什麼是伊拉克

正式名稱伊拉克共和國（Republic of Iraq）

中東國家，位於波斯灣西北端。面積435,052平方公里。人口約23,332,000（2001）。首都︰巴格達。伊拉克的人口主要由多數阿拉伯人和少數庫爾德人組成。語言︰阿拉伯語（官方語）。宗教：伊斯蘭教（國教）；60%爲什葉派，30%爲遜尼派。遜尼派掌握政府。貨幣︰伊拉克第納爾（ID）。該國可分爲四個主要的地區：伊拉克中部和東南部底格里斯-幼發拉底河流域的沖積平原；北部底格里斯河與幼發拉底河之間的傑濟拉高地；西部和南部是沙漠（約佔全國土地面積的2/5）；東北部爲高地。伊拉克已探明的石油藏量爲世界第二，天然氣儲藏量也很可觀。農產品使用了1/8的勞動力。政府形式爲共和國，一院制。國家元首暨政府首腦是總統。

伊拉克傳統以來被稱爲美索不達米亞，該地區誕生了世界上最早的文明，包括蘇美、阿卡德和巴比倫。西元前330年，被亞歷山大大帝征服。後來該地區淪爲戰場，先是羅馬人與安息人相鬥，再是薩珊人與拜占庭人互爭。西元7世紀被阿拉伯穆斯林征服，統治它，直到1258年爲蒙古人取得。16世紀鄂圖曼人佔領了伊拉克，統治它直到1917年。第一次世界大戰期間，爲英國人佔領，於1921年建立了伊拉克王國。第二次世界大戰期間，英國又佔領了伊拉克。戰後恢復了王國，但1958年一場革命結束了君主制度。此後軍事政變不斷。1968年復興社會黨在海珊領導下掌權，並實行極權統治。1980年代的兩伊戰爭和波斯灣戰爭（1990年伊拉克入侵科威特，促發戰爭），造成大量傷亡和擾亂了經濟。1990年代該國經濟混亂。

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.