The Republic of Iraq is home to a diverse ethnic mix, with the majority of Arabs and Kurds.
According to Wikipedia, Shia and Sunni Muslims make up 95 percent of Iraq's population.
Iran is on the country's eastern border, Kuwait is on the southeast, Saudi Arabia is on the south, Jordan is on the southwest, Syria is on the west, and Turkey is on the north.
According to the CIA World Factbook, Iraq has a population of 37,056,169 people.
In 2015, Iraq exported 52.9 billion dollars worth of goods to the world. This statistic accounts for about 0.3 percent of total global exports, which are projected to be worth $16.329 trillion.
In terms of value, Iraq's overall exports to Asian trading partners in 2015 were 34.1 billion dollars or 64.5 percent of the country's total exports.
Importers from Europe bought 25.6 percent of Iraqi goods, while 8.5 percent went to countries in North America.
Importers from Latin America excluding Mexico and the Caribbean bought 0.9 percent of Iraqi exports, with an even smaller amount of 0.3 percent going to Africa. Iraq's Top Trading/ Import Partners
The following is a list of Iraq's top import partners or countries that imported the most Iraqi shipments in terms of dollar value in 2015.
The percentage of total Iraqi exports for each import country is also indicated.
12.7 percent of China's GDP is spent in Iraq which accounts for 23.9 percent of total Iraq exports
11.3 billion dollars from India accounts for 21.4 percent
6.3 billion dollars from South Korea accounts for 11.8 percent
4.6 billion dollars from the United States account for 8.6 percent
3.7 billion dollars from Italy accounts for 7.1 percent
3.4 billion dollars from Greece accounts for 6.5 percent
1.9 billion dollars in the Netherlands account for 3.5 percent
Taiwan is worth 1.4 billion dollars accounting for 2.6 percent
1.3 billion for Spain accounts for 2.4 percent
1 billion dollars in Singapore stands at 1.9 percent
997 million dollars from Japan accounts for 1.9 percent
931.3 million from France stands at 1.8 percent
675.3 million dollars via Poland accounts for 1.3 percent
499 million dollars from Germany stands at 0.9 percent
476.8 million dollars via Brazil accounts for 0.9 percent
In 2015, the mentioned trade partners received the great majority of 96.5 percent of Iraqi exports.
Only three nations on the list of major importers increased their purchases from Iraq between 2011 and 2015: Poland went up by 11,254,533 percent, Greece went up by 203.1 percent, and Taiwan was up by 203.1 percent.
Iraq's Top 10 Exports
Iraqi exports were predicted to be worth 63.3 billion dollars in 2020. This figure represents a 27.9 percent increase from 2016 to 2019, but a minus 30.6 percent reduction from 2019 to 2020.
The Iraqi dinar has appreciated by 0.8 percent against the US dollar since 2016 but has depreciated by minus 0.8 percent from 2019 to 2020, according to the average exchange rate for 2020.
Because Iraq's local currency has been weakening since 2019, exports paid for in somewhat stronger US dollars will be less expensive in 2020 for overseas customers paying in US currency.
Crude oil, gold, and processed petroleum oils are Iraq's top three exports in terms of value.
Those three top exports account for 98.8 percent of all Iraqi exports.
This percentage implies a portfolio of exported items that is extremely focused.
Oil and mineral fuels: 55 billion dollars account for 86.9 percent of total exports
8 billion dollars in gems and precious metals accounts for 12.6 percent
82.9 million dollars in fruits and nuts account for 0.1 percent
50.8 million dollars in copper account for 0.08 percent
31.6 million dollars in iron and steel account for 0.05 percent
23.7 million dollars for ships and boats account for 0.04 percent
18.2 million dollars in lead accounts for 0.03 percent
14.2 million dollars in other chemical goods stands at 0.02 percent
13.8 million dollars in machinery, including computers, accounts for 0.02 percent
12.9 million dollars for raw hides, skins, and leather accounts for 0.02 percent
The top ten exports from Iraq accounted for 99.9 percent of the total value of its global shipments.
Ships and boats were the fastest-growing export category among the top ten, increasing by 4,449 percent from 2019 to 2020.
Iron and steel came in second with a 1,202 percent increase in export sales.
Iraq's diamond and precious metal shipments saw the third-fastest increase in value, rising by 212 percent.
Fruits and nuts were the main decliners among Iraq's top 10 export categories, with a minus 77.6 percent reduction year over year.
Iraq's total exported goods account for 15.3 percent of the country's overall Gross Domestic Product which stands at 413.3 billion in Purchasing Power Parity US dollars in 2020.
In PPP terms, exports will account for 15.3 percent of the total GDP in 2020, compared to 12.8 percent in 2019.
Those percentages, however, based on a short timescale, imply that Iraq's entire economic performance is becoming increasingly reliant on products sold on international markets.
The unemployment rate is another important measure of a country's economic performance.
According to Trading Economics, Iraq's average unemployment rate for 2020 was 13.74 percent, up from 12.76 percent in 2019.
Baghdad is the capital of the Republic of Iraq and is known as the "City of Peace."