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Government Stats: compare key data on Iran & Iraq

Definitions

  • Administrative divisions: This entry generally gives the numbers, designatory terms, and first-order administrative divisions as approved by the US Board on Geographic Names (BGN). Changes that have been reported but not yet acted on by BGN are noted.
  • Capital city > Geographic coordinates: This entry gives the name of the seat of government, its geographic coordinates, the time difference relative to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) and the time observed in Washington, DC, and, if applicable, information on daylight saving time (DST). Where appropriate, a special note has been added to highlight those countries that have multiple time zones.
  • Capital city > Name: This entry gives the name of the seat of government, its geographic coordinates, the time difference relative to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) and the time observed in Washington, DC, and, if applicable, information on daylight saving time (DST). Where appropriate, a special note has been added to highlight those countries that have multiple time zones.
  • Constitution: The dates of adoption, revisions, and major amendments to a nation's constitution
  • Executive branch > Cabinet: Cabinet includes the official name for any body of high-ranking advisers roughly comparable to a U.S. Cabinet. Also notes the method for selection of members.
  • Executive branch > Chief of state: The name and title of any person or role roughly equivalent to a U.S. Chief of State. This means the titular leader of the country who represents the state at official and ceremonial functions but may not be involved with the day-to-day activities of the government
  • Executive branch > Head of government: Head of government includes the name and title of the top administrative leader who is designated to manage the day-to-day activities of the government. For example, in the UK, the monarch is the chief of state, and the prime minister is the head of government. In the US, the president is both the chief of state and the head of government.
  • Government type: A description of the basic form of government (e.g., republic, constitutional monarchy, federal republic, parliamentary democracy, military dictatorship).
  • International organization participation: This entry lists in alphabetical order by abbreviation those international organizations in which the subject country is a member or participates in some other way.
  • Judicial branch: The name(s) of the highest court(s) and a brief description of the selection process for members.
  • Legal system: A brief description of the legal system's historical roots, role in government, and acceptance of International Court of Justice (ICJ) jurisdiction.
  • Legislative branch: This entry contains information on the structure (unicameral, bicameral, tricameral), formal name, number of seats, and term of office. Elections includes the nature of election process or accession to power, date of the last election, and date of the next election. Election results includes the percent of vote and/or number of seats held by each party in the last election.
  • Political parties and leaders: Significant political organizations and their leaders.
  • Political pressure groups and leaders: Organizations with leaders involved in politics, but not standing for legislative election.
  • Suffrage: The age at enfranchisement and whether the right to vote is universal or restricted
  • Country name > Conventional long form: This entry is derived from Government > Country name, which includes all forms of the country's name approved by the US Board on Geographic Names (Italy is used as an example): conventional long form (Italian Republic), conventional short form (Italy), local long form (Repubblica Italiana), local short form (Italia), former (Kingdom of Italy), as well as the abbreviation. Also see the Terminology note.
  • Executive branch > Elections: Elections includes the nature of election process or accession to power, date of the last election, and date of the next election
  • National symbol(s): A national symbol is a faunal, floral, or other abstract representation - or some distinctive object - that over time has come to be closely identified with a country or entity. Not all countries have national symbols; a few countries have more than one.
  • Flag description: A written flag description produced from actual flags or the best information available at the time the entry was written. The flags of independent states are used by their dependencies unless there is an officially recognized local flag. Some disputed and other areas do not have flags.
  • Red tape > Time required to start a business > Days: Time required to start a business (days). Time required to start a business is the number of calendar days needed to complete the procedures to legally operate a business. If a procedure can be speeded up at additional cost, the fastest procedure, independent of cost, is chosen.
  • Country name > Conventional short form: This entry is derived from Government > Country name, which includes all forms of the country's name approved by the US Board on Geographic Names (Italy is used as an example): conventional long form (Italian Republic), conventional short form (Italy), local long form (Repubblica Italiana), local short form (Italia), former (Kingdom of Italy), as well as the abbreviation. Also see the Terminology note.
  • Constitutional form: Constitutional form of government.
  • Transnational Issues > Disputes > International: This entry includes a wide variety of situations that range from traditional bilateral boundary disputes to unilateral claims of one sort or another. Information regarding disputes over international terrestrial and maritime boundaries has been reviewed by the US Department of State. References to other situations involving borders or frontiers may also be included, such as resource disputes, geopolitical questions, or irredentist issues; however, inclusion does not necessarily constitute official acceptance or recognition by the US Government.
  • National anthem: A generally patriotic musical composition - usually in the form of a song or hymn of praise - that evokes and eulogizes the history, traditions, or struggles of a nation or its people. National anthems can be officially recognized as a national song by a country's constitution or by an enacted law, or simply by tradition. Although most anthems contain lyrics, some do not.
  • Legislative branch > Elections: This entry contains information on the structure (unicameral, bicameral, tricameral), formal name, number of seats, and term of office. Elections includes the nature of election process or accession to power, date of the last election, and date of the next election. Election results includes the percent of vote and/or number of seats held by each party in the last election.
  • Legislative branch > Election results: This entry contains information on the structure (unicameral, bicameral, tricameral), formal name, number of seats, and term of office. Elections includes the nature of election process or accession to power, date of the last election, and date of the next election. Election results includes the percent of vote and/or number of seats held by each party in the last election.
  • Democracy and rights > Press freedom index: Compares countries by their degree of government censorship, according to the Press freedom index. This index, created by the non-governmental organization Reporters without borders (RWS), is ellaborated using data from an extensive annual survey sent to professional reporters throughout the world. The survey contains questions about the type and ownership of media present in the country, freedom of speech, violence exerted against reporters, election campaigns, access of political parties to the media, etc.
  • Parliament > Seats held by women > Percentage: Percentage of seats held by women in country's national parliament or legislative houses.
  • Independence: For most countries, this entry gives the date that sovereignty was achieved and from which nation, empire, or trusteeship. For the other countries, the date given may not represent "independence" in the strict sense, but rather some significant nationhood event such as the traditional founding date or the date of unification, federation, confederation, establishment, fundamental change in the form of government, or state succession. Dependent areas include the notation "none" followed by the nature of their dependency status. "
  • Executive branch > Election results: Election results includes the percent of vote for each candidate in the last election (if any)
  • Judicial branch > Subordinate courts: This entry is derived from Government > Judicial branch, which includes three subfields. The highest court(s) subfield includes the name(s) of a country's highest level court(s), the number and titles of the judges, and the types of cases heard by the court, which commonly are based on civil, criminal, administrative, and constitutional law. A number of countries have separate constitutional courts. The judge selection and term of office subfield includes the organizations and associated officials responsible for nominating and appointing judges, and a brief description of the process. The selection process can be indicative of the independence of a country's court system from other branches of its government. Also included in this subfield are judges' tenures, which can range from a few years, to a specified retirement age, to lifelong appointments. The subordinate courts subfield lists the courts lower in the hierarchy of a country's court system. A few countries with federal-style governments, such as Brazil, Canada, and the US, in addition to their federal court, have separate state- or province-level court systems, though generally the two systems interact.
  • Basis of executive legitimacy: Basis of executive legitimacy.

    No date was available from the Wikipedia article, so we used the date of retrieval.

