Saint Lucia (2001) | Iraq (2004) | |
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Administrative divisions | 11 quarters; Anse-la-Raye, Castries, Choiseul, Dauphin, Dennery, Gros Islet, Laborie, Micoud, Praslin, Soufriere, Vieux Fort | 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:
32.13% (male 25,951; female 24,874) 15-64 years: 62.59% (male 48,568; female 50,430) 65 years and over: 5.28% (male 3,120; female 5,235) (2001 est.) |
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.) |
Agriculture - products | bananas, coconuts, vegetables, citrus, root crops, cocoa | wheat, barley, rice, vegetables, dates, cotton; cattle, sheep |
Airports | 2 (2000 est.) | 111; note - unknown number were damaged during the March-April 2003 war (2003 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2000 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: 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:
620 sq km land: 610 sq km water: 10 sq km |
total: 437,072 sq km
land: 432,162 sq km water: 4,910 sq km |
Area - comparative | 3.5 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly more than twice the size of Idaho |
Background | The island, with its fine natural harbor at Castries, was contested between England and France throughout the 17th and early 18th centuries (changing possession 14 times); it was finally ceded to the UK in 1814. Self-government was granted in 1967 and independence in 1979. | 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. |
Birth rate | 21.8 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 33.09 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$141.2 million expenditures: $146.7 million, including capital expenditures of $25.1 million (FY97/98 est.) |
revenues: $12.8 billion NA
expenditures: $13.4 billion NA, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 budget) |
Capital | Castries | Baghdad |
Climate | tropical, moderated by northeast trade winds; dry season from January to April, rainy season from May to August | 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 | 158 km | 58 km |
Constitution | 22 February 1979 | 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 |
Country name | conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Saint Lucia |
conventional long form: Republic of Iraq
conventional short form: Iraq local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Iraqiyah local short form: Al Iraq |
Currency | East Caribbean dollar (XCD) | New Iraqi dinar (NID) as of 22 January 2004 |
Death rate | 5.36 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 5.66 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Debt - external | $131.6 million (1998) | $93.95 billion (2003 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | the US does not have an embassy in Saint Lucia; the US Ambassador in Barbados is accredited to Saint Lucia | 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 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Sonia Merlyn JOHNNY chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016 telephone: [1] (202) 364-6792 through 6795 FAX: [1] (202) 364-6728 consulate(s) general: Miami and New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant)
chancery: 1801 P Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 483-7500 FAX: [1] (202) 462-5066 |
Disputes - international | none | 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 |
Economic aid - recipient | $51.8 million (1995) | more than $33 billion in foreign aid pledged for 2004-07 (2004) |
Economy - overview | The recent changes in the EU import preference regime and the increased competition from Latin American bananas have made economic diversification increasingly important in Saint Lucia. Improvement in the construction sector and growth of the tourism industry helped expand GDP in 1998-99. The agriculture sector registered its fifth year of decline in 1997 primarily because of a severe decline in banana production. The manufacturing sector is the most diverse in the Eastern Caribbean, and the government is beginning to develop regulations for the small offshore financial sector. | 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. |
Electricity - consumption | 102.3 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 | 110 million kWh (1999) | 36.01 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Mount Gimie 950 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; soil erosion, particularly in the northern 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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
party to: Law of the Sea
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
Ethnic groups | black 90%, mixed 6%, East Indian 3%, white 1% | Arab 75%-80%, Kurdish 15%-20%, Turkoman, Assyrian or other 5% |
Exchange rates | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7000 (fixed rate since 1976) | New Iraqi dinars per US dollar - 1,890 (second half, 2003) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Dr. Perlette LOUISY (since September 1997) head of government: Prime Minister Kenneth ANTHONY (since 24 May 1997) and Deputy Prime Minister Mario MICHEL (since 24 May 1997) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; the governor general is appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general |
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 |
Exports | $68.3 million (2000 est.) | 1.7 million bbl/day (January 2004) |
Exports - commodities | bananas 41%, clothing, cocoa, vegetables, fruits, coconut oil | crude oil |
Exports - partners | UK 50%, US 24%, Caricom countries 16% (1995) | US 48.8%, Jordan 8.4%, Canada 8%, Italy 7.9%, Morocco 5.3% (2003) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | blue, with a gold isosceles triangle below a black arrowhead; the upper edges of the arrowhead have a white border | 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 - $700 million (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $37.92 billion (2003 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
10.7% industry: 32.3% services: 57% (1996 est.) |
agriculture: 6%
industry: 13% services: 81% (1993 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $4,500 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $1,500 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 0.5% (2000 est.) | -21.8% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 13 53 N, 60 68 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 | - | 6 (2003 est.) |
Highways | total:
1,210 km paved: 63 km unpaved: 1,147 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%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Illicit drugs | transit point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe | - |
Imports | $319.4 million (2000 est.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | food 23%, manufactured goods 21%, machinery and transportation equipment 19%, chemicals, fuels | food, medicine, manufactures |
