Burma (2003) | Iraq (2007) | |
Administrative divisions | 7 divisions* (taing-myar, singular - taing) and 7 states (pyi ne-myar, singular - pyi ne); Chin State, Ayeyarwady*, Bago*, Kachin State, Kayin State, Kayah State, Magway*, Mandalay*, Mon State, Rakhine State, Sagaing*, Shan State, Tanintharyi*, Yangon* | 18 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Al Anbar, Al Basrah, Al Muthanna, Al Qadisiyah, An Najaf, Arbil, As Sulaymaniyah, At Ta'mim, Babil, Baghdad, Dahuk, Dhi Qar, Diyala, Karbala', Maysan, Ninawa, Salah ad Din, Wasit |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 28.1% (male 6,091,220; female 5,840,968)
15-64 years: 67% (male 14,162,190; female 14,347,751) 65 years and over: 4.9% (male 916,702; female 1,151,706) (2003 est.) |
0-14 years: 39.4% (male 5,509,736/female 5,338,722)
15-64 years: 57.6% (male 8,018,841/female 7,812,611) 65 years and over: 3% (male 386,321/female 433,407) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, pulses, beans, sesame, groundnuts, sugarcane; hardwood; fish and fish products | wheat, barley, rice, vegetables, dates, cotton; cattle, sheep, poultry |
Airports | 80 (2002) | 110 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 8
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 (2002) |
total: 76
over 3,047 m: 19 2,438 to 3,047 m: 37 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 9 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 72
over 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 20 under 914 m: 34 (2002) |
total: 34
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 13 under 914 m: 10 (2007) |
Area | total: 678,500 sq km
land: 657,740 sq km water: 20,760 sq km |
total: 437,072 sq km
land: 432,162 sq km water: 4,910 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Texas | slightly more than twice the size of Idaho |
Background | Britain conquered Burma over a period of 62 years (1824-1886) and incorporated it into its Indian Empire. Burma was administered as a province of India until 1937 when it became a separate, self-governing colony; independence outside of the Commonwealth was attained in 1948. Gen. NE WIN dominated the government from 1962 to 1988, first as military ruler, then as president, and later as political kingmaker. Despite multiparty elections in 1990 that resulted in the main opposition party winning a decisive victory, the ruling military junta refused to hand over power. Key opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize recipient AUNG SAN SUU KYI, under house arrest from 1989 to 1995, was again placed under house detention from September 2000 to May 2002 and again in May 2003; her supporters are routinely harassed or jailed. | Formerly part of the Ottoman Empire, Iraq was occupied by Britain during the course of World War I; in 1920, it was declared a League of Nations mandate under UK administration. In stages over the next dozen years, Iraq attained its independence as a kingdom in 1932. A "republic" was proclaimed in 1958, but in actuality a series of military strongmen ruled the country until 2003, the last was SADDAM Husayn. Territorial disputes with Iran led to an inconclusive and costly eight-year war (1980-88). In August 1990, Iraq seized Kuwait, but was expelled by US-led, UN coalition forces during the Gulf War of January-February 1991. Following Kuwait's liberation, the UN Security Council (UNSC) required Iraq to scrap all weapons of mass destruction and long-range missiles and to allow UN verification inspections. Continued Iraqi noncompliance with UNSC resolutions over a period of 12 years led to the US-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003 and the ouster of the SADDAM Husayn regime. Coalition forces remain in Iraq under a UNSC mandate, helping to provide security and to support the freely elected government. The Coalition Provisional Authority, which temporarily administered Iraq after the invasion, transferred full governmental authority on 28 June 2004 to the Iraqi Interim Government, which governed under the Transitional Administrative Law for Iraq (TAL). Under the TAL, elections for a 275-member Transitional National Assembly (TNA) were held in Iraq on 30 January 2005. Following these elections, the Iraqi Transitional Government (ITG) assumed office. The TNA was charged with drafting Iraq's permanent constitution, which was approved in a 15 October 2005 constitutional referendum. An election under the constitution for a 275-member Council of Representatives (CoR) was held on 15 December 2005. The CoR approval in the selection of most of the cabinet ministers on 20 May 2006 marked the transition from the ITG to Iraq's first constitutional government in nearly a half-century. |
Birth rate | 19.15 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 31.44 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $7.9 billion
expenditures: $12.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $5.7 billion (FY96/97) |
revenues: $39.9 billion
expenditures: $33.94 billion (2006 est.) |
Capital | Rangoon (regime refers to the capital as Yangon) | name: Baghdad
geographic coordinates: 33 20 N, 44 23 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins 1 April; ends 1 October |
