ent the three
northern provinces of Dahuk, Arbil, and As Sulaymaniyah; 220 elected
by popular vote; members serve four-year terms)

elections: last held 27 March 2000 (next to be held NA March 2004)

election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party -
NA

Judicial branch: Court of Cassation

Political parties and leaders: Ba'th Party [SADDAM Husayn, central
party leader]

Political pressure groups and leaders: any formal political activity
must be sanctioned by the government; opposition to regime from
Kurdish groups and southern Shi'a dissidents

International organization participation: ABEDA, ACC, AFESD, AL,
AMF, CAEU, CCC, EAPC, ESCWA, FAO, G-19, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO,
ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat,
Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO

Diplomatic representation in the US: none; note - Iraq has an
Interest Section in the Algerian Embassy headed by Akram AL DOURI;
address: Iraqi Interests Section, Algerian Embassy, 1801 P Street
NW, Washington, DC 20036; telephone: [1] (202) 483-7500; FAX: [1]
(202) 462-5066

Diplomatic representation from the US: none; note - the US has an
Interests Section in the Polish Embassy in Baghdad; address: P. O.
Box 2051 Hay Babel, Baghdad; telephone: [964] (1) 718-9267; FAX:
[964] (1) 718-9297

Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white,
and black with three green five-pointed stars in a horizontal line
centered in the white band; the phrase ALLAHU AKBAR (God is Great)
in green Arabic script - Allahu to the right of the middle star and
Akbar to the left of the middle star - was added in January 1991
during the Persian Gulf crisis; similar to the flag of Syria which
has two stars but no script and the flag of Yemen which has a plain
white band; also similar to the flag of Egypt which has a symbolic
eagle centered in the white band

Iraq Economy

Economy - overview: Iraq's economy is dominated by the oil sector,
which has traditionally provided about 95% of foreign exchange
earnings. In the 1980s, financial problems caused by massive
expenditures in the eight-year war with Iran and damage to oil
export facilities by Iran led the government to implement austerity
measures, borrow heavily, and later reschedule foreign debt
payments; Iraq suffered economic losses of at least $100 billion
from the war. After the end of host