Yearbook 2016

Iraq. During the year, the Iraqi military pushed the Islamic State (IS) from much of the territory occupied by the terrorist sect in 2014 and 2015. At the beginning of the year, after a long offensive control over Ramadi, the capital of the Sunni-dominated province of Anbar in the west, was secured. The devastation of the city was reported to be enormous, worse than anywhere else in Iraq so far. Much was destroyed during eight months by the US-led alliance’s aerial bombings and Iraqi artillery field, and IS blasted and destabilized many remaining buildings during its retreat.

Since Ramadi was captured, Iraqi forces surrounded al-Falluja, on the road between Ramadi and Baghdad. In May, an offensive was launched against the city and in June IS was reported to have been driven away. Around 80,000 civilians fled from al-Fallujah during the fighting.

Iraq Population 2016

According to countryaah, the current population of Iraq is 40,222,504. The long-awaited offensive to take back Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city and IS’s last major stronghold in Iraq, began in October. In total, over 100,000 combatants were estimated: Iraqi government soldiers, Kurdish peshmerga forces, and mainly Shia Muslim militia groups. Support was provided by the US-led alliance, which included some 60 nations, based on an air base six miles from the city. In the first few weeks, more than 100 villages and small communities were liberated outside the city and then the attack was started against Mosul itself, where 1.5 million residents are estimated to be located and perhaps 5,000 IS warriors.

The offensive against Mosul triggered a wave of unprecedented suicide bombings – more than 100 suicide bombers must have attacked the advancing soldiers over the course of a few weeks. Often they used cars packed with explosives that were driven at high speed to the enemy. IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, in a statement, ordered his forces to stand and not retreat. There were reports that tens of thousands of people were held as human shields in Mosul and that IS warriors entrenched themselves in a widespread network of tunnels under the city.

The fighting around Iraq triggered new refugee flows during the year. In total, 3.8 million Iraqis were estimated to have been displaced from their homes since IS proclaimed its caliphate in 2014.

In addition to the fighting, IS carried out a long series of terrorist attacks during the year, often by suicide bombers and often with double-digit deaths. According to thereligionfaqs, Iraq was the country in the world most affected by terrorist activity. The victims were often civilian Shia Muslims, whom the Sunni Muslims in IS considered to be apostates. The deadliest single act, which occurred in July, claimed the lives of 300 people when an explosive charge exploded in the Shi’ite Muslim area of Karada in Baghdad.

  • Abbreviation Finder: Check to see how the 3-letter abbreviation of IRQ stands for the nation of Iraq in geography.

In total, about 15,000 Iraqi civilians were estimated to have been killed in acts of violence during the first eleven months of the year.

After the terrorist attack in Karada, Interior Minister Mohammed al-Ghabban resigned and later in July several ministers left the government. In August, Defense Minister Khaled al-Obeidi, who was suspected of corruption, was deposed. The country thus stood without the regular chief of defense for the Mosul offensive. A month later, Finance Minister Hoshiyar Zebari was allowed to go, also accused of bribery. It was considered to risk exacerbating the already strained economic situation, with war economy, continued low oil prices and a massive budget deficit. During the year, Zebari had successfully negotiated with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for a billion loan in exchange for economic reform. The settlement was expected to release a total of $ 18 billion in aid over three years.

In October, Parliament voted unexpectedly through a ban on import, manufacture and sale of alcohol, which was justified by the fact that laws under the Constitution must not conflict with Islam. Opponents appealed against the law, claiming it constituted a violation of religious freedom.

Country data

Area: 435,052 km2 (world rank: 58)

Population: 38,275,000

Population density: 88 per km2 (as of 2017, world rank: 36)

Capital: Baghdad (Baghdad)

Official languages: Arabic, Kurdish

Gross domestic product: 197.7 billion US $; Real growth: -0.8%

Gross national product (GNP, per resident and year): 4770 US$

Currency: 1 Iraq dinar (ID) = 1000 Fils

Embassy

Pacelliallee 19
21, 14195 Berlin
Telephone 030 81488100,
Fax 030 81488222
www.iraqiembassy- berlin.de

Government
Head of State: Fuad MasumUsama an-NudschaifiNuri al-MalikiIyad Alawi, Head of Government: Haider al-Abadi, Exterior: Ibrahim al-Jaafari

National Day: 9.4. (Fall of the Baath regime in 2003)

Administrative structure
18 districts, 3 of which belong to the Kurdistan Autonomous Region; also neutral zone with Saudi Arabia

State and form of government
Constitution of 2005
Federal Republic
State religion: Islam
Parliament (Majlis an-Nuwaab) with 328 votes. Member. (25% for women, 8 seats for religious minorities reserved), elections every 4 years
election of the three-member presidential council of the president and two vice presidents by Parliament
Voting age 18 years

Population: Iraqis, last census 1997: 22,046,244 residents
80% Arabs, over 15% Kurds, minorities of Turkmen, Arameans and others

Cities (with population): Irbil (Erbil) as of 2015: 852,500 residents.

Religions: 97% Muslims (2/3 Shiites and 1/3 Sunni, mainly Kurds, Turkmens and Arabs), minorities of Christians (mainly Chaldeans, Assyrians), Yazidis and Mandaeans (as of 2006)

Languages: 80% Arabic, 15% Kurdish; Turkmen, Aramaic and others

Employed by economic sector: no information

Unemployment (in% of all economically active persons)
no information

Inflation rate (in%): 2017: 0.1%

Foreign trade: Import: 41.2 billion US$ (2017); Export: 45.5 billion US $ (2017)