery, irrigation facilities, and other services.
Agricultural production in Iraq declined progressively because of the war with Iran and the Persian Gulf War. In 1992, wheat production was estimated at 600,000 tons compared with 965,000 tons in 1982, but by 1999 was only 800,000 tons. During the 2003 conflict, most farmers in Iraq's three northern provinces were not displaced. The northern region produces some 30–35% of the grain crop. FAO estimates for 2004 included the following (in tons): wheat, 2,200,000; barley, 1,315,000; tomatoes, 1,000,000; dates, 910,000; potatoes, 625,000; eggplants, 442,000; cucumbers, 350,000; oranges, 310,000; and grapes, 300,000. Other crops grown for domestic consumption include millet, lentils, beans, melons, figs, corn, sugarcane, tobacco, and mulberries.
Iraq currently imports almost $3 billion in food commodities annually. Aid programs are helping expand production of wheat to minimize food imports. Efforts on select Iraqi farms doubled wheat production in 2004. Since 2003, the USAID's agriculture program has been working to restore veterinary clinics, introduce improved cereal grain varieties, repair agricultural equipment, and train farmers and Iraqi government staff. The US government has estimated that the Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture would require over $1 billion of agricultural inputs annually for Iraq's agricultural producers to boost production. Iraq will need to rely on imports to meet a large portion of its food and fiber needs, even with substantial gains in production.
Animal husbandry is widespread. Sheep raising is most important, with wool used domestically for weaving carpets and cloaks. In 2001, Iraq had an estimated 6.1 million sheep; 1.6 million goats; 1.4 million head of cattle, and numerous donkeys, camels, mules, buffaloes, and poultry. FAO production estimates for 2004 included: cow's milk, 450,000 tons; sheep's milk, 157,500 tons; and chicken meat, 98,906 tons.
Centuries of overfishing without restocking reduced the formerly plentiful supply of river fish, but the fishing industry has rebounded
since the early 1970s. The 2003 fish catch—including salmon and, especially in the Tigris (Al Furāt), carp—was 23,100 tons.
Forests of oak and Aleppo pine in the north cover less than 2% of Iraq's entire area and have been depleted by excessive cutting for fuel or by fires and overgrazing. Since 1954, indiscriminate cutting has been prohibited, and charcoal production from wood has ceased. The forestry research center at Arbil has established tree nurseries and conducted reforestation programs. Output of roundwood was estimated at 114,000 cu m (4,024,000 cu ft) in 2004.
Iraq's mineral resources (excluding hydrocarbons) are limited. Crude oil was Iraq's sole export commodity in 2002, and construction materials comprised another leading industry. In 2004, Iraq produced hydraulic cement, nitrogen, phosphate rock (from the Akashat open-pit mine), salt, and native Frasch sulfur from underground deposits at Mishraq, on the Tigris (Al Furāt) River, south of Al Mawşil. In 2001, the State Organization for Minerals reported the discovery of sulfur deposits in the Western Desert, near Akashat. Production figures for 2004, were: phosphate rock 30,000 metric tons, down from 532,000 metric tons in 2002; sulfur, 20,000 metric tons (as a by product only); and salt, 50,000 metric tons. Without exception, production of all mineral commodities (excluding hydrocarbon minerals) has fallen since 2003. However, the output of Portland cement, while down from the 6,834,000 metric tons produced in 2002, had risen in 2004 to 2,500,000 metric tons from 1,901,000 metric tons in 2003, possibly as a result of the fighting and car bomb attacks in urban areas. Geological surveys have indicated usable deposits of iron ore, copper, gypsum, bitumen, dolomite, and marble; these resources have remained largely unexploited, because of inadequate transport facilities and lack of coal for processing the ores.
Iraq's petroleum reserves are among the largest in the world. As of 1 January 2005, Iraq's proven oil reserves were estimated by the Oil and Gas Journal at 115 billion barrels, of which, about 75 billion barrels had yet to be developed. However, the country's reserves may be significantly higher. Only about 10% of the country has been explored for oil and it is believed by some analysts that in Iraq's Western Desert region, deep oil-bearing formations may contain another 100 billion or more barrels of oil. Others are less optimistic, estimating that only another 45 billion barrels may lie undiscovered.
