Iraq

E

Environmental Issues

Devastating wars and years of economic isolation have seriously degraded Iraq's environment. During the Persian Gulf War, much of Iraq's infrastructure was destroyed, including equipment involved in the country's petroleum industry. Although Iraq restored many oil wells and refineries after the end of the war, the Iraqi government contended that the international economic embargo established by the UN prevented the repair of equipment needed to safely process the toxic byproducts of oil refining. As a result, hazardous wastes are being released into the air or dumped into depleted wells.

Iraq's farmland is declining in productivity as a result of soil salinization, which is caused by insufficient drainage and by saturation irrigation practices. Government water-control projects have destroyed wetland habitats in eastern Iraq by diverting or drying up tributary streams that formerly irrigated wetland areas.

III

People and Society

The population of Iraq (2007 estimate) is 27,499,638. The estimated overall population density is 64 persons per sq km (165 per sq mi). The density varies markedly, with the largest population concentrations close to the Tigris or Euphrates rivers. Official population figures, however, failed to reflect the growing refugee problem resulting from the U.S. invasion and the ensuing turmoil in Iraq. As of early 2007, the United Nations (UN) estimated that 2 million Iraqis had fled the country.

The population is 67 percent urban. In the rural areas of the country many of the people still live in tribal communities.

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The population growth rate, which was 3.2 percent per year in the 1980s, declined in the early 1990s as the country’s birth rate fell. By the end of the decade, however, it had regained its former level. In 2007 the rate of population growth was 2.62 percent, the birth rate was 31.4 per 1,000 persons, and the death rate was 5.3 per 1,000 persons.

A

Principal Cities

Baghdād is the capital and largest city of Iraq, with a population of 4,797,000 in 2000. Other major cities include the northern metropolises of Irbīl (population 2,369,000), Mosul (1,034,000), and Kirkūk (418,624, in 1987); the southern port city of Al Başrah (406,296); and the Shia Muslim center of An Najaf (309,010) in south central Iraq.

B

Ethnic Groups

About 75 to 80 percent of the population of Iraq is Arab. Kurds, the country’s largest minority group, constitute 15 to 20 percent of the population. Most Kurds dwell in the highlands of northern Iraq, where they are in the majority. Smaller groups include Turkmen, Armenians, and Assyrians.

C

Language

Arabic and Kurdish are the official languages of Iraq. Arabic is spoken by the majority of the population, and the Kurdish minority speaks Kurdish. Armenian and Assyrian are spoken in rural areas in the north and west.

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