Climate | tropical monsoon; cloudy, rainy, hot, humid summers (southwest monsoon, June to September); less cloudy, scant rainfall, mild temperatures, lower humidity during winter (northeast monsoon, December to April) | mostly desert; mild to cool winters with dry, hot, cloudless summers; northern mountainous regions along Iranian and Turkish borders experience cold winters with occasionally heavy snows that melt in early spring, sometimes causing extensive flooding in central and southern Iraq |
Coastline | 1,930 km | 58 km |
Constitution | 3 January 1974 (suspended since 18 September 1988); national convention started on 9 January 1993 to draft a new constitution; progress has since been stalled | ratified on 15 October 2005 (subject to review by the Constitutional Review Committee and a possible public referendum in 2007) |
Country name | conventional long form: Union of Burma
conventional short form: Burma local long form: Pyidaungzu Myanma Naingngandaw (translated by the US Government as Union of Myanma and by the Burmese as Union of Myanmar) local short form: Myanma Naingngandaw former: Socialist Republic of the Union of Burma note: since 1989 the military authorities in Burma have promoted the name Myanmar as a conventional name for their state; this decision was not approved by any sitting legislature in Burma, and the US Government did not adopt the name, which is a derivative of the Burmese short-form name Myanma Naingngandaw |
conventional long form: Republic of Iraq
conventional short form: Iraq local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Iraqiyah local short form: Al Iraq |
Currency | kyat (MMK) | - |
Death rate | 12.17 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 5.26 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $6.1 billion (2002 est.) | $54.46 billion (2006 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Permanent Charge d'Affaires Carmen M. MARTINEZ
embassy: 581 Merchant Street, Rangoon (GPO 521) mailing address: Box B, APO AP 96546 telephone: [95] (1) 379 880, 379 881 FAX: [95] (1) 256 018 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Ryan C. CROCKER
embassy: Baghdad mailing address: APO AE 09316 telephone: 1-240-553-0589 ext. 5340 or 5635; note - Consular Section FAX: NA |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador LINN MYAING
chancery: 2300 S Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-9044 FAX: [1] (202) 332-9046 consulate(s) general: New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador Samir Shakir al-SUMAYDI
chancery: 1801 P Street, NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 483-7500 FAX: [1] (202) 462-5066 |
Disputes - international | despite continuing border committee talks, significant differences remain with Thailand over boundary alignment and the handling of ethnic rebels, refugees, and illegal cross-border activities | coalition forces assist Iraqis in monitoring internal and cross-border security; approximately two million Iraqis have fled the conflict in Iraq, with the majority taking refuge in Syria and Jordan, and lesser numbers to Egypt, Lebanon, Iran, and Turkey; Iraq's lack of a maritime boundary with Iran prompts jurisdiction disputes beyond the mouth of the Shatt al Arab in the Persian Gulf; Turkey has expressed concern over the autonomous status of Kurds in Iraq |
Economic aid - recipient | $99 million (FY98/99) | $13.5 billion pledged in foreign aid for 2004-07 from outside of the US, over $33 billion pledged total (2005) |
Economy - overview | Burma is a resource-rich country that suffers from abject rural poverty. The military regime took steps in the early 1990s to liberalize the economy after decades of failure under the "Burmese Way to Socialism", but those efforts have since stalled. Burma has been unable to achieve monetary or fiscal stability, resulting in an economy that suffers from serious macroeconomic imbalances - including a steep inflation rate and an official exchange rate that overvalues the Burmese kyat by more than 100 times the market rate. In addition, most overseas development assistance ceased after the junta suppressed the democracy movement in 1988 and subsequently ignored the results of the 1990 election. Burma is data poor, and official statistics are often dated and inaccurate. Published estimates of Burma's foreign trade are greatly understated because of the size of the black market and border trade - often estimated to be one to two times the official economy. | Iraq's economy is dominated by the oil sector, which has traditionally provided about 95% of foreign exchange earnings. Iraq's seizure of Kuwait in August 1990, subsequent international economic sanctions, and damage from military action by an international coalition beginning in January 1991 drastically reduced economic activity. Although government policies supporting large military and internal security forces and allocating resources to key supporters of the regime hurt the economy, implementation of the UN's oil-for-food program, which began in December 1996, helped improve conditions for the average Iraqi citizen. Iraq was