|RNational holidays:|N Anniversaries of the revolutions 1958 and 1968, celebrated July 14 and 17, and various religious holidays.
|RNature and climate:|N The heart of Iraq is the fertile plains between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers from Syria and Turkey in northwest to the Persian Gulf in southeast. By the Persian Gulf are marshlands. Northeast of these rivers the Zagros Mountains, with a highest peak reaching more than 3600 m.a.s.l., form the border to Iran, and in the southwest parts of the Arabian plateauland with steppes and deserts.
Average temperature in January 13°C in the south and +5°C in the northeast, where -10°C is not unusual during nights. Average temperature in July between 30 and 35°C.
Percipitation between 100 and 200 mm.
|RPeople:|N 75% Arabs, 15% Kurds, 5% Turks.
|REconomy:|N 30% of the labour force is occupied in agriculture, 48% in services and 22% in industry.
Most important crops are grains, rice, dates, cotton and tobacco. In the late 1970:ies 80% of the world export of dates originated in Iraq.
13% of the land is arable, most of it irrigated by the rivers Tigris and Euphrates. Iraq have vast resources of oil and natural gas.
Before the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1991 oil accounted for 95% of the export revenues, but since the war, the UN imposed a boycott on Iraqi export.
Iraq also have vast resources of zinc, lead, copper, chromium, manganese, iron ore and uranium, as well as sulphur and phosphates. Sulphur and phosphates are extracted and processed to artificial fertilizers, but the other minerals are not extracted.
Manufacturing is poorly developed and is based on handicrafts and aimed towards food, drinks, cigarettes and textiles.
Refining of oil, as well as chemical industry, is under development as well as manufacturing of fertilizers. The wars, first against Iran and 1991 against Kuwait has stopped the industrial development.
|RHistory:|N The Zagros Mountains at the border to Iran saw the first peasant culture on the earth at about 9000 BC. At about 6000 BC the people here started to build houses of clay and sundried bricks.
The world's first town cultures and the first cultures using script characters grow in the fertile valley between the rivers Tigris and Euphrates at about 3000 BC. This land was called Mesopotamia - the land between the rivers - and from 2000 BC it became the centre of the Babylonian and Assyrian empires.
In 538 BC Babylon was conquered by Cyrus the great of Persia and 331 BC it was conquered by Alexander the Great. the fighting among the successors was won by the Seleukids. By this period the decline of the ancient culture continued and the old cuneiform writing was abolished and the capital Babylon was abandoned in favour of Seleukia. There was also a constant conflict between Persia and Rome and Iraq was weakened by this and became an easy target for the Arab conquest between 637 and 640 AD. In 762 the Arabs Bagdad the capital of the ruling Caliphate. In 1258 Mongol invaders conquered Bagdad and destroyed it's irrigation works which started a long time decline.
In this period of decline the fertile plains between the rivers became salt and vast areas became impossible to cultivate.
In 1533 Iraq was conquered by the Ottoman Turks and remained under the Ottomans until the 20th century, when in World War I it was occupied by Anglo-Indian forces. In 1920 Iraq became a League of Nations mandate under Great Britain. It was made a kingdom in 1921 och became an independent country in 1932.
After this Britain kept a substantial influence and controlled the oilindustry. In World War II Britain used the Iraqi territory for military purposes.
Iraq was a founding member of the Arab League in 1945 and participated in the war against Israel in 1948 and 1949.
In 1958 Iraq formed a federation with Jordan based on the close relations between the royal families, but the discontent with the western oriented policies led to a revolution in 1958. The whole royal family was killed and the new republic was dictatorially led by the general Abd-al-Kanin Kassen. The whole oilindustry was nationalized.
In a new coupe in 1968 the Bath party leaders Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr became president and Saddam Hussein became vice president. In 1979 Hussein became president and has since then ruled as a dictator.
From 1969 the Iraqi leaders oriented the policies towards the communist sphere and from 1972 there was Sovjet soldiers and military advisors in Iraq, but these were thrown out in 1978 and the trade relations with the West were resumed.
The Kurds in the northern parts of Iraq have long been fighting for independence leading to bloody Iraqi campaigns in 1975 and 1979.
A dispute with Iran about the waterways of Shatt-al-Arab led to an open war in 1980. Iraq rapidly gained control over vast areas in Iran, but the war continued and a cease-fire was not signed until 1988. This war affected the whole world as both Iraq and Iran attacked tankers in the Persian Gulf.
In August 1990 120000 Iraqi soldiers invaded and conquered neighbouring Kuwait making it a part of Iraq. The United Nations imposed a ban on all trade with Iraq. Some 500 000 UN soldiers from 13 countries led by the USA was gathered in Saudi Arabia and in January 1991 airraids were made against Iraq and in four days in February Kuwait was liberated and vast areas in southern Iraq occupied.
In the aftermath of the war several uprisings against the dictator were made, but he succeeded to stay in power.
