“In every place, a body mourned by someone left behind.”
Nazik al-Malaika
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Population
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Religions
98% Muslim (60% Shia, 38% Sunni)
2% various minorities (Christians, Yazidis, Kaka’is, Shabaks, Mandaeans-Sabeans)
GDP (nominal)
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Political system
After gaining independence from the United Kingdom in 1932, Iraq became a republic following the 1958 coup d’état, before an authoritarian regime dominated by the Ba’ath Party and Saddam Hussein took power in 1979. The country was ravaged by a war against Iran (1980–1988) and isolated itself with the invasion of Kuwait in 1990 and during the first Gulf War, which permanently weakened its economy and institutions. The 2003 U.S. intervention toppled Saddam Hussein and led to the collapse of the state, a sectarian civil war, and the rise of jihadist groups, including the Islamic State. Since 2017, Iraq has been attempting to rebuild itself within a fragile federal framework, marked by Iranian influence, political fragmentation, and the autonomy of Iraqi Kurdistan. Despite significant oil resources, governance remains unstable and social, ethnic, and sectarian tensions are recurrent.
Named Iraq’s prime minister-designate in late April, Ali al-Zaidi is an unlikely figure in Iraqi politics: a Shia businessman in his forties with a background in finance, no declared party affiliation and no direct militia ties. He does, however, have an extensive network of contacts, including links to Iran-aligned factions, while seeking to balance that proximity with a cautious openness toward the United States.
He must form a government by the end of May and secure parliament’s confidence, a particularly daunting task in a system riven by deep political, sectarian and security rivalries.