In spite of its huge oil reserves, Iraq's oil production has been deeply affected by the nation's wars, resulting in major drops in crude oil production. During Iraq's war with Iran, output dropped from 3,476,900 barrels per day in 1979 to 897,400 barrels daily in 1981, and from 2,897,000 barrels per day in 1989 to 305,000 barrels daily in 1991, following an embargo on Iraqi oil exports for Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990. Iraq's oil production slowly increased to 600,000 barrels per day by 1996, and with the country's acceptance of United Nations Resolution 986, allowing limited oil exports for humanitarian reasons ("oil-for-food program"), production rose to about 2.58 million barrels per day in January 2003, just before the US-led invasion of Iraq in March of that year. As of May 2005, maximum sustainable oil production by Iraqi was estimated at 1.9 million barrels per day. Oil production in 2004 was estimated at two million barrels per day. Domestic demand for oil was estimated in 2004 at 550,000 barrels per day, and forecast to reach 650,000 barrels per day in 2005.
According to the Oil and Gas Journal, crude oil refining capacity was estimated as of 1 January 2005 at 597,500 barrels per day.
Iraq's natural gas reserves were estimated, as of 1 January 2005, at 110 trillion cu ft, with production and domestic consumption estimated at 53 billion cu ft in 2003.
Iraq's electric power sector has also been affected by the country's wars. During the 1990–91 Persian Gulf War, about 85–90% of the national power grid was destroyed or damaged. However, 75% of the national grid had been restarted by early 1992. Total electricity production in 2000 was 31,700 million kWh, of which 98% was from fossil fuels and 2% from hydropower. The country's generating capacity was about 9,500 MW in 2001. As of late May 2005, Iraq's available and operating generating capacity was placed at about 4,000 to 5,000 MW. Peak summer demand however, was forecast to be at 8,000 MW. In 2004, electric output came to 32.6 billion kWh, with demand at 33.7 billion kWh and imports at 1.1 billion kWh.
Main industries are oil refining, food processing, chemicals, textiles, leather goods, cement and other building materials, tobacco, paper, and sulfur extraction. In 1964, the government took over all establishments producing asbestos, cement, cigarettes, textiles, paper, tanned leather, and flour. Iraq has eight major oil refineries, at Baiji, Al Başrah, Daura, Khānaqin, Haditha, Mufthiah, Qaiyarah, Al Mawşil, and Kirkūk. The Iraq-Iran War, Persian Gulf War, and Iraq War of 2003 seriously affected Iraqi refining. Iraq had a total refinery capacity of 597,500 barrels per day in 2005. The bulk of Iraq's refinery capacity is concentrated in the Baiji complex.
Industrial establishments before the 2003 war included a sulfur plant at Kirkūk, a fertilizer plant at Al Başrah, an antibiotics factory at Sāmarrā, an agricultural implements factory at Iskandariyah, and an electrical equipment factory near Baghdād. In the 1970s, Iraq put strong emphasis on the development of heavy industry and diversification of its industry, a policy aimed at decreasing dependence on oil. During the 1980s, the industrial sector showed a steady increase, reflecting the importance given to military industries during the Iran–Iraq war. By early 1992 it was officially claimed that industrial output had been restored to 60% of pre-Persian Gulf War capacity. Beginning in 1996, Iraq was permitted to export limited amounts of oil in exchange for food, medicine, and some infrastructure spare parts (the UN "oil-for-food" program). By 1999, the UN Security Council allowed Iraq to export as much oil as required to meet humanitarian needs. The program was phased out in May 2003 following the defeat of the Saddam Hussein regime. In 2004, industry accounted for 66.6% of GDP.
Iraq has imported Western technology for its petrochemical industry. The Scientific Research Council was established in 1963 and includes nine scientific research centers. The Nuclear Research Center (founded in 1967) has conducted nuclear physics experiments and produced radioisotopes with equipment supplied by France. In 1982, the French government agreed to help
rebuild the institute's Osirak reactor, knocked out by an Israeli air attack the previous year. Eight universities offer degrees in basic and applied sciences. In addition, the Ministry of Higher Education has 18 incorporated technical institutes. The Agriculture and Water Resources Research Center (founded in 1980) and the Iraq Natural History Research Center and Museum (founded in 1946) are both located in Baghdād. The Iraqi Medical Society (founded in 1920) is headquartered there.
Modern shops and department stores have spread throughout the country, replacing traditional bazaars. Baghdād, Al Mawşil, and Al Başrah, as well as other large and medium-size cities, all have modern supermarkets. Baghdād leads in wholesale trade and in the number of retail shops.
The previously state-owned economy has been suffering since the 1980–88 Iran-Iraq War. The 1990 Kuwait invasion and the subsequent international military intervention caused even greater damage to the infrastructure and resulted in international sanctions that crippled the economy. With the 2003 ousting of Saddam Hussein by international coalition forces, the way was paved to reopen the Iraqi economy to international trade. However, the nation was expected to be highly dependent on foreign aid and investment for the foreseeable future.
