Sector Overview

Below are some key facts and figures associated with each investment sector. For more details, select a category on the left.

Telecommunication

Installed Fiber: Approximately 60,000km

National GSM Providers: Zain, AsiaCell, Korek

Cell Subscribers: Approximately 20 million

Fixed Line Density (2003): 3%

Oil and Gas

Proven Oil Reserves: 115 billion barrels

Estimated Unproven Reserves: 45 to 215 billion barrels

Proven Gas Reserves: 112 trillion cubic feet (Tcf)

Estimated Probable Gas Reserves: 275 to 300 Tcf

2008 Production: 2.4 million barrels per day (bpd)

2018 Target Production: 6 million bpd

Electricity

Current Electricity Demand: 13,000 MW est. – Summer 2009

Existing Power Generation Capacity: Approximately 6,000 MW

Capacity of Identified Future Plants: 24,000 MW

Value of Additional Electricity Investments Needed: 4.5billon USD / year over four years.

Health

Ministry of Health Budget: $4 B USD (2009)

Hospitals: 208 State Owned, 80 Private

Clinics: Approximately 2000

Agriculture

Agriculture in the economy: 9-11% of GDP, 2nd largest contributor after oil

Agriculture employment: Agriculture employs almost 30% of the labor force

Agriculture imports: 80% of total food consumed, costing $1.4 B USD

Housing and Construction

Population growth rate: At the projected growth rate, almost 2 million housing units will be needed by 2015.

Private sector involvement: The government estimates that 85% of home building will be carried out by the private sector.

Industry and Manufacturing

Primary Ministry Responsible: Ministry of Mining and Manufacturing (MIM)

Number of MIM SOEs: 67

Number of MIM Factories: 220 among the 67

Higher Education

Infrastructure reconstruction: As of 2004, 84% of the higher educational infrastructure was severely damaged.

Iraqi Education Initiative (IEI): The Government of Iraq (GoI) allocated $54 million to launch the IEI and in 2010, more than 300 students will begin master’s and PhD programs in the U.S.

Repatriation: 100 Iraqi expatriates inquire every month about the possibility of returning home to resume their teaching careers.

Banking and Finance

Banking system: The current banking system in Iraq consists of 43 banks, in addition to the Central Bank.

Electronic funds transfer (EFT) capabilities: The nine Iraq banks with full EFT capable banks have almost 200 branches throughout the country.

Iraqi Stock Exchange (ISX): The ISX launched its electronic trading system in April 2009 and has 91 companies listed with the average trading volume approximately $10 M USD per week.