Editing Economy of Iraq (section)

== Economic growth ==
[[File:Historical economic growth of Iraq.jpg|thumb|right|Historical GDP per capita development]]
Nominal GDP grew by 213% in the 1960s, 1325% in the 1970s, 2% in the 1980s, −47% in the 1990s, and 317% in 2000s.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.google.com/publicdata/explore?ds=d5bncppjof8f9_&met_y=ny_gdp_mktp_cd&idim=country:IRQ&dl=en&hl=en&q=gdp+iraq|title=World Development Indicators - Google Public Data Explorer|access-date=3 March 2015|archive-date=16 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221216052846/http://www.google.com/publicdata/explore?ds=d5bncppjof8f9_&met_y=ny_gdp_mktp_cd&idim=country:IRQ&dl=en&hl=en&q=gdp+iraq|url-status=live}}</ref>

Real GDP per capita (measured in $1990 ) increased significantly during the 1950s, 60s and 70s, which can be explained by both higher oil production levels as well as oil prices, which famously peaked in the 1970s due to the [[OPEC|OPEC's]] oil embargo, causing the [[1973 oil crisis]]. In the following two decades, however, GDP per capita in Iraq dropped substantially because of multiple wars, namely the 1980-88 war with Iran, the 1990-1991 Gulf War.<ref>{{cite book|author=Baten, Jörg |title=A History of the Global Economy. From 1500 to the Present.|date=2016|publisher = Cambridge University Press|pages=231–232|isbn=9781107507180}}</ref>

=== Iran-Iraq War ===
Before the outbreak of the war with Iran in September 1980, the economic outlook was positive. In 1979, oil production  reached a level of 560,000 m³ (3.5 million barrels) per day, and oil revenues were 21 billion dollars in 1979 and $27 billion in 1980 due to record oil prices. Iraq had amassed an estimated $35 billion in [[foreign exchange reserves]]. It was believed to have one of the best [[Education in Iraq|education]] and [[Healthcare in Iraq|health care systems]] in the [[Middle East]], and thousands of [[Migrant workers in the Gulf Cooperation Council region|migrant workers]] from [[Egypt]], [[Somali Democratic Republic|Somalia]], and the [[Indian subcontinent]] were employed in construction projects.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Chandrasekaran|first=Rajiv|url=http://archive.org/details/imperiallifeinem00chan|title=Imperial life in the emerald city : inside Iraq's green zone|date=2007|publisher=Vintage Books|others=Internet Archive|isbn=978-0-307-27883-8|location=New York}}</ref> The [[Iran–Iraq War]] and the [[1980s oil glut]] depleted Iraq's foreign exchange reserves, devastated its economy and left the country with a foreign debt of more than $40 billion. Oil exports gradually increased as new pipelines were constructed and damaged facilities were restored.

=== Sanctions ===
Iraq's seizure of [[Invasion of Kuwait|Kuwait]] in August 1990, subsequent [[Iraq sanctions|international economic sanctions on Iraq]], and damage from military action by an international coalition beginning in January 1991, drastically reduced economic activity. The regime exacerbated shortages by supporting large military and internal security forces and by allocating resources to key supporters of the [[Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Iraq Region|Ba'ath Party]]. The implementation of the [[United Nations|UN]]'s [[Oil for Food program]] in December 1996 helped improve economic conditions. For the first six six-month phases of the program, Iraq was allowed to export increasing amounts of oil in exchange for food, medicine, and other humanitarian goods. In December 1999, the [[United Nations Security Council|UN Security Council]] authorized Iraq to export as much oil as required to meet humanitarian needs. Per capita, food imports increased substantially, while medical supplies and health care services steadily improved, though per capita economic production and living standards were still well below their prewar level.

Iraq changed its oil [[reserve currency]] from the [[United States dollar|U.S. dollar]] to the [[euro]] in 2000. However, 28% of Iraq's export revenues under the program were deducted to meet UN Compensation Fund and UN administrative expenses. The drop in [[Gross Domestic Product|GDP]] in 2001 was largely the result of the [[Early 2000s recession|global economic slowdown]] and lower oil prices.