Iraq's most valuable export is oil, which has historically accounted for almost all of its total export value. Rising oil prices during the 1970s created increases in export revenues. However, the drop in world oil prices and Iraq's exporting problems due to international sanctions essentially put an end to Iraqi oil exports. The United Nations (UN) imposed trade restrictions on non-oil exports in August 1990. Non-oil exports (often illegal) were estimated at $2 billion for the 12 months following the March 1991 cease-fire. Iraq was traditionally the world's largest exporter of dates, with its better varieties going to Western Europe, Australia, and North America.
Until 1994, the UN committee charged with supervising what little international trade Iraq was permitted to engage in—food and medicine, essentially—kept records on the amount of goods it approved for import in exchange for oil. In the first half of 1994, the committee recorded $2 billion in food imports, $175 million in medicine, and an additional $2 billion in "essential civilian needs," a term that at that time referred to agricultural machinery, seeds, and goods for sanitation.
In 1995, the Iraqi government rationed its people only one-half of the minimum daily requirement in calories. In 1997, the UN permitted Iraq to expand its oil sales to increase its purchasing power of food and other sources of humanitarian relief. In the spring of that year the country received 400,000 tons of wheat to help feed its suffering population, who had been living under strict food rations for four years. Limited exports were organized by the UN, and the oil-for-food program brought in revenues during 1999 equaling $5.3 billion.
In 2005, Iraq's exports were crude petroleum (83.9%), crude materials excluding fuels (8%), and food and live animals (5%). Imports were food, medicines, and manufactures. Iraq's export partners in 2005 were: the United States (51.9%), Spain (7.3%), Japan (6.6%), Italy (5.7%), and Canada (5.2%). Iraq's import partners were: Syria (22.9%), Turkey (19.5%), the United States (9.2%), Jordan (6.7%), and Germany (4.9%).
In 2005, merchandise exports totaled $25.2 billion, and merchandise imports totaled $36.5 billion. The current account balance in 2005 was $1.2 billion. External debt was estimated at $82.1 billion.
When Iraq was part of the Ottoman Empire, a number of European currencies circulated alongside the Turkish pound. With the establishment of the British mandate after World War I, Iraq was incorporated into the Indian monetary system, which was operated by the British, and the rupee became the principal currency in circulation. In 1931, the Iraq Currency Board was established in London for note issue and maintenance of reserves for the new Iraqi dinar. The currency board pursued a conservative monetary policy, maintaining very high reserves behind the dinar. The dinar was further strengthened by its link to the British pound. In 1947 the government-owned National Bank of Iraq was founded, and in 1949 the London-based currency board was abolished as the new bank assumed responsibility for the issuing of notes and the maintenance of reserves.
In the 1940s, a series of government-owned banks was established: the Agricultural Bank and the Industrial Bank, the Real Estate Bank, the Mortgage Bank, and the Cooperative Bank. In 1956 the National Bank of Iraq became the Central Bank of Iraq. In 1964, banking was fully nationalized. The banking system comprised the Central Bank of Iraq, the Rafidain Bank (the main commercial bank), and three others: the Agricultural Cooperative Bank, the Industrial Bank, and the Real Estate Bank. In 1991 the government decided to end its monopoly on banking. After 1991, six new banks were established—the Socialist Bank, Iraqi Commercial Bank, Baghdād Bank, Dijla Bank, Al-Itimad Bank, and the Private Bank—as a result of liberalizing legislation and the opportunity for large-scale profits from currency speculation.
Preference for investing savings in rural or urban real estate is common. Major private investments in industrial enterprises can be secured only by assurance of financial assistance from the government. The establishment of a stock exchange in Baghdād was delayed by practical considerations (such as a lack of computers), but it was eventually inaugurated in March 1992.
During the 2003 US-led war and subsequent occupation of Iraq, the financial sector essentially disappeared. The banking district of Baghdād was wrecked by the bombing campaign, and until the provisional government becomes stable, it appeared that financial activity would remain at a standstill. Rejuvenation of Iraq's banking system was seen as a high priority. With the passage of the 2005 constitution, a central bank was established, which has the power to issue new currency and set interest rates in the hopes of managing the country's massive debts. USAID gave loans of up to $250,000 to small businesses and entrepreneurs in order to jumpstart the economy. Iraq's banking system had been one of the region's most advanced prior to the war, so the foundations were already in place for a sound financial sector.
