Iraq (2004) | Jamaica (2008) | |
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Administrative divisions | 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 | 14 parishes; Clarendon, Hanover, Kingston, Manchester, Portland, Saint Andrew, Saint Ann, Saint Catherine, Saint Elizabeth, Saint James, Saint Mary, Saint Thomas, Trelawny, Westmoreland
note: for local government purposes, Kingston and Saint Andrew were amalgamated in 1923 into the present single corporate body known as the Kingston and Saint Andrew Corporation |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 40.3% (male 5,198,966; female 5,039,173)
15-64 years: 56.7% (male 7,280,167; female 7,094,688) 65 years and over: 3% (male 357,651; female 404,046) (2004 est.) |
0-14 years: 32.5% (male 459,968/female 444,963)
15-64 years: 60.1% (male 822,486/female 848,310) 65 years and over: 7.4% (male 91,856/female 112,549) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | wheat, barley, rice, vegetables, dates, cotton; cattle, sheep | sugarcane, bananas, coffee, citrus, yams, ackees, vegetables; poultry, goats, milk; crustaceans, mollusks |
Airports | 111; note - unknown number were damaged during the March-April 2003 war (2003 est.) | 34 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | 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.) |
total: 11
2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 5 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | 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.) |
total: 23
914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 21 (2007) |
Area | total: 437,072 sq km
land: 432,162 sq km water: 4,910 sq km |
total: 10,991 sq km
land: 10,831 sq km water: 160 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than twice the size of Idaho | slightly smaller than Connecticut |
Background | 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 and the election of its president, Ghazi al-Ujayl al-YAWR, was held in January 2005. | The island - discovered by Christopher COLUMBUS in 1494 - was settled by the Spanish early in the 16th century. The native Taino Indians, who had inhabited Jamaica for centuries, were gradually exterminated and replaced by African slaves. England seized the island in 1655 and established a plantation economy based on sugar, cocoa, and coffee. The abolition of slavery in 1834 freed a quarter million slaves, many of whom became small farmers. Jamaica gradually obtained increasing independence from Britain, and in 1958 it joined other British Caribbean colonies in forming the Federation of the West Indies. Jamaica gained full independence when it withdrew from the Federation in 1962. Deteriorating economic conditions during the 1970s led to recurrent violence as rival gangs affiliated with the major political parties evolved into powerful organized crime networks involved in international drug smuggling and money laundering. Violent crime, drug trafficking, and poverty pose significant challenges to the government today. Nonetheless, many rural and resort areas remain relatively safe and contribute substantially to the economy. |
Birth rate | 33.09 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 20.44 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $12.8 billion NA
expenditures: $13.4 billion NA, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 budget) |
revenues: $3.441 billion
expenditures: $3.905 billion (2007 est.) |
Capital | Baghdad | name: Kingston
geographic coordinates: 18 00 N, 76 48 W time difference: UTC-5 (same time as Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | 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 | tropical; hot, humid; temperate interior |
Coastline | 58 km | 1,022 km |
Constitution | 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 Transitional Government can draft and ratify a new constitution in 2005 | 6 August 1962 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Iraq
conventional short form: Iraq local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Iraqiyah local short form: Al Iraq |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Jamaica |
Currency | New Iraqi dinar (NID) as of 22 January 2004 | - |
Death rate | 5.66 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 6.59 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $93.95 billion (2003 est.) | $7.138 billion (31 December 2007 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador John D. NEGROPONTE
embassy: Baghdad mailing address: APO AE 09316 telephone: 00-1-240-553-0584 ext. 4354; note - Consular Section FAX: NA |
chief of mission: Ambassador Brenda LaGrange JOHNSON
embassy: 142 Old Hope Road, Kingston 6 mailing address: P.O. Box 541, Kingston 5 telephone: [1] (876) 702-6000 FAX: [1] (876) 702-6348 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant)
chancery: 1801 P Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 483-7500 FAX: [1] (202) 462-5066 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Gordon SHIRLEY
chancery: 1520 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 452-0660 FAX: [1] (202) 452-0081 consulate(s) general: Miami, New York |
Disputes - international | coalition forces assist Iraqis in monitoring boundary security, but resolution of disputes and creation of maritime boundaries with neighboring states will remain in hiatus until full sovereignty is restored in Iraq; Turkey has expressed concern over the status of Kurds in Iraq | none |
Economic aid - recipient | more than $33 billion in foreign aid pledged for 2004-07 (2004) | $35.74 million (2005) |