  • Country name > Local short form: This entry is derived from Government > Country name, which includes all forms of the country's name approved by the US Board on Geographic Names (Italy is used as an example): conventional long form (Italian Republic), conventional short form (Italy), local long form (Repubblica Italiana), local short form (Italia), former (Kingdom of Italy), as well as the abbreviation. Also see the Terminology note.
  • Democracy and rights > Freedom of the press: Compares countries by freedom of the press. The lower the score, the more free the press of that country is. The scores are taken from the Freedom of the Press Index, elaborated by Freedom House, self-defined as "an independent watchdog organization dedicated to the expansion of freedom around the world". The data used in the index come from an annual survey of media independence in 197 countries and territories, assessing the degree of print, broadcast, and internet freedom in each of them.
  • Proportion of seats held by women in national parliament: Women in parliaments are the percentage of parliamentary seats in a single or lower chamber occupied by women.
  • Red tape > Start-up procedures to register a business > Number: Start-up procedures to register a business (number). Start-up procedures are those required to start a business, including interactions to obtain necessary permits and licenses and to complete all inscriptions, verifications, and notifications to start operations. Data are for businesses with specific characteristics of ownership, size, and type of production.
  • Democracy > Civil and political liberties: Civil and political liberties
    Units: Index Ranging from 7 (High Levels of Liberties) to 1 (Low
    Units: This is the average of two indicators - civil liberties and political liberties.
  • National holiday: The primary national day of celebration - often independence day.
  • Capital > Geographic coordinates: This entry is derived from Government > Capital, which gives the name of the seat of government, its geographic coordinates, the time difference relative to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) and the time observed in Washington, DC, and, if applicable, information on daylight saving time (DST). Where appropriate, a special note has been added to highlight those countries that have multiple time zones.
  • Transnational Issues > Trafficking in persons > Current situation: This entry is derived from Government > Transnational Issues > Trafficking in persons, which trafficking in persons is modern-day slavery, involving victims who are forced, defrauded, or coerced into labor or sexual exploitation. The International Labor Organization (ILO), the UN agency charged with addressing labor standards, employment, and social protection issues, estimates that 12.3 million people worldwide are enslaved in forced labor, bonded labor, forced child labor, sexual servitude, and involuntary servitude at any given time. Human trafficking is a multi-dimensional threat, depriving people of their human rights and freedoms, risking global health, promoting social breakdown, inhibiting development by depriving countries of their human capital, and helping fuel the growth of organized crime. In 2000, the US Congress passed the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), reauthorized in 2003 and 2005, which provides tools for the US to combat trafficking in persons, both domestically and abroad. One of the law's key components is the creation of the US Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report, which assesses the government response (i.e., the current situation) in some 150 countries with a significant number of victims trafficked across their borders who are recruited, harbored, transported, provided, or obtained for forced labor or sexual exploitation.Countries in the annual report are rated in three tiers, based on government efforts to combat trafficking. The countries identified in this entry are those listed in the 2010 Trafficking in Persons Report as Tier 2 Watch List or Tier 3 based on the following tier rating definitions:
    Tier 2 Watch List countries do not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but are making significant efforts to do so, and meet one of the following criteria:
    1. they display high or significantly increasing number of victims,
    2. they have failed to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat trafficking in persons, or,
    3. they have committed to take action over the next year.

    Tier 3 countries neither satisfy the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking nor demonstrate a significant effort to do so. Countries in this tier are subject to potential non-humanitarian and non-trade sanctions.
  • Time required to start a business > Days: Time required to start a business is the number of calendar days needed to complete the procedures to legally operate a business. If a procedure can be speeded up at additional cost, the fastest procedure, independent of cost, is chosen.
  • Leaders > President: Government > Leaders > President
  • Judicial branch > Judge selection and term of office: This entry is derived from Government > Judicial branch, which includes three subfields. The highest court(s) subfield includes the name(s) of a country's highest level court(s), the number and titles of the judges, and the types of cases heard by the court, which commonly are based on civil, criminal, administrative, and constitutional law. A number of countries have separate constitutional courts. The judge selection and term of office subfield includes the organizations and associated officials responsible for nominating and appointing judges, and a brief description of the process. The selection process can be indicative of the independence of a country's court system from other branches of its government. Also included in this subfield are judges' tenures, which can range from a few years, to a specified retirement age, to lifelong appointments. The subordinate courts subfield lists the courts lower in the hierarchy of a country's court system. A few countries with federal-style governments, such as Brazil, Canada, and the US, in addition to their federal court, have separate state- or province-level court systems, though generally the two systems interact.
  • Democracy > Bertelsmann Transformation Index > Status Index 2006: The Status Index’s overall result represents the mean value of the scores for the dimensions “Political Transformationâ€? and “Economic Transformationâ€?. The mean value was calculated using the exact, unrounded values for both these dimensions, which, in turn, were derived from the ratings for the five political criteria (based on 18 indicators) and the seven economic criteria (based on 14 indicators). The table shows rounded scores for political and economic transformation as well as for the Status Index’s overall result. In some cases, therefore, the overall result differs slightly from the mean value.
  • Red tape > Time required to register property > Days: Time required to register property (days). Time required to register property is the number of calendar days needed for businesses to secure rights to property.
  • Politics: Country politics.
  • International law organization participation: This entry includes information on a country's acceptance of jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and of the International Criminal Court (ICCt); 55 countries have accepted ICJ jurisdiction with reservations and 11 have accepted ICJ jurisdiction without reservations; 114 countries have accepted ICCt jurisdiction. Appendix B: International Organizations and Groups explains the differing mandates of the ICJ and ICCt.
  • Parliament > Seats held by men: Number of seats held by men in country's naitonal parliament or legislative houses.
  • Country name > Local long form: This entry is derived from Government > Country name, which includes all forms of the country's name approved by the US Board on Geographic Names (Italy is used as an example): conventional long form (Italian Republic), conventional short form (Italy), local long form (Repubblica Italiana), local short form (Italia), former (Kingdom of Italy), as well as the abbreviation. Also see the Terminology note.
  • Red tape > Start-up procedures to register a business > Number per million: Start-up procedures to register a business (number). Start-up procedures are those required to start a business, including interactions to obtain necessary permits and licenses and to complete all inscriptions, verifications, and notifications to start operations. Data are for businesses with specific characteristics of ownership, size, and type of production. Figures expressed per million population for the same year.
  • Parliament > Seats held by women: Number of seats held by women in country's parliament or legislative houses.
  • Leaders > President > Summary: Government > Leaders > President > Summary
  • Democracy > Democratic institutions rating: Democratic institutions
    Units: Scale ranging from -10 (autocratic) to +10 (democratic)
  • UN membership date: Date of United Nations Membership
  • Red tape > Procedures to build a warehouse > Number: Procedures to build a warehouse (number). Number of procedures to build a warehouse is the number of interactions of a company's employees or managers with external parties, including government agency staff, public inspectors, notaries, land registry and cadastre staff, and technical experts apart from architects and engineers.
  • Capital city: The location of the seat of government.
  • Capital > Name: This entry is derived from Government > Capital, which gives the name of the seat of government, its geographic coordinates, the time difference relative to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) and the time observed in Washington, DC, and, if applicable, information on daylight saving time (DST). Where appropriate, a special note has been added to highlight those countries that have multiple time zones.
  • Red tape > Time required to get electricity > Days: Time required to get electricity (days). Time required to get electricity is the number of days to obtain a permanent electricity connection. The measure captures the median duration that the electricity utility and experts indicate is necessary in practice, rather than required by law, to complete a procedure.
  • Democracy and rights > Year women first voted at national level: Year women first voted at national level.
  • Legislature (parliament) > People per member: Number of people each member of the legislature represents on average. The number of members of the legislature is the sum of the members of all chambers of parliament, if applicable.
  • Capital > Time difference: This entry is derived from Government > Capital, which gives the name of the seat of government, its geographic coordinates, the time difference relative to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) and the time observed in Washington, DC, and, if applicable, information on daylight saving time (DST). Where appropriate, a special note has been added to highlight those countries that have multiple time zones.
  • Red tape > Time required to get electricity > Days per million: Time required to get electricity (days). Time required to get electricity is the number of days to obtain a permanent electricity connection. The measure captures the median duration that the electricity utility and experts indicate is necessary in practice, rather than required by law, to complete a procedure. Figures expressed per million population for the same year.
  • Legislature (parliament) > Lower house members: Members of the lower house of the legislature or of the only chamber in a unicameral system.
  • Foreign relations > Recognition of Israel notes: Notes and remarks about the date on which Israel was officially recognized as a state.
  • Red tape > Time required to enforce a contract > Days: Time required to enforce a contract (days). Time required to enforce a contract is the number of calendar days from the filing of the lawsuit in court until the final determination and, in appropriate cases, payment.
  • Red tape > Procedures to register property > Number: Procedures to register property (number). Number of procedures to register property is the number of procedures required for a businesses to secure rights to property.
  • Leaders > President > Profile: Government > Leaders > President > Profile
  • Role of head of state: Head of state.

