Guinea (2004) | Iraq (2005) | |
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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: 44.4% (male 2,075,652; female 2,032,936)
15-64 years: 52.4% (male 2,417,440; female 2,428,085) 65 years and over: 3.2% (male 127,654; female 164,695) (2004 est.) |
0-14 years: 40% (male 5,293,709/female 5,130,826)
15-64 years: 57% (male 7,530,619/female 7,338,109) 65 years and over: 3% (male 367,832/female 413,811) (2005 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, poultry |
Airports | 16 (2003 est.) | 111; note - unknown number were damaged during the March-April 2003 war (2004 est.) |
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 (2004 est.) |
total: 79
over 3,047 m: 21 2,438 to 3,047 m: 36 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 10 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 11
1,524 to 2,437 m: 6 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
total: 32
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 12 under 914 m: 9 (2004 est.) |
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 | Guinea has had only two presidents since gaining its independence from France in 1958. Lansana CONTE came to power in 1984, when the military seized the government after the death of the first president Sekou TOURE. Guinea did not hold democratic elections until 1993 when Gen. CONTE (head of the military government) was elected president of the civilian government. He was reelected in 1998 and again in 2003. Unrest in Sierra Leone and Liberia has spilled over into Guinea on several occasions over the past decade, threatening stability and creating humanitarian emergencies. | 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, the latest 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 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, while simultaneously dealing with a robust insurgency. The Coalition Provisional Authority transferred sovereignty to the Iraqi Interim Government (IG) in June 2004. Iraqis voted on 30 January 2005 to elect a 275-member Transitional National Assembly that will draft a permanent constitution and pave the way for new national elections at the end of 2005. |
Birth rate | 42.26 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 32.5 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $410.7 million
expenditures: $708.5 million, including capital expenditures of $NA million (2003 est.) |
revenues: $17.1 billion
expenditures: $28.2 billion, including capital expenditures of $5.6 billion (2004 budget) |
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) | interim constitution signed 8 March 2004; note - the Transitional Administrative Law (TAL) was enacted 8 March 2004 to govern the country until an elected Iraqi Government can draft and ratify a new constitution in 2005 |
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) | - |
Death rate | 15.53 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 5.49 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $3.25 billion (2001 est.) | $125 billion (2004 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Barrie R. WALKLEY
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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires James F. JEFFREY
embassy: Baghdad mailing address: APO AE 09316 telephone: 00-1-240-553-0584 ext. 4354; note - Consular Section FAX: NA |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Rafiou Alpha Oumar BARRY
chancery: 2112 Leroy Place NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 986-4300 FAX: [1] (202) 478-3010 |
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires Rend Rahim FRANCKE
chancery: 1801 P Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 483-7500 FAX: [1] (202) 462-5066 |
Disputes - international | domestic fighting among disparate rebel groups in Guinea, domestic fighting among disparate rebel groups, warlords, and youth gangs in Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone have created insurgencies, street violence, looting, arms trafficking, ethnic conflicts skirmishes, deaths, and refugees in border areas; in 2003, Guinea and Sierra Leone established a boundary commission to resolve a dispute over the town of Yenga | coalition forces assist Iraqis in monitoring boundary security; 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 status of Kurds in Iraq |
Economic aid - recipient | $359.2 million (1998) | more than $33 billion in foreign aid pledged for 2004-07 (2004) |
Economy - overview | Guinea possesses major mineral, hydropower, and agricultural resources, yet remains an 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. Fighting along the Sierra Leonean and Liberian borders, as well as refugee movements, have caused major economic disruptions, including a loss in investor confidence. Foreign mining companies have reduced expatriate staff, while panic buying has created food shortages and inflation in local markets. Guinea is not receiving multilateral aid. The IMF and World Bank cut off most assistance in 2003. Growth should strengthen in 2004, however, because of a slowly improving security situation and increased investor confidence. | 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 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. 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 pre-1991 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. 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. Despite continuing political uncertainty, the Iraqi Interim Government (IG) has founded the institutions needed to implement economic policy, and has successfully concluded a debt reduction agreement with the Paris Club. The high percentage gain estimated for GDP in 2004 is the result of starting from a low base. |
Electricity - consumption | 735.2 million kWh (2001) | 33.7 billion kWh (2004) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2004) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 1.1 billion kWh (2004) |
