drawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):

total: 42.7 cu km/yr (3%/5%/92%)
per capita: 1,482 cu m/yr (2000)

Natural hazards:

dust storms, sandstorms, floods

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

Environment - international agreements:

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Law of the Sea
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification

Geography - note:

strategic location on Shatt al Arab waterway and at the head of the
Persian Gulf

People
Iraq

Population:

28,221,180 (July 2008 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years: 39.2% (male 5,613,420/female 5,438,770)
15-64 years: 57.9% (male 8,270,573/female 8,057,423)
65 years and over: 3% (male 396,751/female 444,244) (2008 est.)

Median age:

total: 20.2 years
male: 20.1 years
female: 20.2 years (2008 est.)

Population growth rate:

2.562% (2008 est.)

Birth rate:

30.77 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate:

5.14 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Net migration rate:

NA (2008 est.)

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 (2008 est.)

Infant mortality rate:

total: 45.43 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 51.06 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 39.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:

total population: 69.62 years
male: 68.32 years
female: 70.99 years (2008 est.)

Total fertility rate:

3.97 children born/woman (2008 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:

less than 0.1% (2001 est.)

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:

fewer than 500 (2003 est.)

HIV/AIDS - deaths:

NA

Major infectious diseases:

degree of risk: intermediate
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarr