Kurdistan Region

Early struggle for independence (1923–1975) Before Iraq became an independent state in 1923, the Iraqi Kurds had already begun their independence struggle from the British Mandatory Iraq with the Mahmud Barzanji revolts, which were subsequently crushed by the United Kingdom after a bombing campaign against Kurdish civilians by the Royal Air Force. Nonetheless, the Kurdish struggle persisted and the Barzani tribe had by the early 1920s gained momentum for the Kurdish nationalist cause and would become pivotal in the Kurdish-Iraqi wars throughout the 20th century. In 1943, the Barzani chief Mustafa Barzani began raiding Iraqi police stations in Kurdistan, which led the Baghdad government to deploy 30,000 troops to the region. The Iraqi Kurdish leadership fled to Iran in 1945. There, Mustafa Barzani founded the Kurdistan Democratic Party, and Iran and the Soviet Union began assisting the Kurdish rebels with arms. Israel began assisting the Kurdish rebels in the early 1960s. From 1961 to 1970, the Kurds fought the Iraqi government in the First Iraqi–Kurdish War, which resulted in the Iraqi–Kurdish Autonomy Agreement. But simultaneously with its promise of Kurdish autonomy, the Iraqi government began ethnic cleansing Kurdish-populated areas, to reduce the size of the autonomous entity which a census would determine. The Kurdish insurgency became entangled in the Iran–Iraq War from 1980 onwards. During the first years of the war in the early 1980s, the Iraqi government tried to accommodate the Kurds in order to focus on the war against Iran. In 1983, the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan agreed to cooperate with Baghdad, but the Kurdistan Democratic Party remained opposed. In 1983, Saddam Hussein signed an autonomy agreement with Jalal Talabani of the PUK, though Saddam later reneged on the agreement. By 1985, the PUK and KDP had joined forces, and Iraqi Kurdistan saw widespread guerrilla warfare up to the end of the war. On 15 March 1988, PUK forces captured the town of Halabja near the Iranian border and inflicted heavy losses among Iraqi soldiers. The Iraqis retaliated the following day by chemically bombing the town, killing about 5,000 civilians. This led the Americans and the Europeans to implement the Iraqi no-fly zones in March 1991 to protect the Kurds, thereby facilitating Kurdish autonomy amid the vacuum and the first Kurdish elections were consequently held in May 1992, wherein the Kurdistan Democratic Party secured 45.3% of the vote and a majority of seats. Nascent autonomy, war and political turmoil (1992–2009) The two parties agreed to form the first Kurdish cabinet led by PUK politician Fuad Masum as Prime Minister in July 1992 and the main focus of the new cabinet was to mitigate the effect of the American-led sanctions on Iraq and to prevent internal Kurdish skirmishes. Nonetheless, the cabinet broke down due to plagues of embattlement and technocracy which disenfranchised the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan and a new more partisan cabinet was formed and led by PUK politician Kosrat Rasul Ali in April 1993. The KDP-PUK relations quickly deteriorated and the first clashes in the civil war took place in May 1994 when PUK captured the towns of Shaqlawa and Chamchamal from KDP, which in turn pushed PUK out of Salahaddin (near Erbil). In September 1998, the United States mediated a ceasefire and the two warring parties signed the Washington Agreement deal, where in it was stipulated that the two parties would agree on revenue-sharing, power-sharing and security arrangements. The anarchy in Kurdistan during the war created an opportunity for the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which created bases in the northern mountainous areas of the Kurdistan Region, which still operates in the Region in the 2010s with frequent calls for withdrawal. In advance of the Iraq war in 2003, the two parties united in the negotiations with the Arab opposition to Saddam Hussein and succeeded in harvesting political, economic, and security gains and the Arab opposition agreed to recognize Kurdish autonomy in the case that Saddam Hussein was removed from power. America and Kurdistan also jointly rooted out the Islamist Ansar al-Islam group in Halabja area as Kurdistan hosted thousands of soldiers. The Kurdish autonomy which had existed since 1992 was formally recognized by the new Iraqi government in 2005 in the new Iraqi constitution and the KDP- and PUK-administered areas reunified in 2006, making the Kurdistan Region into one single administration. This reunification prompted Kurdish leaders and the Kurdish President Masoud Barzani to focus on bringing the Kurdish areas outside of the Kurdistan Region into the region and building healthy institutions. In the aftermath of the elections, Gorran failed at its attempts to persuade the Kurdistan Islamic Group and Kurdistan Islamic Union to leave the Kurdistan List, provoking both KDP and PUK. Gorran also attempted to create goodwill with the Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, which only aggravated the situation in Kurdistan, and the KDP and PUK chose to boycott Gorran from politics. Due to the Iraqi withdrawal, Kurdish Peshmerga took control of most disputed areas, including Kirkuk, Khanaqin, Jalawla, Bashiqa, Sinjar and Makhmur. The strategically important Mosul Dam was also captured by Kurdish forces. As of 2019, the Kurdistan Region and the Federal Government in Baghdad are negotiating over joint control for the disputed areas as their relations have become more cordial in the aftermath of the Islamic State's defeat. == Geography ==

flows The Kurdistan region is located in northern Iraq. It borders Iran in the east, Turkey in the north, and Syria in the west. The region encompasses most of Iraqi Kurdistan, which is the southern part of the greater geographical region of Kurdistan. The region lies between latitudes 34° and 38°N, and longitudes 41° and 47°E. Most of the northern and northeastern parts of the region are mountainous, especially those bordering Turkey and Iran. The region has several high mountains and mountain ranges. Other areas of the region are hills and plains, which make up the central and most southern parts of the region. Most of the precipitation there falls as rain or snow between November and April, annual precipitation ranges from about 375 to 724 mm. From ancient times this has made cultivation of winter crops (and vegetables and fruit in the summer) and the raising of livestock possible. Around 1,368,388 hectares (33%) of the land is rainfed arable agricultural land and 328,428 hectares (8%) is Irrigated arable agricultural land. Climate The climate of the Kurdistan Region is semi-arid continental; hot and dry in summer, and cold and wet in winter. The region is cooler compared to the central and southern parts of Iraq. Summers are hot and dry, with high average temperatures ranging from 35 °C (95 °F) in the cooler northernmost areas to blistering 40 °C (104 °F) in the southwest, with lows around 21 °C (70 °F) to 24 °C (75 °F). Winter is dramatically cooler than the rest of Iraq, with highs averaging between 9 °C (48 °F) and 11 °C (52 °F) and with lows hovering around 3 °C (37 °F) in some areas and freezing in others, dipping to −2 °C (28 °F) and 0 °C (32 °F) on average. Biodiversity Vegetation in the region includes Abies cilicica, Quercus calliprinos, Quercus brantii, Quercus infectoria, Quercus ithaburensis, Quercus macranthera, Cupressus sempervirens, Platanus orientalis, Pinus brutia, Juniperus foetidissima, Juniperus excelsa, Juniperus oxycedrus, Salix alba, Olea europaea, Ficus carica, Populus euphratica, Populus nigra, Crataegus monogyna, Crataegus azarolus, cherry plum, rose hips, pistachio trees, pear and Sorbus graeca. The desert in the south is mostly steppe and would feature xeric plants such as palm trees, tamarix, date palm, fraxinus, poa, white wormwood and chenopodiaceae. Animals found in the region include the Syrian brown bear, wild boar, gray wolf, golden jackal, Indian crested porcupine, red fox, goitered gazelle, Eurasian otter, striped hyena, Persian fallow deer, onager, mangar and the Euphrates softshell turtle. Bird species include, the see-see partridge, Menetries's warbler, western jackdaw, Red-billed chough, hooded crow, European nightjar, rufous-tailed scrub robin, masked shrike and the pale rockfinch. ==Government and politics==

The Kurdistan Region is, under the Constitution of Iraq, a federal region within Iraq and exercises legislative, executive, and judicial authority in a wide range of areas, with substantial autonomy, including governance and law, policing and security, education and health, natural resources, infrastructure, foreign policy, and others, through its own institutions. Because of its extensive powers in these domains, which are often exercised independently and against the will of the federal government of Iraq, while some scholars argue that it often functions similarly to an independent state. In fact, the KRI has been argued to meet the traditional criteria for statehood as defined in the Montevideo Convention, namely a permanent population, a defined territory, a government, and the capacity to enter into relations with other states. Legislature , Erbil The Kurdistan Region Parliament, formerly known as Kurdistan National Assembly, is responsible for legislation, appointing the president, giving and withdrawing confidence from ministers, and approving the budget. It has 100 members, at least 30% of whom must be women, and they are elected democratically for four-year terms. As per Article 36 of the Kurdistan Parliamentary Election Law, five seats are reserved for Chaldeans and Assyrians, five for Turkmens, and one for Armenians. The Parliament is supported by