Land area: 167,556 sq mi (433,970 sq km)

Population (2006): 26,783,383 (growth rate: 2.7%); birth rate: 32.0/1000; infant mortality rate: 48.6/1000; life expectancy: 69.0; density per sq mi: 160

Capital City: Baghdad

Monetary unit: U.S. dollar

Languages: Arabic (official), Kurdish (official in Kurdish regions), Assyrian, Armenian

Ethnicity/race: Arab 75%–80%, Kurdish 15%–20%, Turkoman, Assyrian, or other 5%

Religions: Islam 97% (Shiite 60%–65%, Sunni 32%–37%), Christian or other 3%

In the capital of Baghdad, there is a striking contrast between the new buildings and the shabbier back streets. The Government aims to preserve the city’s Islamic character by protecting the ruins of historic buildings such as the Ike Abbasid Palace. Long-established markets still trade. The Iraqi Folklore and Modern Art are well represented. The River Tigris is a central feature of the city.

South of the capital is Babylon, the great city once ruled by the Semitic King Hammirabi. The city, and particularly the famous Hanging Gardens, are now being restored. Iraq is rich with history and bustling with artistic artefacts.

In ancient times the land area now known as modern Iraq was almost equivalent to Mesopotamia, the land between the two rivers Tigris and Euphrates (in Arabic, the Dijla and Furat, respectively), the Mesopotamian plain was called the Fertile Crescent. This region is known as the Cradle of Civilization; was the birthplace of the varied civilizations that moved us from prehistory to history.

An advanced civilization flourished in this region long before that of Egypt, Greece, and Rome, for it was here in about 4000BC that the Sumerian culture flourished. They developed sophisticated irrigation systems and created what was probably the first cereal agriculture as well as the earliest writing.

Known as the "Cradle of Civilization" Iraq has many monuments of historical value. Hatra, the fortified city of the Parthian Empire, contains examples of Eastern decoration as well as Greek and Roman architecture.

Many other Iraqi antiquities have survived throughout the ages. These are in the old cities of Assur, Babylon, Baghdad, Mosul, Nimrud and Ninevah. From the seventh century Islamic architecture developed in Iraq. Two of Iraq's important religious buildings are the Mosque of Iman Ali in Najaf near Kufa and the shrine of Iman El-Hussein Ibn Ali in Karbala. Modern buildings of note are the Baghdad Conference Palace, the Khulafa Central Mosque, the National Film Center and the Saddam Hussein Gymnasium.