Violence still big concern

Baghdad: The Iraq US soldiers are leaving behind as they prepare to withdraw fully by end-2011 is far from stable or secure. It does not even have a new government five months after a national election.

Violence

- Between 200 and 300 Iraqi civilians are killed in bomb attacks and assassinations every month. This is down from 3,000 a month at the height of the sectarian violence. A total of 4,068 civilians were killed in 2009 through acts of violence and 15,935 wounded, according to the Iraqi Human Rights Ministry.

Refugees

- At least 1.5 million Iraqis have been driven from their homes by sectarian violence to other parts of Iraq. Iraqi refugees registered with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees in neighbouring countries number 207,000, but the total living abroad is believed to be much higher.

Crime and Justice

- At the end of 2009, about 1,200 prisoners were believed to be on death row. There are no reliable statistics but dozens of people are thought to be kidnapped for ransom every month.

Economy

- Unemployment officially stands at 18 per cent but experts believe it is closer to 30 per cent. The lack of jobs in particular affects young Iraqis. More than 95 per cent of government revenues come from oil exports. Iraq has signed deals with global oil firms to develop its oil reserves.

Services

n The vast majority of Iraqi households get just a few hours of public electricity per day. Iraq's available power capacity is about 9,000 MW. Demand is estimated at 14,000 MW during the summer when temperatures frequently exceed 50C. According to government statistics cited by the International Committee of the Red Cross, one in four of Iraq's 30 million people do not have access to safe drinking water.

Poverty

- There are seven million Iraqis living below the poverty line. Severe malnutrition for some is kept at bay by the existence of a massive public food ration programme.

Corruption

- Transparency International's 2009 corruption perceptions index ranked Iraq 176th out of 180 countries for corruption.

Society

- Slightly more than 300,000 Iraqi youths aged 10-18 have never attended school. A recent UN survey found 65 per cent of Iraqi youth do not know how to use a computer.

Hospitals

- Iraq suffers from an acute shortage of hospitals. It has 35,000 hospital beds but needs 95,000, according to the Health Ministry.

Mines

- The UNDP and Unicef said in a report published last year Iraq is one of the most heavily mine-contaminated countries in the world.

Widows and Orphans

- There is no official data after decades of war, but Iraqi officials estimate the number of widows at no less than one million, with three million orphans.

— Sources: UN, Central Bank of Iraq, Ministry of Health, US Forces-Iraq, the Central Organisation of Statistics and Information Technology (COSIT), Iraqi officials, Reuters, ICRC