Iraq 

Iraq country policy

Policy established 01 July 2011

• Case-by-case assessment
• The country ceiling is 1000 mln euro
• Early warning signal 200 mln euro
• - of which was used as at 2012-02-29 85 mln euro

Country class: 7

Uitsluitend contante zaken/cash business only

Centrale overheidsgarantie (onvoorwaardelijk)/guarantee central government

Iraq country facts

Atradius Dutch State Business Economic Research

Country Report last updated :  6th February 2012

Country :  IRAQ  

Political Situation
Unstable: Ongoing Violence

Head of state
President Jalal Talabani.

Form of government
Broad coalition of the Shia Iraqi National Alliance, the Kurdistan Alliance and the Iraqi National Movement headed by p.m. Nouri al-Maliki.

Internal Economic Situation
High Gdp-Growth Based On Oil And Gas

General situation
Oil-dominated economy: 2/3 GDP, 90% public sector revenues. Because of firm oil prices and increasing domestic output, high real GDP-growth in 2011 and probably 2012  (appr. 8%). Other sectors are lagging, especially agriculture (lack of rain). Even the power sector is struggling with its performance despite abundant energy. Moderate level of inflation: 5.5% in 2011/’12. Very high corruption (175 of 178 on the TI Index) and weak central governance. Iraq is still mainly a cash economy with a small, weak banking sector and very high level non performing loans. 
 
External Economic Situation
Good But Still Arrears

Main sources of foreign exchange
Crude oil and gas (98%).

Main foreign markets
USA (25%), India (14%), China (12%), Korea (9%).

Main expenses of foreign exchange
Capital goods, consumer goods.

Balance of payments 
Increased oil output and higher prices enhanced Iraq’s trade and current account balance in 2011 as reflected by surpluses of >10% GDP. The Dinar is inoffically pegged to the US$.