    No date was available from the Wikipedia article, so we used the date of retrieval.

  • Start-up procedures to register a business > Number: Start-up procedures are those required to start a business, including interactions to obtain necessary permits and licenses and to complete all inscriptions, verifications, and notifications to start operations. Data are for businesses with specific characteristics of ownership, size, and type of production.
  • Parliament > Seats held by women per million people: Number of seats held by women in country's parliament or legislative houses. Figures expressed per million people for the same year.
  • Red tape > Time required to build a warehouse > Days: Time required to build a warehouse (days). Time required to build a warehouse is the number of calendar days needed to complete the required procedures for building a warehouse. If a procedure can be speeded up at additional cost, the fastest procedure, independent of cost, is chosen.
  • Red tape > Procedures to enforce a contract > Number per million: Procedures to enforce a contract (number). Number of procedures to enforce a contract are the number of independent actions, mandated by law or courts, that demand interaction between the parties of a contract or between them and the judge or court officer. Figures expressed per million population for the same year.
  • Red tape > Time required to start a business > Days per million: Time required to start a business (days). Time required to start a business is the number of calendar days needed to complete the procedures to legally operate a business. If a procedure can be speeded up at additional cost, the fastest procedure, independent of cost, is chosen. Figures expressed per million population for the same year.
  • Red tape > Time required to register property > Days per million: Time required to register property (days). Time required to register property is the number of calendar days needed for businesses to secure rights to property. Figures expressed per million population for the same year.
  • Red tape > Time required to build a warehouse > Days per million: Time required to build a warehouse (days). Time required to build a warehouse is the number of calendar days needed to complete the required procedures for building a warehouse. If a procedure can be speeded up at additional cost, the fastest procedure, independent of cost, is chosen. Figures expressed per million population for the same year.
  • Red tape > Procedures to build a warehouse > Number per million: Procedures to build a warehouse (number). Number of procedures to build a warehouse is the number of interactions of a company's employees or managers with external parties, including government agency staff, public inspectors, notaries, land registry and cadastre staff, and technical experts apart from architects and engineers. Figures expressed per million population for the same year.
  • Democracy > Bertelsmann Transformation Index>Political Transformation: Political Transformation The score for â€?Political Transformation“ is obtained by calculating the mean value of the ratings for the following criteria: · Stateness · Political Participation · Rule of Law · Stability of Democratic Institutions · Political and Social Integration
  • Foreign relations > Diplomatic representation in the US > Ambassador: Name of ambassador to the USA.
  • Time required to build a warehouse > Days: Time required to build a warehouse is the number of calendar days needed to complete the required procedures for building a warehouse. If a procedure can be speeded up at additional cost, the fastest procedure, independent of cost, is chosen.
  • Trademarks > Nonresidents > Per capita: Trademark applications filed are applications for registration of a trademark with a national or regional trademark office. Trademarks are distinctive signs that identify goods or services as those produced or provided by a specific person or enterprise. Trademarks protect owners of the mark by ensuring exclusive right to use it to identify goods or services or to authorize its use in return for payment. Per capita figures expressed per 1,000 population.
  • Trademarks > Nonresidents per 1000: Trademark applications filed are applications for registration of a trademark with a national or regional trademark office. Trademarks are distinctive signs that identify goods or services as those produced or provided by a specific person or enterprise. Trademarks protect owners of the mark by ensuring exclusive right to use it to identify goods or services or to authorize its use in return for payment. Figures expressed per thousand population for the same year.
  • Democracy > 2010-2011 Middle East and North Africa protests > Deaths: Death toll in protests that erupted in many African and Middle east countries inspired by the initial protests in Tunisia in December 2010.
  • Time required to enforce a contract > Days: Time required to enforce a contract is the number of calendar days from the filing of the lawsuit in court until the final determination and, in appropriate cases, payment.
  • Start-up procedures to register a business > Number > Per capita: Start-up procedures are those required to start a business, including interactions to obtain necessary permits and licenses and to complete all inscriptions, verifications, and notifications to start operations. Data are for businesses with specific characteristics of ownership, size, and type of production. Per capita figures expressed per 1 million population.
  • Procedures to register property > Number: Number of procedures to register property is the number of procedures required for a businesses to secure rights to property.
  • Procedures to build a warehouse > Number: Number of procedures to build a warehouse is the number of interactions of a company's employees or managers with external parties, including government agency staff, public inspectors, notaries, land registry and cadastre staff, and technical experts apart from architects and engineers.
  • Capital city > Time difference: This entry gives the name of the seat of government, its geographic coordinates, the time difference relative to Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) and the time observed in Washington, DC, and, if applicable, information on daylight saving time (DST). Where appropriate, a special note has been added to highlight those countries that have multiple time zones.
  • Parliament > Seats held by men per million people: Number of seats held by men in country's naitonal parliament or legislative houses. Figures expressed per million people for the same year.
  • Procedures to build a warehouse > Number per million: Number of procedures to build a warehouse is the number of interactions of a company's employees or managers with external parties, including government agency staff, public inspectors, notaries, land registry and cadastre staff, and technical experts apart from architects and engineers. Figures expressed per million population for the same year.
  • Transnational Issues > Trafficking in persons > Tier rating: This entry is derived from Government > Transnational Issues > Trafficking in persons, which trafficking in persons is modern-day slavery, involving victims who are forced, defrauded, or coerced into labor or sexual exploitation. The International Labor Organization (ILO), the UN agency charged with addressing labor standards, employment, and social protection issues, estimates that 12.3 million people worldwide are enslaved in forced labor, bonded labor, forced child labor, sexual servitude, and involuntary servitude at any given time. Human trafficking is a multi-dimensional threat, depriving people of their human rights and freedoms, risking global health, promoting social breakdown, inhibiting development by depriving countries of their human capital, and helping fuel the growth of organized crime. In 2000, the US Congress passed the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), reauthorized in 2003 and 2005, which provides tools for the US to combat trafficking in persons, both domestically and abroad. One of the law's key components is the creation of the US Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report, which assesses the government response (i.e., the current situation) in some 150 countries with a significant number of victims trafficked across their borders who are recruited, harbored, transported, provided, or obtained for forced labor or sexual exploitation.Countries in the annual report are rated in three tiers, based on government efforts to combat trafficking. The countries identified in this entry are those listed in the 2010 Trafficking in Persons Report as Tier 2 Watch List or Tier 3 based on the following tier rating definitions:
    Tier 2 Watch List countries do not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but are making significant efforts to do so, and meet one of the following criteria:
    1. they display high or significantly increasing number of victims,
    2. they have failed to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat trafficking in persons, or,
    3. they have committed to take action over the next year.

