The Kurdistan region is located in northern Iraq, and borders three countries: Syria in the west, Turkey in the north, and Iran in the east and south.

A number of rivers pass through the region, the most important of which is the Great Zab River, which originates from southeastern Turkey, and the Small Zab River, whose source is located in northwestern Iran, and the two rivers flow into the Tigris.

When the Kurds signed the autonomy agreement with the Baghdad government on March 11, 1970, the area of the region was 37,000 square kilometers, but now this area is more than forty thousand square kilometers.

As part of its 2005 constitution, the Kurdistan Regional Government annexed Nineveh, Erbil, Kirkuk, Diyala, and Wasit as part of the territory it was claiming after the Second Iraq War.

The Iraqi constitution granted the Kurdistan region wide autonomy in the field of economy and local affairs, thus forming an influential region in Iraqi affairs.

Population

The population of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq is 5.5 million people, most of whom are Kurds, in addition to other minorities of Turkmen, Arabs, and Assyrians. Most of the population are Sunni Muslims, and there are minorities of Christians, Sabians, and Jews.

 

Verdict

Government system (parliamentary federal system)

The President of the Region (Nechirvan Barzani)

Prime Minister (Masrour Barzani)

 

legislation

The legislative authority (Parliament of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq)

Languages

The official languages of the Kurdistan Region are Kurdish and Arabic. Kurdish is the most widely spoken language, Arabic is also widely spoken and understood and the two main Kurdish dialects are Sorani and Kurmanji.

Turkmen, Assyrian Neo-Aramaic, Mandaean Neo-Aramaic, and Armenian are also spoken by their communities, but many Kurds know these languages.

Religion

The majority of the Kurds, Turkmen, and Arabs in the Kurdistan region of Iraq are Sunni Muslims. Following Islam are Christianity, the Assyrians, and the Armenians (from some Kurds and Turkmen), as well as the Yazidi sect, which constitutes a significant minority in the region.