Location Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iran and Kuwait

Geographic coordinates 33 00 N, 44 00 E

Map references Middle East

Area
total: 437,072 sq km
water: 4,910 sq km
land: 432,162 sq km

Area - comparative slightly more than twice the size of Idaho

Land boundaries
total: 3,650 km
border countries: Iran 1,458 km, Jordan 181 km, Kuwait 240 km, Saudi Arabia 814 km, Syria 605 km, Turkey 352 km

Coastline 58 km

Maritime claims
continental shelf: not specified
territorial sea: 12 NM

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

Terrain mostly broad plains; reedy marshes along Iranian border in south with large flooded areas; mountains along borders with Iran and Turkey

Elevation extremes
lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m
highest point: Haji Ibrahim 3,600 m

Natural resources petroleum, natural gas, phosphates, sulfur

Land use
arable land: 12%
permanent crops: 1%
other: 87% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land 35,250 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards dust storms, sandstorms, floods

Environment - current issues government water control projects have drained most of the inhabited marsh areas east of An Nasiriyah by drying up or diverting the feeder streams and rivers; a once sizable population of Shi'a Muslims, who have inhabited these areas for thousands of years, has been displaced; furthermore, the destruction of the natural habitat poses serious threats to the area's wildlife populations; inadequate supplies of potable water; development of Tigris-Euphrates Rivers system contingent upon agreements with upstream riparian Turkey; air and water pollution; soil degradation (salination) and erosion; desertification

Environment - international agreements
party to: Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification

Geography - note strategic location on Shatt al Arab waterway and at the head of the Persian Gulf

NOTE: The information regarding Iraq on this page is re-published from the 2002 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Iraq Geography 2002 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Iraq Geography 2002 should be addressed to the CIA.