    Tier 3 countries neither satisfy the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking nor demonstrate a significant effort to do so. Countries in this tier are subject to potential non-humanitarian and non-trade sanctions.
  • Legislature (parliament) > Term of office for lower house members: Members of the lower (or sole) house.

    No date was available from the Wikipedia article, so we used the date of retrieval.

  • Foreign relations > Diplomatic relations with Palestine: Indicates whether or not each country has diplomatic relations with Palestine.
  • Procedures to enforce a contract > Number: Number of procedures to enforce a contract are the number of independent actions, mandated by law or courts, that demand interaction between the parties of a contract or between them and the judge or court officer.
  • Start-up procedures to register a business > Number per million: Start-up procedures are those required to start a business, including interactions to obtain necessary permits and licenses and to complete all inscriptions, verifications, and notifications to start operations. Data are for businesses with specific characteristics of ownership, size, and type of production. Figures expressed per million population for the same year.
  • Red tape > Time required to enforce a contract > Days per million: Time required to enforce a contract (days). Time required to enforce a contract is the number of calendar days from the filing of the lawsuit in court until the final determination and, in appropriate cases, payment. Figures expressed per million population for the same year.
  • Trademarks > Residents: Trademark applications filed are applications for registration of a trademark with a national or regional trademark office. Trademarks are distinctive signs that identify goods or services as those produced or provided by a specific person or enterprise. Trademarks protect owners of the mark by ensuring exclusive right to use it to identify goods or services or to authorize its use in return for payment.
  • Procedures to build a warehouse > Number > Per capita: Number of procedures to build a warehouse is the number of interactions of a company's employees or managers with external parties, including government agency staff, public inspectors, notaries, land registry and cadastre staff, and technical experts apart from architects and engineers. Per capita figures expressed per 1 million population.
  • Procedures to enforce a contract > Number per million: Number of procedures to enforce a contract are the number of independent actions, mandated by law or courts, that demand interaction between the parties of a contract or between them and the judge or court officer. Figures expressed per million population for the same year.
  • Trademarks > Nonresidents: Trademark applications filed are applications for registration of a trademark with a national or regional trademark office. Trademarks are distinctive signs that identify goods or services as those produced or provided by a specific person or enterprise. Trademarks protect owners of the mark by ensuring exclusive right to use it to identify goods or services or to authorize its use in return for payment.
  • Time required to register property > Days: Time required to register property is the number of calendar days needed for businesses to secure rights to property.
  • Key ministers > Interior: Minister of Interior, 2005
  • Red tape > Procedures to register property > Number per million: Procedures to register property (number). Number of procedures to register property is the number of procedures required for a businesses to secure rights to property. Figures expressed per million population for the same year.
  • Red tape > Procedures to enforce a contract > Number: Procedures to enforce a contract (number). Number of procedures to enforce a contract are the number of independent actions, mandated by law or courts, that demand interaction between the parties of a contract or between them and the judge or court officer.
  • Proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments > %: Proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments (%). Women in parliaments are the percentage of parliamentary seats in a single or lower chamber held by women.
  • Key ministers > Education: Minister of Education, 2005
  • Key ministers > Agriculture: Minister of Agriculture, 2005
  • Legislature (parliament) > Total members of parliament: Number of members of the legislature (sum of members of all chambers of parliament where applicable).
  • Foreign relations > Date of recognition of State of Palestine: Date on which Palestine was officially recognized as a state.
  • Time to prepare and pay taxes > Hours: Time to prepare and pay taxes is the time, in hours per year, it takes to prepare, file, and pay (or withhold) three major types of taxes: the corporate income tax, the value added or sales tax, and labor taxes, including payroll taxes and social security contributions.
  • Procedures to register property > Number > Per capita: Number of procedures to register property is the number of procedures required for a businesses to secure rights to property. Per capita figures expressed per 1 million population.
  • Procedures to enforce a contract > Number > Per capita: Number of procedures to enforce a contract are the number of independent actions, mandated by law or courts, that demand interaction between the parties of a contract or between them and the judge or court officer. Per capita figures expressed per 1 million population.
  • Republic establishment date: The date on which each country (or its precursor) changed its form of government to a republic. In a republic, the power resides in the country’s people, the government and legislature is elected and the country is ruled according to its laws.
  • Key ministers > Justice: Minister of Justice, 2005
  • Key ministers > Foreign affairs: Minister of Foreign affairs, 2005
  • Trademarks > Residents > Per capita: Trademark applications filed are applications for registration of a trademark with a national or regional trademark office. Trademarks are distinctive signs that identify goods or services as those produced or provided by a specific person or enterprise. Trademarks protect owners of the mark by ensuring exclusive right to use it to identify goods or services or to authorize its use in return for payment. Per capita figures expressed per 1,000 population.
  • Trademarks > Residents per million: Trademark applications filed are applications for registration of a trademark with a national or regional trademark office. Trademarks are distinctive signs that identify goods or services as those produced or provided by a specific person or enterprise. Trademarks protect owners of the mark by ensuring exclusive right to use it to identify goods or services or to authorize its use in return for payment. Figures expressed per million population for the same year.
  • Procedures to register property > Number per million: Number of procedures to register property is the number of procedures required for a businesses to secure rights to property. Figures expressed per million population for the same year.
STAT Iran Iraq HISTORY
Administrative divisions 31 provinces (ostanha, singular - ostan); Alborz, Ardabil, Azarbayjan-e Gharbi (West Azerbaijan), Azarbayjan-e Sharqi (East Azerbaijan), Bushehr, Chahar Mahal va Bakhtiari, Esfahan, Fars, Gilan, Golestan, Hamadan, Hormozgan, Ilam, Kerman, Kermanshah, Khorasan-e Jonubi (South Khorasan), Khorasan-e Razavi (Razavi Khorasan), Khorasan-e Shomali (North Khorasan), Khuzestan, Kohgiluyeh va Bowyer Ahmad, Kordestan, Lorestan, Markazi, Mazandaran, Qazvin, Qom, Semnan, Sistan va Baluchestan, Tehran, Yazd, Zanjan 18 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah (Arabic); parezgakan, singular - parezga (Kurdish)) and 1 region*; Al Anbar; Al Basrah; Al Muthanna; Al Qadisiyah (Ad Diwaniyah); An Najaf; Arbil (Erbil) (Arabic), Hewler (Kurdish); As Sulaymaniyah (Arabic), Slemani (Kurdish); Babil; Baghdad; Dahuk (Arabic), Dihok (Kurdish); Dhi Qar; Diyala; Karbala'; Kirkuk; Kurdistan Regional Government*; Maysan; Ninawa; Salah ad Din; Wasit
Capital city > Geographic coordinates 35 40 N, 51 25 E 33
Capital city > Name Tehran Baghdad
Constitution previous 1906; latest adopted 24 October 1979, effective 3 December 1979; amended 1989 several previous; latest adopted by referendum 15 October 2005
