Western Asia · Asia

Iraq

Discover Iraq - where writing was invented, the first cities rose between the Tigris and Euphrates, and Mesopotamian heritage runs 7,000 years deep.

Where Is Iraq?

Iraq is a country in Western Asia. Its capital is Baghdad.

Where Iraq isWestern Asia · Capital Baghdad

Capital Baghdad
Population 47M
Area 438,317 km²

Iraq is where civilization began. Not figuratively - literally. Between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers, in the land the Greeks called Mesopotamia, humans built the first cities, invented writing, codified the first laws, and planted the seeds of mathematics and astronomy. Babylon, Ur, Nineveh, Uruk - these are not just names from history textbooks. They are places in Iraq where the entire concept of organized society was born over 5,000 years ago.

Modern Iraq carries that weight of history alongside the scars of recent decades. But look past the headlines and you find a country of extraordinary warmth - a culture where hospitality is sacred, where sharing tea with a stranger is a daily ritual, and where the Marshlands of southern Iraq still shelter a way of life unchanged for millennia. Baghdad was once the intellectual capital of the world, home to the House of Wisdom where scholars preserved and advanced the knowledge of Greece, Persia, and India. The Iraqi spirit - resilient, generous, deeply cultured - endures through everything.

The landscape itself tells stories. The Zagros Mountains in Kurdistan offer green valleys and ancient citadels. The southern marshes, nearly destroyed and now restored, are one of the world's great wetlands. And the rivers that gave birth to civilization still flow through a country that refuses to forget how much it gave the world.

At a glance

Language

Arabic & Kurdish

Currency

Iraqi Dinar (IQD)

Calling Code

+964

Drives On

Right

Internet

.iq

Timezone

AST (UTC+3)

Script

Arabic

Government

Federal Parliamentary Republic

Independence

1932

By population

Largest cities in Iraq

Baghdad

Capital and largest city on the Tigris, once home to the legendary House of Wisdom and today a sprawling metropolis rebuilding its cultural identity

8,800,000

Basra

Southern port city near the Persian Gulf, known for its date palms, waterways, and strategic importance as Iraq's gateway to the sea

2,900,000

Erbil

Capital of Kurdistan Region with a citadel inhabited continuously for over 6,000 years, one of the oldest living cities on Earth

1,500,000

Mosul

Northern city on the Tigris across from ancient Nineveh, slowly rebuilding after devastating conflict with remarkable determination

1,800,000

Sulaymaniyah

Cultural capital of Kurdistan known as the city of poets, set against the backdrop of the Zagros Mountains

900,000

People

Famous people from Iraq

Hammurabi
Politics
King of Babylon who created one of the earliest and most complete written legal codes around 1750 BC
Zaha Hadid
Architecture
Iraqi-British architect who became the first woman to win the Pritzker Prize, designing iconic buildings worldwide
Abu Nuwas
Literature
One of the greatest poets of the Abbasid era, whose witty and irreverent verses are still celebrated across the Arab world
Al-Khwarizmi
Science
Mathematician who gave us the word algorithm and whose work on algebra shaped the foundation of modern mathematics
Naseer Shamma
Music
Virtuoso oud player considered one of the greatest living musicians in the Arab world

Food

Traditional cuisine of Iraq

Masgouf: Iraq's national dish - butterflied carp grilled slowly over an open fire of tamarisk wood, seasoned with tamarind and turmeric
Dolma: Grape leaves, onions, peppers, and other vegetables stuffed with spiced rice and lamb, a centerpiece of Iraqi family meals
Kubba: Shells of bulgur or rice dough stuffed with spiced ground meat, fried or served in rich broth, with countless regional variations
Tashreeb: Slow-cooked lamb or chicken stew ladled over torn flatbread that soaks up every drop of the fragrant broth
Kleicha: Date-filled cookies spiced with cardamom and rosewater, the beloved Iraqi pastry served at every celebration and holiday

Nature

Nature and landmarks in Iraq

Mesopotamian MarshesWetland: UNESCO World Heritage wetlands in southern Iraq, home to the Marsh Arabs and their reed houses, a 5,000-year-old way of life
Zagros MountainsMountain: Dramatic mountain range in Kurdistan with deep gorges, waterfalls, and green valleys rising above 3,000 meters
Shatt al-ArabRiver: Waterway formed by the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates, lined with date palms on its way to the Persian Gulf
Barzan GorgeCanyon: Stunning limestone canyon in Kurdistan with turquoise waters, a hidden natural wonder in Iraq's mountainous north

Sport

Sports in Iraq

Football: Won the 2007 AFC Asian Cup in a unifying moment for the nation, football is by far the most popular sport in Iraq
Weightlifting: Iraq's most successful Olympic sport, with medals dating back to the country's early Olympic appearances

Facts

Did you know?

Writing was invented in Mesopotamia around 3400 BC - the Sumerians created cuneiform, humanity's first script
The Code of Hammurabi, carved into a stone stele around 1750 BC, is one of the oldest written legal codes in human history
Iraq sits between the Tigris and Euphrates, the rivers described in ancient texts as the location of the Garden of Eden
Baghdad's House of Wisdom in the 9th century was the world's greatest intellectual center, translating and advancing knowledge from every civilization
The ancient city of Ur, birthplace of Abraham in religious tradition, had a ziggurat that still stands after 4,000 years
Iraq has the fifth-largest proven oil reserves in the world
The 360-degree circle, 60-minute hour, and 7-day week all originated in ancient Mesopotamia