The insurance industry was nationalized in 1964. The State Insurance Organization supervises and maintains three companies: the National Life Insurance Co., the Iraqi Life Insurance Co., and the Iraqi Reinsurance Co. Third-party motor vehicle liability insurance is compulsory. In 1999, Iraqis spent $42 million on insurance.
There are several budgets: the ordinary budget, under which the regular activities of the government are financed; separate budgets for the Iraqi State Railways, the Port of Al Başrah Authority, the Al-Faw Dredging Scheme, and the tobacco monopoly; municipal budgets requiring government approval; and allocations for semi-independent government agencies. In addition, there is a separate development budget, as well as an undeclared budget for the military believed to have absorbed over half of state funds during the war with Iran. Since 1980, the decline in oil exports and huge war expenditures forced Iraq to borrow and to raise funds from abroad. Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990, with the consequent infrastructural damage, UN sanctions, and oil embargo, severely diminished revenues. The future of the Iraqi economy is highly uncertain. Until a stable government is in place, it will be very difficult for any commercial activity to take place.
The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) estimated that in 2005 Iraq's central government took in revenues of approximately $19.3 billion and had expenditures of $24 billion. Revenues minus expenditures totaled approximately -$4.7 billion. Total external debt was $82.1 billion.
Direct taxes are levied on income and on property. The rental value of dwellings, commercial buildings, and nonagricultural land is taxed, with a certain tax-free minimum. In 1939, graduated income tax rates were established on income from all sources except agriculture. Most agricultural income is not taxed.
Indirect taxation predominates. The land tax must be paid by all who farm government lands with or without a lease. Owners of freehold (lazimah) land pay no tax or rent. Much farm produce consumed on the farm or in the village is not taxed at all, but when marketed, farm products are taxed.
As of 1 March 2004, a 5% reconstruction levy based on the customs value of the product was imposed upon all imports. However, food, clothing, medicines, humanitarian goods, and books are exempt. In 1989, Iraq joined the newly formed Arab Cooperation Council (ACC) with Egypt, Jordan, and Yemen. The ACC's goals included formation of a common market and economic integration in other areas. The international embargo levied against the nation after it invaded Kuwait essentially ended Iraq's participation in the ACC. Egypt, one of its partners in the Council, was a leader in the military coalition that liberated Kuwait.
UN sanctions effectively froze all of Iraq's foreign transactions in the 1990s. In October 1992, the UN Security Council permitted these frozen assets, including Iraqi oil in storage in Turkey and Saudi Arabia, to be sold without the permission of the Iraqi government. About $1 billion of frozen assets were to pay for compensation to Kuwaiti victims of the invasion and to cover UN operations inside Iraq.
In September 2003, the American-appointed Coalition Provisional Authority announced it was opening up all sectors of the economy to foreign investment in an attempt to deliver much-needed reconstruction in the war-torn country. The Iraqi Governing Council announced it would allow total foreign ownership without the need for prior approval. The program applied to all sectors of the economy, from industry to health and water, except for natural resources (including oil). The deal also included full, immediate remittance to the host country of profits, dividends, interest, and royalties. Income and business taxes for foreign investors were capped at 15% beginning in 2004. More than $33 billion in foreign aid was pledged to Iraq for 2004–07.
Until the 2003 Iraq War, the government both controlled and participated in petroleum, agriculture, commerce, banking, and industry. In the late 1960s, it made efforts to diversify Iraq's economic relations and to conserve foreign exchange. As an example, it was announced in 1970 that contracts for all planned projects would be awarded to companies willing to receive compensation in crude oil or petroleum products. The government also undertook to build an Iraqi tanker fleet to break the monopoly of foreign oil-transport companies.
The imposition of sanctions against Iraq in the 1990s destroyed all attempts to stabilize Iraq's payments on its foreign debt. Iraq also faced reparation claims. Iran separately pursued its claim for massive separation payments arising from the 1980–88 war. Iraq was also obligated by UN resolutions to pay for various UN agency activities.
Iraq had an estimated foreign debt in 2005 of $82.1 billion. However, a large portion of Iraq's debt had been forgiven by that time, and the IMF provided new funds as part of an effort to get Iraq back into capital markets, where it could secure the financing it needs to invest in the critical oil sector. The insurgency against coalition forces, in addition to underinvestment, prevented the oil industry from getting back on its feet. Work was being carried out to rebuild infrastructure, but by 2006, insurgents were destroying much of what was being built.