Executive branch > Cabinet Council of Ministers selected by the president with legislative approval; the Supreme Leader has some control over appointments to the more sensitive ministries The Council of Ministers consists of the prime minister and cabinet ministers the prime minister proposes; approved by an absolute majority vote by the Council of Representatives
Executive branch > Chief of state Supreme Leader Ali Hoseini-KHAMENEI (since 4 June 1989) President Jalal TALABANI (since 6 April 2005)
Executive branch > Head of government President Hasan Fereidun RUHANI (since 3 August 2013); First Vice President Mohammad Reza RAHIMI (since 13 September 2009) Prime Minister Nuri al-MALIKI (since 20 May 2006)
Government type theocratic republic parliamentary democracy
International organization participation CICA, CP, D-8, ECO, FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, SAARC (observer), SCO (observer), UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer) ABEDA, AFESD, AMF, CAEU, CICA, EITI (candidate country), FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)
Judicial branch The Supreme Court (Qeveh Qazaieh) and the four-member High Council of the Judiciary have a single head and overlapping responsibilities; together they supervise the enforcement of all laws and establish judicial and legal policies; lower courts include a special clerical court, a revolutionary court, and a special administrative court the Iraq Constitution calls for the federal judicial power to be comprised of the Higher Judicial Council, Federal Supreme Court, Federal Court of Cassation, Public Prosecution Department, Judiciary Oversight Commission and other federal courts that are regulated in accordance with the law
Legal system Shia Islamic law mixed legal system of civil and Islamic law
Legislative branch unicameral Islamic Consultative Assembly or Majles-e-Shura-ye-Eslami or Majles unicameral Council of Representatives (325 seats consisting of 317 members elected by an optional open-list, proportional representation system and 8 seats reserved for minorities; members serve four-year terms); note - Iraq's Constitution calls for the establishment of an upper house, the Federation Council
Political parties and leaders <strong>note: </strong>formal political parties are a relatively new phenomenon in Iran and most conservatives still prefer to work through political pressure groups rather than parties; often political parties or coalitions are formed prior to elections and disbanded soon thereafter; a loose pro-reform coalition called the 2nd Khordad Front, which includes political parties as well as less formal groups and organizations, achieved considerable success in elections for the sixth Majles in early 2000; groups in the coalition included the Islamic Iran Participation Front (IIPF), Executives of Construction Party (Kargozaran), Solidarity Party, Islamic Labor Party, Mardom Salari, Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution Organization (MIRO), and Militant Clerics Society (MCS; Ruhaniyun); the coalition participated in the seventh Majles elections in early 2004 but boycotted them after 80 incumbent reformists were disqualified; following his defeat in the 2005 presidential elections, former MCS Secretary General and sixth Majles Speaker Mehdi KARUBI formed the National Trust Party; a new conservative group, Islamic Iran Developers Coalition (Abadgaran), took a leading position in the new Majles after winning a majority of the seats in February 2004; ahead of the 2008 Majles elections, traditional and hardline conservatives attempted to close ranks under the United Front of Principlists and the Broad Popular Coalition of Principlists; several reformist groups, such as the MIRO and the IIPF, also came together as a reformist coalition in advance of the 2008 Majles elections; the IIPF has repeatedly complained that the overwhelming majority of its candidates were unfairly disqualified from the 2008 elections Badr Organization [Hadi al-AMIRI]<br />Da'wa Party (Islamic) [Prime Minister Nuri al-MALIKI]<br />Da'wa Tanzim [Hashim al-MUSAWI branch]<br />Da-wa Tanzim [Abd al-Karim al-ANZI branch]<br />Fadilah Party [Hasan al-SHAMMARI and Ammar TUAMA]<br />Goran (Change) List (also known as the Movement for Change) [Nushirwan MUSTAFA]<br />Iraqi Covenant Gathering [Ahmad Abd al-Ghafur al-SAMARRAI]<br />Iraqi Constitutional Party [Jawad al-BULANI]<br />Iraqi Front for National Dialogue [Deputy Prime Minister Salih al-MUTLAQ]<br />Iraqi Islamic Party or IIP [Usama al-TIKRITI]<br />Iraqi Justice and Reform Movement [Shaykh Abdallah al-YAWR]<br />Iraqi National Accord or INA [Ayad ALLAWI]<br />Iraqi National Alliance [Ibrahim al-JAFARI]<br />Iraqi National Congress or INC [Ahmad CHALABI]<br />Iraqi National Movement (see Iraqi National Accord)<br />Iraqi Unity Alliance [Nauaf Saud ZAID]<br />Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq or ISCI [Ammar al-HAKIM]<br />Kurdistan Alliance<br />Kurdistan Democratic Party or KDP [Kurdistan Regional Government President Masud BARZANI]<br />Kurdistan Islamic Group (also called Islamic Group of Kurdistan) [Ali BAPIR]<br />Kurdistan Islamic Union [ Mohammed FARAI]<br />Future National Gathering [Finance Minister Rafi al-ISSAWI]<br />National Iraqiyun Gathering [Usama al-NUJAYFI]<br />National Movement for Reform and Development [Jamal al-KARBULI]<br />National Reform Trend (part of the National Iraqi Alliance) [former Prime Minister Ibrahim al-JAFARI]<br />Patriotic Union of Kurdistan or PUK [President Jalal TALABANI]<br />Renewal List [Vice President Tariq al-HASHIMI]<br />Sadrist Trend [Muqtada al-SADR]<br />Sahawa al-Iraq [Ahmad al-RISHAWI]<br />State of Law Coalition [Nouri al-MALIKI]<br />Tawafuq Front (also known as the Iraqi Accord Front)<br />
Political pressure groups and leaders <strong>groups that generally support the Islamic Republic: </strong><br />Ansar-e Hizballah-<br />Followers of the Line of the Imam and the Leader<br />Islamic Coalition Party (Motalefeh)<br />Islamic Engineers Society<br />Tehran Militant Clergy Association (MCA; Ruhaniyat)<br /><br /><strong>active pro-reform student group:</strong><br />Office of Strengthening Unity (OSU)<br /><br /><strong>opposition groups:</strong><br />Freedom Movement of Iran<br />Green Path movement [Mehdi KARUBI, Mir-Hosein MUSAVI]<br />Marz-e Por Gohar<br />National Front<br />various ethnic and monarchist organizations<br /><br /><strong>armed political groups repressed by the government:</strong><br />Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (KDPI)<br />Jundallah<br />Komala<br />Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK or MKO)<br />People's Fedayeen<br />People's Free Life Party of Kurdistan (PJAK) Sunni militias<br />Shia militias, some associated with political parties
Suffrage 18 years of age; universal 18 years of age; universal
Country name > Conventional long form Islamic Republic of Iran Republic of Iraq
Executive branch > Elections supreme leader appointed for life by the Assembly of Experts; president elected by popular vote for a four-year term (eligible for a second term and additional nonconsecutive term); election last held on 14 June 2013 (next presidential election to be held in June 2017) president elected by Council of Representatives (parliament) to serve a four-year term (eligible for a second term); presidential election in parliament last held on 11 November 2010 (next to be held in 2014)
National symbol(s) lion golden eagle
Flag description three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and red; the national emblem (a stylized representation of the word Allah in the shape of a tulip, a symbol of martyrdom) in red is centered in the white band; ALLAH AKBAR (God is Great) in white Arabic script is repeated 11 times along the bottom edge of the green band and 11 times along the top edge of the red band; green is the color of Islam and also represents growth, white symbolizes honesty and peace, red stands for bravery and martyrdom three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black; the Takbir (Arabic expression meaning "God is great") in green Arabic script is centered in the white band; the band colors derive from the Arab Liberation flag and represent oppression (black), overcome through bloody struggle (red), to be replaced by a bright future (white); the Council of Representatives approved this flag in 2008 as a compromise temporary replacement for the Ba'athist Saddam-era flag
Red tape > Time required to start a business > Days 16
Ranked 90th.
29
Ranked 50th. 81% more than Iran

