Iraq - Geography
Here, let us take a look at the Geography of Iraq. Strategic location on Shatt al Arab waterway and at the head of the Persian Gulf. Mother's mean age at first birth is (), whereas, the Maternal mortality ratio is 76 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)
Geographical data of Iraq
| Location | Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iran and Kuwait |
|---|---|
| Geographic coordinates | 33 00 N, 44 00 E |
| Map references | Middle East |
| Tarrain | mostly broad plains; reedy marshes along Iranian border in south with large flooded areas; mountains along borders with Iran and Turkey |
| Natural Resources | petroleum, natural gas, phosphates, sulfur |
| Natural Hazards | dust storms; sandstorms; floods |
| Irrigated Land | 35,250 sq km (2012) |
| Major rivers (by length in km) | Euphrates river mouth (shared with Turkey[s], Syria, and Iran) - 3,596 km; Tigris river mouth (shared with Turkey[s], Syria, and Iran) - 1,950 km; the Tigris and Euphrates join to form the Shatt al Arab note – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth |
| Major aquifers | Arabian Aquifer System |
| Land Boundaries | 3,809 km |
| Border Countries | Iran 1,599 km; Jordan 179 km; Kuwait 254 km; Saudi Arabia 811 km; Syria 599 km; Turkey 367 km |
| Coastline | 58 km |
| Climate | mostly desert; mild to cool winters with dry, hot, cloudless summers; northern mountainous regions along Iranian and Turkish borders experience cold winters with occasionally heavy snows that melt in early spring, sometimes causing extensive flooding in central and southern Iraq |
| Area | |
| Total Area | |
| Land Area | 437,367 sq km |
| Water Area | 950 sq km |
| comparative Area | slightly more than three times the size of New York state |
| Maritime Claims | |
| Territorial sea | 12 nm |
| Continental shelf | not specified |
| Elevations | |
| Highest point | Cheekha Dar (Kurdish for "Black Tent") 3,611 m |
| Lowest point | Persian Gulf 0 m |
| Mean elevation | 312 m |
| Land Use | |
| Agricultural land | 18.1% (2018 est.) |
| Agricultural land: arable land | arable land: 8.4% (2018 est.) |
| Agricultural land: permanent crops | permanent crops: 0.5% (2018 est.) |
| Agricultural land: permanent pasture | permanent pasture: 9.2% (2018 est.) |
| Forest | 1.9% (2018 est.) |
| Other | 80% (2018 est.) |
Population Distribution
Population is concentrated in the north, center, and eastern parts of the country, with many of the larger urban agglomerations found along extensive parts of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers; much of the western and southern areas are either lightly populated or uninhabited
People and Society
In Iraq, the different Ethnic groups are such that we have: Arab 75-80%, Kurdish 15-20%, other 5% (includes Turkmen, Yezidi, Shabak, Kaka'i, Bedouin, Romani, Assyrian, Circassian, Sabaean-Mandaean, Persian)
| Population | |
|---|---|
| Pop growth rate | 1.99% (2024 est.) |
| Birth rate | 23.7 births/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
| Death rate | 3.9 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
| Health expenditure | 5.1% of GDP (2020) |
| Physicians Density | |
| Hospital bed Density | 1.3 beds/1,000 population (2017) |
| Total fertility rate | 3.1 children born/woman (2024 est.) |
| Gross reproduction rate | 1.51 (2024 est.) |
| Contraceptive prevalence rate | 52.8% (2018) |
| Est married women (ages 15-49) | 65.5% (2023 est.) |
| Literacy | age 15 and over can read and write |
| Education expenditures | 4.7% of GDP (2016) |
| Net Migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.) |
| Nationality | Iraqi | Iraqi(s) |
| Languages | |
| Religions | Muslim (official) 95-98% (Shia 61-64%, Sunni 29-34%), Christian 1% (includes Catholic, Orthodox, Protestant, Assyrian Church of the East), other 1-4% (2015 est.) |
| Age Structure | |
| 0-14 years | 34.6% (male 7,447,266/female 7,130,883) |
| 15-64 years | 61.7% (male 13,064,516/female 12,907,702) |
| 65 years and over | 3.6% (2024 est.) (male 681,574/female 851,495) |
| Dependency Ratios | |
| Total dependency ratio | 71 |
| Youth dependency ratio | 65.2 |
| Elderly dependency ratio | 5.8 |
| Potential support ratio | 17.1 (2021 est.) |
| Median Age | |
| Total | 22.4 years (2024 est.) |
| Male | 22 years |
| Female | 22.7 years |
| Urbanization | |
| Urban population | 71.6% of total population (2023) |
| Rate of urbanization | 2.91% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.) |
| Major urban areas (Pop) | 7.711 million BAGHDAD (capital), 1.792 million Mosul, 1.448 million Basra, 1.075 million Kirkuk, 958,000 Najaf, 897,000 Erbil (2023). |
| Sex Ratio | |
| At birth | 1.05 male(s)/female |
| 0-14 years | 1.04 male(s)/female |
| 15-64 years | 1.01 male(s)/female |
| 65 years and over | 0.8 male(s)/female |
| Total population | 1.02 male(s)/female (2024 est.) |
| Infant Motality | |
| Total | 18.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.) |
| Male | 20.4 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Female | 17 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Life Expectancy at birth | |
| Total population | 73.7 years (2024 est.) |
| Male | 71.9 years |
| Female | 75.7 years |
| Drinking Water Sources | |
| Improved: urban | urban: 100% of population |
| Improved: rural | rural: 97.4% of population |
| Improved: total | total: 99.3% of population |
| Unimproved: urban | urban: 0% of population |
| Unimproved: rural | rural: 2.6% of population |
| Unimproved: total | total: 0.7% of population (2020 est.) |
| Sanitation facility acess | |
| Improved: urban | urban: 100% of population |
| Improved: rural | rural: 100% of population |
| Improved: total | total: 100% of population |
| Unimproved: urban | urban: 0% of population |
| Unimproved: rural | rural: 0% of population |
| Unimproved: total | total: 0% of population (2020 est.) |
| Major Infectious diseases | |
| Degree of risk | intermediate (2023) |
| Food or waterborne diseases | bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever |
| Alcohol consumption per capita | |
| Total | 0.16 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Beer | 0.11 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Wine | 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Spirits | 0.04 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Other alcohols | 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.) |
| Tobacco use | |
| Total | 18.5% (2020 est.) |
| Male | 35.1% (2020 est.) |
| Female | 1.8% (2020 est.) |
| Child marriage | |
| Women married by age 15 | 7.2% |
| Women married by age 18 | 27.9% (2018 est.) |
Demographic profile
All Important Facts about Iraq
Want to know more about Iraq? Check all different factbooks for Iraq below.