Electricity - production | 790.6 million kWh (2001) | 32.6 billion kWh (2004) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Nimba 1,752 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; inadequate supplies of potable water; desertification; soil contamination and erosion; overfishing, overpopulation in forest region; poor mining practices have led to environmental damage | 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
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 - NA (2003), 1,975.84 (2002), 1,950.56 (2001), 1,746.87 (2000), 1,387.4 (1999) | New Iraqi dinars per US dollar - 1,890 (second half, 2003), 0.3109 (2002), 0.3109 (2001), 0.3109 (2000) |
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 Cellou Dalein DIALLO (since 9 December 2004) 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 21 December 2003 (next to be held NA December 2008); the prime minister is appointed by the president election results: Lansana CONTE reelected president; percent of vote - Lansana CONTE (PUP) 95.3%, Mamadou Boye BARRY (UPR) 4.6% |
chief of state: Iraqi Transitional Government (ITG) President Jalal TALABANI (since 6 April 2005); Deputy Presidents Adil Abd AL-MAHDI and Ghazi al-Ujayl al-YAWR (since 6 April 2005); note - the President and Deputy Presidents comprise the Presidency Council)
head of government: Iraqi Transitional Government (ITG) Prime Minister Ibrahim al-JAFARI (since April 2005); Deputy Prime Ministers Rowsch SHAWAYS, Ahmad CHALABI, and Abid al-Mutlaq al-JABBURI (since May 2005) cabinet: 32 ministers appointed by the Presidency Council, plus Prime Minister Ibrahim al-JAFARI, Deputy Prime Ministers Rowsch SHAWAYS, Ahmad CHALABI, and Abid al-Mutlaq al-JABBURI elections: held 30 January 2005 to elect a 275-member Transitional National Assembly that will draft a permanent constitution and pave the way for new national elections at the end of 2005 |
Exports | NA (2001) | 1.49 million bbl/day (2004 est.) |
Exports - commodities | bauxite, alumina, gold, diamonds, coffee, fish, agricultural products | crude oil (83.9%), crude materials excluding fuels (8.0%), food and live animals (5.0%) |
Exports - partners | South Korea 14.8%, Spain 10.7%, US 10.1%, France 9.2%, Russia 9%, Ireland 7.9%, Belgium 6.4%, Germany 5.6%, Ukraine 5.3% (2003) | US 51.9%, Spain 7.3%, Japan 6.6%, Italy 5.7%, Canada 5.2% (2004) |
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 | 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 - $19.02 billion (2003 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 24.9%
industry: 38.2% services: 36.9% (2003 est.) |
agriculture: 13.6%
industry: 58.6% services: 27.8% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,100 (2003 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,100 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3% (2003 est.) | 52.3% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 11 00 N, 10 00 W | 33 00 N, 44 00 E |
Geography - note | the Niger and its important tributary the Milo have their sources in the Guinean highlands | strategic location on Shatt al Arab waterway and at the head of the Persian Gulf |
Heliports | - | 6 (2004 est.) |
Highways | total: 30,500 km
paved: 5,033 km unpaved: 25,467 km (1999 est.) |
total: 45,550 km
paved: 38,399 km unpaved: 7,151 km (1999) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.6%
highest 10%: 32% (1994) |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Imports | NA (2001) | NA |
Imports - commodities | petroleum products, metals, machinery, transport equipment, textiles, grain and other foodstuffs | food, medicine, manufactures |
Imports - partners | France 16.8%, China 9.3%, Belgium 7.1%, Italy 6.6%, Netherlands 5.4%, UK 5.4%, Cote d'Ivoire 4.8%, US 4.5% (2003) | Syria 22.9%, Turkey 19.5%, US 9.2%, Jordan 6.7%, Germany 4.9% (2004) |
Independence | 2 October 1958 (from France) | 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 | 3.2% (1994) | NA |
Industries | bauxite, gold, diamonds; alumina refining; light manufacturing and agricultural processing industries | petroleum, chemicals, textiles, construction materials, food processing, fertilizer, metal fabrication/processing |
Infant mortality rate | total: 91.82 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 97.3 deaths/1,000 live births female: 86.18 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
total: 50.25 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 56.06 deaths/1,000 live births female: 44.14 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 14.8% (2003 est.) | 25.4% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, NAM, OIC, ONUB, OPCW, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | ABEDA, AFESD, AMF, CAEU, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITU, LAS, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer), WToO |
Irrigated land | 950 sq km (1998 est.) | 35,250 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel | Supreme Court appointed by the Prime Minister, confirmed by the Presidency Council |
Labor force | 3 million (1999) | 6.7 million (2004 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: 3.63%
permanent crops: 2.58% other: 93.79% (2001) |
arable land: 13.15%
permanent crops: 0.78% other: 86.07% (2001) |
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 | based on civil and Islamic law under the Iraqi Interim Government (IG) and Transitional Administrative Law (TAL) |
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 30 June 2002 (next to be held NA 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - PUP 61.6%, UPR 26.6%, other 11.8%; seats by party - PUP 85, UPR 20, other 9 |
unicameral National Assembly or Mejlis Watani (consisting of 275 members elected by a closed-list, proportional-representation system for the period between the National Assembly election and the formation of a permanent Iraqi government pursuant to the establishment of a permanent constitution)
elections: held 30 January 2005 to elect a 275-member Transitional National Assembly that will draft a permanent constitution and pave the way for new national elections at the end of 2005 election results: National Assembly - percent of vote by party - United Iraqi Alliance 48.2%, Democratic Patriotic Alliance of Kurdistan 25.7%, Iraqi List 13.8%, others 12.3%; number of seats by party - United Iraqi Alliance 140, Democratic Patriotic Alliance of Kurdistan 75, Iraqi List 40, others 20 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 49.7 years
