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Photos of Iraq

Much of the sediment clouding the water in this image of the Persian Gulf is from the Shatt al Arab River, which enters the Gulf in the north along the Iran-Iraq border. On the right edge of the image is the narrow Strait of Hormuz, which connects the Persian Gulf to the Arabian Sea. The Persian Gulf is flanked to the west by wedge-shaped Kuwait and by Saudi Arabia with its vast tan-, pink-, and white-sand deserts; to the south by Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman; and to the east by the dry mountains of Iran. The red dots mark gas flares in oil fields of Iran and Iraq. Image courtesy of NASA.

Introduction

World Factbook Glyph

Visit the Definitions and Notes page to view a description of each topic.

Geography

Area

comparison ranking: total 60

Area - comparative

Area comparison map:
Area comparison map

People and Society

Languages

Arabic audio sample:
Kurdish audio sample:

Age structure

2023 population pyramid:
2023 population pyramid

Median age

comparison ranking: total 184

Population growth rate

comparison ranking: 41

Birth rate

comparison ranking: 48

Death rate

comparison ranking: 217

Net migration rate

comparison ranking: 84

Maternal mortality ratio

comparison ranking: 78

Infant mortality rate

comparison ranking: total 81

Total fertility rate

comparison ranking: 47

Tobacco use

comparison ranking: total 91

Education expenditures

comparison ranking: 87

Environment

Revenue from coal

comparison ranking: 136

Government

Economy

Real GDP growth rate

comparison ranking: 209

Real GDP per capita

comparison ranking: 136

Labor force

comparison ranking: 50

Unemployment rate

comparison ranking: 192

Public debt

comparison ranking: 173

Taxes and other revenues

comparison ranking: 206

Current account balance

comparison ranking: 9

Exports

comparison ranking: 42

Imports

comparison ranking: 58

Debt - external

comparison ranking: 30

Energy

Communications

Internet users

comparison ranking: total 41

Transportation

Airports

comparison ranking: 71

Railways

comparison ranking: total 68

Roadways

comparison ranking: total 81

Waterways

comparison ranking: 24

Merchant marine

comparison ranking: total 103

Military and Security

Military expenditures

comparison ranking: 33

Terrorism

Transnational Issues