POPULATION 24,001,816
SHIITE MUSLIM 55 percent
SUNNI MUSLIM 40 percent
CHRISTIAN AND OTHER 5 percent

Country Overview

Introduction

Lying in southwestern Asia, Iraq is bordered to the east by Iran, to the north by Turkey, to the west by Syria and Jordan, and to the south by Saudi Arabia and Kuwait. The country consists of desert west of the Euphrates River, a broad central valley between the Euphrates and the Tigris River, and mountains in the northeast. Because it embraces a large part of the alluvial plains of the Tigris and Euphrates, Iraq has been known from ancient times as Mesopotamia, "the land between the rivers."

As long ago as 5000 B.C.E. cult centers such as Eridu served as important sites of pilgrimage and devotion in Iraq. By 4000 B.C.E. an advanced civilization existed at Sumer. The Sumerians were pantheistic, and their religious beliefs also had important political aspects. The...