Country name > Conventional short form Iran Iraq
Constitutional form Republic Republic
Transnational Issues > Disputes > International Iran protests Afghanistan's limiting flow of dammed Helmand River tributaries during drought; Iraq's lack of a maritime boundary with Iran prompts jurisdiction disputes beyond the mouth of the Shatt al Arab in the Persian Gulf; Iran and UAE dispute Tunb Islands and Abu Musa Island, which are occupied by Iran; Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and Russia ratified Caspian seabed delimitation treaties based on equidistance, while Iran continues to insist on a one-fifth slice of the sea; Afghan and Iranian commissioners have discussed boundary monument densification and resurvey approximately two million Iraqis have fled the conflict in Iraq, with the majority taking refuge in Syria and Jordan, and lesser numbers to Egypt, Lebanon, Iran, and Turkey; Iraq's lack of a maritime boundary with Iran prompts jurisdiction disputes beyond the mouth of the Shatt al Arab in the Persian Gulf; Turkey has expressed concern over the autonomous status of Kurds in Iraq
National anthem <strong>name: </strong>"Soroud-e Melli-ye Jomhouri-ye Eslami-ye Iran" (National Anthem of the Islamic Republic of Iran)<br /><strong>lyrics/music:</strong> multiple authors/Hassan RIAHI <strong>name: </strong>"Mawtini" (My Homeland)<br /><strong>lyrics/music:</strong> Ibrahim TOUQAN/Mohammad FLAYFEL
Legislative branch > Elections last held on 2 March 2012 (first round); second round held on 4 May 2012; (next election to be held in 2016) last held on 7 March 2010 for an enlarged 325-seat parliament (next to be held in 2014)
Legislative branch > Election results percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - NA Council of Representatives - percent of vote by coalition - Iraqi National Movement 25.9%, State of Law coalition 25.8%, Iraqi National Alliance 19.4%, Kurdistan Alliance 15.3%, Goran (Change) List 4.4%, Tawafuq Front 2.7%, Iraqi Unity Alliance 2.9%, Kurdistan Islamic Union 2.3%, Kurdistan Islamic Group 1.4%; seats by coalition - NA
Democracy and rights > Press freedom index 73.4
Ranked 6th. 64% more than Iraq
44.67
Ranked 30th.
Parliament > Seats held by women > Percentage 3.1%
Ranked 175th.
25.23%
Ranked 47th. 8 times more than Iran

Independence 1 April 1979 (Islamic Republic of Iran proclaimed); notable earlier dates: ca. 625 B.C. (unification of Iran under the Medes); ca. A.D. 1501 (Iran reunified under the Safavids); 12 December 1925 (modern Iran established under the Pahlavis) 3 October 1932 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration)
Executive branch > Election results Hasan Fereidun RUHANI 50.7%, Mohammad Baqer QALIBAF 16.6%, Saeed JALILI 11.4%, Mohsen REZAI 10.6%, Ali Akber VELAYATI 6.2%, other 4.5% President Jalal TALABANI reelected on 11 November 2010; Council of Representatives vote count on second ballot - 195 votes; Nuri al-MALIKI reelected prime minister
Judicial branch > Subordinate courts Penal Courts I and II; Islamic Revolutionary Courts; Courts of Peace; Special Clerical Court (functions outside the judicial system and handles cases involving clerics); military courts Courts of Appeal (governorate level); courts of first instance; personal status, labor, criminal, juvenile, and religious courts
Basis of executive legitimacy Presidency independent of legislature; ministry subject to parliamentary confidence Ministry is subject to parliamentary confidence
Country name > Local short form Iran Al Iraq/Eraq
Democracy and rights > Freedom of the press 92
Ranked 6th. 33% more than Iraq
69
Ranked 40th.
Proportion of seats held by women in national parliament 4.1%
Ranked 158th.
25.5%
Ranked 30th. 6 times more than Iran

Red tape > Start-up procedures to register a business > Number 8
Ranked 58th.
10
Ranked 30th. 25% more than Iran

Democracy > Civil and political liberties 1
Ranked 119th.
0.0
Ranked 134th.
National holiday Republic Day, 1 April Republic Day, July 14 (1958); note - the Government of Iraq has yet to declare an official national holiday but still observes Republic Day
Capital > Geographic coordinates 35 42 N, 51 25 E 33 20 N, 44 24 E
Transnational Issues > Trafficking in persons > Current situation Iran is a presumed source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labor; Iranian and Afghan boys and girls are forced into prostitution domestically; Iranian women are subjected to sex trafficking in Iran, Pakistan, the Persian Gulf, and Europe; Azerbaijani women and children are also sexually exploited in Iran; Afghan migrants and refugees and Pakistani men and women are subjected to conditions of forced labor in Iran; NGO reports indicate that criminal organizations play a significant role in human trafficking in Iran Iraq is a source and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labor; Iraqi women and girls are subjected to conditions of trafficking within the country and in Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Iran, Yemen, and Saudi Arabia for forced prostitution and sexual exploitation within households; women from Iran, China, and the Philippines reportedly may be trafficked to or through Iraq for commercial sexual exploitation; Iraq is also a destination country for men and women who migrate from Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Nepal, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Pakistan, Georgia, Jordan, and Uganda and are subsequently subjected to involuntary servitude as construction workers, security guards, cleaners, handymen, and domestic workers
Time required to start a business > Days 47 days
Ranked 52nd.
77 days
Ranked 20th. 64% more than Iran

Leaders > President Hassan Rouhani Jalal Talabani
Democracy > Gender Parity Index in primary level enrolment 1.22
Ranked 1st. 48% more than Iraq
0.825
Ranked 137th.

Judicial branch > Judge selection and term of office Supreme Court president appointed by the head of the Supreme Judicial Council in consultation with judges of the Supreme Court; president appointed for a 5-year term; other judge appointments and tenure NA Federal Supreme Court and Court of Cassation judges appointed by the Higher Juridical Council, a 26-member independent committee of judicial officials; FSC members appointed for life ; Court of Cassation judges appointed for 1-year probationary period and upon satisfactory performance may be confirmed for permanent tenure until retirement at age 63
Democracy > Bertelsmann Transformation Index > Status Index 2006 3.98
Ranked 94th. 43% more than Iraq
2.79
Ranked 113th.
Red tape > Time required to register property > Days 36
Ranked 92nd.
51
Ranked 61st. 42% more than Iran

Politics Domestic politics have long been characterised by a seemingly unbridgeable gulf between conservatives and reformers Iraq became a battleground for forces vying for power after the US-led invasion of 2003, and an uneasy Shia-led government took over when US forces left in 2011
International law organization participation has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt
Parliament > Seats held by men 281
Ranked 31st. 16% more than Iraq
243
Ranked 38th.

Country name > Local long form Jomhuri-ye Eslami-ye Iran Jumhuriyat al-Iraq/Komar-i Eraq
Red tape > Start-up procedures to register a business > Number per million 0.105
Ranked 164th.
0.307
Ranked 133th. 3 times more than Iran

Parliament > Seats held by women 9
Ranked 142nd.
82
Ranked 24th. 9 times more than Iran

Leaders > President > Summary Hassan Rouhani is seen as a religious moderate President Talabani is a veteran of Kurdish and Iraqi national politics
Democracy > Democratic institutions rating 3
Ranked 87th.
-9
Ranked 136th.
UN membership date 24 Oct. 1945 21 Dec. 1945
Red tape > Procedures to build a warehouse > Number 16
Ranked 57th. 60% more than Iraq
10
Ranked 157th.

