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important of which is near Baghdad. Another one is at Basra, to the south of Baghdad. The third is in a triangle formed by the northern cities of Mosul, Erbil, and Kirkuk. Pharmaceuticals, paper and plastic products, household appliances, clothing, and automobiles are produced in all three regions. In addition, for gen- erations Mosul has been an important textile center. Although Mesopotamia is known as an early center of agriculture, farming plays only a small part in modern Iraq’s economy, con- tributing just 6 percent to the country’s gross domestic product. Only about 13 percent of Iraq is fit for growing crops, and about half of that land is in the Kurdish areas of the north and northeast, where rain waters the land. Most of the farm products are produced on the plains of central Iraq, where fields are watered by irriga-

Quick Facts: The Economy of Iraq

Gross domestic product (GDP*): $249.4 billion (rank 52nd in the world) GDP per capita: $7,100 (rank 141st in the world) GDP growth rate: 4.2% (rank 72nd in the world) Inflation: 2% (rank 70th in the world) Unemployment Rate: 16% (2012 est.) (rank 143rd in the world) Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, phosphates, sulfur

Agriculture (3.3% of GDP): wheat, barley, rice, vegetables, dates, cotton; cattle, sheep, poultry Industry (64.6% of GDP): petroleum, chemicals, textiles, leather, construction materials, food processing, fertilizer, metal fabrication/processing Services (32.1% of GDP): government, banking, other Foreign trade: Imports—$66.61 billion: food, medicine, manufactures Exports—$91.99 billion: crude oil, raw materials, live animals Currency exchange rate: 1,165 Iraqi dinars = U.S. $1 (2015)

*GDP, or gross domestic product, is the total value of goods and services produced in a country annually. All figures are 2014 estimates unless otherwise noted. Source: CIA World Factbook, 2015.