TOEFL Test Centers in Iraq

Iraq Overview

Iraq, republic in the Middle East. The predominantly Muslim population (mostly in the south) Shiites) consists mostly of Arabs, the mountainous northeast of the country is inhabited by Kurds. The core area of ​​Iraq is the Mesopotamia through which the Euphrates and Tigris flows (Mesopotamia). The climate shows very large daily temperature fluctuations.

Three wars have severely damaged the infrastructure and the entire economy of Iraq. Iraq is one of the poorest and most indebted developing countries today. The economic basis of Iraq is the rich oil deposits. Despite irrigation and heavy mechanization, agriculture only plays a subordinate role. The building materials and textile industries as well as the production of consumer goods are also important. Overseas ports are Basra and Umm Kasr.

History: From 539 BC BC Iraq was part of the Persian Empire (Iran). In 635 the area was conquered by the Arabs, and under the rule of the Caliphs of Baghdad (Abbasids, 749 / 750–1258) it was the center of Islamic culture. From 1638 Iraq belonged to the Ottoman Empire. After its disintegration (1918), Great Britain set up King Feisal (1885–1933) in 1921, who achieved independence in 1932. In 1958 the republic was proclaimed.

After the dictator Saddam Husain came to power in 1979, Iraq went to war with Iran in 1980-88 (Gulf War  1) for supremacy in the Persian Gulf. The violent occupation of Kuwait by Iraq in 1990 dissolved the 1991 Gulf War  2), which ended after a few weeks with the defeat of Iraq by a US-led allied force; Iraq had to leave Kuwait again.

In 2014 Haider al-Abadi (* 1952) became the new Prime Minister. The security situation remained unstable; the number of Iraqi internally displaced persons alone is estimated at 4 million. In the parliamentary elections in May 2018, the group led by the Shiite preacher Muktada al-Sadr (* 1973) emerged as the strongest force.

• COUNTRYAAH: National flag of Iraq. Includes the year when the flag was designed and formally used. Also covers its meaning and downloadable high definition image.

Country facts

• Official name: Republic of Iraq
• License plate: IRQ
• ISO-3166: IQ, IRQ (368)
• Internet domain:.iq
• Currency: 1 Iraqi dinar (ID) = 1 000 fils
• Area: 435,050 km²
• Population (2018): 38.4 million
• Capital: Baghdad
• Official language (s): Arabic, Kurdish
• Form of government: Federal Republic
• Administrative division: 18 governorates
• Head of State: President Barham Salih
• Prime Minister: Mustafa al-Kasimi
• Religion (s) (2015): 95-98% Muslims (64-69% Shiites, 29-34% Sunnis), 1% Christians, 1-4% other religions
• Time zone: Central European Time +2 hours

Location and infrastructure

• Location (geographical): Middle East
• Position (coordinates): between 29 ° and 37 ° north latitude and 39 ° and 48 ° 30 ‘east longitude
• Climate: From west to east transition from desert to semi-desert climate to a subtropical, summer-dry climate; in the northeast there is a winter-humid steppe climate
• Highest mountain: Cheekha Dar (3,611 m)
• Road network (2012): 59 623 km (paved)
• Railway network (2014): 2,272 km

Population

• Annual population growth (2020): 2.2%
• Birth rate (2020): 25.7 per 1000 inh.
• Death rate (2020): 3.9 per 1000 residents.
• Average age (2020): 21.2 years
• Average life expectancy (2020): 72.6 years (women 74.6; men 70.7)
• Age structure (2020): 37.0% younger than 15 years, 3.3% older than 65 years
• Literacy rate (15-year-olds and older) (2015): 79.7%
• Mobile phone contracts (pre-paid and post-paid) (2017): 87 per 100 residents
• Internet users (2017): 49 per 100 residents

Economy

• GDP per capita (2018): US $ 5,930
• Total GDP (2018): US $ 226 billion
• GNI per capita (2018): US $ 5,040
• Education expenditure: n / a
• Military expenditure (2019): 3.9% of GDP
• Unemployment rate (2017): 8.2%

National symbols

The red-white-black stripe flag was adopted with a view to the planned union with Egypt and Syria in 1963. The white stripe was covered with three green stars. In the course of the 1st Gulf War, the space between the stars was added in January 1991 with the Arabic inscription “Allahu akbar” (Allah is great) in the handwriting of S. Husain . In January 2008, a transition flag was adopted from which the three stars have been removed and the light green lettering Allahu akbar appears in dark green instead of Arabic in Kufic script. The coloring of the three horizontal stripes was retained.

The coat of arms, which was last changed in 2008, shows the heraldic right-hand golden Saladin eagle. He wears a coat of arms in the colors of the national flag on his chest. In its claws the eagle holds a plaque with the name of the Arab state.

An official national holiday has not yet been set.