Iraq, officially Republic of Iraq, republic (2002 est. pop. 26,000,000), 167,924 sq mi (434,924 sq km), SW Asia, bordered by the Arabian Gulf, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia (S), Jordan and Syria (W), Turkey (N), and Iran (E). Principal cities include Baghdad (the capital), Basra, and Mosul. Iraq is an almost landlocked country, its only outlet to the sea a short stretch of coast on the Arabian Gulf. It is composed of a mountainous region in the northeast and the vast Syrian Desert, inhabited by a few nomadic shepherds, in the southwest; in-between is the heart of the country, a fertile lowland region watered by the Tigris and Euphrates rivers.
Although about one third of the labor force is engaged in agriculture, oil production, notably in the great fields of Mosul and Kirkuk, dominates the economy. Iraq is among the largest oil producers of the Middle East. Its petroleum resources were nationalized in 1972, and oil revenues were used to promote industrialization and to transform Iraq into a military power.
The UN-sponsored economic embargo imposed after the invasion of Kuwait has severely reduced Iraq's oil exports and devastated the economy. The country has a small, diversified industrial sector, with textiles, shoes, processed food, and building materials among its products. Iraq is a major producer of dates; other crops include cotton, cereals, and vegetables. Agriculture depends largely on irrigation. Most of the population are Muslim Arabs, divided religiously into the Sunnis of central Iraq and Shiites of the south. The Kurds, who inhabit the north, are the principal minority. Arabic is the official language in most of the country; Kurdish is official in northern sections; Assyrian and Armenian are spoken by some.
In April, 9th, 2003 The coallition forces had entered Baghdad and down the brutal regime of Saddam Hussein & the monopoly of Al-Ba'ath Party for more than 35 years on Iraq, my country now had a certain changes and still ruled under the control of Paul Bremer Administration of the Coallition forces, still there's no national elected government and we are still waiting what the time hide for Iraq. |