Economy - overview | 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 that 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. 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, but with the loss of a comparatively small amount of capital plant. The rebuilding of oil, electricity, and other production is proceeding steadily at the start of 2004 with foreign support and despite the continuation of severe internal strife. A joint UN and World Bank report released in the fall of 2003 estimated that Iraq's key reconstruction needs through 2007 would cost $55 billion. In October 2003, international donors pledged assistance worth more than $33 billion toward this rebuilding effort. | The Jamaican economy is heavily dependent on services, which now account for more than 60% of GDP. The country continues to derive most of its foreign exchange from tourism, remittances, and bauxite/alumina. Remittances account for nearly 20% of GDP and are equivalent to tourism revenues. Jamaica's economy, already saddled with a record of sluggish growth, will suffer an economic setback from damages caused by Hurricane Dean in August 2007. The economy faces serious long-term problems: high but declining interest rates, increased foreign competition, exchange rate instability, a sizable merchandise trade deficit, large-scale unemployment and underemployment, and a debt-to-GDP ratio of 135%. Jamaica's onerous debt burden - the fourth highest per capita - is the result of government bailouts to ailing sectors of the economy, most notably the financial sector in the mid-to-late 1990s. Inflation also has declined, standing at about 7% at the end of 2007. High unemployment exacerbates the serious crime problem, including gang violence that is fueled by the drug trade. The GOLDING administration faces the difficult prospect of having to achieve fiscal discipline in order to maintain debt payments while simultaneously attacking a serious and growing crime problem that is hampering economic growth. |
Electricity - consumption | 33.49 billion kWh (2001) | 6.131 billion kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2001) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 36.01 billion kWh (2001) | 6.985 billion kWh (2005) |
Elevation extremes | 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 |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Blue Mountain Peak 2,256 m |
Environment - current issues | 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 | heavy rates of deforestation; coastal waters polluted by industrial waste, sewage, and oil spills; damage to coral reefs; air pollution in Kingston results from vehicle emissions |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Law of the Sea
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Arab 75%-80%, Kurdish 15%-20%, Turkoman, Assyrian or other 5% | black 91.2%, mixed 6.2%, other or unknown 2.6% (2001 census) |
Exchange rates | New Iraqi dinars per US dollar - 1,890 (second half, 2003) | Jamaican dollars per US dollar - 69.034 (2007), 65.768 (2006), 62.51 (2005), 61.197 (2004), 57.741 (2003) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Interim Iraqi Government (IG) President Ghazi al-Ujayl al-YAWR (since 1 June 2004); Deputy Presidents Ibrahim al-JAFARI and Rowsch SHAWAYS (since 1 June 2004); note - the President and Deputy Presidents comprise the Presidency Council
head of government: Interim Iraqi Government (IG) Prime Minister Ayad ALLAWI (since 28 June 2004) cabinet: 31 ministers appointed by the Presidency Council, plus a Deputy Prime Minister, Barham SALIH elections: scheduled to be held January 2005 |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General Kenneth O. HALL (since 15 February 2006)
head of government: Prime Minister Bruce GOLDING (since 11 September 2007) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch on the recommendation of the prime minister; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition in the House of Representatives is appointed prime minister by the governor general; the deputy prime minister is recommended by the prime minister |
Exports | 1.7 million bbl/day (January 2004) | 1,531 bbl/day (2004) |
Exports - commodities | crude oil | alumina, bauxite, sugar, bananas, rum, coffee, yams, beverages, chemicals, wearing apparel, mineral fuels |
Exports - partners | US 48.8%, Jordan 8.4%, Canada 8%, Italy 7.9%, Morocco 5.3% (2003) | US 30.2%, Canada 15.6%, China 15.2%, UK 10.3%, Netherlands 7%, Norway 4.6% (2006) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
Flag description | 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 | diagonal yellow cross divides the flag into four triangles - green (top and bottom) and black (hoist side and outer side) |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $37.92 billion (2003 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 6%
industry: 13% services: 81% (1993 est.) |
agriculture: 5%
industry: 34% services: 61% (2007 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,500 (2003 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | -21.8% (2003 est.) | 1.5% (2007 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 33 00 N, 44 00 E | 18 15 N, 77 30 W |
Geography - note | strategic location on Shatt al Arab waterway and at the head of the Persian Gulf | strategic location between Cayman Trench and Jamaica Channel, the main sea lanes for the Panama Canal |
Heliports | 6 (2003 est.) | - |
Highways | total: 45,550 km
paved: 38,399 km unpaved: 7,151 km (2000 est.) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: 2.1%
