Ecosystems

Although Iraq is mainly dry throughout the year, agriculture still plays a major role in the development of the economy. As of 2014, approximately 12% of the total land area is under agriculture. The fertile alluvial plains along the banks of Euphrates and Tigris are important agricultural regions

Sulfur deposits are mainly found in the Al Mishraq mines located in the southeast of the city of Mosul in the Ninawa Governorate. The deposits are mainly mined by the Mishraq Sulfur State Corporation. The country has an estimated 600 million tons of native sulfur with the MSSC expecting to produce 0

The Middle East is a well-known phosphate region. However, phosphate reserves in Iraq are not as popular as other reserves in the same region. The phosphate deposit in the country is part of the Tethyan Phosphate Belt and are hosted by the Eocene, Paleocene, and Late Cretaceous sedimentary rocks

The Middle East accounts for about 43% of the world’s natural gas, with an estimated 2,835 trillion cubic feet (tcf) of natural gas reserves. However, many researchers believe that the prospect of natural gas reserves in the country could be as high as double the current estimates. Natural gas

Iraq has some of the largest oil reserves in the world. It has over 143 billion barrels of proven reserves. As of 2012, Iraq produces 3.4 million barrels of oil per day from the 2,000 oil well already drilled. In the 1970s, Iraq produced slightly more barrels per day, but the sanctions imposed