=== After the invasion of Iraq in 2003 ===
{{main|Economic reform of Iraq}}
The removal of sanctions on 24 May 2003 and [[World oil market chronology from 2003|rising oil prices]] in the mid-to-late 2000s led to a doubling in oil production from a low of 1.3 mbpd during the turbulence of 2003 to a high of 2.6 mbpd in 2011.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.indexmundi.com/energy.aspx?country=iq&product=oil&graph=production|title=Iraq Crude Oil Production by Year|access-date=3 March 2015|archive-date=14 May 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160514131356/http://www.indexmundi.com/energy.aspx?country=iq&product=oil&graph=production|url-status=live}}</ref> Furthermore, reduced inflation<ref>{{cite web|url=http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/FP.CPI.TOTL.ZG/countries/IQ?display=default|title=Inflation, consumer prices (annual %)|access-date=3 March 2015|archive-date=4 March 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304004122/http://data.worldbank.org/indicator/FP.CPI.TOTL.ZG/countries/IQ?display=default|url-status=live}}</ref> and violence<ref>{{cite web|url=https://blogs.law.harvard.edu/mesh/2009/04/measuring-iraq/|title=» Measuring Iraq Middle East Strategy at Harvard|access-date=3 March 2015|archive-date=13 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150913002025/http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/mesh/2009/04/measuring-iraq/|url-status=live}}</ref> since 2007 have translated to real increases in living standards for Iraqis.

One of the key economic challenges was Iraq's immense foreign debt, estimated at $130 billion.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Hinrichsen|first=Simon|date=2021|title=The Iraq sovereign debt restructuring|url=https://doi.org/10.1093/cmlj/kmaa031|journal=Capital Markets Law Journal|volume=16|issue=1|pages=95–114|doi=10.1093/cmlj/kmaa031|issn=1750-7227|access-date=12 August 2021|archive-date=10 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230210011629/https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fcmlj%2Fkmaa031|url-status=live}}</ref>  Although some of this debt was derived from normal export contracts that Iraq had failed to pay for, some was a result of military and financial support during Iraq's war with Iran.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/cfr/international/slot3_110703.html|title=Q&A: Iraq's Debt|website=[[The New York Times]]|access-date=2018-01-24|archive-date=25 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125020120/http://www.nytimes.com/cfr/international/slot3_110703.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Jubilee Iraq campaign<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.jubileeiraq.org/odiousdebt.htm |title=Jubilee Iraq |access-date=3 March 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110306000652/http://www.jubileeiraq.org/odiousdebt.htm |archive-date=6 March 2011}}</ref> argued that much of these debts were [[odious debt|odious]] (illegitimate). However, as the concept of [[odious debt]] is not accepted,<ref>Mitu Gulati, Duke University School of Law; Ugo Panizza, The Graduate Institute Geneva and CEPR. The Hausmann-Gorky Effect. Working Paper No. HEIDWP02-2018. Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, International Economics Department.</ref> trying to deal with the debt on those terms would have embroiled Iraq in legal disputes for years. Iraq decided to deal with its debt more pragmatically and approached the [[Paris Club]] of official creditors.

In a December 2006 ''[[Newsweek International]]'' article, a study by [[Global Insight]] in [[London]] was reported to show "that [[Iraqi civil war (2006–2008)|Civil war]] or not, Iraq has an economy, and—mother of all surprises—it's doing remarkably well. Real estate is booming. Construction, retail and wholesale trade sectors are healthy, too, according to [the report]. The [[United States Chamber of Commerce|U.S. Chamber of Commerce]] reports 34,000 registered companies in Iraq,{{When|date=October 2024|reason=Which year?}} up from 8,000 three years ago. Sales of secondhand cars, televisions and mobile phones have all risen sharply. Estimates vary, but one from Global Insight puts GDP growth at 17 per cent last year and projects 13 per cent for 2006. The World Bank has it lower: at 4 per cent this year. But, given all the attention paid to deteriorating security, the startling fact is that Iraq is growing at all."<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2006/12/24/blood-and-money.html | title=Blood and Money: In what might be called the mother of all surprises, Iraq's economy is growing strong, even booming in places | publisher=Newsweek International (In The Daily Beast) | author=Silvia Spring | date=2006-12-24 | access-date=21 November 2011 | archive-date=6 May 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120506055231/http://www.thedailybeast.com/newsweek/2006/12/24/blood-and-money.html | url-status=live }}</ref>