the Kurdistan Parliament's Research Centre, which provides research to support the legislative, monitoring, and representation work of MPs and strengthens parliamentary administrative staff. Through the latest parliamentary election, the following political parties are represented in the Kurdistan Parliament: Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), New Generation Movement (NGM), Kurdistan Islamic Union, National Stance Movement, Kurdistan Justice Group, People's Front, Kurdistan Social Democratic Party (KSDP), and Gorran Movement. Executive The President of the Kurdistan Region is elected by the parliament and serves as head of state. They may serve two four-year terms and must ratify laws before they take effect, although the parliament can override any revisions. The Prime Minister of the Kurdistan Region is the head of government, specifically of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) and its cabinet of ministers, with some seats reserved for women and minority groups. The current Prime Minister is Masrour Barzani (KDP), who took office in 2019. Cabinet seats were previously shared equally between the KDP and PUK, but the KDP opposes continuing this ratio due to its larger parliamentary representation. The KJC has several lower-lever appellate courts throughout the KRI. The judiciary is further supplemented by the Public Prosecutor's Office, and an independent Shura Council, which falls administratively under the KRG's Ministry of Justice and issues advisory opinions on administrative disputes, as well as reviewing draft legislation and regulations. Constitution The foundations of Kurdish self-governance in Iraq were established on 8 April 1992 with Election Act No. 1, following an agreement among the Kurdistan Front, a coalition including the KDP and PUK. This enabled the creation of legislative, executive, and judicial institutions operating on a de facto basis. In 2002, the Kurdistan Parliament drafted a regional constitution consisting of 78 articles, but it was not adopted due to political instability in Iraq and external pressure from neighboring countries, particularly over the status of Kirkuk as the proposed capital of the Kurdistan Region. However, the draft remained a reference point in subsequent constitutional discussions. Voter turnout has consistently been higher in the KRI than in other parts of Iraq. Ruling duopoly The region's politics are dominated by the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), which split in 1975 and have been the two principal governing parties of the Kurdistan Regional Government since the early 1990s, with the PUK generally regarded as the junior partner. The KDP dominates Erbil and Dohuk, while the PUK dominates Sulaymaniyah and Halabja. The parties are shaped by the Barzani and Talabani families, respectively, and continue to share power despite ongoing rivalry. Under their leadership, the Kurdistan Region developed a pro-Western identity. The two ruling parties achieved peak stability and legitimacy in 2010, amid high voter turnout, limited boycotts, and strong electoral results in their favor. The Carnegie Middle East Center wrote in August 2015: Opposition The Gorran Movement, under Nawshirwan Mustafa, briefly emerged as a major opposition force in the early 2010s, challenging corruption and PUK dominance, but has since declined. Furthermore, the NGM and NSM have been described by some analysts as aligned with Iranian interests and the Iraqi government, including alleged links to senior figures within Baghdad-based Arab paramilitary and political networks, which has been cited as a factor in their more limited public support. In the absence of a strong opposition, voter abstention increased over time among KRI residents, peaking in 2021, as reflected in lower turnout, rising boycotts, and a higher number of invalid votes. This led to the emergence of a "silent majority" of non-voters, with the KDP and PUK combined receiving fewer votes than this group. The trend continued in the 2025 Iraqi parliamentary elections, again reflecting discontent with the existing balance of power. It also highlighted signs of radicalization in socio-economically weaker areas such as Halabja, alongside still limited but reportedly growing support for Islamist groups, including the Kurdistan Islamic Union (KIU) and the Kurdistan Justice Group (Komal), which, similar to the NGM and NSM, have been described by some observers as closely linked to regional powers such as Turkey and Iran. The Kurdistan Region is divided into four governorates (, ): the governorates of Erbil, Sulaymaniyah, Duhok, and Halabja. Each of these governorates is divided into districts, for a total of 26 districts. Each district is also divided into sub-districts. Each governorate has a capital city, while districts and sub-districts have 'district centers'. Foreign relations and the Flag of Iraq, despite