Iraq Geography: A Comprehensive Overview of Location, Size & Key Features

Geography of Iraq Browse the article Geography of Iraq

Introduction to Geography of Iraq

Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, a country in southwestern Asia. It is bounded by Turkey, Iran, the Persian Gulf, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Syria. Iraq has an area of 167,925 square miles (434,924 km 2). The greatest length (north-south) is about 540 miles (870 km); the greatest width, 490 miles (790 km).

Facts in brief about IraqCapital: Baghdad.Official languages: Arabic and Kurdish.Official name: State of Iraq.Area: 169,235 mi2 (438,317 km2). Greatest distances—north-south, 530 mi (853 km); east-west, 495 mi (797 km). Coastline—40 mi (64 km).Elevation: Highest—about 11,840 ft (3,609 m) in Zagros Mountains. Lowest—sea level.Population: Current estimate—30,958,000; density, 183 per mi2 (71 per km2); distribution, 67 percent urban, 33 percent rural. 1997 census—22,046,244.Chief products: Agriculture—barley, dates, grapes, rice, tomatoes, and wheat. Mining—petroleum. Manufacturing—building materials, chemicals, flour, iron and steel, leather goods, petroleum refining, textiles.Money: Basic unit—new Iraqi dinar.

Physical Geography

Iraq is a country in southwestern Asia, in an area of the world called the Middle East.Land

Deserts, river plains, and high mountains are Iraq's chief physical features. The desert section, a part of the Syrian Desert, is a sand-and gravel-covered plateau in the west and southwest. To the east it descends to the largely alluvial plains of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Below Baghdad the land is low-lying, barely above sea level, and often marshy. Above Baghdad the two streams occupy individual basins and are separated by a desertlike upland called Al Jazira.

Northeastern Iraq, part of the region known as Kurdistan, is crossed by plateaus and mountains that are part of the high Zagros system lying mainly in Iran. Peaks rise 10,000 to 11,800 feet (3,000 to 3,600 m), but most are considerably lower.

Water

Iraq's chief rivers are the Tigris, the Euphrates, and their combined outlet, the Shatt al Arab (River of the Arabs). The Euphrates has no permanent tributaries within Iraq, only temporary ones called wadis. Chief tributaries of the Tigris include the Great Zab, Little Zab, and Diyala. Numerous intermittent lakes, some of considerable size, form during the rainy season. Disastrous floods sometimes occur, especially with the melting of mountain snow in the spring. In southeastern Iraq is an area of marshlands. Government drainage programs implemented in the early 1990's have significantly reduced these marshlands.

Climate

Except for the relatively temperate Kurdistan highlands, Iraq has a tropical climate that ranks among the world's hottest and driest. During July and August daily temperatures usually rise above 100° F. (38° C.) and rarely fall below 70° to 80° F. (21° to 27° C.). Winters are normally mild, with temperatures averaging about 45° to 55° F. (7° to 13° C.) during January. They seldom drop below freezing.

Summers are always dry. November to April is the rainy season, generally with 12 to 20 inches (300 to 500 mm) of precipitation in the north and less than 5 inches (130 mm) in the south. The Kurdistan mountains receive more than 40 inches (1,000 mm).

Economy

The economy of Iraq is largely based on agriculture and petroleum. Agriculture was once the backbone of Iraqi economy, and is still important, though more as the livelihood of many people. Petroleum production and export, which had played a vital role in the economy since the mid 20th century, is still of great significance. The latter part of the 20th century saw Iraq developing, and then again declining due to the effects of the wars, which disrupted trade routes, and destroyed factories. A trade embargo was further placed on oil exports in the August of 1990, which was partially lifted in 1996, and then fully lifted in 2003. Iraq is now focusing more on the development of industries, and is trying to reduce its reliance on petroleum.

Iraq's basic currency unit is the Iraqi dinar.

Agriculture

The Tigris-Euphrates lowland—an easily irrigated area of rich alluvial soil—has been devoted primarily to farming since the dawn of civilization. About one-fifth of Iraq's people make their living from farming and herding.

Before the restrictions brought about by the trade embargo placed on Iraq by the UN in 1990, the country was importing around 70 percent of its food products. This was because there was poor organization, and a lack of labor and private investment.

Agricultural amendments in the mid 20th century led to the relocation of land, which had been held until then by large landowners. During the period of 1967–83 the government encouraged the growth of cooperative farms, after which encouraged more private ownership.

