Overview
Iraq, in an area once home to some of the earliest civilisations, became a battleground for competing forces after the US-led ousting of President Saddam Hussein in 2003. The Shia-led government struggled to restore order until a "surge" of US troops in late 2007 began to push insurgents and militias out of cities and provinces they had long contested. The country remains volatile, and disputes with the autonomous Kurdistan Region over the oil-rich city of Kirkuk have threatened to derail progress towards political stability.
Map
Facts
| Full name | Republic of Iraq |
|---|---|
| Population: | 29.5 million (UN, 2008) |
| Area | 438,317 sq km (169,235 sq miles) |
| Capital: | Baghdad |
| Major languages: | Arabic, Kurdish |
| Major religion: | Islam |
| Life expectancy: | 58 years (men), 61 years (women) (UN) |
| Monetary unit: | Iraqi dinar |
| Main exports: | Crude oil |
| GNI per capita: | n/a |
| Internet domain: | .iq |
| International dialling code: | 964 |
Blogs
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Talk of invasion19 Jul 07 | Mark Mardell - The Reporters: Mark Mardell
For the moment it's Turkish tankers not Turkish tanks that are lining up at the border with Iraq. A long line of oil and petrol tankers snakes along the Silk Road, through parched fields, towards the mountains and the border crossing at Habur.
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Kurdish Independence17 Oct 07 | Dan Damon - World Update with Dan Damon
A lot of our programme today was about the threat of a Turkish army incursion into northern Iraq. The PKK rebels have been coming down from the mountains with greater force and bigger numbers this year, and the government in Ankara is under extreme pressure from its citizens to strike back.
Around the web
News From Other Sources
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Turkey: Davutoglus doctrine08 Nov 09 | Arab News
News
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Timeline: IAEA07 Nov 09 | Europe
Iraq inspections 1991 - In the aftermath of the Gulf War, the IAEA's Iraq Action Team begins inspecting suspect sites in Iraq under the terms of a UN Security Council resolution. It aims to "uncover...
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Obama praises army base heroism07 Nov 09 | AmericasThe manager of his apartment complex told Associated Press news agency that Maj Hasan's car had been badly scratched recently by an army employee who had returned from Iraq and objected to Maj Hasan's faith. AP also quoted a former classmate on a Maryland university course as saying that Maj...
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Profile: Major Nidal Malik Hasan06 Nov 09 | Americas
Major Nidal Malik Hasan, who shot dead 13 people at Fort Hood in Texas, has been described as a devout Muslim whose commitment to the army may have been broken by his opposition to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan - and by plans to deploy him to a war zone. He is said to have been affected by...
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Ugandans on working in Iraq05 Nov 09
Ugandan recruits explain why they want to work in Iraq...
Listento " Ugandans on working in Iraq " now -
World's barriers: Saudi Arabia05 Nov 09 | Middle East
Saudi Arabia shares a border with Yemen which is about 1,500km long, and with Iraq which is 800km long. The five other adjoining countries are Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, Kuwait and Jordan.
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UK and China secure Iraq oil deal03 Nov 09The UK's BP and China's CNPC have signed the contract to develop Iraq's Rumaila field, the largest oil field in the country. Rumaila holds the third biggest oil reserves in the world and the deal marks Iraq's biggest energy deal since Saddam Hussein was overthrown.
Watch " UK and China secure Iraq oil deal " now -
Persuading the Taliban to change sides03 Nov 09It is part of the renewed drive to persuade Taliban fighters to change sides and to reintegrate, similar to a strategy pursued with Iraqi insurgents. A former head of the SAS, Lieutenant General Sir Graeme Lamb, spearheaded that programme in Iraq and has been asked to do it again in Afghanistan.
Watch " Persuading the Taliban to change sides " now -
Iraqi FM: 'We have no weapons of mass destruction'03 Nov 09In interview broadcast in 2002 before the allied invasion of Iraq, Naji Sabri, the country's foreign minister explained why Iraq had no weapons of mass destruction.
Watch " Iraq i FM: 'We have no weapons of mass destruction' " now -
'A complete fusion between news and comment'03 Nov 09He led Britain into war in Iraq but inside Downing Street he relied on a political machine that was more centralised and more presidential in style than any seen before. Alastair Campbell was at the heart of that machine, honing and controlling the government's message.
Watch " 'A complete fusion between news and comment' " now -
US view on settlement 'unchanged'02 Nov 09 | Middle EastIn Morocco, the secretary of state was scheduled to hold a bilateral meeting with Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Saud al-Faisal as well as group meetings with Gulf Arab ministers and officials from Egypt, Jordan and Iraq on the sidelines of a development conference. She was also due to meet...
Weather
Weather for Baghdad
| Sunday | Monday | Tuesday | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conditions |  sunny | sunny | sunny |
| Max Temperature | Max:23°C/73°F | Max:24°C/75°F | Max:24°C/75°F |
| Min Temperature | Min:12°C/54°F | Min:13°C/55°F | Min:12°C/54°F |
Knowledge
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Timeline: EgyptCountry profiles
1948 - Egypt, Iraq, Jordan and Syria attack the new state of Israel. 1949 February - Hasan al-Banna of the Muslim Brotherhood is assassinated.
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History - British Relations with IraqHistory
9 October 2009 Topics Resources Practical History Community British Relations with Iraq By Derek Hopwood Limestone carving showing King Ashurbanipal (668-631 BC),...
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History - The Lost Palaces of IraqHistory
9 October 2009 Topics Resources Practical History Community The Lost Palaces of Iraq By Dan Cruickshank Page 2 of 8 Birth of civilisation The Tigris and the Euphrates from an atlas by Al Istalhry (10th-11th century)
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Radio 4 Empire - High Street DurbarsRadio 4 Empire
The Ottoman empire was dismantled and the rich cultural and economic swathe that stretched from Turkey down through the Levant, Syria, Mesopotamia - what is now Iraq - Palestine, Jordan to the Persian Gulf, was no longer Turkish. The San Remo conference confirmed the ruling of the newly formed...
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Radio 4 In Our Time - The Sunni-Shia SplitRadio 4 In Our Time
Iraq has a Sunni minority(formerly in power under Saddam Hussein)
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