Iraq's Coastal Status and Its Coastline Condition
Iraq can be considered a coastal country because its southeastern region has a small stretch of coastline along the Persian Gulf.
Despite this, the coastline is only 60 kilometers long, which is quite short for a country with an area of 438,000 square kilometers.
Iraq has a 60-kilometer stretch of coastline along the Persian Gulf in the southeast, with a territorial sea extending 12 kilometers outward from the shore, giving it a maritime area of approximately 720 square kilometers.
Compared to other countries, this is very limited, and it's even smaller than some of China's large lakes.
On this short stretch of coastline, Iraq has its largest port, the port of Basra.
The port of Basra is actually some distance from the coastline, located downstream in a river channel.
The deep-water port of Umm Qasr is closer to the Persian Gulf coast.
Iraq plans to build a new port at Al-Faw on the coast, aiming to create a comprehensive port to replace Basra's role in cargo transportation and oil exports.
Iraq's limited coastline is largely due to the presence of neighboring Kuwait.
Kuwait blocks Iraq’s access to the sea, leaving Iraq with such a short stretch of coastline.
Kuwait is located on the northern coast of the Persian Gulf, with an area of 17,800 square kilometers, much smaller than Iraq, but it has 290 kilometers of coastline, which is 4.8 times that of Iraq.
Kuwait also owns nine islands, including Bubiyan Island and Failaka Island, and important ports such as Shuwaikh Port and Shuaiba Port.
This gives Kuwait a significant advantage in coastal and port resources compared to Iraq.
Despite not having as much coastal resource as Kuwait, Iraq has a clear advantage in water resources.
Kuwait lacks rivers, lakes, and underground freshwater resources, making it a water-scarce country.
In contrast, Iraq has the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, which converge to form the Shatt al-Arab River and eventually flow into the Persian Gulf.
These rivers not only provide Iraq with abundant freshwater resources but also create many lakes and marshes.
Iraq's river system also offers over 5,000 kilometers of inland waterways, including the Tigris River, Euphrates River, Shatt al-Arab River, and some artificial canals.
These inland waterways provide Iraq with an important transportation network, enhancing its capabilities in inland transport and logistics.
In the long run, although Kuwait has an advantage in coastline, its oil resources will eventually be depleted.
At that time, whether Kuwait can maintain its advantage in coastline remains uncertain.
Meanwhile, Iraq, despite its short coastline, can somewhat offset this disadvantage with its rich inland waterways and water resources.
In summary, although Iraq appears deficient in terms of coastline length, its advantages in inland water resources and waterways make it not entirely disadvantaged compared to Kuwait.
This resource distribution may bring different strategic opportunities in the future development of the country.
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