Geography & environment — Iraq
Location, land area, terrain, climate, and natural resources.
Profile updated 2026-06-02
⚡ Geography & environment at a glance
Location, land area, terrain, climate, and natural resources. Key figure for Iraq: Middle East
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Location & size
- Geographic Location
Middle East
- Geographic Coordinates
33 00 N, 44 00 E
- Total Area
169,234 Square Miles 438,317 Square Kilometers
- Land Area
168,867 Square Miles 437,367 Square Kilometers
- Water Area
367 Square Miles 950 Square Kilometers
- Land Boundaries
2,268 Miles 3,650 Kilometers
- Border Countries
Iran 1,458 km, Jordan 181 km, Kuwait 240 km, Saudi Arabia 814 km, Syria 605 km, Turkey 352 km
- Coastline
36 Miles 58 Kilometers
Physical geography
- Terrain
- mostly broad plains
- reedy marshes along Iranian border in south with large flooded areas
- mountains along borders with Iran and Turkey
- Highest Point
3,611 Meters
- Highest Point Location
unamed peak 3,611 m; note - this peak is not Gundah Zhur 3,607 m or Kuh-e Hajji-Ebrahim 3,595 m
- Lowest Point Location
Persian Gulf 0 m
- Natural Resources
petroleum, natural gas, phosphates, sulfur
- Irrigated Land
13,610 Square Miles 35,250 Square Kilometers
Climate & time
- Time Zone
UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Climate
- Climate
- mostly desert
- mild to cool winters with dry, hot, cloudless summers
- northern mountainous regions along Iranian and Turkish borders experience cold winters with occasionally heavy snows that melt in early spring, sometimes causing extensive flooding. Average temperatures range from higher than 48oC (120oF) in July and August to below freezing in January. Most of the rainfall occurs from December through April and averages between 10 and 18 centimeters (4-7 in.) annually. The mountainous region of northern Iraq receives appreciably more precipitation than the central or southern desert region.
- Terrain
- mostly broad plains
- reedy marshes along Iranian border in south with large flooded areas
- mountains along borders with Iran and Turkey
- Location
Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iran and Kuwait
- Total Area
169,234 Square Miles 438,317 Square Kilometers
- Border Countries
Iran 1,458 km, Jordan 181 km, Kuwait 240 km, Saudi Arabia 814 km, Syria 605 km, Turkey 352 km
Environment
- Environment - Current Issues
- government water control projects have drained most of the inhabited marsh areas east of An Nasiriyah by drying up or diverting the feeder streams and rivers
- a once sizable population of Marsh Arabs, who inhabited these areas for thousands of years, has been displaced
- furthermore, the destruction of the natural habitat poses serious threats to the area's wildlife populations
- inadequate supplies of potable water
- development of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers system contingent upon agreements with upstream riparian Turkey
- air and water pollution
- soil degradation (salination) and erosion
- desertification
- Environment - International Agreements
- party to: Biodiversity, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection signed,
- but not ratified: Environmental Modification