Iraq Passport

[Country Name] The Republic of Iraq.

【 Area 】 438300 square kilometers.

Population: 42.25 million. Among them, the Arab ethnic group accounts for about 78% (Shia accounts for about 60%, Sunni accounts for about 18%), the Kurdish ethnic group accounts for about 15%, and the rest are ethnic minorities such as Turkmen and Armenian. The official languages are Arabic and Kurdish. More than 95% of the residents believe in Islam, with a few adhering to other religions such as Christianity.

Baghdad, the capital, has a population of approximately 7.21 million.

Abdul Latif Rashid, the head of state, was elected on October 13, 2022.

【 Overview 】 Located in southwest Asia, northeast of the Arabian Peninsula. It borders Türkiye to the north, Iran to the east, Syria and Jordan to the west, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait to the south, and the Persian Gulf to the southeast. The Euphrates River and the Tigris River flow through the entire region from northwest to southeast. The coastline is 60 kilometers long. Except for the mountainous areas in the northeast, it belongs to a tropical desert climate. The highest temperature is in July and August, with an average daily temperature of 24 ℃ -43 ℃. The lowest temperature is in January, with an average daily temperature of 4 ℃ -16 ℃. The least rainfall occurs from June to September, with an average monthly rainfall of 1 mm. The highest rainfall occurs in March, with an average monthly rainfall of 28 mm.

Iraq, located in the Tigris and Euphrates river basins, has a long history of civilization. In the middle of 3000 BC, the Sumerians established city-state states in the Mesopotamian region. Afterwards, the Babylonian Kingdom, Assyrian Empire, Neo Babylonian Kingdom, Persian Empire, Seleucid Empire, Parthian Empire, Arab Empire, and others successively established political power in the area. It was ruled by the Ottoman Empire from 1534 onwards. In 1920, Iraq became a British "mandate territory". In 1921, the British sent Faisal from the Mecca Hashemite royal family to Baghdad to establish the Faisal dynasty. In 1958, the Free Officers Group led by Kassem launched a coup, overthrew the Faisal dynasty, and established the Republic of Iraq. In 1968, the Renaissance Party and Government came to power. In 1979, Saddam took full power. From 1980 to 1988, Iraq was at war with Iran. In August 1990, Iraq annexed Kuwait, triggering the Gulf War.

In March 2003, the United States launched a war against Iraq without authorization from the United Nations Security Council. In April, it captured Baghdad, overthrew Saddam Hussein's regime, and militarily occupied Iraq. In December 2011, the United States withdrew all combat troops from Iraq. In 2014, extremist organizations rose in Iraq, and the United States re intervened militarily in the situation under the name of the International Counter Terrorism Alliance. In December 2017, Iraqi Prime Minister Abadi announced the recovery of all territories occupied by extremist groups, achieving a major victory in the war on terror.

In June 2004, the interim government of Iraq was established. In December 2005, Iraq elected its first post-war National Assembly, gradually establishing a decentralized system of Kurdish (as president), Arab Shia (as prime minister), and Arab Sunni (as speaker).

The permanent constitution draft was introduced at the end of August 2005 and passed in a national referendum held in October, stipulating that Iraq would implement a federal system, with oil resources owned by all people and former members of the Renaissance Party not allowed to participate in politics.

The National Assembly, also known as the Parliament, consists of 329 members with a term of 4 years. The first session of the fifth National Assembly will be held in January 2022, and Sunni candidate Mohamed Al Halbousi will be re elected as Speaker. In November 2023, the Iraqi Federal Court ruled to disqualify Halebush from being a member of parliament and appointed Deputy Speaker Mandarawi as Acting Speaker.

The current government was established in October 2022, mainly consisting of Prime Minister Mohammed Sudani, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Fuad Hussein, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Petroleum Abdul Ghani Sivad, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Planning Ali Tamim, Minister of Interior Camille Shamri, and Minister of Defense Sabit Said.

[Administrative divisions] The country is divided into 18 provinces: Baghdad, Nineveh, Basra, Babylon, Muthanna, Najaf, Anbar, Wasit, Missan, Zijar, Qadisiyah, Karbala, Diarra, Salahuddin, Kirkuk, Sulaymaniyah, Erbil, and Dohuk.

There are many political parties in Iraq, currently over 200 political parties and entities, forming multiple party alliances, mainly including:

(1) Forward Alliance: led by the leader of the Sadr Movement, Sadr, and Shia.

(2) Legal State Alliance: led by former Prime Minister Maliki, Shia.

(3) Pioneering Alliance: Led by Amiri, the leader of the Badr organization and a Shia sect.

(4) Forward Party: led by former Speaker HalberBush, Sunni.

(5) Kurdistan Democratic Party: One of the two major political parties in the Kurdish region.

(6) Patriotic Union of Kurdistan: one of the two major political parties in the Kurdish region.

【 Important Person 】 Abdullatif Rashid, of Kurdish ethnicity, was born in 1944 in Sulaymaniyah Province, Kurdistan Region, Iraq. He has served for a long time in the Kurdistan Democratic Party and the Kurdistan Patriotic Union. From 2003 to 2010, served as the Minister of Water Resources. From 2010 to 2022, served as the Chief Advisor to the President. Elected as President on October 13, 2022.

Mohammed Sudani, a Shia, was born in Baghdad in 1970. Served for a long time in the province of Missan. Since 2010, he has served as Minister of Human Rights, Chairman of the Justice and Accountability Commission, Minister of Agriculture, Minister of Labour and Social Affairs, Minister of Immigration, and has also served as Acting Minister of Finance, Trade, and Industry. On October 27, 2022, Sudani successfully formed a new government and became the Prime Minister.

After the Iraq War, the task of economic reconstruction was heavy. The United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 1483 in May 2003, lifting all economic sanctions against Iraq except for the arms embargo. The focus of Iraq's reconstruction is to restore and develop areas such as energy, education, health, employment, electricity, water supply, and food. However, due to the unstable security situation, severe damage to infrastructure, and slow progress in economic reconstruction.

The main economic data for 2023 are as follows:

Gross Domestic Product (GDP): 255 billion US dollars.

Per capita Gross Domestic Product: 6035 US dollars.

Gross Domestic Product Growth Rate: 2.3%.

Currency name: Iraqi Dinar.

Exchange rate: 1 US dollar ≈ 1460 dinars.

Foreign exchange and gold reserves: approximately 110 billion US dollars.

(Official website of the Iraqi government)

Oil and natural gas resources are abundant. The proven oil reserves are 19.6 billion tons, ranking fifth in the world; The proven natural gas reserves are about 2.5 billion tons, ranking twelfth in the world. Phosphate reserves are approximately 10 billion tons.

The energy industry dominates, with oil export revenue accounting for approximately 75% of the gross domestic product and 90% of government fiscal revenue. After the end of the Iraq War, oil production gradually resumed.

The arable land area accounts for 27.6% of the total land area, and agricultural land heavily relies on surface water, mainly concentrated in the Mesopotamian plain between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. The agricultural population accounts for one-third of the total population in the country. The main crops include wheat, barley, and date palm, which cannot be self-sufficient in food.

The main tourist attractions include the ruins of Ur city (2060 BC), the ruins of the Assyrian Empire (910 BC), and the Hatter city ruins (commonly known as "Sun City"). Babylon, located 90 kilometers southwest of Baghdad, is a world-renowned ancient city ruins.

After the Iraq War, an open foreign trade policy was implemented, exempting most imported goods from tariffs. The import and export situation of foreign trade in recent years is as follows (unit: billion US dollars):