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Iraq was known in ancient times as Mesopotamia. The ruins of Ur, Babylon, and other ancient cities are here, as is the legendary location of the Garden of Eden. Almost 75% of Iraq's population lives in the flat, alluvial plain stretching southeast from Baghdad to Basra and the Persian Gulf. The Tigris River and the Euphrates River carry about 70 million cubic meters of silt annually from this plain down to the delta. The water from these two great rivers, and the fertility of the soil in the alluvial plain and the delta, allowed early agriculture to sustain a stable population as far back as the 4th millennium BC.

Further information: Geography of Iraq

Over its long history, many civilizations grew and flourished in the region. Following the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, Iraq was formed by the League of Nations from three Ottoman vilayets (regions), gaining independence in 1932.

Further information: History of Iraq

Iraq's two largest ethnic groups are Arabs and Kurds. Other distinct groups are Assyrians, Iraqi Turkmen, Armenians, Persians, Shabaks and Lurs. Arabic is the most commonly spoken language. Kurdish and Syriac is spoken in the north, and English is the most commonly spoken Western language.

Most Iraqi Muslims are members of the Shiites (Shi'a), but there is a large Sunni Muslim population as well, made up of Arabs, Turkmen, and Kurds. Small communities of Christians, Jews, Bahá'ís, Mandaeans, and Yezidis also exist, although most Jews have fled Iraq over the last century. Most Kurds are Sunni Muslim, with about 10% being Shi'a Faili Kurds.

Many Sunnis hotly dispute their minority status, including ex-Iraqi Ambassador Faruq Ziada ^[1], referring to American sources ^[2]. They claim that many reports or sources only include Arab Sunnis as 'Sunni', missing out the Kurdish and Turkmen Sunnis. Some argue that the 2003 Iraq Census shows that Sunnis were a slight majority^[3].

Iraqi Kurds differ from their Arab neighbors in language, dress, and customs.

Population: 26,783,383 (July 2006 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 39.7% (male 5,398,645; female 5,231,760)
15-64 years: 57.3% (male 7,776,257; female 7,576,726)
65 years and over: 3% (male 376,700; female 423,295) (2006 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.66% (2006 est.)

Birth rate: 31.98 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate: 5.37 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female
total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 48.64 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 69.01 years
male: 67.76 years
female: 70.31 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate: 4.18 children born/woman (2006 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Iraqi(s)
adjective: Iraqi

Ethnic groups: Arabs 75-80%, Kurds 15%-20%, Assyrian, Iraqi Turkmen or other 5%

Religions: Muslim 97% (Shi'a 60%-65%, Sunni 32%-37%), Christian or other 3%

Languages: Arabic, Kurdish (official in Kurdish regions), Aramaic, Turkish, Assyrian Neo-Aramaic, Chaldean Neo-Aramaic, and Armenian

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 40.4%
male: 55.9%
female: 24.4% (2003 est.)

Median Age:
Total Population: 19.7 years
Male: 19.6 years
Female: 19.8 years (2006 est.)

• Arab Tribes in Iraq
• Assyrian homeland
• History of the Jews in Iraq
• Iraqi Kurdistan
• Islam in Iraq
• Politics of Iraq
• Religion in Iraq
• Sectarian violence in Iraq

• Kurdish Institute Kurdish language, history, books and latest news articles.
• Life in Iraq - People
• CIA World Fact Book
• UN press briefing on the demographics of Iraq
• Assimilation, Exodus, Eradication: Iraq’s minority communities since 2003, Report by Minority Rights Group International

• Nakash, Yitzhak (2003). The Shi'is of Iraq. Princeton University Press. ISBN 0-691-11575-3. 
• Jabar, Faleh A. (2004). The Shi'ite Movement in Iraq. Saqi Books. ISBN 0-86356-395-3.