Location:
Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iran and Kuwait

Geographic coordinates:
33 00 N, 44 00 E

Map references:
Middle East

Area:
total: 438,317 sq km
[see also: Area - total country ranks ]
land: 437,367 sq km
[see also: Area - land country ranks ]
water: 950 sq km
[see also: Area - water country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 60

Area - comparative:
slightly more than three times the size of New York state
Area comparison map: slightly more than three times the size of New York state

Land boundaries:
total: 3,809 km
[see also: Land boundaries - total country ranks ]
border countries (6): Iran 1,599 km, Jordan 179 km, Kuwait 254 km, Saudi Arabia 811 km, Syria 599 km, Turkey 367 km

Coastline:
58 km
[see also: Coastline country ranks ]

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
[see also: Maritime claims - territorial sea country ranks ]
continental shelf: not specified
[see also: Maritime claims - continental shelf country ranks ]

Climate:
mostly desert; mild to cool winters with dry, hot, cloudless summers; northern mountainous regions along Iranian and Turkish borders experience cold winters with occasionally heavy snows that melt in early spring, sometimes causing extensive flooding in central and southern Iraq
More Climate Details

Terrain:
mostly broad plains; reedy marshes along Iranian border in south with large flooded areas; mountains along borders with Iran and Turkey

Elevation:
mean elevation: 312 m
[see also: Elevation - mean elevation country ranks ]
elevation extremes: lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m highest point: Cheekha Dar (Kurdish for "Black Tent") 3,611 m

Natural resources:
petroleum, natural gas, phosphates, sulfur

Land use:
agricultural land: 18.1% arable land 8.4%; permanent crops 0.5%; permanent pasture 9.2%
[see also: Land use - agricultural land country ranks ]
forest: 1.9%
[see also: Land use - forest country ranks ]
other: 80% (2011 est.)
[see also: Land use - other country ranks ]

Irrigated land:
35,250 sq km (2012)
[see also: Irrigated land country ranks ]

Population - distribution:
population is concentrated in the north, center, and eastern parts of the country, with many of the larger urban agglomerations found along extensive parts of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers; much of the western and southern areas are either lightly populated or uninhabited

Natural hazards:
dust storms; sandstorms; floods

Environment - current issues:
government water control projects drained most of the inhabited marsh areas east of An Nasiriyah by drying up or diverting the feeder streams and rivers; a once sizable population of Marsh Arabs, who inhabited these areas for thousands of years, has been displaced; furthermore, the destruction of the natural habitat poses serious threats to the area's wildlife populations; inadequate supplies of potable water; development of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers system contingent upon agreements with upstream riparian Turkey; air and water pollution; soil degradation (salination) and erosion; desertification

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification

Geography - note:
strategic location on Shatt al Arab waterway and at the head of the Persian Gulf