officially Republic of Iraq
Middle Eastern country, northwest of the Persian Gulf .
Area: 167,975 sq mi (435,052 sq km). Population (2002 est.): 24,002,000. Capital: Baghdad . The population consists mainly of an Arab majority and a Kurd minority. Language: Arabic (official). Religion: Islam (official); two-thirds Shīʽites, one-third Sunnites. Currency: dinar. The country can be divided into four major regions: the Tigris-Euphrates river basin in central and southeastern Iraq; Al-Jazīrah, an upland region in the north between the Euphrates rivers; deserts in the west and south, covering about two-fifths of the country; and highlands in the northeast. Iraq has the world's second largest proven reserves of petroleum, and it has substantial reserves of natural gas. Agriculture employs one-eighth of the labour force. Iraq is a republic with one legislative house; its head of state is the president. Called Mesopotamia in Classical times, the region gave rise to the world's earliest civilizations, including those of Sumer , Akkad , and Babylon . Conquered by Alexander the Great in 330 BC, the area later became a battleground between Romans and Parthians, then between Sāsānians and the Byzantines. Arab Muslims conquered it in the 7th century AD, and various Muslim dynasties ruled until the Mongols took over in 1258. The Ottoman Empire took control in the 16th century and ruled until the British occupied the country during World War I (1914–18). The British created the kingdom of Iraq in 1921 and occupied Iraq again during World War II (1939–45). The monarchy was restored following the war, but a revolution caused its downfall in 1958. Following a series of military coups, the socialist Bath Party , eventually led by Saddām Hussein , took control and established totalitarian rule in 1968. The Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s and the {{link=Persian Gulf War, First">Persian Gulf War of 1990–91 caused extensive death and destruction. The economy languished under a UN economic embargo imposed on Iraq in the 1990s. The embargo began to erode by the early 21st century, but in 2003 an Anglo-American invasion drove the Baʽth Party from power.