reluctance toward the latter. Although the Iraqi constitution designates the federal government as exclusively responsible for foreign policy, in practice the Kurdistan Regional Government has often conducted aspects of these policies independently, without coordination with Baghdad. such as the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany, as well as with other international powers, including Russia, and regional powers such as Turkey and Iran, and various Arab countries. Twenty nine countries have a diplomatic presence in the Kurdistan Region, while the Kurdistan Region has representative offices in 14 countries. The KRG has supported Kurdish causes in other parts of Kurdistan, acted as a mediator in the Kurdish–Turkish conflict, and served as a refuge for Iranian Kurdish opposition parties and other politically persecuted Kurdish groups. More recently, it has also played a role in developments involving the SDF and the Syrian transitional government. The KRG has generally sought to maintain a neutral stance toward recent regional conflicts in the Middle East, such as the Twelve-Day War and the 2026 Iran war, in order to ensure its own stability and security, and presents itself as a platform for regional dialogue. In this context, it hosts the annual Middle East Peace and Security Forum (MEPS) in Duhok, which is attended by regional and international politicians, diplomats, and academic experts. Military , 2016. Since 1991, no Iraqi army personnel have been stationed in the Kurdistan Region, Article 117 of the 2005 Iraqi Constitution allows federal regions to establish their own internal security forces, including "police, security forces, and guards of the region." The Kurdish defense apparatus operates entirely independently of the Iraqi government. The Peshmerga, under the Ministry of Peshmerga Affairs (MoPA), are the main military forces of the KRI. In addition, the Kurdistan Region maintains a range of security institutions, including the Kurdistan Region Police, domestic security and intelligence (Asayish and the Kurdistan Region Security Council), foreign intelligence (Parastin u Zanyari), gendarmerie forces (Zeravani and the Defense and Emergency Forces), and counter-terrorism and special forces such as the Counter Terrorism Department, the CTG Kurdistan, and the Kurdistan Commando Forces. ==Demographics==

Due to the lack of a proper census, the exact population and demographics of Kurdistan Region are unknown, but the KRG has started to publish more detailed figures in recent years. The population of the region is notoriously difficult to ascertain, as the Iraqi government has historically sought to minimize the importance of the Kurdish minority while Kurdish groups have had a tendency to exaggerate the numbers. Population According to preliminary 2024 census data, the Kurdistan Region has a population of 6,370,668, representing 14.02% of Iraq's total population (over 45.4 million). About 84% of residents live in urban areas and 16% in rural areas. The average household size is 4.3 persons across 1.38 million families. The population is nearly evenly split by gender and is relatively young, with 31.9% under 15 and 63.07% of working age. The region has experienced a population growth rate of 2.48% since 2009. Languages poster in Erbil, featuring the multilingual slogan "Yes for Independence" in Kurdish, Aramaic, Turkmen, and Arabic. The Kurdistan Region is a multilingual area with a variety of languages and dialects spoken. The majority of the population speaks Kurdish in its various dialects, which, alongside Arabic, is an official language of the region. The two main Kurdish dialects in the region are Central Kurdish (Sorani), spoken in Erbil and Sulaymaniyah, and Northern Kurdish (Kurmanji), spoken mostly in Dohuk. Today nearly all people in the Kurdistan Region can speak or understand both of the major dialects. Other languages and Kurdish dialects spoken by their respective communities include Hawrami and Southern Kurdish, as well as Arabic, Neo-Aramaic (including Chaldean and Assyrian), Armenian, and Turkmen. The KRG promotes linguistic diversity, and some schools have been established using these minority languages as the primary medium of instruction. Religion The dominant religion is Islam, which is professed by the majority of Kurdistan Region's inhabitants. These include Kurds, Iraqi Turkmen, and Arabs, belonging mostly to the Shafi'i school of Sunni Islam. There is also a small number of Shia Feyli Kurds. However, the population remains relatively religiously diverse compared to neighbouring states and the rest of Iraq, even as religious minority populations elsewhere in Iraq have declined. This diversity has been reinforced by the Kurdistan Region's relatively secular governance and tradition of religious pluralism, and was further increased during the rise of the Islamic State, when members of