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More Information about Iraq

With its 29,671,605 people Iraq is the 40th largest country in the world by population. It is the 58th largest country by area with 438,317 square kilometers. Formerly part of the Ottoman Empire, Iraq was occupied by Britain during the course of World War I; in 1920, it was declared a League of Nations mandate under UK administration. In stages over the next dozen years, Iraq attained its independence as a kingdom in 1932. A "republic" was proclaimed in 1958, but in actuality a series of strongmen ruled the country until 2003. The last was SADDAM Husayn. Territorial disputes with Iran led to an inconclusive and costly eight-year war (1980-88). In August 1990, Iraq seized Kuwait but was expelled by US-led, UN coalition forces during the Gulf War of January-February 1991. Following Kuwait's liberation, the UN Security Council (UNSC) required Iraq to scrap all weapons of mass destruction and long-range missiles and to allow UN verification inspections. Continued Iraqi noncompliance with UNSC resolutions over a period of 12 years led to the US-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003 and the ouster of the SADDAM Husayn regime. US forces remained in Iraq under a UNSC mandate through 2009 and under a bilateral security agreement thereafter, helping to provide security and to train and mentor Iraqi security forces. In October 2005, Iraqis approved a constitution in a national referendum and, pursuant to this document, elected a 275-member Council of Representatives (CoR) in December 2005. After the election, Ibrahim al-JAAFARI was selected as prime minister; he was replaced by Nuri al-MALIKI in May 2006. The CoR approved most cabinet ministers in May 2006, marking the transition to Iraq's first constitutional government in nearly a half century. On 31 January 2009, Iraq held elections for provincial councils in all provinces except for the three provinces comprising the Kurdistan Regional Government and at-Ta'mim (Kirkuk) province.

Reading about Iraq

Check out the recommended reading list below for great sources of information on Iraq.

• Iraq | Perspectives (Center for Documentary Studies/Honickman First Book Prize in Photography) Benjamin Lowy
• Iraq Wall Map (Tubed, Classic Style) National Geographic Maps
• Iraq Travel Map (Globetrotter Travel Map) Globetrotter
• I Have Iraq in My Shoe: Misadventures of a Soldier of Fashion Gretchen Berg
• The Prince of the Marshes: And Other Occupational Hazards of a Year in Iraq Rory Stewart
• Baghdad Sketches: Journeys through Iraq (Freya Stark Collection) Freya Stark
• Iraqi Phrasebook : The Complete Language Guide for Contemporary Iraq Yasin Alkalesi
• Iraq: Then & Now (Bradt Travel Guide) Karen Dabrowska
• Iraq: The Space Between John Lee Anderson
• Road through Kurdistan: The Narrative of an Engineer in Iraq Archibald Milne Hamilton