| Official language | Arabic |
| Capital | Baghdad |
| Largest City | Baghdad |
| Population | 6,660,000 |
| HDI | 0.685 (Low) |
| Establishment | |
| Currency | Iraqi Dinar (IQD) |
| Our Timeline Equivalent | much of Sunni-majority Iraq |
Iraq is a nation situated in the Mesopotamia region of Southwestern Asia. Iraq became a democratic republic in 1993, after 26 years as a military dictatorship and many years before that as a one-party Communist state. Currently, relations are continuing to improve with its former enemies, Basra and Kuwait.
History[]
Mesopotamia has a long history, and is one of the first agriculturally-based societies. However, by 1991 (thousands of years later), Iraq was no longer at the forefront of civilization, but lacked basic infrastructure, as it was bankrupted during two consecutive wars. Formerly known simply as "Baghdad", like its current capital and largest city, it was ruled as part of a wider Middle-Eastern kingdom for centuries. In 1931, a one-party Communist government came into power after it gained independence. This situation lasted for 34 years and had major impacts which are still felt today, but eventually, in 1965, a military regime led a coup that toppled the Communist party. This government was more militant, and eventually Baghdad and Basra clashed during the 1980-1988 Baghdad-Basra War. After annexing Basra, "Baghdad" changed its name to "Iraq" and implemented a purge of Shi'ite clerics and other powerful Shi'ites. Though much of the country was heavily damaged, the Iraqi government was still so stoked from its recent victory that in 1990, it decided to attack Kuwait as well. However, this time, as Kuwait had been a neutral nation and had not initiated any attacks on Iraq, the international community condemned this move. Stories of atrocities directed against the Shi'ites in Basra also filtered out to the rest of the world, so the stage was set for an utter Iraqi defeat. After quickly freeing Kuwait, the coalition moved on to Basra to free the previously-enslaved nation. Finally, they moved in on Iraq itself, and toppled the military regime. The soldiers were welcomed in all of these places with open arms and cheers that the liberators had arrived. The war was over by mid-1991, and the international coalition then set up the basis for a democratic government in Iraq, which has been in place since 1993. Since then, there has been slow but steady economic growth. Although relations with its former enemies have improved enormously, Iraq has been criticized for keeping its name, instead of reverting back to the name "Baghdad". Currently, the Iraqi Socialist Party is in power.
Demographics[]
Religion[]
- 62% Muslim
- 41% Sunni
- 17% Ijtihadi
- 04% Shi'ite
- (29% Sufi)
- 15% nonreligious*
- 05% Alevi
- 05% Jewish
- 05% Yazdani
- 03% Zoroastrian
- 02% Bahai
- 02% Christian
- 01% others
*In the past, nearly all of nonreligious people in Iraq were Communists, but this situation has changed somewhat, in that there is now more of a diversity of nonreligious people - although the majority continues to be Communists. Muslims and people of other religious groups also support socialist groups.
Ethnic Groups[]
- 87% Arabs
- 13% others (Turkoman, Assyrians, Kurds, etc)
Languages[]
- 93% Arabic
- 07% others (Turkish, Syriac, Kurdish, etc)
Vegetarianism[]
- 82% Non-Vegetarian*
- 18% Vegetarian