ABSTRACT
This chapter provides a brief historical background and a description of major events in Iraq. It also provides basic political, economic, and social data arranged in the following categories: polity, economy, population, purchasing power parities, life expectancy, ethnic groups, capital, political rights, civil liberties, and status. The chapter discusses the progress and decline of political rights and civil liberties in Iraq. Iraqi Kurds cannot change their government democratically, as factional strife has precluded parliamentary activity since 1995. However, the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) have separate administrations and cabinets for the territories under their control, and the PUK led generally free and fair municipal elections in February 2000. The KDP and the PUK improved relations during 2001 and made progress on implementing the 1998 Washington agreement on power sharing. As the only group possessing anti-Baghdad forces on the ground within Iraq, the Kurds could be key participants in any attempt to oust Saddam Hussein.