Capital city Tehran Baghdad
Capital > Name Tehran Baghdad
Red tape > Time required to get electricity > Days 140
Ranked 41st. 3 times more than Iraq
47
Ranked 158th.

Democracy and rights > Year women first voted at national level 1963 1980
Legislature (parliament) > People per member 255,848
Ranked 11th. 2 times more than Iraq
113,578
Ranked 25th.
Capital > Time difference UTC+3.5 (8.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
Red tape > Time required to get electricity > Days per million 1.83
Ranked 163th. 27% more than Iraq
1.44
Ranked 169th.

Legislature (parliament) > Lower house members 290
Ranked 39th. 5% more than Iraq
275
Ranked 40th.
Foreign relations > Recognition of Israel notes title=Visa information: Iran|url= http://www.timaticweb.com/cgi-bin/tim_website_client.cgi?SpecData=1&amp;VISA=&amp;page=visa&amp;NA=IL&amp;DE=IR&amp;PASSTYPES=PASS&amp;user=DL&amp;subuser=DELTAB2C|work=Timatic Web|publisher=Air Transport Association}}&lt;/ref&gt; and the holders of Iranian passports are "not entitled to travel to the occupied Palestine" Cite error: There are &lt;ref&gt; tags on this page, but the references will not show without a &#123;&#123;reflist&#125;&#125; template (see the help page ). Does not accept Israeli passports.
Red tape > Time required to enforce a contract > Days 505
Ranked 115th.
520
Ranked 105th. 3% more than Iran

Red tape > Procedures to register property > Number 9
Ranked 12th. 80% more than Iraq
5
Ranked 107th.

Leaders > President > Profile <p>Hassan Rouhani was elected as Iran&#039;s president in June 2013, winning just over 50% of the vote. </p> <p>The cleric, regarded as a religious moderate, was backed by the reformists, led by former President Mohammad Khatami. He was endorsed by former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, who was barred from running for office.</p> <p>Mr Rouhani says he wants to steer Iran towards &quot;moderation&quot;. One of his main election pledges was to try to ease international sanctions imposed on Iran over its nuclear programme, which he partially achieved in November with an agreement with the P5+1 group - US, Britain, Russia, China, France and Germany - in Geneva.The agreement sees Iran agree to curb uranium enrichment above five per cent and give UN inspectors better access in return for about $7bn in sanctions relief. Mr Rouhani was an Islamic activist in the run-up to Iran&#039;s 1979 revolution, and was later an influential figure during the Iran-Iraq war. He served as Iran&#039;s chief nuclear negotiator from 2003 to 2005, when he was removed by his ultra-conservative predecessor as president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.</p> <p>Mr Ahmadinejad was re-elected in June 2009 amid a bitterly contested poll that led to serious internal unrest. In the 2005 presidential election, Mr Ahmadinejad won a run-off vote to become Iran&#039;s first non-clerical president for 24 years. </p> <p>His harsh rhetoric - most notably over Israel and the Jews - often caused outrage abroad. He likened Israel to a &quot;cancer&quot; and demanded its replacement with a Palestinian state, while describing the Holocaust as a &quot;myth&quot;. He faced criticism at home over his handling of the economy, with hardship on the rise as a result of falling oil prices and the impact of sanctions.</p> <p>Jalal Talabani - a veteran leader of Iraq&#039;s minority Kurds - became Iraq&#039;s first elected president in more than 50 years in 2005. </p> <p>He was selected for a second term in 2006, and in November 2010 he was picked for another term by members of parliament under a power-sharing deal which followed months of negotiations after inconclusive parliamentary elections in March. </p> <p>His health went into sharp decline in the following two years, and he suffered a stroke in December 2012. He has been undergoing treatment in Germany since then, and is making progress.</p> <p>He became a key player in Iraqi national politics following the toppling of Saddam Hussein in the 2003 US-led invasion, with the Kurds forming a powerful voting bloc in the national parliament. </p> <p>Talabani, who is seen as being close to both the United States and Iran, won praise at the height of Iraq&#039;s sectarian war for building bridges between the country&#039;s divided factions. </p> <p>Born in 1933, Mr Talabani rose to a senior position in the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), but split from it in 1974 and helped to form the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan PUK the following year. The KDP and PUK have alternatively been bitter rivals and allies, currently administering the semi-autonomous Iraqi Kurdistan. </p>
Role of head of state Executive Ceremonial
Start-up procedures to register a business > Number 8
Ranked 103th.
11
Ranked 46th. 38% more than Iran

Parliament > Seats held by women per million people 0.113
Ranked 179th.
2.57
Ranked 107th. 23 times more than Iran

Foreign relations > Nepal > Date of Establishment December 14, 1964 October 30, 1968
Red tape > Time required to build a warehouse > Days 319.5
Ranked 13th. 2 times more than Iraq
139
Ranked 103th.

Red tape > Procedures to enforce a contract > Number per million 0.523
Ranked 168th.
1.57
Ranked 137th. 3 times more than Iran

Red tape > Time required to start a business > Days per million 0.209
Ranked 165th.
0.89
Ranked 123th. 4 times more than Iran

Red tape > Time required to register property > Days per million 0.471
Ranked 155th.
1.57
Ranked 128th. 3 times more than Iran

Red tape > Time required to build a warehouse > Days per million 4.19
Ranked 153th.
4.27
Ranked 151st. 2% more than Iran

Red tape > Procedures to build a warehouse > Number per million 0.209
Ranked 163th.
0.307
Ranked 156th. 47% more than Iran

Democracy > Bertelsmann Transformation Index>Political Transformation 3.75
Ranked 89th. 40% more than Iraq
2.68
Ranked 112th.
Foreign relations > Diplomatic representation in the US > Ambassador Faily, Lukman Lukman Faily
Time required to build a warehouse > Days 668 days
Ranked 1st. 3 times more than Iraq
216 days
Ranked 61st.

Trademarks > Nonresidents > Per capita 0.019 per 1,000 people
Ranked 64th.
0.031 per 1,000 people
Ranked 45th. 63% more than Iran

Trademarks > Nonresidents per 1000 0.0183
Ranked 65th.
0.0322
Ranked 46th. 76% more than Iran

Foreign relations > Croatia > Date of Establishment April 18, 1992 January 5, 2005
Democracy > 2010-2011 Middle East and North Africa protests > Deaths 3 35
National anthem > Name - "Mawtini" (My Homeland)
Time required to enforce a contract > Days 520 days
Ranked 73th. The same as Iraq
520 days
Ranked 72nd.

Start-up procedures to register a business > Number > Per capita 0.116 per 1 million people
Ranked 151st.
0.411 per 1 million people
Ranked 124th. 4 times more than Iran

Procedures to register property > Number 9
Ranked 17th. 80% more than Iraq
5
Ranked 105th.

Procedures to build a warehouse > Number 21
Ranked 37th. 50% more than Iraq
14
Ranked 116th.

