site sections

Languages

kurdistan map

About Kurdistan

General Facts

 

Location

Middle East, bordering the Turkey, Iran and Syria

Area

40,643 km²

Geographic Coordinates

N: 37.7° N
E: 46.6° E

Area

Total: 40,000 km²
Land: 36,000 km²
Water: 4,000 km²

Area - Comparative  

Twice the size of the state of Vermont

Land Boundaries

Total: 722 km 
Bordering countries: Iran 220 km, Syria 150 km, Turkey 352 km

Current Weather

Mild to cool winters with dry, hot, cloudless summers; Northern mountainous regions along Iranian and Turkish borders experience cold winters with occasionally heavy snows whichmelt in early spring. Very hot summers.

Terrain

The most areas of the mountains in Kurdistan are very dry in the summer while cooling down, in the winter and spring.

Natural Resources

Petroleum, natural gas, phosphates, sulphur

Land Use

Arable land: 13.12%
Permanent crops: 0.61%
Other: 86.27% 2005

Natural Hazards

Dust storms; sandstorms; floods

Environment: International Agreements

Party to: Biodiversity, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection
Signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification

Population

5.2 million
July 20O9 KRG statistics office est.

Age Structure

0-14 years: 36% 
15-64 years: 60%
65 years and over: 4%

Median Age

Male: 20.5 years 
Female: 20.8 years
Average: 20.65 years

Population Growth Rate

2.548% 
2010 est.

Life Expectancy at Birth

Total population: 70.25 years
Male: 68.88 years
Female: 71.69 years 2010 est.

Nationality

Noun: Iraqi(s)
Adjective: Iraqi

Ethinic Groups

Kurds, Assyrians, Turkmen, Arabs, Armenians, Yezidis, Shabaks and Mandeans.

Religions

Muslim, Christian or Yezidi

Languages

Arabic, Kurdish (official in Kurdish regions), Turkoman (a Turkish dialect), Assyrian (Neo-Aramaic), Armenian

Literacy

Total population: 74.1%
Male: 84.1%
Female: 64.2% 
2000 est.

School Life Expectancy

Male: 12 years
Female: 9 years
Average: 10 years (2005)
Government: Kurdistan Regional Government

Country Name

Conventional long form: Republic of Iraq
Conventional short form: Iraq
Local long form: Jumhuriyat al-Iraq
Local short form: Al Iraq
Regional Name: Kurdistan

Government Type

Parliamentary democracy
Presidential democracy

Capital

Name: Erbil
Time difference: GMT+3 (winter) and GMT+2 (summer)

Administrative Divisions

3 governorates: Erbil, Sulaiman and Duhok

Constitution

Ratified on 15 October 2005 (subject to review by the Constitutional Review Committee and a possible public referendum)

Legal System

Based on European civil and Islamic law under the framework outlined in the Iraqi Constitution; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Executive Branch

Chief of state: President Masoud Barzani (since June 2005)
Prime Minister: Nechirvan Idris Barzani  
Deputy Prime Minister: Qubad Jalal Talabani 
Cabinet: 19 ministers appointed by the PM and Deputy PM 

Legislative Branch

Head of Parliament: Dr. Yusuf Mohammad
Deputy Head of Parliament: Dr. Jaafer Ibrahim
Unicameral Council of Representatives (111 seats; consisting of 100 members elected by a closed-list, proportional representation system and 11 reserved for minorities; members serve four-year terms)
Elections: last held on September 21, 2013
Results: KDP 37,79%, PUK 24,21%, Movement for Change 17,80%, Kurdistan Islamic Union 9,49%, Islamic Group Kurdistan 6,01%, Islamic Movement of Kurdistan (1,1%).

Political Parties & Leaders

Kurdistan Democratic Party or KDP (led by Masoud Barzani); Movement for Change (led by Nawshirwan Mustafa); Socialist Party (led by Muhammed Haji Mahmoud); Patriotic Union of Kurdistan or PUK (led by Jalal Talabani); Islamic Union of Kurdistan (led by Mohammad Faraj); Islamic Group of Kurdistan (led by Ali Bapir). 
Note: numerous smaller local, tribal, and minority parties

International Organization Participation

ABEDA, AFESD (suspended), AMF, CAEU, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNDP, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)

Flag Description

Three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and green; the sun in yellow is centered in the white band.