Editing Economy of Iraq (section)

=== 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>