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.)
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.

Iraq is found in Western Asia