2.  Iraq is near Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Syria on the West.  Turkey on the North Here is a map of Iraq!  Iran on the East  Kuwait on the South

3.  Latitude: 33.21  Longitude: 44.25  Iraqis rely mainly on animals for their transportation.  Iraq receives very little rain and it is semiarid in the northeastern part of Iraq and tropical in the desert.

4.  Babylon became the ascendant power in Mesopotamia in the 18 th century B.C.  Iraq was the area of many great sites that flourished thousands of years ago.  The Sumerians are said to have invented cuneiform, a picture based development of language.  All we know, is that cuneiform was already in existence by the 4 th millennium B.C.

5.  The ruins of the city, Asher, is located on the Tigris river in Iraq.  From the 14 th to the 9 th century, B.C, it was a religious temple of the Assyrian Empire.  (Asher Ruins.)

6.  Iraq is a developing country.  Here are 5 major reasons why Iraq is developing.  #1 30-40% of people are in the age range of 0-14.  #2 For every 1,000 babies born, on average, only 11-50 die. That puts Iraq in the almost-developed range.  #3 Iraq is very oil rich country. They own over 115 billion barrels!

7.  #4 Over 50% of people have cars, but mainly Iraqis rely on animals for movement.  #5 333 people have T.V’s per 1,000.  Here is an Iraqi bill!  On average, the working person earns about $4,000 dollars.  The U.S has a larger GDP of 48 thousand.

8.  In Iraq, they have a bill of rights stating that everyone would have religious expression, freedom of speech and more.  Like any government, those rules aren’t always followed but at least Saddam Hussein is not terrorizing Iraq anymore.  “Ghazi Ajil al-Yawer, one of Iraq’s most powerful tribes, plays a huge role in government and politics and is currently in control.

9.  Iraq’s current President is, Jalal Talabani. Iraq’s current Prime Minister is, Iyad Allawi. Here is a picture of Iyad Allawi.

10.  Here is a graph of Iraq’s main religions:  Shi’a Muslim, Sunni  Muslim, Christian and  other.  Iraq’s most commonly spoken languages are, Arabic, Kurdish, Turkoman, Assyrian, and Armenian.  Ramadan is a common holiday.

11.  Iraqis usually dress in cool light shaded clothing because of the warm weather. They wear long clothing.  Here is a photo of Muslims entering a mosque.

12.  Iraq has a population of 27.5 million people and it’s growth rate is 2.6 percent annually.  The average life span for women is 71 years and 68 years for men.  An Iraqi girl learning to read…………………  The literacy rate has increased dramatically since 1990. To be exact, 74.1 percent of people can read.

13.  Soccer is a very popular sport in Iraq.  For children there aren’t many extra curricular activities.  In Iraq, High school, is called, “secondary school.”  Iraqis go to amusement parks on holidays. Iraqi girls-  If you lived in Iraq, you would most likely be eating, cheese, tea, bread and eggs for breakfast.

14.  "Iraq." CultureGrams World Edition. 2008. ProQuest. 3 Mar 2009.  Randall, John R. "Iraq." Reviewed by Arthur Campbell Turner. The New Book of Knowledge®. 2009. Grolier Online. 2 Mar. 2009.