Their paramount challenges include the restoration of civil order, the introduction of a new political system and reconstruction. On the ground, the US-led coalition forces have faced armed rebellions and guerrilla-style attacks. Insurgents have targeted international agencies, Iraqi security forces and civilians working for the coalition. Saddam Hussein's regime collapsed in April 2003, three weeks into a major US-led military campaign. Iraq's alleged possession of weapons of mass destruction formed the main justification for the action. American missiles hit targets in Baghdad in the early hours of 20 March, heralding the start of a campaign to remove the Iraqi leader.

US and British ground forces entered the country from the south, with the leadership in Baghdad remaining defiant. By 9 April US forces had advanced into central Baghdad and Saddam Hussein's grip on power had withered. The transfer of sovereignty to an interim government took place on 28 June 2004, two days ahead of schedule. Iraq under Saddam Hussein had engaged in two previous wars, against Iran in the 1980s and against an American-led alliance in 1991 after it invaded Kuwait.

OVERVIEW

Straddling the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and stretching from the Gulf to the Anti-Taurus Mountains, modern Iraq occupies roughly what was once ancient Mesopotamia, one of the cradles of human civilisation. In the Middle Ages Iraq was the centre of the Islamic Empire, with Baghdad the cultural and political capital of an area extending from Morocco to the Indian subcontinent.

Mongol invasions in the 13th century saw its influence wane, and it played a minor role in the region until independence from British control in 1932. Following the overthrow of the monarchy in 1958 and a coup in 1968, Iraq became one of the centres of Arab nationalism under the control of the ruling Baath (Renaissance) party.

Oil made the country rich, and when Saddam Hussein became president in 1979 petroleum made up 95% of its foreign exchange earnings. But the war with Iran from 1980 to 1988 and the Gulf War in 1991 following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, together with the subsequent imposition of international sanctions, had a devastating effect on its economy and society.

In 1991 the UN said Iraq had been reduced to a pre-industrial state, while later reports described living standards as being at subsistence level. The Kurdish community has broken away to create a semi-autonomous region of its own in the north.

FACTS

• Population: 26.5 million (UN, 2005)
• Area: 438,317 sq km (169,235 sq miles)
• Capital: Baghdad
• Major languages: Arabic, Kurdish
• Major religion: Islam
• Life expectancy: 59 years (men), 62 years (women) (UN)
• Monetary unit: 1 Iraqi dinar = 1,000 fils
• Main exports: Crude oil
• GNI per capita: n/a
• Internet domain: .iq
• International dialling code: 964

LEADERS

Interim president: Jalal Talabani

His selection ended political impasse Kurdish leader Jalal Talabani was elected by MPs to the largely-ceremonial post in April 2005. The nomination ended weeks of political deadlock following January's elections for a transitional national assembly.

Mr Talabani heads the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK), one of the two main Kurdish parties in northern Iraq. The first non-Arab to head an Arab state, he pledged to work with all ethnic and religious factions to rebuild Iraq. The three-man presidency includes Mr Talabani's deputies, Adel Abdul-Mahdi, a Shia, and the former interim president Ghazi Yawer, a Sunni.

Interim prime minister: Ibrahim Jaafari

Ibrahim Jaafari was named as prime minister by Iraq's newly-inaugurated presidential team on 7 April 2005. Ibrahim Jaafari, preferred candidate of election-winning Shia list Mr Jaafari, from the Dawaa Party - a Shia Islamist movement, formed Iraq's first democratically-elected government in more than 50 years.

His cabinet is expected to oversee the drafting of a permanent constitution, ahead of elections in December. Ibrahim Jaafari was the preferred candidate of the Shia-dominated alliance that gained nearly half the votes in January 2005's landmark polls.

A former doctor, he spent time living as an exile in Iran and Britain following the crushing of a Shia rebellion against Saddam Hussein in the 1970s.

• Deputy prime ministers: Ahmed Chalabi, Ruz Nuri Shawis
• Foreign minister: Hoshyar Zebari
• Interior minister: Baqir Solagh

MEDIA

Media outlets have flourished since the downfall of Saddam. But although Iraq has been described as having one of the most free media environments in the Arab world, journalists and media workers have fallen victim to insurgents and coalition military action. There are more than 100 newspapers and magazines on offer in Baghdad and other cities.

Private radio and television stations are also on the air. The TV and radio stations set up by the now-defunct US-led Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA) are being incorporated into a new publicly-funded broadcaster, the Iraqi Public Broadcasting Service. Private media outlets are often linked to the political, ethnic or religious groups which are jostling for a say in Iraq's future.

But they face a lack of resources, in particular a constant power supply. Banned under Saddam, satellite TV enjoys a large following Iraq's television revolution Foreign broadcasters also target Iraq. They include the BBC, Paris-based Radio Monte Carlo and the US-backed Radio Sawa and Radio Free Iraq.

Many of these stations are available on FM in Baghdad and other cities; the BBC World Service is relayed in Baghdad and Basra. Iran's Al-Alam TV, which broadcasts in Arabic, can be picked up in Baghdad without the need for a satellite dish. Satellite TV has become the new craze, but it remains a luxury for most Iraqis. The use of satellite dishes and receivers was banned under the former regime.

The pan-Arab news stations Al-Arabiya and Al-Jazeera are widely watched by satellite viewers. In Iraq's northern autonomous Kurdish enclaves, rival factions operate their own media outlets.

The press

• Al-Sabah - sponsored by Iraqi Media Network, set up by Coalition Provisional Authority (CPA)
• Al-Zaman - London-based daily, printed in Baghdad and Basra
• Al-Mada - Baghdad, private daily
• Al-Mashriq - Baghdad, private daily
• Al-Dustur - Baghdad, private daily
• Iraq Today - English-language weekly

Television

• Al-Iraqiya - operated by Iraq Media Network, set up by CPA Al-Sharqiya - private, broadcasts terrestrially and via satellite
• Kurdistan Satellite Channel - operated by Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) from autonomous northern enclave
• KurdSat - operated by Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) from autonomous northern enclave

Radio

• Republic of Iraq Radio - successor to Iraq Media Network-Radio Baghdad, set up by CPA
• Radio Nahrain - Basra, UK-sponsored
• Voice of Iraq - private, Baghdad mediumwave (AM) station
• Hot FM - private, Baghdad FM music station
• Radio Dijla - private, Baghdad FM talk and music station

Internet

Uruklink, the state internet provider, was back in operation in July 2003 after being offline for several months. In Saddam Hussein's Iraq, few people were thought to be online and internet use was almost totally government-controlled.