various minority groups fled to the region. Subsequently, the KRI has frequently been described as a "safe haven" for religious minorities, where Muslims and non-Muslims alike are able to practice their religion openly. Christianity is practiced by Assyrians, Chaldeans, Kurds, and Armenians. The Kurdistan Regional Government seeks to promote the inclusion of Christian communities; for example, it enacted a law in 2015 to formally protect religious minorities, provides funding for the construction of churches and educational institutions, and in 2021 granted expanded autonomy to Ankawa, a predominantly Christian suburb of Erbil. or 560,000 as of 2013. The Yarsan (Ahl-e Haqq or Kakai) religion numbers around 200,000 adherents respectively. while other sources estimate 15,000–30,000 members. Their numbers may have grown as some Kurds see Zoroastrianism as their "original" religion, influenced by Kurdish nationalism, and have turned away from Islam following atrocities committed by the Islamic State. while another was opened in 2020 in Erbil. while the Stroum Center for Jewish Studies estimates that around 500 Jewish families are still present. Members of the Baháʼí Faith are also recognized by the KRG, In December 2017, the Kurdistan Region hosted 1.2 million internally displaced (IDP) Iraqis who had been displaced by the war against the Islamic State. There were about 335,000 IDPs and refugees in the region prior to 2014 with the some arriving in 2014 as a result of unrest in Syria and early insurgency by the Islamic State. ==Economy==

The economy of the Kurdistan Region is dominated by the oil industry and a large public sector, leading it to be described as a rentier state or petrostate similar to those in the Gulf countries. Strong economic growth occurred in the Kurdistan Region following the 2003 invasion of Iraq; for example, between 2003 and 2006, the number of millionaires in Sulaymaniyah grew from 12 to 2,000, and economic opportunities attracted around 20,000 workers from other parts of Iraq between 2003 and 2005. Since the late 2010s, the Kurdish government has sought to diversify the economy in order to mitigate risks arising from sole dependence on oil and reduce vulnerability to economic crises. Compared to the rest of Iraq, the Kurdistan Region has the lowest poverty rates and a relatively stronger economy. worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic, and official statistics indicate that the rate surged to over 24% in 2024, amid conflict with the Iraqi government over salary payments. Petroleum and mineral resources The Kurdistan Region contains approximately 4 billion barrels of proven oil reserves. Furthermore, the KRG has estimated that the region contains around of unproven oil resource. Extraction of these reserves began in 2007, as the KRG invited foreign companies to invest in 40 new oil sites, with the hope of increasing regional oil production over the following 5 years by a factor of five, to about . Notable companies active in the Kurdistan Region include Exxon, TotalEnergies, Chevron, Talisman Energy, DNO, MOL Group, Genel Energy, Hunt Oil, Gulf Keystone Petroleum, and Marathon Oil. In November 2011, Exxon challenged the Iraqi government's authority with the signing of oil and gas contracts for exploration rights to six parcels of land with the KRG, including one contract in the disputed territories, just east of the Kirkuk mega-field. This act prompted Baghdad to threaten revoking Exxon's contract in its southern Iraqi fields, most notably the West Qurna project. Exxon responded by announcing its intention to leave the West-Qurna project. In July 2012, Turkey and the Kurdistan Regional Government signed an agreement by which Turkey would supply the KRG with refined petroleum products in exchange for crude oil. In 2015, major oil export partners included Israel, Italy, France and Greece. Other mineral resources that exist in significant quantities in the region include coal, copper, gold, iron, limestone (which is used to produce cement), marble, and zinc. The world's largest deposit of rock sulfur is located just southwest of Erbil. Cessation of oil exports In March 2023 the International Chamber of Commerce ruled that the oil export agreement between KRI and Turkey was illegal. According to the verdict, only the Iraqi central government can sign international trade agreements regarding oil exports, and Turkey was found guilty of violating the Iraq–Turkey Pipeline Agreement of 1973, causing the pumping of petroleum products through the Kirkuk–Ceyhan Oil Pipeline between the Kurdistan Region and Turkey to cease. The closure of the pipeline left much of the Kurdistan Region's petroleum output with no legal outlet, causing a rise in illegal smuggling of oil to Iran via tanker trucks. Resumption of oil exports by SOMO On 25 September 2025, the Iraqi federal government announced that it had reached a