Iraq—Economic System
The government of Iraq regards data on national economic performance as a state secret, particularly since the Iran-Iraq War (1980–1990); therefore, information on the nation's current gross domestic product (GDP), GDP growth, and inflation and unemployment rates is unavailable from the government itself. (See Table 1 for estimates from the U.S. Energy Information Agency.)
The economy of Iraq has been dominated by the oil sector since the 1950s. (Oil was discovered north of Kirkuk on 15 October 1927.) Until the imposition of United Nations sanctions beginning in 1990, most economic activities were derived from government expenditures, whose revenues came from the oil sector. Agriculture has had a minor role in Iraq's economy. Iraq's economy, infrastructure, and society, however, were devastated by its two recent wars.
During the Iran-Iraq War (1980–1990), massive expenditures caused financial problems, and Iranian attacks damaged oil-export facilities. The government resorted to austerity measures and incurred massive foreign-debt payments. Iraq's estimated economic losses from the war were $100 billion.
Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in August 1990 (the start of the 1990–1991 Persian Gulf War), and the subsequent
TABLE 1Selected estimated data showing Iraq's national economic performance for 2000 through 2002(ID = Iraqi dinar)| SOURCE: Energy Information Agency, Washington, DC.
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Iraq—Economic System from Encyclopedia of Modern Asia. Copyright © 2001-2006 by Macmillan Reference USA, an imprint of the Gale Group. All rights reserved.
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