Imports - partners | US 36%, Caricom countries 22%, UK 11%, Japan 5%, Canada 4% (1995) | Turkey 18.1%, Jordan 13.4%, Vietnam 10.7%, US 6.9%, Germany 5%, UK 4.7% (2003) |
Independence | 22 February 1979 (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 | -8.9% (1997 est.) | NA |
Industries | clothing, assembly of electronic components, beverages, corrugated cardboard boxes, tourism, lime processing, coconut processing | petroleum, chemicals, textiles, construction materials, food processing |
Infant mortality rate | 15.22 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 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.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.5% (2000 est.) | 29.3% (2003 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT (associate), ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, NAM, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO | 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 |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 15 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 10 sq km (1993 est.) | 35,250 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (jurisdiction extends to Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, the British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines) | Supreme Court appointed by the Prime Minister, confirmed by the Presidency Council |
Labor force | 43,800 | 7.8 million (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 43.4%, services 38.9%, industry and commerce 17.7% (1983 est.) | agriculture NA, industry NA, services NA |
Land boundaries | 0 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:
8% permanent crops: 21% permanent pastures: 5% forests and woodland: 13% other: 53% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 13.15%
permanent crops: 0.78% other: 86.07% (2001) |
Languages | English (official), French patois | Arabic, Kurdish (official in Kurdish regions), Assyrian, Armenian |
Legal system | based on English common law | based on civil and Islamic law under the Iraqi Interim Government (IG) and Transitional Administrative Law (TAL) |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (11 seats; six members appointed on the advice of the prime minister, three on the advice of the leader of the opposition, and two after consultation with religious, economic, and social groups) and the House of Assembly (17 seats; members are elected by popular vote from single-member constituencies to serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Assembly - last held 23 May 1997 (next to be held NA 2002) election results: House of Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - SLP 16, UWP 1 |
Iraqi Interim National Council formed in July 2004 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
72.57 years male: 69 years female: 76.39 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 68.26 years
male: 67.09 years female: 69.48 years (2004 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over has ever attended school total population: 67% male: 65% female: 69% (1980 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 40.4% male: 55.9% female: 24.4% (2003 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and North Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago | Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iran and Kuwait |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | 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 | none (2000 est.) | 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.) |
Military branches | Royal Saint Lucia Police Force (includes Special Service Unit), Coast Guard | 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) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $5 million (FY91/92) | $1.3 billion (FY00) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2% (FY91/92) | NA |
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 | Independence Day, 22 February (1979) | 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:
Saint Lucian(s) adjective: Saint Lucian |
noun: Iraqi(s)
adjective: Iraqi |
Natural hazards | hurricanes and volcanic activity | dust storms, sandstorms, floods |
Natural resources | forests, sandy beaches, minerals (pumice), mineral springs, geothermal potential | petroleum, natural gas, phosphates, sulfur |
Net migration rate | -4.15 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 1,739 km; oil 5,418 km; refined products 1,343 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | National Freedom Party or NFP [Martinus FRANCOIS]; Saint Lucia Labor Party or SLP [Kenneth ANTHONY]; United Workers Party or UWP [Dr. Morella JOSEPH] | 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] |
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 | 158,178 (July 2001 est.) | 25,374,691 (July 2004 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | NA |
Population growth rate | 1.23% (2001 est.) | 2.74% (2004 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Castries, Vieux Fort | Umm Qasr, Khawr az Zubayr, and Al Basrah have limited functionality |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 7 (plus 3 repeaters), shortwave 0 (1998) | after 17 months of unregulated media growth, there are approximately 80 radio stations on the air inside Iraq (2004) |
Radios | 111,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | total: 1,963 km
standard gauge: 1,963 km 1.435-m gauge (2003) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 90%, Protestant 7%, Anglican 3% | Muslim 97% (Shi'a 60%-65%, Sunni 32%-37%), Christian or other 3% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.07 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.6 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: 0.89 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | formerly 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
adequate system domestic: system is automatically switched international: direct microwave radio relay link with Martinique and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines; tropospheric scatter to Barbados; international calls beyond these countries are carried by Intelsat from Martinique |
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 |
Telephones - main lines in use | 37,000 (1997) | 675,000; note - an unknown number of telephone lines were damaged or destroyed during the March-April 2003 war (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1,600 (1997) | 20,000 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (of which two are commercial stations and one is a community antenna television or CATV channel) (1997) | 21 (2004) |
Terrain | volcanic and mountainous with some broad, fertile valleys | mostly broad plains; reedy marshes along Iranian border in south with large flooded areas; mountains along borders with Iran and Turkey |
Total fertility rate | 2.38 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 4.4 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 15% (1996 est.) | NA (2003 est.) |
Waterways | none | 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) |