Wikijunior:Asia/Iraq

Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq (Arabic: جمهورية العـراق), is a country in the Middle East. Iraq gained independence from Britain on October 3, 1932 (Iraq still keeps ties with Britain today, both economically and militarily). In 1958, after the Hashemite Monarchy was overthrown by Iraq's support on Allied Efforts, Iraq was forced to be controlled by military and civilian governments.

20 years later, Saddam Hussein took control of Iraq. He dictated the country for 20 years until he was captured in a US raid in 2003.

Today, Fuad Masum is the 7th and current president of Iraq (2014 - ), who is the second non-Arab president (Jalal Talabani being the first Non-Arab president; he was the 6th president of Iraq, 2005 - 2014). The capital is Baghdad, and the currency used in Iraq is the Iraqi dinar.

Where is Iraq?
Located in the Middle East, Western Asia and compromising of 437,367 square kilometers of land and 950 square kilometers of water, making the country take position 59 on the list of large nations in the world (with a total area of 438,317 square kilometers), Iraq borders Turkey to the north, Kuwait to the southeast, Saudi Arabia to the south, Jordan to the southwest, Syria to the west, and Iran to the east.

How many people live in Iraq?
38 million people live in Iraq according to an official annual estimate. This would make it the 37th most populous nation. Baghdad is the capital, and largest, city. It is also the second largest in the Arab world (after Cairo, Egypt) and in western Asia (after Tehran, Iran).

What are the most common languages in Iraq?
Iraq's official languages are Arabic and Kurdish.

What is the most common religion in Iraq?
Islam is the national state religion. 66% are Shia Muslims and 29% are Sunni Muslims. There are several minorities, the biggest being the 4% who are Christian.

What is the sport of Iraq?
Football is the most popular sport in Iraq. Basketball, swimming, weightlifting, tennis and boxing are also popular.

What are some important sights?

 * Kadhimayn Mosque is in Baghdad. You can see the golden domes in the picture below.