Principal crops include wheat, barley, rice, dates, tomatoes, potatoes, melons, grapes, and oranges. Other crops include cotton and tobacco. Livestock raising is widespread, especially among the nomads, who roam steppe grazing lands with their flocks and herds. The most numerous domestic animals are sheep, goats, and cattle.

Mineral Production

Oil is the chief mineral resource of Iraq, and the country once ranked as the second-largest producer and exporter of oil in the Middle East. In the late 20th century, the oil industry accounted for about 60 percent of Iraq 's gross domestic product (GDP), the total value of all goods and services produced within the country in a year. During the war with Iran (1980–88) and the Persian Gulf War (1991), however, many oil reservoirs, pipelines, and refineries were destroyed, and the oil trade was disrupted. Also, after 1990 much of Iraq 's petroleum exports terminated as a result of commercial prohibitions imposed by a UN trade embargo. Iraq is a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).

Major oil fields of Iraq lie to the south of the country, near the Kuwait border, and also to the west of Kirkuk in the north. Iraq 's chemical and oil plants also lie near Baiji, Basra, and Kirkuk . Other natural resources that are mined in Iraq include phosphates, sulfur, and natural gas.

Manufacturing

Although Iraq has built a number of modern manufacturing plants since World War II, industrialization has been slow. Only about 7 per cent of Iraq's workforce is employed in manufacturing.

Iraq's chief industries include food processing, petroleum refining and chemical manufacturing. Goods produced by manufacturing industries include textiles, shoes, beverages, cement, and iron and steel and soap. Nearly all large modern plants are owned by the government. Baghdad, Basra, and Mosul are the principal industrial centers.

Service Industries

Industries which include banking and real estate, provide employment to many workers in the country. Prior to the Iraq War, about 25 percent of the work force of the country worked for the government.

Energy Sources

Oil and natural gas provide all the energy required in Iraq. The availibility of electric power, however, has bee hampered by the wars.

Transportation

Many of Iraq's roads, and most of its railways, ports, and airports, were heavily damaged or destroyed during the Persian Gulf War. The country's road and railway systems are concentrated in the Tigris-Euphrates region and converge on Baghdad. Iraq's chief port facilities are at Basra, which international airports are at Baghdad and Basra. Most Iraqis cannot afford automobiles and use public transportation. Many city dwellers travel on bicycles, and in the countryside people use donkeys and camels.

The People

Iraq's population includes several hundred thousand nomads. The country had a population density of 71 persons per square mile (27 per km 2). Most of the Iraqis live in small villages. About 80 per cent of Iraq's people are Arabs, and 15 per cent are Kurds. The rest are largely Iranians, Turkomans, Assyrians, Armenians, Palestinian refugees, and Asiatic Indians.

Arabic is the predominant and official language. Kurds speak several dialects of a western Iranian language. Many other languages and dialects are also spoken in Iraq.

More than 90 per cent of the Iraqis are Muslims, followers of Islam, the country's official religion. The majority of the Muslims are members of the Shiite branch of Islam, the minority of the Sunnite branch. There are small communities of Jews and Christians, most of whom belong to such Eastern groups as the Nestorians and Jacobites.

Primary education begins at age six and lasts six years. Secondary schooling is in two stages—a three-year intermediate course followed by a three-year preparatory course. All schools are under government control. Universities at Baghdad, Basra, and Mosul are the leading institutions of higher learning. Iraq's literacy rate is about 25 per cent.

Government

Before U.S. and British led forces toppled the government in 2003 and implemented a transitional government, Iraq was officially a republic. However, according to the provisional constitution of 1970, actual power was given to the Revolutionary Command Council, whose chairman was president of Iraq. There was also a council of ministers, headed by a prime minister, and an elected legislature called the National Assembly.

Under the Iraqi Interim Government, which assumed power in 2004, a transitional national assembly was elected to draft a new constitution for the country.

The Iraqi Constitution of 2005, which was approved in a referendum, pronounced the country a federal republic, with a legislature, called the Council of Representatives, having 275 elected members serving 4-year terms. The political party having the largest share of seats would nominate the prime minister, the head of government, who would need the approval of the council before assuming power, and could hold his seat for 4 years. The council was also responsible for the election of the president and two deputy presidents. The president may serve a maximum of two terms, each of 4 years each.

Local government is made up of 18 provinces called governorates. The Constitution of Iraq further provides for a Kurdistan Regional Government that is meant to look after the Kurdish areas in northern Iraq.