Guinea (2001) | Iraq (2003) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
Administrative divisions | 33 prefectures and 1 special zone (zone special)*; Beyla, Boffa, Boke, Conakry*, Coyah, Dabola, Dalaba, Dinguiraye, Dubreka, Faranah, Forecariah, Fria, Gaoual, Gueckedou, Kankan, Kerouane, Kindia, Kissidougou, Koubia, Koundara, Kouroussa, Labe, Lelouma, Lola, Macenta, Mali, Mamou, Mandiana, Nzerekore, Pita, Siguiri, Telimele, Tougue, Yomou | 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:
43.12% (male 1,637,000; female 1,645,786) 15-64 years: 54.19% (male 2,015,199; female 2,110,745) 65 years and over: 2.69% (male 84,586; female 120,554) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 40.7% (male 5,103,669; female 4,946,443)
15-64 years: 56.3% (male 7,033,268; female 6,855,644) 65 years and over: 3% (male 348,790; female 395,499) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | rice, coffee, pineapples, palm kernels, cassava (tapioca), bananas, sweet potatoes; cattle, sheep, goats; timber | wheat, barley, rice, vegetables, dates, cotton; cattle, sheep |
Airports | 15 (2000 est.) | 150 (2002); note - unknown number were damaged during the March-April 2003 war |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
5 over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 (2000 est.) |
total: 77
over 3,047 m: 21 2,438 to 3,047 m: 36 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 6 under 914 m: 9 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
10 1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 73
over 3,047 m: 5 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 24 914 to 1,523 m: 28 under 914 m: 11 (2002) |
Area | total:
245,857 sq km land: 245,857 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 437,072 sq km
land: 432,162 sq km water: 4,910 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Oregon | slightly more than twice the size of Idaho |
Background | Independent from France since 1958, Guinea did not hold democratic elections until 1993 when Gen. Lansana CONTE (head of the military government) was elected president of the civilian government. He was reelected in 1998. Unrest in Sierra Leone has spilled over into Guinea, threatening stability and creating a humanitarian emergency. | 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 have ruled the country since then, the latest being 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 resulted in the US-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003 and the ouster of the SADDAM Husayn regime. Coalition forces remain in Iraq, helping to restore degraded infrastructure and facilitating the establishment of a freely elected government. |
Birth rate | 39.78 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 33.66 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$NA expenditures: $417.7 million, including capital expenditures of $NA million (2000 est.) |
revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
Capital | Conakry | Baghdad |
Climate | generally hot and humid; monsoonal-type rainy season (June to November) with southwesterly winds; dry season (December to May) with northeasterly harmattan winds | 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 | 320 km | 58 km |
Constitution | 23 December 1990 (Loi Fundamentale) | in transition following April 2003 defeat of SADDAM Husayn regime by US-led coalition |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Guinea conventional short form: Guinea local long form: Republique de Guinee local short form: Guinee former: French Guinea |
conventional long form: Republic of Iraq
conventional short form: Iraq local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Iraqiyah local short form: Al Iraq |
Currency | Guinean franc (GNF) | Iraqi dinar (IQD) |
Death rate | 17.53 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 5.84 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $3.6 billion (1999 est.) | $120 billion (2002 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Charge d'Affaires Timberlake FOSTER embassy: Rue Ka 038, Conakry mailing address: B. P. 603, Conakry telephone: [224] 41 15 20, 41 15 21, 41 15 23 FAX: [224] 41 15 22 |
in transition following April 2003 defeat of SADDAM Husayn regime by US-led coalition |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Mohamed Aly THIAM chancery: 2112 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 483-9420 FAX: [1] (202) 483-8688 |
in transition following April 2003 defeat of SADDAM Husayn regime by US-led coalition |
Disputes - international | border incursions by Revolutionary United Front combatants from Sierra Leone; civil war in that country has engendered a massive flow of refugees to southern Guinea and Liberia | despite restored diplomatic relations in 1990, disputes with Iran over maritime and land boundaries, navigation channel, and other issues from eight-year war persist; land and Shatt al Arab boundary demarcation put an end to claims to Kuwait and to Bubiyan and Warbah islands, but no maritime boundary exists with Kuwait in the Persian Gulf; Iraq protests Turkey's hydrological projects to regulate the Tigris and Euphrates rivers upstream |
