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Search 'Iraq'
Major cities
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| Baghdad | 7.4 million |
| Mosul | 1.3 million |
| Basra | 990,000 |
| Irbil | 950,000 |
| Kirkuk | 710,000 |
| Sulaymaniyah | 700,000 |
| Najaf | 560,000 |
| Al-Hillah | 540,000 |
| Nasiriyah | 530,000 |
| Karbala | 520,000 |
| Al-Amarah | 420,000 |
| Diwaniyya | 390,000 |
| Ramadi | 380,000 |
| Kut | 370,000 |
| Ba'qubah | 240,000 |
| Fallujah | 260,000 |
| Samarra | 200,000 |
| Zubayr | 170,000 |
| Kufa | 110,000 |
| Tikrit | 100,000 |
| Dahuk | 47,000 |
All figures are 2002 estimates.
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Status
| Independent republic, divided into 18 governorates (muhafaza(t)). Iraq is since April 2003 under the control of a US-led force.
Days of independence: July 17, 1968 Day of Revolution (celebrated as the national holiday).
July 14, 1958 is the date of the republican coup.
Iraq became an independent state on October 3, 1932.
| Government
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Head of state: President Jalal Talabani (Kurdish, Sunni)
Prime minister: Nouri al-Maliki
National Assembly: Under the former system it had 250 members, of which 220 are out for elections. 30 seats are reserved for Kuridish delegates, and selected by presidential decree.
| Geography
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Inhabitants: 25 million (2003 estimate). 16,3 million at the 1987 census.
Autonomous Kurdish region: 5 million. 2.01 million at 1987 census (but this figure may have been corrected by the central authorities).
Population growth rate: 2.8%
Total area: 437,000 kmē
Water: 4,900 km²
Autonomous Kurdish region: 36,300 km²
Part of neutral zone shared with Saudi Arabia: 920 km²
Density: 57 per kmē
Border: 3,650 km (Iran 1,460 km, Turkey 352 km, Syria 605 km, Jordan 181 km, Saudi Arabia 814 km and Kuwait 240 km).
Coastline: 58 km
Highest point: Haji Ibrahim 3,600 m
Arable land: 12%
Capital: Baghdad
| Human Development Index
| World rank (of 177): (>129)
Index (1.0 max): 0.567
Explanation
| Demography
| Languages: Arabic (official), Kurdish, Assyrian and Armenian
Religions: Shi'i Islam, Sunni Islam, Christianity, Yazidism, Mandeans
| Economy
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Currency: Dinar (IQD)
1000 dinars=US$0.85. US$1=1,177 dinars (Sep. 2008)
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