什么是伊拉克

正式名称伊拉克共和国（Republic of Iraq）

中东国家，位於波斯湾西北端。面积435,052平方公里。人口约23,332,000（2001）。首都︰巴格达。伊拉克的人口主要由多数阿拉伯人和少数库尔德人组成。语言︰阿拉伯语（官方语）。宗教：伊斯兰教（国教）；60%为什叶派，30%为逊尼派。逊尼派掌握政府。货币︰伊拉克第纳尔（ID）。该国可分为四个主要的地区：伊拉克中部和东南部底格里斯-幼发拉底河流域的冲积平原；北部底格里斯河与幼发拉底河之间的杰济拉高地；西部和南部是沙漠（约占全国土地面积的2/5）；东北部为高地。伊拉克已探明的石油藏量为世界第二，天然气储藏量也很可观。农产品使用了1/8的劳动力。政府形式为共和国，一院制。国家元首暨政府首脑是总统。

伊拉克传统以来被称为美索不达米亚，该地区诞生了世界上最早的文明，包括苏美、阿卡德和巴比伦。西元前330年，被亚历山大大帝征服。後来该地区沦为战场，先是罗马人与安息人相斗，再是萨珊人与拜占庭人互争。西元7世纪被阿拉伯穆斯林征服，统治它，直到1258年为蒙古人取得。16世纪鄂图曼人占领了伊拉克，统治它直到1917年。第一次世界大战期间，为英国人占领，於1921年建立了伊拉克王国。第二次世界大战期间，英国又占领了伊拉克。战後恢复了王国，但1958年一场革命结束了君主制度。此後军事政变不断。1968年复兴社会党在海珊领导下掌权，并实行极权统治。1980年代的两伊战争和波斯湾战争（1990年伊拉克入侵科威特，促发战争），造成大量伤亡和扰乱了经济。1990年代该国经济混乱。

Iraq

Middle Eastern country, northwest of the Persian Gulf. Area: 167,975 sq mi (435,052 sq km). Population (1997 est.): 22,018,000. Capital: Baghdad. The population consists mainly of an Arab majority and a Kurd minority. Language: Arabic (official). Religion: Islam (official); 60% Shiites, 30% Sunni, who dominate the government. Currency dinar. The country can be divided into four major regions: the Tigris-Euphrates river basin in central and southeastern Iraq; Al-Jazirah, an upland region in the north between the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers; deserts in the west and south, covering about two-fifths of the country; and highlands in the northeast. Iraq has the world's second-largest proven reserves of petroleum; it also has substantial reserves of natural gas. Agriculture employs one-eighth of the labor force. It is a republic with one legislative house; its head of state and government is the president. Called Mesopotamia in classical times, the region gave rise to the world's earliest civilizations, including those of Sumer, Akkad, and Babylon. Conquered by Alexander the Great in 330 BC, the area later became a battleground between Romans and Parthians, then between Sasanians and the Byzantines. Arab Muslims conquered it in the 7th century AD, and ruled until the Mongols took over in 1258. The Ottomans took control in the 16th century and ruled until 1917. The British occupied the country during World War I and created the kingdom of Iraq in 1921. The British occupied Iraq again during World War II. A king was restored following the war, but a revolution ended the monarchy in 1958. Following a series of military coups, the socialist Baath Party, led by Saddam Hussein, took control and established totalitarian rule in 1968. The Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s and the Persian Gulf War (precipitated by the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait in 1990) brought heavy casualties and disrupted the economy. The 1990s were dominated by economic turmoil.