Kuwait vs. Iraq
Geography
| Kuwait | Iraq | |
|---|---|---|
| Location | Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iraq and Saudi Arabia | Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iran and Kuwait |
| Geographic coordinates | 29 30 N, 45 45 E | 33 00 N, 44 00 E |
| Map references | Middle East | Middle East |
| Area | total: 17,818 sq km land: 17,818 sq km water: 0 sq km | total: 438,317 sq km land: 437,367 sq km water: 950 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than New Jersey | slightly more than three times the size of New York state |
| Land boundaries | total: 475 km border countries (2): Iraq 254 km, Saudi Arabia 221 km | total: 3,809 km border countries (6): Iran 1599 km, Jordan 179 km, Kuwait 254 km, Saudi Arabia 811 km, Syria 599 km, Turkey 367 km |
| Coastline | 499 km | 58 km |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm | territorial sea: 12 nm continental shelf: not specified |
| Climate | dry desert; intensely hot summers; short, cool winters | mostly desert; mild to cool winters with dry, hot, cloudless summers; northern mountainous regions along Iranian and Turkish borders experience cold winters with occasionally heavy snows that melt in early spring, sometimes causing extensive flooding in central and southern Iraq |
| Terrain | flat to slightly undulating desert plain | mostly broad plains; reedy marshes along Iranian border in south with large flooded areas; mountains along borders with Iran and Turkey |
| Elevation extremes | highest point: 3.6 km W. of Al-Salmi Border Post 300 m lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m mean elevation: 108 m | highest point: Cheekha Dar (Kurdish for "Black Tent") 3,611 m lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m mean elevation: 312 m |
| Natural resources | petroleum, fish, shrimp, natural gas | petroleum, natural gas, phosphates, sulfur |
| Land use | agricultural land: 8.5% (2018 est.) arable land: 0.6% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 0.3% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 7.6% (2018 est.) forest: 0.4% (2018 est.) other: 91.1% (2018 est.) | agricultural land: 18.1% (2018 est.) arable land: 8.4% (2018 est.) permanent crops: 0.5% (2018 est.) permanent pasture: 9.2% (2018 est.) forest: 1.9% (2018 est.) other: 80% (2018 est.) |
| Irrigated land | 105 sq km (2012) | 35,250 sq km (2012) |
| Natural hazards | sudden cloudbursts are common from October to April and bring heavy rain, which can damage roads and houses; sandstorms and dust storms occur throughout the year but are most common between March and August | dust storms; sandstorms; floods |
| Environment - current issues | limited natural freshwater resources; some of world's largest and most sophisticated desalination facilities provide much of the water; air and water pollution; desertification; loss of biodiversity | government water control projects drained most of the inhabited marsh areas east of An Nasiriyah by drying up or diverting the feeder streams and rivers; a once sizable population of Marsh Arabs, who inhabited these areas for thousands of years, has been displaced; furthermore, the destruction of the natural habitat poses serious threats to the area's wildlife populations; inadequate supplies of potable water; soil degradation (salination) and erosion; desertification; military and industrial infrastructure has released heavy metals and other hazardous substances into the air, soil, and groundwater; major sources of environmental damage are effluents from oil refineries, factory and sewage discharges into rivers, fertilizer and chemical contamination of the soil, and industrial air pollution in urban areas |
| Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Marine Dumping-London Convention | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Environmental Modification |
| Geography - note | strategic location at head of Persian Gulf | strategic location on Shatt al Arab waterway and at the head of the Persian Gulf |
| Total renewable water resources | 20 million cubic meters (2017 est.) | 89.86 billion cubic meters (2017 est.) |
| Population distribution | densest settlement is along the Persian Gulf, particularly in Kuwait City and on Bubiyan Island; significant population threads extend south and west along highways that radiate from the capital, particularly in the southern half of the country | population is concentrated in the north, center, and eastern parts of the country, with many of the larger urban agglomerations found along extensive parts of the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers; much of the western and southern areas are either lightly populated or uninhabited |
Source: CIA Factbook
