🇮🇶 Iraq

Iraq is an oil-rich nation of 43 million with a GDP of about $265 billion, still rebuilding after decades of war — the Iran-Iraq War (1980-88), the Gulf War (1991), sanctions, the 2003 US invasion, and the ISIS conflict (2014-17). The country has the world's fifth-largest proven oil reserves at 145 billion barrels. Baghdad was once the intellectual capital of the Islamic world — the House of Wisdom in the 9th century was the world's greatest center of learning. Iraq's Kurdistan Region in the north operates with significant autonomy and has been more stable and prosperous than the rest of the country. The Tigris and Euphrates rivers, cradle of civilization, are running dry due to upstream damming by Turkey.

Oil accounts for about 95% of government revenue and 99% of exports — one of the most extreme oil dependencies in the world. Production is about 4.5 million barrels per day, making Iraq OPEC's second-largest producer after Saudi Arabia. China is the largest buyer. The non-oil economy is tiny and the private sector is underdeveloped — the government employs about 40% of the workforce. Corruption is endemic, with Iraq consistently ranking among the most corrupt countries globally. Reconstruction needs are estimated in the hundreds of billions.

Iraq's Mesopotamian marshes, drained by Saddam Hussein to punish the Marsh Arabs, have been partially restored and are a UNESCO World Heritage Site — they're believed to be the inspiration for the Garden of Eden. The country's National Museum in Baghdad, looted in 2003, has recovered about 15,000 of the estimated 15,000+ stolen artifacts. Iraq has the world's oldest known recipe — a 4,000-year-old Babylonian tablet describing a lamb stew.

Iraq's oil wealth should make it one of the richest countries in the Middle East, but corruption, sectarianism, and institutional weakness ensure it underperforms. The water crisis from Turkish dams is an underreported existential threat.