multilateral deal with the Kurdistan Regional Government and international oil companies (IOCs) operating in the KRI wherein precise technical guidelines and conditions of payment for crude oil production and transportation are set out. The deal is in line with the 2023-2025 Federal Budget Law approved by the Iraqi Council of Representatives. Under the deal, the Federal Government will receive at least 230 000 barrels per day of oil produced in KRI and delivered directly to the Iraqi State Organization for Marketing of Oil (SOMO), which will in turn independently conduct the sale of these barrels through the Kirkuk–Ceyhan pipeline. Conditional on SOMO receiving at least 230 000 barrels daily, the Federal Ministry of Finance will in turn pay the KRG its annual share of the federal budget according to the Federal Budget Law. The IOCs on the other hand, will be reimbursed for production and transportation costs of the amount received by SOMO (USD 14$ per barrel) paid through an escrow account directly. The deal stipulates that KRG and IOCs will be completely excluded from the export process, and won’t directly receive revenues from exports of oil barrels produced in KRI. Instead, the Iraqi government will allocate the revenues gained from independently exporting at least 230 000 barrels per day produced in the KRI to the central government budget, from which the KRG will receive its share proportional to its population, a mechanism identical to that used with other Iraqi oil-producing governorates, such as Basrah. Of the amount produced by the international oil companies —that is, at least 280 000 barrels per day— an amount no more than 50 000 barrels will be allocated for KRI domestic consumption. The IOCs will be allowed to sell this amount to domestic buyers and receive the revenues of this amount only. The Iraqi minister of oil, Hayan Abdul-Ghani stated that the deal guarantees that the Iraqi government controls all revenues of the country. ==Education==

Before the establishment of the Kurdistan Regional Government, primary and secondary education was almost entirely taught in Arabic. Higher education was always taught in Arabic. This however changed with the establishment of the Kurdistan Autonomous Region. The first international school, the International School of Choueifat opened its branch in the Kurdistan Region in 2006. Other international schools have opened and British International Schools in Kurdistan is the latest with a planned opening in Suleimaniah in September 2011. The Kurdistan Region's official universities are listed below, followed by their English acronym (if commonly used), internet domain, establishment date and latest data about the number of students. Human resources Iraqi Kurdistan has been investing in the growth of its human capital in general. Public sector employees are often enrolled in local training programmes or sent overseas to participate in training courses, technical classes, and professional development programmes. However, factors such as the lack of a practical and formal HRD framework specific to the KRG's public sector, the absence of evaluation process, inadequate civil service training institutions, and corruption have hampered effective and efficient professional development and training in the public sector. In Iraqi Kurdistan, the Ministry of Planning has primarily concentrated on activating training in the public sector, with the goal of expanding opportunities and improving the efficiency of the training process. ==Infrastructure and transportation==

Infrastructure Due to the destruction caused by campaigns of the Iraqi army under Saddam Hussein and earlier regimes, much of the Kurdistan Region's infrastructure remained underdeveloped. Following the establishment of the safe haven in 1991, the KRG initiated reconstruction projects. By the 2000s, approximately 65 percent of the estimated 4,500 villages destroyed during earlier campaigns had been rebuilt. Scholars have described the KRG's reconstruction of the region, which had to start virtually from scratch, as its main achievement. From within Iraq, the Kurdistan Region can be reached by land from multiple roads. Two international airports are located in the region; Erbil International Airport and Sulaimaniyah International Airport, which both operate flights to Middle Eastern and European destinations. The KRG spent millions of dollars on the airports to attract international carriers, and currently Turkish Airlines, Austrian Airlines, Lufthansa, Etihad, Royal Jordanian, Emirates, Gulf Air, Pegasus Airlines, Egyptair, Middle East Airlines, Fly Baghdad, Atlas Jet, Iraqi Airways, Wizz Air, Flynas and Flydubai all service the region. There are at least 2 military airfields in Iraqi Kurdistan. == Culture ==

