Geography

Location: Middle East, bordering the Arabian Gulf and Kuwait to the south, Saudi Arabia to the south and south-west, Jordan and Syria to the west, Turkey to the north and Iran to the east.

Area:
total area: 437,072 sq km
land area: 432,162 sq km
comparative area (to USA): about the size of California

Land Boundaries: Total 3,631 km, Iran 1,458 km, Jordan 181 km, Kuwait 242 km, Saudi Arabia 814 km, Syria 605 km, Turkey 331 km

Coastline: 58 km

Climate: mostly desert; mild to cool winters with dry, hot, cloudless summers; northern mountainous regions along Iranian and Turkish borders experience cold winters with occasionally heavy snows which melt in early spring, sometimes causing extensive flooding in central and southern Iraq.

Terrain: mostly broad plains; marshes along Iranian border in south; mountains along borders with Iran and Turkey

Natural Resources: petroleum, natural gas, phosphates, sulfur

Land Use:
arable land: 12%
permanent crops: 1%
meadows and pastures: 9%
forest and woodland: 3%
other: 75%

Irrigated Land: 25,500 sq km (1989 est)

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People

Population: 20,643,769 (1995 est.)

Population growth rate: 3.72% (1995 est.)

Birth rate: 43.6 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death rate: 6.82 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 62.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 66.52 years
male: 65.54 years
female: 67.56 years (1995 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Iraqi(s)
adjective: Iraqi
Religions: Islam, Christianity and others.

Languages: Arabic, Kurdish (official in Kurdish regions), Assyrian, Armenian, English is widely spoken.

Literacy: age 15-45 can read and write (1985)
total population: 89%
male: 90%
female: 88%

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