| Area Total | 438,317 sq 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 |
| Natural Resources | petroleum, natural gas, phosphates, sulfur |
| Imports | $39.47 billion (2017 est.) partners: Turkey 27.8%, China 25.7%, South Korea 4.7%, Russia 4.3% (2017) – food, medicine, manufactures |
| Government | federal parliamentary republic |
| Capital | Baghdad |
| Population | 40.2 million (July 2018 est.) |
| Ethnicity | Arab 75-80%, Kurdish 15-20%, other 5% |
| Language | Arabic (official), Kurdish (official), Turkmen (a Turkish dialect), Syriac (Neo-Aramaic), and Armenian official in areas where native speakers of these languages constitute a majority of the population |
| Exports | $61.4 billion (2017 est.) partners: India 21.2%, China 20.2%, US 15.8%, South Korea 9.4%, Greece 5.3%, Netherlands 4.8%, Italy 4.7% (2017) – crude oil 99%, crude materials excluding fuels, food, live animals |
News about Iraq
- Iraq's Yazidis rediscover lost history through photos found in a museum archive
by Maryclaire Dale on September 13, 2025A University of Pennsylvania researcher is leading an effort to connect photos taken of the Yazidi population in northern Iraq in the 1930s with descendants who lost much of their history in the 2014 Islamic State attacks
- FBI questions person of interest in Charlie Kirk shooting: Daily Mail watches agents escort veteran, 50, from suburban Utah home
on September 12, 2025Jason Christopher Hartley was visited by investigators at his small single-story home in Salt Lake City - and Daily Mail was on hand to watch him as he was questioned by authorities.
- Princeton student Elizabeth Tsurkov is finally freed after being taken hostage by militant Hezbollah terrorists in Iraq
on September 9, 2025Elizabeth Tsurkov is now residing at the American Embassy in Baghdad. Donald Trump issued a statement after she was freed on Tuesday.
- Israeli-Russian graduate student freed after 903 days in captivity of Iraqi militant group
by Guardian staff on September 9, 2025Elizabeth Tsurkov, who entered Iraq to do research for Princeton, had gone missing there in early 2023Israeli-Russian academic and Princeton student Elizabeth Tsurkov has been released after being kidnapped by an Iraqi Shia militia group and spending more than two years in captivity, Donald Trump said in a post on social media.“I am pleased to report that […]
- Michael Palin reveals why he can't bear to let go of his beloved wife's belongings two years after her death
on September 8, 2025One of the most joyous pieces of television you'll see this year involves Sir Michael Palin, our most adventurous octogenarian, picking his way behind one of the most spectacular waterfalls in the world.
- Car wash bosses who smuggled hundreds of illegal immigrants into Britain were caught when investigators found videos and selfies from asylum seekers customers on their phones
on September 8, 2025Dilshad Shamo, 41, and Ali Khdir, 42, both had a secret 'double life' by operating the ' TripAdvisor for migrants' while appearing to run their car wash firm in Caerphilly, south Wales
- Woman hits back at March for Australia protesters: 'Australia would collapse without immigrants'
on September 2, 2025An Australian mother has gone viral for sharing her heartfelt thanks to the immigrants she said have changed her family's life.
- Report: Republican Sen. Joni Ernst won't seek reelection in 2026
on August 29, 2025A top Republican senator with a decade of experience is planning to surprise her colleagues with a shock announcement, sources close to the lawmaker reveal.
- From the streets of Baghdad, I saw a clear line to the bloodshed in Gaza | Owen Jones
by Owen Jones on August 26, 2025The west faced no reckoning for the death and destruction it wreaked in Iraq. That made the war crimes we’re now witnessing inevitable “You destroyed Iraq.” I had to wait for my companion, the Iraqi journalist Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, to translate these words, but the thunderous look on this middle-aged man’s face already told its own story. We were […]
- How Ukrainian sharpshooter used AI to kill two Russian soldiers with one bullet in world record 4,000m shot as Kyiv's elite marksmen 'rewrite the rules of global sniping'
on August 18, 2025The shot was made using a 14.5mm Snipex Alligator rifle, a domestically produced anti-materiel weapon, on August 14.
- War hero's jaw-dropping $29k fine that proves Canada can't see the forest for the trees
on August 18, 2025The tough-talking ex-soldier marched into a government office, told startled officials exactly what he planned to do, and then strode into the trees while recording the whole stunt on camera.
- PETER HITCHENS: You may not like it, but we have lived peaceful lives because of squalid deals like this one
on August 17, 2025All aboard HMS Humbug for another round of ignorant bloviation, empty moralising and hypocrisy.
- ‘It’s destruction disguised as progress’: how the oil industry is sucking Iraq’s ancient wetlands dry
by Azhar Al-Rubaie, Sara Manisera and Daniela Sala in Hawizeh Marshes on August 13, 2025Hawizeh’s wetlands once had abundant fishing and wildlife. In a land threatened by drought and desertification, oil drilling is draining the last of the waterAt dawn, a veil of mist clings to the canals of Hawizeh, where sky and water seem to blur into a mirror. In the stern of a narrow wooden boat, 23-year-old Mustafa Hashim scans the marshes’ […]
- Temperature records broken as extreme heat grips parts of Europe
by Ajit Niranjan on August 13, 2025Unprecedented temperatures causing difficulties in south-west France, Croatia, Italy and Spain with wildfire destruction across Europe up 87%How dangerous are wildfires and how can we stop them from getting worse?Extreme heat is breaking temperature records across Europe, early measurements suggest, and driving bigger and stronger wildfires.In south-west […]
- The book the MoD tried to ban... Scots SAS hero Colin MacLachlan's book is published after decade-long battle
on August 10, 2025Heroic rescues of hostages from terrorists and undercover operations in some of the world's most dangerous war zones are usually the stuff of action movies and video games.
- ‘I live for a chance to leave Iraq’: how I survived torture and slavery at the hands of Islamic State
by As told to Turkiya Shammo on August 9, 2025A decade on from being freed, a Yazidi woman tells how she endured being abducted by militants when she was aged nineMy childhood living in a village in northern Iraq near the city of Mosul was rich in happiness despite the lack of resources. I was fond of my school and friends and enjoyed a warm family life filled with laughter. That all vanished when […]
- Fate of parents accused of attempting to murder daughter outside American school in 'honor killing' revealed
on August 7, 2025A brutal attack outside a high school left a teenage girl unconscious and her parents facing explosive allegations. Accused of a culturally motivated murder attempt, the couple stood trial.
- Cocky cyclist hit with instant karma after celebrating race win metres from the finish line
on August 6, 2025The incident took place during the final stage of the Iraqi Cycling Championships, which had more than 20 cycling clubs representing capital Baghdad and the rest of the governorates.
- Iraqi small boat migrant wins appeal to stay in Britain because he's the divorcee of a 'prominent politician'
on July 23, 2025The migrant won an appeal at the immigration court after saying he can't return to Iraq because of a divorce he went through in his home country.
- Thousands of Army soldiers may be suffering brain damage from blast of own weapons
on July 23, 2025Defence chiefs have confirmed for the first time that machineguns and anti-tank weapons emit harmful blast waves which can cause traumatic injuries. Explosions create a wave of 'overpressure'.