Economic aid - recipient | $359.2 million (1998) | $327.5 million (1995) |
Economy - overview | Guinea possesses major mineral, hydropower, and agricultural resources, yet remains a poor underdeveloped nation. The country possesses over 30% of the world's bauxite reserves and is the second largest bauxite producer. The mining sector accounted for about 75% of exports in 1999. Long-run improvements in government fiscal arrangements, literacy, and the legal framework are needed if the country is to move out of poverty. The government made encouraging progress in budget management in 1997-99, and reform progress was praised in the World Bank/IMF October 2000 assessment. However, escalating fighting along the Sierra Leonean and Liberian borders will cause major economic disruptions. In addition to direct defense costs, the violence has led to a sharp decline in investor confidence. Foreign mining companies have reduced expatriate staff, while panic buying has created food shortages and inflation in local markets. Real GDP growth is expected to fall to 2% in 2001. | Iraq's economy is dominated by the oil sector, which has traditionally provided about 95% of foreign exchange earnings. In the 1980s financial problems caused by massive expenditures in the eight-year war with Iran and damage to oil export facilities by Iran led the government to implement austerity measures, borrow heavily, and later reschedule foreign debt payments; Iraq suffered economic losses from the war of at least $100 billion. After hostilities ended in 1988, oil exports gradually increased with the construction of new pipelines and restoration of damaged facilities. 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 have hurt the economy, implementation of the UN's oil-for-food program beginning 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. Oil exports have recently been more than three-quarters prewar level. However, 28% of Iraq's export revenues under the program have been deducted to meet UN Compensation Fund and UN administrative expenses. The drop in GDP in 2001-02 was largely the result of the global economic slowdown and lower oil prices. Per capita food imports increased significantly, while medical supplies and health care services steadily improved. Per capita output and living standards were still well below the prewar level, but any estimates have a wide range of error. The military victory of the US-led coalition in March-April 2003 resulted in the shutdown of much of the central economic administrative structure and the loss of a comparatively small amount of capital plant. |
Electricity - consumption | 697.5 million kWh (1999) | 33.49 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 750 million kWh (1999) | 36.01 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
46.67% hydro: 53.33% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 98.4%
hydro: 1.6% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Mont Nimba 1,752 m |
lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m
highest point: unamed 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; inadequate supplies of potable water; desertification; soil contamination and erosion; overfishing, overpopulation in forest region | 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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
Ethnic groups | Peuhl 40%, Malinke 30%, Soussou 20%, smaller ethnic groups 10% | Arab 75%-80%, Kurdish 15%-20%, Turkoman, Assyrian or other 5% |
Exchange rates | Guinean francs per US dollar - 1,855.0 (October 2000), 1,572.0 (2000), 1,387.4 (1999), 1,236.8 (1998), 1,095.3 (1997), 1,004.0 (1996) | Iraqi dinars per US dollar - 0.31 (2002), 0.31 (2001), 0.31 (2000), 0.31 (1999), 0.31 (1998), note: fixed official rate since 1982; market rate subject to wide fluctuations |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Lansana CONTE (head of military government since 5 April 1984, elected president 19 December 1993) head of government: Prime Minister Lamine SIDIME (since 8 March 1999) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; candidate must receive a majority of the votes cast to be elected president; election last held 14 December 1998 (next to be held NA December 2003); the prime minister is appointed by the president election results: Lansana CONTE reelected president; percent of vote - Lansana CONTE (PUP) 56.1%, Mamadou Boye BA (UNR-PRP) 24.6%, Alpha CONDE (RPG) 16.6%, |
chief of state: in transition following April 2003 defeat of SADDAM Husayn regime by US-led coalition |
Exports | $820 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | bauxite, alumina, gold, diamonds, coffee, fish, agricultural products | crude oil |
Exports - partners | US, Benelux, Ukraine, Ireland (1999) | US 40.9%, Canada 8.2%, France 8.2%, Jordan 7.5%, Netherlands 6.4%, Italy 5.4%, Morocco 4.7%, Spain 4.4% (2002) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal vertical bands of red (hoist side), yellow, and green; uses the popular pan-African colors of Ethiopia; similar to the flag of Rwanda, which has a large black letter R centered in the yellow band | 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 and the flag of Yemen, which has a plain white band; also similar to the flag of Egypt which has a symbolic eagle centered in the white band |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $10 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $58 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