allowed to export limited amounts of oil in exchange for food, medicine, and some infrastructure spare parts. In December 1999, the UN Security Council authorized Iraq to export under the program as much oil as required to meet humanitarian needs. The military victory of the US-led coalition in March-April 2003 resulted in the shutdown of much of the central economic administrative structure. Although a comparatively small amount of capital plant was damaged during the hostilities, looting, insurgent attacks, and sabotage have undermined efforts to rebuild the economy. Attacks on key economic facilities - especially oil pipelines and infrastructure - have prevented Iraq from reaching projected export volumes, but total government revenues have been higher than anticipated due to high oil prices. Despite political uncertainty, Iraq is making some progress in building the institutions needed to implement economic policy and has negotiated a debt reduction agreement with the Paris Club and a Standby Arrangement with the IMF. An International Compact with Iraq is being established to integrate Iraq into the regional and global economy, while recognizing the need to resolve destabilizing security and political conflicts. Additionally, the Iraqi government is seeking to pass laws to strengthen the economy; this legislation includes a hydrocarbon law to encourage contracting with foreign investors and a revenue sharing law to equitably divide oil revenues within the nation. Controlling inflation, reducing corruption, and implementing structural reforms such as bank restructuring and developing the private sector, will be key to Iraq's economic prospects. |
Electricity - consumption | 5.709 billion kWh (2001) | 31.25 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 1.388 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 6.139 billion kWh (2001) | 34.6 billion kWh (2006) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 44.4%
hydro: 55.6% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Andaman Sea 0 m
highest point: Hkakabo Razi 5,881 m |
lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m
highest point: unnamed peak; 3,611 m; note - this peak is not Gundah Zhur 3,607 m or Kuh-e Hajji-Ebrahim 3,595 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; industrial pollution of air, soil, and water; inadequate sanitation and water treatment contribute to disease | government water control projects have drained most of the inhabited marsh areas east of An Nasiriyah by drying up or diverting the feeder streams and rivers; a once sizable population of Marsh Arabs, who inhabited these areas for thousands of years, has been displaced; furthermore, the destruction of the natural habitat poses serious threats to the area's wildlife populations; inadequate supplies of potable water; development of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers system contingent upon agreements with upstream riparian Turkey; air and water pollution; soil degradation (salination) and erosion; desertification |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Law of the Sea
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
Ethnic groups | Burman 68%, Shan 9%, Karen 7%, Rakhine 4%, Chinese 3%, Indian 2%, Mon 2%, other 5% | Arab 75%-80%, Kurdish 15%-20%, Turkoman, Assyrian, or other 5% |
Exchange rates | kyats per US dollar - 6.64 (2002), 6.75 (2001), 6.52 (2000), 6.29 (1999), 6.34 (1998) | New Iraqi dinars per US dollar - 1,466 (2006), 1,475 (2005), 1,890 (second half, 2003), 0.3109 (2001) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council Sr. Gen. THAN SHWE (since 23 April 1992)
head of government: Chairman of the State Peace and Development Council Sr. Gen. THAN SHWE (since 23 April 1992); note - the appointed Prime Minister, Gen. KNIN NYUNT (since 25 August 2003), is not the head of government cabinet: State Peace and Development Council (SPDC); military junta, so named 15 November 1997, which initially assumed power 18 September 1988 under the name State Law and Order Restoration Council; the SPDC oversees the cabinet elections: none |
chief of state: President Jalal TALABANI (since 6 April 2005); Vice Presidents Adil ABD AL-MAHDI and Tariq al-HASHIMI (since 22 April 2006); note - the president and vice presidents comprise the Presidency Council)
head of government: Prime Minister Nuri al-MALIKI (since 20 May 2006); Deputy Prime Ministers Barham SALIH and Salam al-ZUBAI (since 20 May 2006) cabinet: 37 ministers appointed by the Presidency Council, plus Prime Minister Nuri al-MALIKI, and Deputy Prime Ministers Barham SALIH and Salam al-ZUBAI elections: held 15 December 2005 to elect a 275-member Council of Representatives |
Exports | NA (2001) | 1.5 million bbl/day (2006 est.) |
Exports - commodities | gas, wood products, pulses, beans, fish, rice | crude oil 84%, crude materials excluding fuels 8%, food and live animals 5% |
