Iraqis

Iraqis are the <a href="/facts/Iraqi_nationality_law/mVhkGhUK">citizens and nationals</a> of the <a href="/facts/Iraq/pqYSFJw8">Republic of Iraq</a>. The majority of Iraqis are <a href="/facts/Arabs/E77duPsg">Arabs</a>, with <a href="/facts/Kurds_in_Iraq/EvMVDtEm">Kurds</a> accounting for the largest ethnic minority, followed by <a href="/facts/Iraqi_Turkmen/Pb7tW5uB">Turkmen</a>. Other ethnic groups from the country include <a href="/facts/Yazidis/EKqxwqte">Yazidis</a>, <a href="/facts/Assyrian_people/qfHqDhDc">Assyrians</a>, <a href="/facts/Mandaeans/lAVGX7tJ">Mandaeans</a>, <a href="/facts/Iraqi_Armenians/Y9GB8oDG">Armenians</a>, and <a href="/facts/Iranians_in_Iraq/xdhYndkY">Persians</a>. Approximately 95% of Iraqis adhere to <a href="/facts/Islam/zDLbL45C">Islam</a>, with nearly 64% of this figure consisting of <a href="/facts/Shia_Islam_in_Iraq/sSMPyM0b">Shia Muslims</a> and the remainder consisting of <a href="/facts/Sunni_Islam_in_Iraq/juLsIPsH">Sunni Muslims</a>. The largest minority religion is <a href="/facts/Christianity_in_Iraq/vhtpz3Nv">Christianity</a> at 1%, while other religions collectively represent as much as 4% of the Iraqi populace. 
The territory of modern-day Iraq largely overlaps with what was historically known as <a href="/facts/Mesopotamia/f0mmbhTK">Mesopotamia</a>, which was <a href="/facts/Cradle_of_civilization/slYINUco">home to many noteworthy civilizations</a>, such as <a href="/facts/Sumer/bxRz093q">Sumer</a>, <a href="/facts/Akkadian_Empire/kWx9zFF6">Akkad</a>, <a href="/facts/Assyria/n9pMP48S">Assyria</a>, and <a href="/facts/Babylonia/J4jjdUua">Babylonia</a>. The fall of these native Mesopotamian civilizations, particularly <a href="/facts/Fall_of_Babylon/AWFe7En0">Babylon in the 6th century BC</a>, marked the beginning of centuries-long foreign conquests and rule. Recent studies indicate that the various Iraqi ethnic groups have significant <a href="/facts/Genetic_history_of_the_Middle_East/bWwqCUlB">genetic similarities</a>, likely due to the long history of intermingling and assimilation between foreign and indigenous populations in the region. 
<a href="/facts/Arabic/A1e66hVV">Arabic</a> and <a href="/facts/Kurdish_language/6LSckYAz">Kurdish</a> are Iraq's two official languages; <a href="/facts/Mesopotamian_Arabic/bQUfp1ny">Mesopotamian Arabic</a> is the Iraqi <a href="/facts/Varieties_of_Arabic/YWBtGBoP">Arabic variety</a>, having emerged in the aftermath of the <a href="/facts/Arab_conquest_of_Mesopotamia/o3y3Wxhk">Arab conquest of Mesopotamia</a> in the 7th century. The process of <a href="/facts/Arabization/buoJF4m2">Arabization</a> and <a href="/facts/Islamization/0YA0kCSG">Islamization</a> that began during the medieval era resulted in the decline of various <a href="/facts/Eastern_Aramaic_languages/f2WaRf25">Eastern Aramaic languages</a> and local religions, most notably during the <a href="/facts/Abbasid_Caliphate/mPeLAbXt">Abbasid Caliphate</a>, when the city of <a href="/facts/Baghdad/RbtLzzHe">Baghdad</a> became the capital of the <a href="/facts/Muslim_world/n9vVGogr">Muslim world</a> and the centre of the <a href="/facts/Islamic_Golden_Age/yAeG2rBA">Islamic Golden Age</a>. Mesopotamian Arabic is considered to be the most Aramaic-influenced dialect of Arabic, as Aramaic originated in Mesopotamia and spread throughout the <a href="/facts/Fertile_Crescent/KLHIjwQe">Fertile Crescent</a> during the <a href="/facts/Neo-Assyrian_Empire/GzQ9HoXb">Neo-Assyrian period</a>, eventually becoming the lingua franca of the entire region prior to the <a href="/facts/Early_Muslim_conquests/HyPkljcc">early Muslim conquests</a>. Other languages spoken within the Iraqi community include <a href="/facts/Iraqi_Turkmen_language/Pb7tW5uB">Turkmen Turkic</a>, <a href="/facts/Neo-Aramaic_languages/tTUddtXu">Neo-Aramaic</a>, and <a href="/facts/Mandaic_language/AkXr6TYj">Mandaic</a>.

Iraqis open-in-new

Iraqis