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Factfile on Iraq and Saddam Hussein
From Iraq: war and peace online
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| Population |
23.5 million. Half the population is under 18 |
Young Iraqi girl at Al Mada'in
Photo: Geoff Hann/Hinterland Travel |
| Religions |
Shi’a Muslim (60–65%); Sunni Muslim (32–37%);
Christian 3% |
| Ethnic groups |
Arab (75–80%), Kurd (15–20%), Other 5% |
| Resources |
Oil, natural gas, sulphur, phosphates, tar, and dates |
| Economy |
Before 1991, the economy relied on oil to provide about
95% of its foreign exchange earnings. Since 1991, the economy
and infrastructure have collapsed and around two-thirds of
the population is dependent on food aid. |
| Currency |
Dinar |
| Health |
The incidence of preventable disease has increased more
than 100% since 1990. |
Since sanctions were imposed by the UN in 1990, the country has
moved from being one of the most affluent in the Middle East to
one of the most impoverished.
What has changed since 1990?
|
1990 |
2003 |
Life expectancy |
74 (women) 73 (men) |
63 (women) 59 (men) |
Annual average salary |
$1,000–$1,200 |
$24 –$60 |
Child mortality |
30.5 per 1,000 children (1989) |
122 per 1,000 children |
Maternal mortality rate |
50 deaths per 100,000 live births (1989) |
294 deaths per 100,000 live births (2001) |
Literacy |
90% |
60% of girls and 50% of boys did not attend secondary school |
Water |
93% access to clean water in towns and 70% in rural areas |
Five million people have no access to clean water |
Sources: Oxfam, WHO, UNICEF, FAO (1997)
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein was born in a village outside Tikrit, in northern
Iraq, on 28th April 1937. He joined the Ba’ath party at college
in Baghdad. After the overthrow of the monarchy in 1958, he was
part of a plot to kill the prime minister, Abdel-Karim Qassem, but
when this was discovered, he fled the country. In 1963, with the
Ba’ath party in control, he came home and married his cousin
Sajida. They later had two sons and three daughters.
Then the Ba’ath party was overthrown. He was imprisoned until
the party returned to power in a coup in July 1968. He became the
power behind the ailing figure of the president, Ahmed Hassan Bakr.
In 1979, he became head of state.
Saddam Hussein has been both adored and hated in the Arab world.
On the streets he was admired as a leader who has dared to defy
and challenge Israel and the West. At the same time, he was feared
as a vicious dictator who threatened the security of the Gulf region.
But even his opponents have not been able to nominate anyone else
who might hold such a vast and diverse nation together.
Adapted from BBC News, Saddam Hussein profile, 4th January 2001,
by Middle East analyst, Gerald Butt.
From Iraq: war and peace online
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