male: 48.45 years female: 50.99 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 68.7 years
male: 67.49 years female: 69.97 years (2005 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 | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
territorial sea: 12 nm
continental shelf: not specified |
Merchant marine | total: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 5,344 GRT/5,003 DWT
by type: cargo 1, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 1 foreign-owned: Iraq 1 (2003 est.) |
total: 14 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 83,221 GRT/125,255 DWT
by type: cargo 11, petroleum tanker 3 (2005) |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force, Republican Guard, Presidential Guard, National Gendarmerie, General Directorate of National Police | Iraqi Armed Forces: Iraqi Regular 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 | $58.5 million (2003) | $1.3 billion (FY00) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.7% (2003) | NA |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 2,108,948 (2004 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 1,064,965 (2004 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 2 October (1958) | Revolution Day, 17 July (1968); note - this holiday was celebrated under the SADDAM Husayn regime but the Iraqi Interim Government has yet to declare a new national holiday |
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 | -3.06 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: as a result of conflict in neighboring countries, Guinea is host to approximately 150,000 Liberian and Sierra Leonean refugees (2004 est.) |
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 1,739 km; oil 5,418 km; refined products 1,343 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Party of Guinea-African Democratic Rally or PDG-RDA [El Hadj Ismael Mohamed Gassim GUSHEIN]; National Union for Progress or UPN [Mamadou Bhoye BARRY]; Party for Unity and Progress or PUP [Lansana CONTE] - the governing party; People's Party of Guinea or PPG [Pascal TOLNO]; Rally for the Guinean People or RPG [Alpha CONDE]; Union for Progress and Renewal or UPR [Siradiou DIALLO]; Union for Progress of Guinea or UPG [Jean-Marie DORE, secretary-general]; Union of Republican Forces or UFR [Sidya TOURE] | Al-Sadr Movement [Muqtada Al-SADR]; Constitutional Monarchy Movement or CMM [Sharif Ali Bin al-HUSAYN]; Da'wa Party [Ibrahim al-JA'FARI]; Independent Iraqi Alliance or IIA [Falah al-NAQIB]; Iraqi Hizballah [Karim Mahud al-MUHAMMADAWI]; Iraqi Independent Democrats or IID [Adnan PACHACHI, Mahdi al-HAFIZ]; Iraqi Islamic Party or IIP [Muhsin Abd al-HAMID, Hajim al-HASSANI]; Iraqi National Accord or INA [Ayad ALLAWI]; Iraqi National Congress or INC [Ahmad CHALABI]; Iraqi National Unity Movement or INUM [Ahmad al-KUBAYSI, chairman]; Jama'at al Fadilah or JAF [Ayatollah Muhammad ' Ali al-YAQUBI]; Kurdistan Democratic Party or KDP [Masud BARZANI]; Muslim Ulama Council or MUC [Harith Sulayman al-DARI, secretary general]; Patriotic Union of Kurdistan or PUK [Jalal TALABANI]
note: the Democratic Patriotic Alliance of Kurdistan, the Iraqi List, and the United Iraqi Alliance were only electoral slates consisting of the representatives from the various Iraqi political parties |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | an insurgency against the Iraqi Interim Government and Coalition forces is primarily concentrated in Baghdad and in areas west and north of the capital; the diverse, multigroup insurgency is led principally by Sunni Arabs whose only common denominator is a shared desire to oust the Coalition and end US influence in Iraq |
Population | 9,246,462 (July 2004 est.) | 26,074,906 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 40% (2003 est.) | NA |
Population growth rate | 2.37% (2004 est.) | 2.7% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Boke, Conakry, Kamsar | Al Basrah, Khawr az Zubayr, Umm Qasr |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 4 (one station is inactive), FM 1 (plus 7 repeaters), shortwave 3 (2001) | after 17 months of unregulated media growth, there are approximately 80 radio stations on the air inside Iraq (2004) |
Railways | total: 837 km
standard gauge: 175 km 1.435-m gauge narrow gauge: 662 km 1.000-m gauge (2003) |
total: 2,200 km
standard gauge: 2,200 km 1.435-m gauge (2004) |
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: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2004 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: 0.89 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | formerly 18 years of age; universal |
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: country code - 224; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment: the 2003 war severely disrupted telecommunications throughout Iraq including international connections; USAID is overseeing the repair of switching capability and the construction of mobile and satellite communication facilities
domestic: repairs to switches and lines destroyed in the recent fighting continue, but sabotage remains a problem; cellular service is expected to be in place within two years 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; Kuwait line is probably nonoperational |
Telephones - main lines in use | 26,200 (2003) | 675,000; note - an unknown number of telephone lines were damaged or destroyed during the March-April 2003 war (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 111,500 (2003) | 20,000 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 6 low-power stations (2001) | 21 (2004) |
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 | 5.87 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 4.28 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA (2002 est.) | 25% to 30% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | 1,295 km (navigable by shallow-draft native craft) (2003) | 5,275 km (not all navigable)
note: Euphrates River (2,815 km), Tigris River (1,895 km), and Third River (565 km) are principal waterways (2004) |