Exports - partners | Thailand 31.4%, US 13%, India 7.4%, China 4.7% (2002) | US 46.8%, Italy 10.7%, Canada 6.2%, Spain 6.1% (2006) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | red with a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing, all in white, 14 five-pointed stars encircling a cogwheel containing a stalk of rice; the 14 stars represent the 14 administrative divisions | three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black with three green five-pointed stars in a horizontal line centered in the white band; the phrase ALLAHU AKBAR (God is Great) in green Arabic script - Allahu to the right of the middle star and Akbar to the left of the middle star - was added in January 1991 during the Persian Gulf crisis; similar to the flag of Syria, which has two stars but no script, Yemen, which has a plain white band, and that of Egypt which has a gold Eagle of Saladin centered in the white band; design is based upon the Arab Liberation colors |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $73.69 billion (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 60%
industry: 9% services: 31% (2002 est.) |
agriculture: 7.3%
industry: 66.6% services: 26.1% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,700 (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.3% (2002 est.) | 1.9% (2006 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 22 00 N, 98 00 E | 33 00 N, 44 00 E |
Geography - note | strategic location near major Indian Ocean shipping lanes | strategic location on Shatt al Arab waterway and at the head of the Persian Gulf |
Heliports | 1 (2002) | 17 (2007) |
Highways | total: 28,200 km
paved: 3,440 km unpaved: 24,760 km (1996 est.) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.8%
highest 10%: 32.4% (1998) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | world's second largest producer of illicit opium (potential production in 2002 - 630 metric tons, down 27% due to drought and, to a lesser extent, eradication; cultivation in 2002 - 77,000 hectares, a 27% decline from 2001); surrender of drug warlord KHUN SA's Mong Tai Army in January 1996 was hailed by Rangoon as a major counternarcotics success, but lack of government will and ability to take on major narcotrafficking groups and lack of serious commitment against money laundering continues to hinder the overall antidrug effort; major source of methamphetamine and heroin for regional consumption | - |
Imports | NA (2001) | 98,330 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | machinery, transport equipment, construction materials, crude oil; food products | food, medicine, manufactures |
Imports - partners | China 27%, Singapore 19.5%, Thailand 12%, Malaysia 9.1%, Taiwan 6.3%, South Korea 5.3%, Japan 4.3% (2002) | Syria 26.5%, Turkey 20.5%, US 11.8%, Jordan 7.2% (2006) |
Independence | 4 January 1948 (from UK) | 3 October 1932 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration); note - on 28 June 2004 the Coalition Provisional Authority transferred sovereignty to the Iraqi Interim Government |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | NA% |
Industries | agricultural processing; knit and woven apparel; wood and wood products; copper, tin, tungsten, iron; construction materials; pharmaceuticals; fertilizer | petroleum, chemicals, textiles, leather, construction materials, food processing, fertilizer, metal fabrication/processing |
Infant mortality rate | total: 70.35 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 76.48 deaths/1,000 live births female: 63.84 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
total: 47.04 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 52.73 deaths/1,000 live births female: 41.07 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 53.7% (2002 est.) | 53.2% (2006 est.) |
International organization participation | ARF, AsDB, ASEAN, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ABEDA, AFESD, AMF, CAEU, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAS, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1
note: as of September 2000, Internet connections were legal only for the government, tourist offices, and a few large businesses (2000) |
- |
Irrigated land | 15,920 sq km (1998 est.) | 35,250 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | remnants of the British-era legal system are in place, but there is no guarantee of a fair public trial; the judiciary is not independent of the executive | the Iraq Constitution calls for the Federal Judicial Authority, comprised of the Higher Juridical Council, Supreme Federal Court, Federal Court of Cassation, Public Prosecution Department, Judiciary Oversight Commission and other federal courts that are regulated in accordance with the law |
Labor force | 23.7 million (1999 est.) | 7.4 million (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 70%, industry 7%, services 23% (2001 est.) | agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: NA% |
Land boundaries | total: 5,876 km
border countries: Bangladesh 193 km, China 2,185 km, India 1,463 km, Laos 235 km, Thailand 1,800 km |
total: 3,650 km
border countries: Iran 1,458 km, Jordan 181 km, Kuwait 240 km, Saudi Arabia 814 km, Syria 605 km, Turkey 352 km |
Land use | arable land: 14.53%
permanent crops: 0.9% other: 84.57% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 13.12%
permanent crops: 0.61% other: 86.27% (2005) |