The culture of the Kurdistan Region is primarily Kurdish, with distinct traditions in music, dance, clothing, and festivals that differentiate it from other parts of Iraq. Museums in 2021. The most prominent museums in Erbil include the Erbil Civilization Museum, the second-largest in the region, which displays artifacts dating back over 60,000 years, and the Kurdish Textile and Cultural Museum. In Sulaymaniyah, notable institutions include the Amna Suraka Museum, the Kurd's Heritage Museum, which exhibits clothing, jewelry, manuscripts, and household items from the past several centuries, as well as materials related to the city's Jewish community, and the Sulaymaniyah Museum, which houses significant artifacts including a tablet of the Epic of Gilgamesh. These museums have received support from the Kurdistan Regional Government, UNESCO, and several European universities. Smaller local museums, and beyond historical and Kurdish-focused institutions, are also found throughout the region, including the Syriac Heritage Museum, Erbil Stones and Gems Museum, Erbil Currency Museum, Duhok Archaeological Museum, Zakho Historical and Heritage Museum and the Illusion Museum Erbil. On 11 April 2016, plans were announced for the construction of the Kurdistan Museum at the base of the Erbil Citadel, designed by architect Daniel Libeskind in collaboration with the Kurdistan Memory Programme. Planned as a 150,000-square-foot facility, it was intended to be the largest and most modern museum in the region, serving as a national archive and housing collections of film, multimedia, documents, and artifacts, alongside spaces for permanent and temporary exhibitions, educational resources, and community use. As of 2025, construction is ongoing. The KRI regularly promotes and hosts exiled Kurdish musicians from other parts of Kurdistan, such as Ciwan Haco and Şivan Perwer, and has also provided a platform for non-Kurdish regional artists fleeing conflict, such as Arab music star Omar Souleyman. Its growing relations with Turkey facilitated Şivan Perwer's return and a concert in Diyarbakir in 2013. In 2017, KurdSat produced Kurd Idol. The show was part of the Idols franchise, retaining its basic format and promoting pan-Kurdish musical culture by featuring singers from across Kurdistan and the diaspora. Judges included Adnan Karim, Nizamettin Ariç, Bîjen Kamkar, and Kanî. Major media outlets include: Rudaw, Kurdistan24, Zagros TV, and Channel 8. Sports Football is the most popular sport in the Kurdistan Region, and its leagues are supervised by the Kurdistan Football Association, which is financially supported by the KRG. Leagues include the Kurdistan Premier League, first and second divisions, the Kurdistan Cup, as well as futsal and youth and adult leagues. Football stadiums include Franso Hariri Stadium, Duhok Stadium, Zakho International Stadium, Newroz International Stadium, and Halabja Stadium. The "Bahdinan rivalry" between Zakho SC and Duhok SC is among the fiercest in the region. The rivalry between Zakho SC and Erbil SC is known as the "Kurdish derby". Similar to other sectors of life in the Kurdistan Region, football is also politicized by political parties, which often assume leadership roles in clubs and provide financial support, as seen in the relationships between Lahur Talabani and Newroz SC, and between Qubad Talabani and Sulaymaniya SC. The Kurdistan Region national football team is not affiliated with FIFA or the Asian Football Confederation, but has participated in the Viva World Cup. Apart from football, rugby has gained popularity in recent years. The Kurdistan Rugby Team, established in 2013, represents the Kurdistan Region at regional and international level in tournaments such as the Dubai Sevens in 2015, 2016, and 2018. On 20 April 2019, it played against the Iraqi Rugby Association, winning 25–5, a result regarded as a milestone in the development of rugby in the region. Holidays The following is a list of public holidays in the Kurdistan Region for the year 2026: ==Human rights==

In 2010 Human Rights Watch reported that journalists in the Kurdistan Region who criticize the regional government have faced substantial violence, threats, and lawsuits, and some have fled the country. Some journalists faced trial and threats of imprisonment for their reports about corruption in the region. The Kurdistan parliament in 2008 passed a draft law outlawing the practice, but the ministerial decree necessary to implement it, expected in February 2009, was cancelled. As reported to the Centre for Islamic Pluralism by the non-governmental organization, called as Stop FGM in Kurdistan, the Kurdistan Regional Government in northern Iraq, on 25 November, officially admitted the wide prevalence in the territory of female genital mutilation (FGM). Recognition by the KRG of the frequency of this custom among Kurds came during a conference program commemorating the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. On 27 November 2010, the Kurdish government officially admitted to violence against women in Kurdistan and began taking serious measures. 