The economy of Iraq is dominated by the oil sector, which provided 89% of foreign exchange earnings in 2024. During its modern history, the oil sector has provided about 99.7% of foreign exchange earnings. Iraq's hitherto agrarian economy underwent rapid development following the 14 July Revolution (1958) which overthrew the Hashemite Iraqi monarchy. It had become the third-largest economy in the Middle East by 1980. This occurred in part because of the Iraqi government's successful industrialization and infrastructure development initiatives in the 1970s, which included irrigation projects, railway and highway construction, and rural electrification. (Full article...)