A social security law passed in 1971 provides benefits or payments for disability, maternity, old age, unemployment, sickness, and funerals. This law applies to all establishments employing five or more people, but excludes agricultural employees, temporary employees, and domestic servants. This social insurance system is funded by employee contributions of 5% of their wages, and employer contributions of 12% of payroll. Oil companies are required to pay 25% of payroll. Men may retire at age 60 and women at 55 after they have worked for 20 years. Maternity benefits for employed women include 100% of salary for a period of 10 weeks. Work injury is covered and unemployment assistance is available.
Little is known about the extent of domestic violence in Iraq. Domestic abuse is addressed within the family structure, therefore there are no statistics available or agencies to assist victims. In 2004 there were reports of honor killings. Women who do not wear traditional clothing are subject to harassment.
Human rights are being addressed as the government undergoes significant transformation. The regime of Saddam Hussein was notorious for extensive human rights abuses.
There are many well-trained Iraqi physicians; however, their effectiveness is limited by a lack of trained nursing and paramedical staff. In the period 1985–95, some 93% of the population had access to health care services. Private hospitals are allowed to operate in Baghdād and other major cities. Considerable effort was made to expand medical facilities to small towns and more remote areas of the country, but these efforts have been hampered by a lack of transportation and a desire of medical personnel to live and work in Baghdād and the major cities. In 2000, 85% of the population had access to safe drinking water and 79% had adequate sanitation. Dentists and other specialists are almost unknown in rural districts. Child nutrition has been negatively affected by years of conflict. The UN Children's Fund documented that 4,500 children under five die every month from hunger and disease.
In 2004, Iraq had 54 physicians, 308 nurses, 8 pharmacists, and 11 dentists per 100,000 people. Iraq's 2002 birth rate was estimated at 34 per 1,000 people. Of married women (ages 15 to 49), 14% used contraception in 1989. Life expectancy in 2005 averaged 68.7 years. The fertility rate decreased from 7.2 in 1960 to 4.3 children in 2000 for each woman during childbearing years. Immunization rates for children up to one year old were: tuberculosis, 90%; diphtheria, pertussis, and tetanus, 92%; and measles, 98%. In 1999, there were 156 reported cases of tuberculosis per 100,000 people. The infant mortality rate in 2005 was 50.23 per 1,000 live births. The HIV/AIDS prevalence was 0.10 per 100 adults in 2003. As of 2004, there were approximately 500 people living with HIV/AIDS in the country.
In the 20 years leading up to the 2003 Iraq War, living conditions for the vast majority of the population improved greatly. Electricity and running water were normal features of all Iraqi villages in rural areas. Mud huts in remote places were rapidly being replaced by brick dwellings. Major cities like Al Mawşil, Al Başrah, and especially Baghdād had most of the amenities of modern living. Traditionally, Iraqis have lived in single family dwellings, but in the last 15 years, the government had built a number of high-rise apartments, especially in Baghdād. It had done so to control urban sprawl and to cut down on suburban service expenditures.
The 2003 invasion of Iraq by international coalition forces caused destruction and damage to a large portion of the housing sector, particularly in and around Baghdād. The UN responded to the crisis by providing construction materials through the oil-for-food program. The housing sector had been part of this program since 2000. Through the program, about 64,932 housing units were built to accommodate about 551,922 people.
Under the regime of Saddam Hussein, public education was forcibly secular and militarized, with most textbooks and other curriculum strongly based on promoting the causes of the government. The US-led invasion of Iraq beginning in 2003 and the overthrow of Hussein's regime continue to have damaging effects on the country's infrastructure. Many schools have been severely damaged or destroyed; but reconstruction efforts are being funded by a variety of international groups and governments. New developments in the post-Hussein system include the reprinting of textbooks and a greater freedom for teachers in designing and implementing curriculums. Some schools are beginning to adopt fundamental Islamic studies as a large part of their curriculum. This has caused some concern for new government officials and analysts, who fear that too much of a fundamentalist approach might lead to a new set of restrictions in academic freedom.
In general, six years of compulsory primary education has been in effect since 1978. Primary schools have provided the six-year course, at the end of which the student passes an examination to be admitted to secondary school. An intermediate secondary school program covers a three-year course of study. After this stage, students choose to attend a preparatory school or a vocational school, both of which offer three-year programs.
Education at all levels from primary to higher education has been free. Private schools are now permitted to operate. There are 20 state universities in Iraq and 47 technical colleges and institutes. The University of Baghdād is the most important higher education institution in the country. Other universities include Al Maw
