urkey

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m
highest point: Gundah Zhur 3,608 m

Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, phosphates, sulfur

Land use:
arable land: 12%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 9%
forests and woodland: 0%
other: 79% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 25,500 sq km (1993 est.)

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 Shi'a Muslims, who have 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 Tigris-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: Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification

People

Population: 22,427,150 (July 1999 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 44% (male 4,982,510; female 4,825,129)
15-64 years: 53% (male 6,030,417; female 5,889,543)
65 years and over: 3% (male 326,223; female 373,328) (1999 est.)

Population growth rate: 3.19% (1999 est.)

Birth rate: 38.42 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Death rate: 6.56 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.87 male(s)/female
total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (1999 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 62.41 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 66.52 years
male: 65.54 years
female: 67.56 years (1999 est.)

Total fertility rate: 5.12 children born/woman (1999 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Iraqi(s)
adjective: Iraqi

Ethnic groups: Arab 75%-80%, Kurdish 15%-20%, Turkoman, Assyrian
or other 5%

Religions: Muslim 97% (Shi'a 60%-65%, Sunni 32%-37%), Christian
or other 3%

Languages: Arabic, Kurdish (official in Kurdish regions),
Assyrian, Armenian

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and