22.3% industry: 35.3% services: 42.4% (1998 est.) |
agriculture: 6%
industry: 13% services: 81% (1993 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,300 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,400 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5% (2000 est.) | -3% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 11 00 N, 10 00 W | 33 00 N, 44 00 E |
Geography - note | - | strategic location on Shatt al Arab waterway and at the head of the Persian Gulf |
Heliports | - | 5 (2002) |
Highways | total:
30,500 km paved: 5,033 km unpaved: 25,467 km (1996) |
total: 45,550 km
paved: 38,399 km unpaved: 7,151 km (2000 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
2.6% highest 10%: 32% (1994) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $634 million (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | petroleum products, metals, machinery, transport equipment, textiles, grain and other foodstuffs | food, medicine, manufactures |
Imports - partners | France, Belgium, US, Cote d'Ivoire (1999) | Jordan 11%, France 8.8%, China 8.4%, Germany 7.6%, Russia 7.3%, Australia 7.2%, Vietnam 6.6%, Italy 6.4%, Japan 5.6% (2002) |
Independence | 2 October 1958 (from France) | 3 October 1932 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration) |
Industrial production growth rate | 3.2% (1994) | NA% |
Industries | bauxite, gold, diamonds; alumina refining; light manufacturing and agricultural processing industries | petroleum, chemicals, textiles, construction materials, food processing |
Infant mortality rate | 129.03 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 55.16 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 61.09 deaths/1,000 live births female: 48.95 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6% (2000 est.) | 70% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MINURSO, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ABEDA, ACC, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, EAPC, ESCWA, FAO, G-19, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 930 sq km (1993 est.) | 35,250 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel | in transition following April 2003 defeat of SADDAM Husayn regime by US-led coalition |
Labor force | 3 million (1999) | 6.5 million (2002 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 80%, industry and services 20% (2000 est.) | agriculture NA%, industry NA%, services NA% |
Land boundaries | total:
3,399 km border countries: Cote d'Ivoire 610 km, Guinea-Bissau 386 km, Liberia 563 km, Mali 858 km, Senegal 330 km, Sierra Leone 652 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:
2% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 22% forests and woodland: 59% other: 17% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 11.89%
permanent crops: 0.78% other: 87.33% (1998 est.) |
Languages | French (official), each ethnic group has its own language | Arabic, Kurdish (official in Kurdish regions), Assyrian, Armenian |
Legal system | based on French civil law system, customary law, and decree; legal codes currently being revised; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | in transition following April 2003 defeat of SADDAM Husayn regime by US-led coalition |
Legislative branch | unicameral People's National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale Populaire (114 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 11 June 1995 (next scheduled for 26 November 2000 postponed indefinitely due to border fighting with rebels from Sierra Leone and Liberia) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PUP 71, RPG 19, PRP 9, UNR 9, UPG 2, PDG-AST 1, UNP 1, PDG-RDA 1, other 1 |
in transition following April 2003 defeat of SADDAM Husayn regime by US-led coalition |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
45.91 years male: 43.49 years female: 48.42 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 67.81 years
male: 66.7 years female: 68.99 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 35.9% male: 49.9% female: 21.9% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 40.4% male: 55.9% female: 24.4% (2003 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Guinea-Bissau and Sierra Leone | Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iran and Kuwait |
Map references | Africa | Middle East |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
continental shelf: not specified
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | none (2000 est.) | total: 18 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 119,433 GRT/170,221 DWT
ships by type: cargo 9, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 6, roll on/roll off 1 (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, Republican Guard, Presidential Guard, paramilitary National Gendarmerie, National Police Force (Surete National) | Army, Republican Guard, Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Force, Border Guard Force, Fedayeen Saddam; note - with the defeat of Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003, the data listed in the following entries for Iraq is invalid, but is retained here for historical purposes and until replaced by valid information related to the future Iraqi Government (April 2003) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $56 million (FY96) | $1.3 billion (FY00) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.4% (FY96) | NA% |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
1,764,912 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 6,339,458 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
891,166 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 3,541,467 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 292,930 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 2 October (1958) | Revolution Day, 17 July (1968) |
Nationality | noun:
Guinean(s) adjective: Guinean |
noun: Iraqi(s)
adjective: Iraqi |
Natural hazards | hot, dry, dusty harmattan haze may reduce visibility during dry season | dust storms, sandstorms, floods |
Natural resources | bauxite, iron ore, diamonds, gold, uranium, hydropower, fish | petroleum, natural gas, phosphates, sulfur |
Net migration rate | -2.63 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)
note: as a result of civil war in neighboring countries, Guinea is host to almost half a million Liberian and Sierra Leonean refugees |
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 1,739 km; oil 5,418 km; refined products 1,343 km (2003) |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Party of Guinea or PDG-AST [Marcel CROS]; Democratic Party of Guinea-African Democratic Rally or PDG-RDA [El Hadj Ismael Mohamed Gassim GUSHEIN]; National Union for Progress or UNP [Paul Louis FABER]; Party for Unity and Progress or PUP [Lansana CONTE] - the governing party; Party for Renewal and Progress or PRP [Siradiou DIALLO]; Rally for the Guinean People or RPG [Alpha CONDE]; Union for Progress of Guinea or UPG [Jean-Marie DORE, secretary-general]; Union for the New Republic or UNR [Mamadou Boye BA]; Union of Republican Forces or UFR [Sidya TOURE] | in transition following April 2003 defeat of SADDAM Husayn regime by US-led coalition |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | in transition following April 2003 defeat of SADDAM Husayn regime by US-led coalition |
Population | 7,613,870 (July 2001 est.) | 24,683,313 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 40% (1994 est.) | NA |
Population growth rate | 1.96% (2001 est.) | 2.78% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Boke, Conakry, Kamsar | Umm Qasr, Khawr az Zubayr, and Al Basrah have limited functionality |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 4, FM 8, shortwave 3 (1998) | AM 19 (5 are inactive), FM 51, shortwave 4 (1998) |
Radios | 357,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
1,086 km standard gauge: 279 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 807 km 1.000-m gauge (includes 662 km in common carrier service from Kankan to Conakry) |
total: 1,963 km
standard gauge: 1,963 km 1.435-m gauge (2003) |
Religions | Muslim 85%, Christian 8%, indigenous beliefs 7% | Muslim 97% (Shi'a 60%-65%, Sunni 32%-37%), Christian or other 3% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | formerly 18 years of age; universal; note - in transition following April 2003 defeat of SADDAM Husayn regime by US-led coalition |
Telephone system | general assessment:
poor to fair system of open-wire lines, small radiotelephone communication stations, and new microwave radio relay system domestic: microwave radio relay and radiotelephone communication international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment: an unknown number of telecommunication facilities were damaged during the March-April 2003 war
domestic: the network consists of coaxial cables and microwave radio relay links international: 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; Kuwait line is probably nonoperational |
Telephones - main lines in use | 20,000 (1997) | 675,000 (1997); note - an unknown number of telephone lines were damaged or destroyed during the March-April war |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 2,868 (1997) | NA; service available in northern Iraq (2001) |
Television broadcast stations | 6 (1997) | 13 (1997); note - unknown number were destroyed during the March-April 2003 war |
Terrain | generally flat coastal plain, hilly to mountainous interior | mostly broad plains; reedy marshes along Iranian border in south with large flooded areas; mountains along borders with Iran and Turkey |
Total fertility rate | 5.39 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 4.52 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | NA% |
Waterways | 1,295 km (navigable by shallow-draft native craft) | 1,015 km
note: Shatt al Arab is usually navigable by maritime traffic for about 130 km; channel has been dredged to 3 m and is in use; Tigris and Euphrates Rivers have navigable sections for shallow-draft boats; Shatt al Basrah canal was navigable by shallow-draft craft before closing in 1991 because of the Gulf war |