21 June 2011 The Family Violence Bill was approved by the Kurdistan Parliament, it includes several provisions criminalizing the practice. A 2011 Kurdish law criminalized FGM practice in Iraqi Kurdistan and law was accepted four years later. The studies have shown that there is a trend of general decline of FGM. British lawmaker Robert Halfon sees the Kurdistan Region as a more progressive Muslim region than the other Muslim countries in the Middle East. Although the Kurdish regional parliament has officially recognized ethnic minorities such as Assyrians, Turkmen, Arabs, Armenians, Mandaeans, Shabaks and Yazidis, there have been accusations of Kurdish discrimination against those groups. The Assyrians have reported Kurdish officials' reluctance in rebuilding Assyrian villages in their region while constructing more settlements for the Kurds affected during the Anfal campaign. After his visit to the region, Dutch politician Joël Voordewind noted that the positions reserved for minorities in the Kurdish parliament were appointed by Kurds as the Assyrians for example had no possibility to nominate their own candidates. The Kurdish regional government has also been accused of trying to Kurdify other regions such as the Nineveh Plains and Kirkuk by providing financial support for Kurds who want to settle in those areas. While Kurdish forces held the city of Kirkuk, Kurdish authorities attempted to Kurdify the city. Turkmen and Arab residents in Kirkuk experienced intimidation, harassment and were forced to leave their homes, in order to increase the Kurdish demographic in Kirkuk and bolster their claims to the city. Multiple Human Rights Watch reports detail the confiscation of Turkmen and Arab families' documents, preventing them from voting, buying property and travelling. Turkmen residents of Kirkuk were detained by Kurdish forces and compelled to leave the city. Kurdish authorities expelled hundreds of Arab families from the city, demolishing their homes in the process. United Nations reports since 2006 have documented that Kurdish authorities and Peshmerga militia forces were illegally policing Kirkuk and other disputed areas, and that these militia have abducted Turkmen and Arabs, subjecting them to torture. In April 2016, Human Rights Watch wrote that the Kurdish security force of KRG, the Asayish, blocked the roads to Erbil to prevent Assyrians from holding a protest. According to demonstrators, the reason for the blocked protest was that Kurds in the Nahla Valley, mainly populated by Assyrians, encroached on land owned by Assyrians, without any action by courts or officials to remove the structures the Kurds built there. In February 2017, Human Rights Watch said Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) forces are detaining men and boys who have fled the fighting in Mosul even after they have passed security checks. Detainees were held for up to four months without any communication with their families. Relatives of these men and boys said that KRG and Iraqi forces didn't inform them of the places of their detained relatives and didn't facilitate any contact with them. Human Rights Watch reported that Kurdistan Regional Government security forces and local police detained 32 unarmed protesters in Erbil on March 4, 2017, at a peaceful demonstration against recent clashes in Sinjar. 23 of them were released at the same day and 3 more within four days, but 6, all foreign nationals, are still being held. A police chief ordered one protester who was released to permanently leave Erbil, where he was living. While in detention, protesters were not allowed to contact with anyone or have access to a lawyer. In 2017, Assyrian activists Juliana Taimoorazy and Matthew Joseph accused the Kurdistan Regional Government of issuing threats of violence against Assyrians living in the area who protested its independence referendum. These accusations were later confirmed when the KDP-controlled provincial council of Alqosh issued a statement warning residents that they would face consequences for protesting the referendum. In 2010, it was reported that passing of a new law in Iraqi Kurdistan, guaranteeing “gender equality”, has deeply outraged some local religious community, including the minister of endowments and religious affairs and prominent imams, who interpreted the phrase as "legitimizing homosexuality in Kurdistan". Kamil Haji Ali, the minister of endowments and religious affairs, said in this regard that the new law would “spread immorality” and “distort” Kurdish society. and Yazidi inhabitants of forcefully disarming them with the guarantee of protection in order to justify the Peshmerga's presence in those regions. In 2014, when the Islamic State invaded Northern Iraq, the Peshmerga abandoned their posts in these areas without notifying the locals. == See also ==