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.

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.

D.

Religion

Muslims make up 96 percent of Iraq’s population. About 60 to 65 percent of the Muslims adhere to the Shia branch, and the rest adhere to the Sunni branch. The Shias live mostly in central and southern Iraq, and the Sunnis live principally in the north. Most of the Kurds are Sunnis. Several of the holy cities of the Shias, notably An Najaf and Karbalā’, are situated in Iraq. Among the few Christian sects in Iraq are the Nestorians (see Nestorianism), the Jacobite Christians, and offshoots of these two sects, respectively known as Chaldean and Syrian Catholics. In addition, smaller religious groups include the Yazidis, who live in the hill country north of Mosul, and a Gnostic group (see Gnosticism) known as the Mandaean Baptists living in Baghdād and Al ‘Amārah. The Yazidis are a syncretic sect, which combines the beliefs of different religions. A small community of Jews lives in Baghdād.

E.

Education

Education in Iraq is free. Six years of primary education are compulsory, but many children do not attend school as they must work to help support their families. Instruction is in Arabic, although in much of the Kurdish-inhabited northern region, which has been autonomous since 1991, Kurdish is used in all levels of education alongside Arabic. Only 41 percent of Iraqis aged 15 or older are literate. In the 1998–1999 academic year 3.1 million pupils attended elementary schools, and 619,114 students were enrolled in secondary schools. More students attended vocational or teacher-training institutions. Iraq has a number of large universities, including the University of Baghdād (founded in 1957), the University of Al Başrah (1964), and the University of Mosul (1967). The country also has about 20 technical institutes.

F.

Social Structure

Iraq’s enormous petroleum resources make it potentially one of the richest countries in the world. Before Iraq invaded Iran in 1980, no less than 95 percent of the value of its exports came from sales of petroleum. The Iran-Iraq War, which lasted from 1980 to 1988, seriously reduced Iraq’s production and sales of petroleum and harmed the economy as a whole. The Persian Gulf War (1991), which resulted from Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait in 1990, further devastated the economy. An international oil embargo and other economic sanctions imposed by the United Nations (UN) in response to the invasion of Kuwait caused much hardship to Iraq and its citizens.

The repressive dictatorship of Saddam Hussein also had a stifling influence. Iraqis are relatively well educated and considered industrious. However, the nation was unable to realize its huge potential under Hussein’s leadership.

Under Hussein’s rule most of the ruling elite hailed from the Sunni population. Few Shias were found in the middle and upper ranks of society. Poverty was particularly widespread among the Shias, even those who lived in Baghdād. The Kurds, for their part, did not enjoy even the limited representation that the Shias had in Baghdād’s corridors of power. Beginning in 1961 the Kurdish north was off-and-on in a state of revolt. After Hussein was overthrown by a U.S.-led invasion in 2003 (see U.S.-Iraq War), Iraq became increasingly divided during the U.S. occupation that followed. Many observers feared the outbreak of a civil war. Many Sunni Arabs joined or supported a guerrilla insurgency against the U.S. occupation and boycotted elections for a new parliament. An alliance between Shia Muslims and Kurds fashioned a new constitution that alienated many Sunni Muslims.

G.

Health and Welfare

Health standards in Iraq are low because of poor sanitary conditions and many endemic diseases. In 2005 the average life expectancy at birth was 41 years; the infant mortality rate was estimated at 47 per 1,000 live births in 2007. Iraq has 1 physician for every 1,842 people and 1 hospital bed for every 769 people. Under Hussein, most of the medical facilities were controlled by the central government. Working conditions were regulated by a social security law introduced in 1957, which also provided maternity, disability, old-age, and unemployment insurance. Following the Persian Gulf War, sanctions imposed against Iraq resulted in falling health standards.