Iraq

Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq (Arabic: Jumhūrīyatu l-‘Irāq), is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert.

It shares borders with Kuwait and Saudi Arabia to the south, Jordan to the west, Syria to the northwest, Turkey to the north, and Iran to the east. It has a very narrow section of coastline at Umm Qasr on the Persian Gulf. There are two major flowing rivers: the Tigris and the Euphrates. These provide Iraq with agriculturally capable land and contrast with the desert landscape that covers most of Western Asia.

The capital city, Baghdad, is in the center-east. Iraq’s rich history dates back to ancient Mesopotamia. The region between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers is identified as the cradle of civilization and the birthplace of writing. During its long history, Iraq has been the center of the Akkadian, Assyrian, Babylonian and Abbasid empires, and part of the Achaemenid, Macedonian, Parthian, Sassanid, Umayyad, Mongol, Ottoman, and British empires.Straddling the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and stretching from the Gulf to the Anti-Taurus Mountains, modern Iraq occupies roughly what was once ancient Mesopotamia, one of the cradles of human civilization. In the Middle Ages Iraq was the centre of the Islamic Empire, with Baghdad the cultural and political capital of an area extending from Morocco to the Indian subcontinent. Mongol invasions in the 13th century saw its influence wane, and it played a minor role in the region until independence from British control in 1932. Iraq is the 58th-largest country in the world. It is comparable in size to the US state of California, and somewhat larger than Paraguay.

Location: Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iran and Kuwait.

Capital: Baghdad

Official language: Arabic

Government type:  Parliamentary Democracy

President: Jalal Talabani

Prime Minister: Nouri al-Maliki

National Holiday: Revolution Day, 17 July (1968); note – this holiday was celebrated under the SADDAM Husayn regime; the Government type of Iraq has yet to declare a new national holiday.

Area

• total: 437 072 km²
• land: 432 162 km²
• water: 4 910 km²

Climate: mostly desert; mild to cool winters with dry, hot, cloudless summers.

Population: 27 499 638 (July 2007)

Currency: Iraqi dinar (IQD)

Internet domain: .iq

International dialing code: 964

Sources: www.wikipedia.org

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