| 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 land: 437,367 sq km water: 950 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly more than three times the size of New York state |
| Land boundaries | total: 3,809 km border countries (6): Iran 1599 km, Jordan 179 km, Kuwait 254 km, Saudi Arabia 811 km, Syria 599 km, Turkey 367 km |
| Coastline | 58 km |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm continental shelf: not specified |
| 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 |
| Terrain | mostly broad plains; reedy marshes along Iranian border in south with large flooded areas; mountains along borders with Iran and Turkey |
| Elevation extremes | highest point: Cheekha Dar (Kurdish for "Black Tent") 3,611 m lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m mean elevation: 312 m |
| Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, phosphates, sulfur |
| Land use | agricultural land: 18.1% (2018 est.) arable land: 8.4% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 0.5% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 9.2% (2018 est.) forest: 1.9% (2018 est.) other: 80% (2018 est.) |
| Irrigated land | 35,250 sq km (2012) |
| Total renewable water resources | 89.86 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) |
| Natural hazards | dust storms; sandstorms; floods |
| Geography - note | strategic location on Shatt al Arab waterway and at the head of the Persian Gulf |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021
