Iraq

From a position of relative wealth and economic and social development in the 1970s, funded by oil exports, Iraq has undergone a dramatic decline. It engaged in a long and costly war with Iran between 1980 and 1988; this was followed by the poorly calculated invasion and occupation of Kuwait in 1990 that ultimately led to a major assault on the Iraqi occupying forces by a United States-led coalition in 1991 and 13 years of crippling UN-imposed economic sanctions.

Iraq was attacked a second time by a US-led coalition in 2003, leading to the downfall of the regime. Despite the presence of large numbers of foreign troops, the creation of a transitional government and the successful completion of elections, Iraq descended into sectarian violence. An estimated 4.7 million Iraqis have been displaced internally and into neighbouring countries and more than 100,000 civilians are thought to have been killed as a result of the 2003 invasion and subsequent years of violence.

In 2003 Iraq received US$1.1 billion in official humanitarian assistance, which at the time was the largest amount received by any recipient country in a single year on record. Humanitarian aid to Iraq has declined steadily in subsequent years, however, as international donors have shifted their investments towards building infrastructure and the capacity of the government, and in 2009 Iraq received a more modest US$490.9 million.