highest 10%: 35.8% (2004) |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for cocaine from South America to North America and Europe; illicit cultivation and consumption of cannabis; government has an active manual cannabis eradication program; corruption is a major concern; substantial money-laundering activity; Colombian narcotics traffickers favor Jamaica for illicit financial transactions |
Imports | NA (2001) | 71,420 bbl/day (2004) |
Imports - commodities | food, medicine, manufactures | food and other consumer goods, industrial supplies, fuel, parts and accessories of capital goods, machinery and transport equipment, construction materials |
Imports - partners | Turkey 18.1%, Jordan 13.4%, Vietnam 10.7%, US 6.9%, Germany 5%, UK 4.7% (2003) | US 39.3%, Trinidad and Tobago 13.6%, Venezuela 9.5% (2006) |
Independence | 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 | 6 August 1962 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | 2% (2007 est.) |
Industries | petroleum, chemicals, textiles, construction materials, food processing | tourism, bauxite/alumina, agro processing, light manufactures, rum, cement, metal, paper, chemical products, telecommunications |
Infant mortality rate | total: 52.71 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 58.58 deaths/1,000 live births female: 46.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
total: 15.73 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 16.4 deaths/1,000 live births female: 15.01 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 29.3% (2003 est.) | 7.1% (2007 est.) |
International organization participation | 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 | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-15, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAES, MIGA, NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Irrigated land | 35,250 sq km (1998 est.) | 250 sq km (2002) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court appointed by the Prime Minister, confirmed by the Presidency Council | Supreme Court (judges appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister); Court of Appeal |
Labor force | 7.8 million (2004 est.) | 1.255 million (2007 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture NA, industry NA, services NA | agriculture: 17%
industry: 19% services: 64% (2006) |
Land boundaries | 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 |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 13.15%
permanent crops: 0.78% other: 86.07% (2001) |
arable land: 15.83%
permanent crops: 10.01% other: 74.16% (2005) |
Languages | Arabic, Kurdish (official in Kurdish regions), Assyrian, Armenian | English, English patois |
Legal system | based on civil and Islamic law under the Iraqi Interim Government (IG) and Transitional Administrative Law (TAL) | based on English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | Iraqi Interim National Council formed in July 2004 | bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (a 21-member body appointed by the governor general on the recommendations of the prime minister and the leader of the opposition; ruling party is allocated 13 seats, and the opposition is allocated 8 seats) and the House of Representatives (60 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 3 September 2007 (next to be held no later than October 2012) election results: percent of vote by party - JLP 50.1%, PNP 49.8%; seats by party - JLP 33, PNP 27 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 68.26 years
male: 67.09 years female: 69.48 years (2004 est.) |
total population: 73.12 years
male: 71.43 years female: 74.9 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 40.4% male: 55.9% female: 24.4% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 87.9% male: 84.1% female: 91.6% (2003 est.) |
Location | Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iran and Kuwait | Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, south of Cuba |
Map references | Middle East | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
continental shelf: not specified |
measured from claimed archipelagic straight baselines
territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200 nm or to edge of the continental margin |
Merchant marine | total: 13 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 83,221 GRT/125,255 DWT
by type: cargo 6, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 5, roll on/roll off 1 registered in other countries: 3 (2004 est.) |
total: 13 ships (1000 GRT or over) 161,700 GRT/241,663 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 6, cargo 2, carrier 1, petroleum tanker 1, roll on/roll off 3 foreign-owned: 12 (Denmark 1, Germany 1, Greece 8, Latvia 2) registered in other countries: 1 (Panama 1) (2007) |
Military branches | note: in the summer of 2003 the Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) began recruiting and training a New Iraqi Army (NIA) that would have a purely defensive mission and capability; in March 2004, the Iraqi Interim Government established a Ministry of Defense to create an Iraqi Armed Force; at that time the NIA was renamed the Iraqi Armed Force - Army (IAF-A); plans also were put into effect to reconstitute an Iraqi Army Air Corps (IAAC) and Coastal Defense Force (navy), but there are no plans to reconstitute an Iraqi Air Force; the Army's primary new focus will be domestic counterinsurgency, which is a change of direction from the CPA's intent to create an army not involved in domestic politics; in mid-2004 the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps (ICDC) was designated the Iraqi National Guard (ING) and subordinated to the Defense Ministry and the Iraqi Armed Forces Pre-war Iraqi military equipment was largely destroyed by Coalition forces during combat operations in early 2003 or subsequently looted or scrapped (September 2004) | Jamaica Defense Force: Ground Forces, Coast Guard, Air Wing (2007) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $1.3 billion (FY00) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | NA | 0.6% (2006 est.) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 6,547,762 (2004 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 3,654,947 (2004 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 304,527 (2004 est.) | - |
