Iraq

Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in <a href="/facts/West_Asia/xXM15vIz">West Asia</a>. It is bordered by <a href="/facts/Saudi_Arabia/uyUpe1J2">Saudi Arabia</a> to <a href="/facts/Iraq%25E2%2580%2593Saudi_Arabia_border/Q94bWcgY">the south</a>, <a href="/facts/Turkey/KIYAWAs0">Turkey</a> to <a href="/facts/Iraq%25E2%2580%2593Turkey_border/yG5eDrEj">the north</a>, <a href="/facts/Iran/24yukge8">Iran</a> to <a href="/facts/Iran%25E2%2580%2593Iraq_border/NtBnXj8y">the east</a>, the <a href="/facts/Persian_Gulf/W78AfnC1">Persian Gulf</a> and <a href="/facts/Kuwait/HJLFQ59s">Kuwait</a> to the <a href="/facts/Iraq%25E2%2580%2593Kuwait_border/Y8KCxNhG">southeast</a>, <a href="/facts/Jordan/JC5sS1oJ">Jordan</a> to <a href="/facts/Iraq%25E2%2580%2593Jordan_border/GfmtNAoy">the southwest</a>, and <a href="/facts/Syria/7pDXGzq8">Syria</a> to <a href="/facts/Iraq%25E2%2580%2593Syria_border/SHp6XYrs">the west</a>. The country covers an area of 438,317 square kilometres (169,235 sq mi) and has <a href="/facts/Demographics_of_Iraq/spljGsGb">a population</a> of over 46 million, making it the <a href="/facts/List_of_countries_by_area/XQWaBfYo">58th largest country by area</a> and the <a href="/facts/List_of_countries_by_population/N1Fq63C2">31st most populous in the world</a>. <a href="/facts/Baghdad/RbtLzzHe">Baghdad</a>, home to over 8 million people, is the capital city and the <a href="/facts/List_of_largest_cities_of_Iraq/bj894Arb">largest in the country</a>.
Starting in the <a href="/facts/6th_millennium_BC/zEwXnIP7">6th millennium BC</a>, the fertile plains between Iraq's <a href="/facts/Tigris/Rc8Ka6k8">Tigris</a> and <a href="/facts/Euphrates/RbCk68gt">Euphrates</a> rivers, referred to as <a href="/facts/Mesopotamia/f0mmbhTK">Mesopotamia</a>, fostered the rise of early cities, civilisations, and empires including <a href="/facts/Sumer/bxRz093q">Sumer</a>, <a href="/facts/Akkadian_Empire/kWx9zFF6">Akkad</a>, and <a href="/facts/Assyria/n9pMP48S">Assyria</a>. Known as the <a href="/facts/Cradle_of_civilization/slYINUco">cradle of civilisation</a>, Mesopotamia saw the invention of <a href="/facts/History_of_writing/AX0eC1vr">writing systems</a>, <a href="/facts/History_of_mathematics/18h5rQA5">mathematics</a>, <a href="/facts/History_of_navigation/cQ3aU2cK">navigation</a>, <a href="/facts/History_of_timekeeping_devices/vPYcQhc5">timekeeping</a>, a <a href="/facts/Babylonian_calendar/dckoqnCX">calendar</a>, <a href="/facts/Babylonian_astrology/pLGf7al2">astrology</a>, the <a href="/facts/Wheel/SlIWX3xd">wheel</a>, the <a href="/facts/Sailboat/1dygt5l1">sailboat</a>, and a <a href="/facts/Code_of_Ur-Nammu/JTLPv4Gb">law code</a>. After the <a href="/facts/Muslim_conquest_of_Mesopotamia/o3y3Wxhk">Muslim conquest of Mesopotamia</a>, Baghdad became the capital of the <a href="/facts/Abbasid_Caliphate/mPeLAbXt">Abbasid Caliphate</a> and a global cultural and intellectual hub during the <a href="/facts/Islamic_Golden_Age/yAeG2rBA">Islamic Golden Age</a>, home to institutions such as the <a href="/facts/House_of_Wisdom/Iyo9lg8a">House of Wisdom</a>. Following the city's <a href="/facts/Siege_of_Baghdad/NVNADUcY">destruction</a> by the <a href="/facts/Mongols/fb4zx1s8">Mongols</a> in 1258, the region faced a prolonged decline due to plagues and successive empires. Additionally, Iraq holds religious significance in Christianity, Judaism, Yazidism, and Mandaeism. It has a deep biblical history.
Since independence in 1932, Iraq has experienced spells of significant <a href="/facts/Economy_of_Iraq/IlBWAUwd">economic</a> and <a href="/facts/Military_of_Iraq/6J8VVnk1">military growth</a> alongside periods of <a href="/facts/List_of_modern_conflicts_in_the_Middle_East/Uk2BW2WU">instability and conflict</a>. It was part of the <a href="/facts/Ottoman_Empire/6QvfTRsg">Ottoman Empire</a> until the end of <a href="/facts/World_War_I/vITTUanQ">World War I</a>. <a href="/facts/Mandatory_Iraq/ewSlT8G0">Mandatory Iraq</a> was then established by the British in 1921. It transitioned into an <a href="/facts/Kingdom_of_Iraq/s1XPzxuX">independent kingdom</a> in 1932. Following a coup in 1958, Iraq became a <a href="/facts/First_Republic_of_Iraq/L6VQKbuF">republic</a>, first led by <a href="/facts/Abdul_Karim_Qasim/qehlc7np">Abdul Karim Qasim</a>, followed by <a href="/facts/Abdul_Salam_Arif/XdmJ65b2">Abdul Salam Arif</a> and <a href="/facts/Abdul_Rahman_Arif/qeSQVHKK">Abdul Rahman Arif</a>. The <a href="/facts/Arab_Socialist_Ba%2527ath_Party_%25E2%2580%2593_Iraq_Region/WAp8Kkum">Ba'ath Party</a> took <a href="/facts/17_July_Revolution/zgRAtC3W">power in 1968</a>, establishing a <a href="/facts/Ba%2527athist_Iraq/lbHnSQBz">one-party state</a> under <a href="/facts/Ahmed_Hassan_al-Bakr/KMUCxnbJ">Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr</a> and later <a href="/facts/Saddam_Hussein/nHnSodgy">Saddam Hussein</a>, who presided over <a href="/facts/Iran%25E2%2580%2593Iraq_War/DqD7W8vd">war against Iran</a> from 1980 to 1988 and then <a href="/facts/Iraqi_invasion_of_Kuwait/Gzhla9lE">invaded Kuwait</a> in 1990. In 2003, a <a href="/facts/Multi-National_Force_%25E2%2580%2593_Iraq/EjqnPlUS">U.S.-led coalition forces</a> <a href="/facts/2003_invasion_of_Iraq/V9zysaV1">invaded</a> and <a href="/facts/Occupation_of_Iraq_(2003%25E2%2580%25932011)/c15tLjbK">occupied Iraq</a>, <a href="/facts/Battle_of_Baghdad_(2003)/dCLvze5o">overthrowing Saddam</a> and triggering an <a href="/facts/Iraqi_insurgency_(2003%25E2%2580%25932011)/mLrxhL2j">insurgency</a> and <a href="/facts/Iraqi_civil_war_(2006%25E2%2580%25932008)/JhgcBg15">sectarian violence</a>. The conflict, known as the <a href="/facts/Iraq_War/dlAgf8at">Iraq War</a>, <a href="/facts/Withdrawal_of_United_States_troops_from_Iraq_(2007%25E2%2580%25932011)/MvQIx1Py">ended in 2011</a>. From 2013 to 2017, Iraq faced another <a href="/facts/War_in_Iraq_(2013%25E2%2580%25932017)/bav2NCfn">war</a> with the rise and defeat of the <a href="/facts/Islamic_State/agpVzR4K">Islamic State</a>. Today <a href="/facts/Iraqi_conflict/Wa3Gm75s">post-war conflict</a> continues at a lower scale, hampering stability alongside the <a href="/facts/Iranian_intervention_in_Iraq_(2014%25E2%2580%2593present)/5EWHSg9U">rising influence of Iran</a>.
A <a href="/facts/Federal_parliamentary_republic/k0q9mhNo">federal parliamentary republic</a>, Iraq is considered an <a href="/facts/Middle_power/ku44qNYY">emerging middle power</a>. It is home to a diverse population, <a href="/facts/Geography_of_Iraq/79lzr96q">geography</a> and <a href="/facts/Wildlife_of_Iraq/ILKKwKGE">wildlife</a>. Most Iraqis are Muslim, while significant minorities include <a href="/facts/Christianity_in_Iraq/vhtpz3Nv">Christians</a>, <a href="/facts/Zoroastrianism/rM0QUMtg">Zoroastrians</a>, <a href="/facts/Mandaeism/lAVGX7tJ">Mandaens</a>, <a href="/facts/Yazidism/IkLNfLnN">Yazidis</a>, <a href="/facts/Yarsanism/c6Kpj0Xs">Yarsanism</a> and <a href="/facts/Judaism_in_Iraq/xpgAJIry">Jews</a>. <a href="/facts/Iraqi_people/HSz3A8Fb">Iraqis</a> are ethnically diverse; mostly <a href="/facts/Arabs/E77duPsg">Arabs</a>, as well as <a href="/facts/Kurds/kV90PCdW">Kurds</a>, <a href="/facts/Iraqi_Turkmen/Pb7tW5uB">Turkmen</a>, <a href="/facts/Yazidis/EKqxwqte">Yazidis</a>, <a href="/facts/Assyrian_people/qfHqDhDc">Assyrians</a>, <a href="/facts/Armenians_in_Iraq/Y9GB8oDG">Armenians</a>, <a href="/facts/Doms_in_Iraq/c2mPAc3Q">Domcs</a>, <a href="/facts/Iranians_in_Iraq/xdhYndkY">Persians</a> and <a href="/facts/Shabaks/n4Ig3H4x">Shabakis</a>. <a href="/facts/Arabic/A1e66hVV">Arabic</a> and <a href="/facts/Kurdish_language/6LSckYAz">Kurdish</a> are the official languages of Iraq, while <a href="/facts/Suret_language/QcY8Smky">Suret</a>, <a href="/facts/Turkish_language/C5X56Ijp">Turkish</a> and <a href="/facts/Mandaic_language/AkXr6TYj">Mandaic</a> are spoken regionally. Iraq, home to one of the <a href="/facts/List_of_countries_by_proven_oil_reserves/1TqTuhrp">largest oil reserves in the world</a>, has a significant <a href="/facts/Petroleum_industry_in_Iraq/t0f6y1bL">oil and gas industry</a>. It is also popular for its agriculture and tourism. At present, Iraq <a href="/facts/Reconstruction_of_Iraq/sCCKCD3I">is rebuilding</a> with <a href="/facts/Foreign_aid_to_Iraq/K9wIPcXn">foreign support</a>.

Iraq open-in-new

Iraq