| Abstract: | Iraq, with a population of 15.9 million, is blessed with vital natural resources, oil being its chief export product, as well as barley, dates, and wheat. Fertile land and unlimited supplies of water give it enormous productive potential. However, that potential has not been realized because of the war with Iran, which began in 1980 when President Hussein sent troops to Iran, after continual border skirmishes. Prior to that time, there was a pattern of large rural migration to towns, and a period of rapid growth of the economy. The country was run by the Ba'athist Party who instituted a successful program of development. With the advent of war, development plans have been crippled by shortages of electricity, spare parts, and labor, especially in rural areas. Some agricultural and urban projects are maintained but the large-scale plans of the 1970's have been abandoned. The oil glut and the war economy have contributed to Iraq's new status as a debtor nation. In addition, the war has increased the cultural tensions between the Ba'athists and the Kurds of the North and the Shi'ite Arabs of the South. The Ba'athist Party is dominated by the Sunni Arab minority, whose goal during the 1970's was to reassert Iraq's ancient traditions. Toward that end, the government began a program that sought to restore medieval mosques, and reestablish Baghdad, Basra, and Mosul as centers of Arab culture. Arabic is Iran's official language, although Kurdish is used in the North and East. Iraq is overwhelmingly Muslim, with a small Christian minority. Its infant morality rate is 73/1,000 live births. The war with Iran has touched every area of the nation's life, and severely curtailed government development programs. |