National holiday | 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 | Independence Day, 6 August (1962) |
Nationality | noun: Iraqi(s)
adjective: Iraqi |
noun: Jamaican(s)
adjective: Jamaican |
Natural hazards | dust storms, sandstorms, floods | hurricanes (especially July to November) |
Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, phosphates, sulfur | bauxite, gypsum, limestone |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) | -6.07 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 1,739 km; oil 5,418 km; refined products 1,343 km (2004) | - |
Political parties and leaders | note - the Iraqi political parties included below reflect only the major groups; new political parties continue to emerge, indicative of a rapidly changing political landscape; Al-Sadr Movement [Muqtada Al-SADR]; Da'wa Party [Ibrahim al-JA'FARI]; Iraqi Hizballah [Karim Mahud al-MUHAMMADAWI]; Iraqi National Accord or INA [Ayad ALLAWI]; Iraqi National Congress or INC [Ahmad CHALABI]; Jama'at al Fadilah or JAF [Ayatollah Muhammad ' Ali al-YAQUBI]; The Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq or SCIRI [Abd al-Aziz al-HAKIM]; Constitutional Monarchy Movement or CMM [Sharif Ali Bin al-HUSAYN]; Independent Iraqi Alliance or IIA [Falah al-NAQIB]; Iraqi Independent Democrats or IID [Adnan PACHACHI, Mahdi al-HAFIZ]; Iraqi Islamic Party or IIP [Muhsin Abd al-HAMID, Hajim al-HASSANI]; Iraqi National Unity Movement or INUM [Ahmad al-KUBAYSI, chariman]; Muslim Ulama Council or MUC [Harith Sulayman al-DARI, secretary general]; Kurdistan Democratic Party or KDP [Masud BARZANI]; Patriotic Union of Kurdistan or PUK [Jalal TALABANI] | Jamaica Labor Party or JLP [Bruce GOLDING]; People's National Party or PNP [Portia SIMPSON-MILLER]; National Democratic Movement or NDM [Michael WILLIAMS] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | 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 | New Beginnings Movement or NBM; Rastafarians (black religious/racial cultists, pan-Africanists) |
Population | 25,374,691 (July 2004 est.) | 2,780,132 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA | 14.8% (2003 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.74% (2004 est.) | 0.777% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Umm Qasr, Khawr az Zubayr, and Al Basrah have limited functionality | - |
Radio broadcast stations | after 17 months of unregulated media growth, there are approximately 80 radio stations on the air inside Iraq (2004) | AM 10, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Railways | total: 1,963 km
standard gauge: 1,963 km 1.435-m gauge (2003) |
- |
Religions | Muslim 97% (Shi'a 60%-65%, Sunni 32%-37%), Christian or other 3% | Protestant 62.5% (Seventh-Day Adventist 10.8%, Pentecostal 9.5%, Other Church of God 8.3%, Baptist 7.2%, New Testament Church of God 6.3%, Church of God in Jamaica 4.8%, Church of God of Prophecy 4.3%, Anglican 3.6%, other Christian 7.7%), Roman Catholic 2.6%, other or unspecified 14.2%, none 20.9%, (2001 census) |
Sex ratio | 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 (2004 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.034 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.816 male(s)/female total population: 0.978 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | formerly 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | 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 communications 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 |
general assessment: fully automatic domestic telephone network
domestic: the 1999 agreement to open the market for telecommunications services resulted in rapid growth in mobile-cellular telephone usage; mobile-cellular teledensity now exceeds 100 per 100 persons; the number of fixed-lines in use has been declining international: country code - 1-876; the Fibralink submarine cable network provides enhanced delivery of business and broadband traffic and is linked to the Americas Region Caribbean Ring System (ARCOS-1) submarine cable in the Dominican Republic; the link to ARCOS-1 provides seamless connectivity to US, parts of the Caribbean, Central America, and South America; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 675,000; note - an unknown number of telephone lines were damaged or destroyed during the March-April 2003 war (2003) | 319,000 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 20,000 (2002) | 2.804 million (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 21 (2004) | 7 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly broad plains; reedy marshes along Iranian border in south with large flooded areas; mountains along borders with Iran and Turkey | mostly mountains, with narrow, discontinuous coastal plain |
Total fertility rate | 4.4 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 2.36 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA (2003 est.) | 10.2% (2007 est.) |
Waterways | 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) |
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