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Travel and Tourism in Iraq
Travel alerts, currency, climate, transit, health, and safety information for visitors to Iraq.
Practical Information
Travel alert status, currency, climate, and transit details.
- Travel Alert Status
- Level 4: Do Not Travel
- Time Difference
- UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
- Currency
- New Iraqi dinar (NID) as of 22 January 2004
- 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.
- Language(s) Spoken
- The majority of Iraqis speak Arabic, with variations in dialect according to region. Modern standard Arabic is spoken by educated Iraqis and is the written language. Other languages spoken include Chaldean, Armenian, Syriac, Turkish dialects and Persian. English is the most widely used foreign language and is taught in Iraqi schools.
- Ethnic Groups
- Arab 75%-80%, Kurdish 15%-20%, Turkoman, Assyrian or other 5%
- National Holiday
- Independence Day, 3 October (1932); Republic Day, 14 July (1958)
- Geographic Coordinates
- 33 00 N, 44 00 E
- Location
- Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iran and Kuwait
- Airports
- 111; note - unknown number were damaged during the March-April 2003 war
Health and Safety
Medical facilities, vaccinations, disease risk, and sanitation conditions.
Basic modern medical care and medicines are not widely available in Iraq. Conflict has left some medical facilities non-operational and medical stocks and supplies severely depleted. The facilities in operation do not meet U.S. standards, and the majority lack medicines, equipment, and supplies. Some private companies facilitate medical evacuations. Blood banks exist in Iraq, though blood supply may not be sufficient in the event of an emergency.
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