Capital city > Time difference UTC+3.5 (8.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) 3
Parliament > Seats held by men per million people 3.52
Ranked 171st.
7.63
Ranked 133th. 2 times more than Iran

Procedures to build a warehouse > Number per million 0.296
Ranked 144th.
0.499
Ranked 135th. 69% more than Iran

Transnational Issues > Trafficking in persons > Tier rating Tier 3 - Iran does not comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, and is not making significant efforts to do so; the government does not share information on its anti-trafficking efforts, making it difficult to assess the country's human trafficking problem or the government's attempts to curb it; NGOs report that laws against human trafficking, forced labor, and debt bondage remain unenforced because of a lack of political will and widespread political corruption; there is no evidence that the government has a process to identify trafficking victims, refers victims to protective services, or has made efforts to prevent human trafficking Tier 2 Watch List - the government did not demonstrate evidence of significant efforts to punish traffickers or proactively identify victims; it has not enacted its draft anti-trafficking legislation and has reported no other efforts to prosecute or punish traffickers
Legislature (parliament) > Term of office for lower house members 4
Ranked 119th. The same as Iraq
4
Ranked 113th.
Foreign relations > Diplomatic relations with Palestine Yes Yes
Procedures to enforce a contract > Number 23
Ranked 139th.
65
Ranked 4th. 3 times more than Iran

Start-up procedures to register a business > Number per million 0.113
Ranked 152nd.
0.392
Ranked 124th. 3 times more than Iran

Red tape > Time required to enforce a contract > Days per million 6.61
Ranked 169th.
15.96
Ranked 153th. 2 times more than Iran

Trademarks > Residents 9,858
Ranked 16th. 21 times more than Iraq
474
Ranked 38th.

Procedures to build a warehouse > Number > Per capita 0.304 per 1 million people
Ranked 145th.
0.523 per 1 million people
Ranked 135th. 72% more than Iran

Procedures to enforce a contract > Number per million 0.324
Ranked 158th.
2.32
Ranked 106th. 7 times more than Iran

Trademarks > Nonresidents 1,224
Ranked 40th. 2 times more than Iraq
514
Ranked 42nd.

Time required to register property > Days 36 days
Ranked 107th. 5 times more than Iraq
8 days
Ranked 154th.

Key ministers > Interior Abdolvahed Mousavi-Lari Bayan Baqir Solagh
Red tape > Procedures to register property > Number per million 0.118
Ranked 157th.
0.153
Ranked 151st. 30% more than Iran

Red tape > Procedures to enforce a contract > Number 40
Ranked 65th.
51
Ranked 4th. 27% more than Iran

National anthem > Note adopted 1990 adopted 2004; following the ousting of Saddam HUSSEIN, Iraq adopted "Mawtini," a popular folk song throughout the Arab world, which also serves as an unofficial anthem of the Palestinian people
Proportion of seats held by women in national parliaments > % 3.1%
Ranked 175th.
25.2%
Ranked 53th. 8 times more than Iran

Key ministers > Education Morteza Haji Abdel Falah Hassan
Key ministers > Agriculture Mahmoud Hojjati Ali al-Bahadili
Date of transition to republican system of government > Republic since September 27, 1962 October 8, 1920
Legislature (parliament) > Total members of parliament 290
Ranked 41st. 5% more than Iraq
275
Ranked 43th.
Foreign relations > Date of recognition of State of Palestine 4 February 1989 15 November 1988
Time to prepare and pay taxes > Hours 292 hours
Ranked 63th.
312 hours
Ranked 57th. 7% more than Iran

Procedures to register property > Number > Per capita 0.13 per 1 million people
Ranked 142nd.
0.187 per 1 million people
Ranked 129th. 44% more than Iran

Procedures to enforce a contract > Number > Per capita 0.333 per 1 million people
Ranked 159th.
2.43 per 1 million people
Ranked 103th. 7 times more than Iran

Republic establishment date February 11, 1979 July 14, 1958
Key ministers > Justice Ismail Shoushtari Abdel Hussein Shandal
Key ministers > Foreign affairs <a href=/encyclopedia/Kamal-Ahmed>Kamal</a> Kharrazi Hoshyar Zebari
Trademarks > Residents > Per capita 0.153 per 1,000 people
Ranked 51st. 5 times more than Iraq
0.028 per 1,000 people
Ranked 43th.

Trademarks > Residents per million 147.45
Ranked 53th. 5 times more than Iraq
29.73
Ranked 44th.

Procedures to register property > Number per million 0.127
Ranked 142nd.
0.178
Ranked 131st. 41% more than Iran

SOURCES: CIA World Factbooks 18 December 2003 to 28 March 2011; CIA World Factbooks 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013; World Bank, Doing Business project (http://www.doingbusiness.org/).; Wikipedia: List of countries by system of government (Alphabetical list of countries); All CIA World Factbooks 18 December 2003 to 18 December 2008; Wikipedia: Censorship by country (Censorship by country) ("Press Freedom Index 2013" , Reporters Without Borders, 30 January 2013); United Nations Statistics Division; "2012 Freedom of the Press Data" , Freedom House, 1 May 2012; World Development Indicators database; Freedom House, Freedom in the World 2000-2001, New York: Freedom House, 2001; British Broadcasting Corporation 2014; Source: Millennium Development Goals Database | United Nations Statistics Division; Bertelsmann Transformation Index online, 2006; United Nations Statistics Division. Source tables; World Bank, Doing Business project (http://www.doingbusiness.org/). Population figures from World Bank: (1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects, (2) United Nations Statistical Division. Population and Vital Statistics Report (various years), (3) Census reports and other statistical publications from national statistical offices, (4) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, (5) Secretariat of the Pacific Community: Statistics and Demography Programme, and (6) U.S. Census Bureau: International Database.; United Nations Statistics Division. Source tables; Polity IV Project, University of Maryland, at Polity IV Project; United Nations World Statistics Pocketbook and Statistical Yearbook; Wikipedia: Women's suffrage (Summary); Wikipedia: List of legislatures by number of members; Wikipedia: International recognition of Israel (UN member states); United Nations Statistics Division. Source tables. Population figures from World Bank: (1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects, (2) United Nations Statistical Division. Population and Vital Statistics Report (various years), (3) Census reports and other statistical publications from national statistical offices, (4) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, (5) Secretariat of the Pacific Community: Statistics and Demography Programme, and (6) U.S. Census Bureau: International Database.; Wikipedia: Foreign relations of Nepal; http://www.bertelsmann-transformation-index.de/fileadmin/pdf/BTI_2006_Ranking_GB.pdf; Wikipedia: List of ambassadors to the United States; World Development Indicators database. Population figures from World Bank: (1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects, (2) United Nations Statistical Division. Population and Vital Statistics Report (various years), (3) Census reports and other statistical publications from national statistical offices, (4) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, (5) Secretariat of the Pacific Community: Statistics and Demography Programme, and (6) U.S. Census Bureau: International Database.; Wikipedia: Foreign relations of Croatia; Various sources compiled into Wikipedia's: 2010-2011 Middle East and North Africa protests; United Nations Statistics Division. Source tables. Population figures from World Bank: (1) United Nations Population Division. World Population Prospects, (2) United Nations Statistical Division. Population and Vital Statistics Report (various years), (3) Census reports and other statistical publications from national statistical offices, (4) Eurostat: Demographic Statistics, (5) Secretariat of the Pacific Community: Statistics and Demography Programme, and (6) U.S. Census Bureau: International Database.; Wikipedia: Term of office (Terms of office by country); Wikipedia: International recognition of the State of Palestine (Diplomatic recognition) (Either with the Palestinian National Authority, the Palestine Liberation Organization, or the State of Palestine. The institution is specified where known.); Economist Intelligence Unit; Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) (www.ipu.org); Wikipedia: List of countries by date of transition to republican system of government; Wikipedia: International recognition of the State of Palestine (Diplomatic recognition); Wikipedia: List of countries by date of transition to republican system of government (List)

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