Languages | Burmese, minority ethnic groups have their own languages | Arabic, Kurdish (official in Kurdish regions), Assyrian, Armenian |
Legal system | has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | based on European civil and Islamic law under the framework outlined in the Iraqi Constitution; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | unicameral People's Assembly or Pyithu Hluttaw (485 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 27 May 1990, but Assembly never convened election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NLD 392, SNLD 23, NUP 10, other 60 |
bicameral Council of Representatives (consisting of 275 members elected by a closed-list, proportional representation system) and a Federation Council (membership not established and authorities undefined)
elections: held 15 December 2005 to elect a 275-member Council of Representatives; the Council of Representatives elected the Presidency Council and approved the Prime Minister election results: Council of Representatives - percent of vote by party - Unified Iraqi Alliance 41%, Kurdistan Alliance 22%, Tawafuq Coalition 15%, Iraqi National List 8%, Iraqi Front for National Dialogue 4%, other 10%; number of seats by party - Unified Iraqi Alliance 128, Kurdistan Alliance 53, Tawafuq Coalition 44, Iraqi National List 25, Iraqi Front for National Dialogue 11, other 14 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 55.79 years
male: 54.12 years female: 57.56 years (2003 est.) |
total population: 69.31 years
male: 68.04 years female: 70.65 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 83.1% male: 88.7% female: 77.7% (1995 est.) note: these are official statistics; estimates of functional literacy are likely closer to 30% (1999 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 74.1% male: 84.1% female: 64.2% (2000 est.) |
Location | Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Bangladesh and Thailand | Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iran and Kuwait |
Map references | Southeast Asia | Middle East |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
continental shelf: not specified |
Merchant marine | total: 33 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 352,765 GRT/536,396 DWT
ships by type: bulk 7, cargo 21, container 1, passenger/cargo 3, petroleum tanker 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Germany 5, Japan 4 (2002 est.) |
total: 13 ships (1000 GRT or over) 67,796 GRT/101,317 DWT
by type: cargo 11, petroleum tanker 2 (2007) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force | Iraqi Armed Forces: Iraqi Army (includes Iraqi Special Operations Force, Iraqi Intervention Force), Iraqi Navy (former Iraqi Coastal Defense Force), Iraqi Air Force (former Iraqi Army Air Corps) (2005) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $39 million (FY97) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.1% (FY97) | 8.6% (2006) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 12,349,921
females age 15-49: 12,358,507 note: both sexes liable for military service (2003 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 6,566,122
females age 15-49: 6,553,458 (2003 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2003 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 453,420
females: 455,422 (2003 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day, 4 January (1948) | Revolution Day, 17 July (1968); note - this holiday was celebrated under the SADDAM Husayn regime; the Government of Iraq has yet to declare a new national holiday |
Nationality | noun: Burmese (singular and plural)
adjective: Burmese |
noun: Iraqi(s)
adjective: Iraqi |
Natural hazards | destructive earthquakes and cyclones; flooding and landslides common during rainy season (June to September); periodic droughts | dust storms, sandstorms, floods |
Natural resources | petroleum, timber, tin, antimony, zinc, copper, tungsten, lead, coal, some marble, limestone, precious stones, natural gas, hydropower | petroleum, natural gas, phosphates, sulfur |
Net migration rate | -1.81 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 2,056 km; oil 558 km (2003) | gas 2,228 km; liquid petroleum gas 918 km; oil 5,506 km; refined products 1,637 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | National League for Democracy or NLD [AUNG SHWE, chairman, AUNG SAN SUU KYI, general secretary]; National Unity Party or NUP (proregime) [THA KYAW]; Shan Nationalities League for Democracy or SNLD [KHUN TUN OO]; Union Solidarity and Development Association or USDA (proregime, a social and political organization) [THAN AUNG, general secretary]; and other smaller parties | Assyrian Democratic Movement [Yunadim KANNA]; Badr Organization [Hadi al-AMIRI]; Constitutional Monarchy Movement or CMM [Sharif Ali Bin al-HUSAYN]; Da'wa al-Islamiya Party [Ibrahim al-JA'FARI]; General Conference of Iraqi People [Adnan al-DULAYMI]; Independent Iraqi Alliance or IIA [Falah al-NAQIB]; Iraqi Communist Party [Hamid al-MUSA]; Iraqi Front for National Dialogue [Salih al-MUTLAQ]; Iraqi Hizballah [Karim Mahmud al-MUHAMMADAWI]; Iraqi Independent Democrats or IID [Adnan PACHACHI, Mahdi al-HAFIZ]; Iraqi Islamic Party or IIP [Tariq al-HASHIMI]; Iraqi National Accord or INA [Ayad ALLAWI]; Iraqi National Congress or INC [Ahmad CHALABI]; Iraqi National Council for Dialogue or INCD [Khalaf Ulayan al-Khalifawi al-DULAYMI]; Iraqi National Unity Movement or INUM [Ahmad al-KUBAYSI]; Islamic Action Organization or IAO [Ayatollah Muhammad al-MUDARRISI]; Jama'at al Fadilah or JAF [Muhammad Ali al-YAQUBI]; Kurdistan Democratic Party or KDP [Masud BARZANI]; Kurdistan Islamic Union [Salah ad-Din Muhammad BAHA al-DIN]; National Reconciliation and Liberation Party [Mishan al-JABBURI]; Patriotic Union of Kurdistan or PUK [Jalal TALABANI]; Sadrist Trend [Muqtada al-SADR] (not an organized political party, but it fields independent candidates affiliated with Muqtada al-SADR); Supreme Islamic Iraqi Council or SIIC [Abd al-Aziz al-HAKIM]
note: the Kurdistan Alliance, Iraqi National List, Tawafuq Coalition, Iraqi Front for National Dialogue, and Unified Iraqi Alliance were only electoral slates consisting of the representatives from the various Iraqi political parties |
Political pressure groups and leaders | All Burma Student Democratic Front or ABSDF; Kachin Independence Army or KIA; Karen National Union or KNU; National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma or NCGUB [Dr. SEIN WIN] consists of individuals legitimately elected to the People's Assembly but not recognized by the military regime (the group fled to a border area and joined with insurgents in December 1990 to form a parallel government); several Shan factions; United Wa State Army or UWSA | an insurgency against the Government of Iraq and Coalition forces is primarily concentrated in Baghdad and in areas north, northeast, and west of the capital; the diverse, multigroup insurgency consists principally of Sunni Arabs whose only common denominator is a shared desire to oust the Coalition and end US influence in Iraq; a number of predominantly Shia militias, some associated with political parties, challenge governmental authority in Baghdad and southern Iraq |
Population | 42,510,537
note: estimates for this country take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2003 est.) |
27,499,638 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 25% (2000 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.52% (2003 est.) | 2.618% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bassein, Bhamo, Chauk, Mandalay, Moulmein, Myitkyina, Rangoon, Akyab (Sittwe), Tavoy | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 3, shortwave 3 (1998) | after 17 months of unregulated media growth, there are approximately 80 radio stations (types NA) on the air inside Iraq (2004) |
Railways | total: 3,955 km
narrow gauge: 3,955 km 1.000-m gauge (2002) |
total: 2,272 km
standard gauge: 2,272 km 1.435-m gauge (2006) |
Religions | Buddhist 89%, Christian 4% (Baptist 3%, Roman Catholic 1%), Muslim 4%, animist 1%, other 2% | Muslim 97% (Shi'a 60%-65%, Sunni 32%-37%), Christian or other 3% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.032 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.026 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.891 male(s)/female total population: 1.024 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: meets minimum requirements for local and intercity service for business and government; international service is good
domestic: NA international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
general assessment: the aftermath of the liberation of Iraq in 2003 severely disrupted telecommunications throughout Iraq including international connections; USAID repaired switching capabilities and constructed a mobile and satellite communication facility; landlines now exceed pre-war levels
domestic: repairs to switches and lines destroyed during 2003 have been completed, but sabotage remains a problem; additional switching capacity is improving access; cellular service is widely available in major cities and centered on 3 regional GSM networks, improving country-wide connectivity; there are currently 8.7 million users of cellular services international: country code - 964; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region), and 1 Arabsat (inoperative); coaxial cable and microwave radio relay to Jordan, Kuwait, Syria, and Turkey; despite a new satellite gateway, international calls outside of Baghdad are sometimes problematic (2006) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 250,000 (2000) | 1.547 million (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 8,492 (1997) | 8.7 million (2006) |
Television broadcast stations | 2 (1998) | 21 (2004) |
Terrain | central lowlands ringed by steep, rugged highlands | mostly broad plains; reedy marshes along Iranian border in south with large flooded areas; mountains along borders with Iran and Turkey |
Total fertility rate | 2.15 children born/woman (2003 est.) | 4.07 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 5.1% (2001 est.) | 25% to 30% (2005 est.) |
Waterways | 12,800 km
note: 3,200 km navigable by large commercial vessels |
5,279 km
note: Euphrates River (2,815 km), Tigris River (1,899 km), and Third River (565 km) are principal waterways (2006) |