Country · Asia
Iraq
Republic of Iraq
Iraq is a country in Western Asia. Its capital city is Baghdad. About 38.4 million people live there, in an area of 438 317 square kilometres.
Picture credit: Diyar Muhammed (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wary Abdullah (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Nariman Majid (CC BY-SA 3.0) · MohammadHuzam (CC BY-SA 4.0) · MohammadHuzam (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Iraq?
Iraq lies in Western Asia, on the continent of Asia.
It sits in the northern half of the world, roughly 3 674 km from the equator.
Its coastline is about 58 km long.
It shares a border with 6 countries: Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Türkiye.
How big is Iraq?
Iraq covers 438 317 square kilometres.
That is about 11 times the size of Switzerland.
Among the world's countries that makes it the 58th largest.
If everybody spread out evenly, there would be about 87.7 people on every square kilometre.
Who lives in Iraq?
About 38.4 million people live in Iraq.
That is the 36th biggest population in the world.
People here speak Arabic, Aramaic and Sorani.
They pay with the Iraqi dinar (ع.د).
On average, people born here can expect to live about 67 years.
The land of Iraq
The land in Iraq sits on average 312 metres above sea level.
Its coast runs for about 58 km. Walking it end to end, at twenty kilometres a day, would take roughly 3 days.
It lies between the tropics and the poles, which is the single biggest reason its weather is the way it is.
What makes Iraq different?
A dish the country is known for: Samak masgouf and Kleicha.
Websites from here often end in .iq.
Iraq and the rest of the world
Out of every thousand people alive on Earth, about 5 live in Iraq.
It takes up about 0.33 % of all the land that countries stand on.
Within Asia it is the 16th largest of 46 countries, and the 14th most populated.
That is busier than the world average of roughly 60 people per square kilometre.
Iraq and its neighbours
Saudi Arabia, its largest neighbour, is about 4.9 times bigger.
More people live in Iraq than in Saudi Arabia — 38.4 million against 33.7 million.
Questions children ask
What is the capital of Iraq?
The capital of Iraq is Baghdad. It is the city where the country's government works from.
How many people live in Iraq?
About 38.4 million people live in Iraq, which makes it the 36th most populated country in the world. (Source: World Bank, 2018.)
Which countries border Iraq?
Iraq borders Iran, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Türkiye — 6 neighbours in total.
How big is Iraq?
Iraq covers 438 317 square kilometres, making it the 58th largest country in the world. That is about 11 times the size of Switzerland.
Which continent is Iraq in?
Iraq is in Asia, in the part called Western Asia.
Where these numbers come from
Borders and outlines: Natural Earth. Names, capitals, areas, languages and currencies: ISO 3166 data (world-countries). Population: World Bank, 2018. Every derived figure on this page (ranks, density, distance from the equator) is calculated from those values.
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