Iraq

Baghdad serves as the political, cultural and economic heart of Iraq, positioned in Western Asia. As the seat of government and often the most populous city, it concentrates the country's main institutions, universities and cultural landmarks. Beyond the capital, major cities include Mosul, Basra, Erbil — each a hub of regional culture, economy and history. Baghdad was the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate and the world's largest city in 900 AD — a metropolis of a million people at the centre of the Islamic Golden Age where algebra, optics, and advances in medicine were developed before Europe's Renaissance — a heritage that the modern city, rebuilt across invasion, war, and occupation, carries with a mix of pride and grief.

With a population of approximately 41.2M, Iraq is a vibrant society with a rich mix of traditions and communities. The principal languages spoken are Arabic, Kurdish, which reflect the country's cultural heritage and open doors to a wide international community. Internationally, Iraq is reached via the dialling code +964. Iraq's Arab Shia majority, Arab Sunni minority, and Kurdish population in the north navigate an identity politics shaped by the Ottoman millet system, British colonial borders, Ba'athist secularism, and post-2003 sectarian mobilisation — creating a country where ethnic and religious identity intersects with political affiliation in ways that outside observers consistently simplify.

Iraq spans 438,317 km², in the Western Asia subregion of Asia. Geographically centred around 33.0°N, 44.0°E, the country offers a diverse range of landscapes shaped by its location, climate and geology. Road traffic follows the right-hand rule, in line with surrounding Asia convention.

The official currency is the Iraqi dinar (ع.د), used for everyday transactions and commerce throughout the country. Iraq's economy is shaped by its geography, natural resources and trade relationships. Business and daily life operate under UTC+03:00, aligning the country with its regional neighbours.

The emblematic dish of Iraq is Masgouf. Masgouf — a freshwater fish (typically carp) from the Tigris River slowly grilled over tamarind wood for hours then dressed with lime and tomatoes — is Iraq's national dish, and its preparation on the river banks of Baghdad by specialist fishermen restaurants called 'masgoufs' has continued across decades of war and sanctions.

Football holds a special place in the heart of Iraq's national identity. Football provides Iraq with moments of unity rare in its fraught political landscape — the 2007 AFC Asian Cup victory, achieved during the depths of sectarian civil war, generated celebrations in Baghdad streets that briefly suspended the violence, a two-day pause in conflict that became one of football's most extraordinary demonstrations of a sport's capacity to transcend politics.

The highest point in Iraq is Cheekha Dar, rising to 3,611 metres above sea level. The Mesopotamian Marshes of southern Iraq — the biblical Garden of Eden according to some interpretations — were drained by Saddam Hussein in the 1990s as punishment for Shia population resistance, then partially restored after 2003 in a rewilding project that returned the Marsh Arabs (Ma'dan) to water-based village life and reestablished one of the world's largest wetland ecosystems.