Iraq's modern borders were mostly demarcated in 1920 by the League of Nations when the Ottoman Empire was divided by the Treaty of Sèvres. Iraq was placed under the authority of the United Kingdom as the British Mandate of Mesopotamia. A monarchy was established in 1921 and the Kingdom of Iraq gained independence from Britain in 1932. In 1958, the monarchy was overthrown and the Iraqi Republic created. Iraq was controlled by the Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party from 1968 until 2003. After an invasion by the United States and its allies in 2003, Saddam Hussein's Ba'ath Party was removed from power and multi-party parliamentary elections were held in 2005
Languages: Arabic, Kurdish (official in Kurdish regions), Turkoman (a Turkish dialect), Assyrian (Neo-Aramaic), Armenian
Ethnic Groups: Arab 75%-80%, Kurdish 15%-20%, Turkoman, Assyrian, or other 5%
Belief Systems: Muslim 97% (Shi'a 60%-65%, Sunni 32%-37%), Christian or other 3%
Demographics:
Population: 35.9 million people (World Rank: 37th) (2014 estimate)
Population Density: 215 people/mi^2 (People per Square Mile) (World Rank: 125th) (2014 estimate)
Population Growth: 3.18 %/yr (World Rank: 7th) (2013 estimate)
Life Expectancy: 69.4 years (World Rank: 155th) (2013 estimate)
Median Age: 19.1 years (World Rank: 158th) (2010 estimate)
Sites for More Information:
Map of Iraq
Worldatlas.com
Country Profile for Iraq
United Nations
Iraq - Country Profile
U.S. Library of Congress
Iraq - General Information
Encyclopedia.com
Tourism:
Travel Info for Iraq
Travelnotes.org
Language Resources:
Government Related:
Iraqi Embassy
in Washington D.C.
Iraqi Government Web Sites
by Gunnar Anzinger
