Muthanna Governorate Profile March 2009
Overview Situated on Iraq’s southern border with Saudi Arabia, Muthanna is Iraq’s second largest governorate, but also the second least populat- ed. The landscape is dominated by desert, with natural water sources confined to the northern areas around the Euphrates river.
The capital, Samawah, lies near the site of the ancient city of Uruk, which dates back to the 4th millennium BC. Uruk was one of the world’s first major cities, and is the source of the oldest known script.
Having suffered from chronic underdevelopment since the 1980s, Muthanna consistently fares poorly according to humanitarian and development indicators. Poverty and female illiteracy are widespread. Connection to the general water network is poor compared to the rest of Iraq, but electricity supplies are relatively reliable. The poor infra- structure and lack of urban centres mean that Muthanna has a rela- tively low number of IDPs. Although the Governor was assassinated in August 2008, the security situation remains calm.
Demographics Governorate Capital: Samawah Area: 51,740 sq km (11.9% of Iraq) IDPs & Returnees Population: 614,997 (2% of total) Number of IDPs and Returnees per 1000 of Source: COSIT (2007) 637814#9:#,-./#;5<#01234511/#=14#)&& :#2>1# Gender Distribution: Male: 50% Female: 50% the=9=3?;@95/#9:#A32>;55;#;5<#,4;B# population in Muthanna and Iraq Geographical Distribution: Rural: 56% Urban: 44% Source: GoI COSIT (est. for 2007) &'(# 01234511/# Population by district: "# Al-Samawa 255,215 Al-Rumaitha 257,117 Al-Salman 6,520 Al-Khidhir 86,145 Source: COSIT (2007)* $%# ,-./#
!"# Source: IOM as of September 2008
&# )&# $&# *&# "&# !&# +&# C9D14594;21#292;?/E###)%F**)#,-./##)""#01234511/## Employment A32>;55;# ,4;B# * Employment in Muthanna IDPs and Returnees are not included in the overall governorate population F/;14D/.
B01.$203456$-467.$ "!#$ (2007) VAM Source: WFP 80697:;094<$=0>.?$!*@+(A$ "%#$ $"
!%#$ -./01.$C<./;14D/. )#$ !)#$ &)#$ %)#$ ()#$ *)#$ +)#$ ,)#$ ")#$ ')#$ !" &'()!*" &'+)!*" ,'-)!*" ./0)!*" 123)!*" 456)!*" 7/2)!*" FundinginMuthanna H60I$ B5EG0<<0$ ;(29 & International Source: 3W Database UNAMI, UNICEF, UN-HABITAT, UNESCO, ILO, ESCWA, UNFPA, WHO ACTED, RI Education Organisations WFP FoodAssistance UNAMI, UNDP, UNESCO, UNOPS, UNIFEM IMC GovernanceSupport UNICEF, UNDP, WFP, UNFPA, UNOPS, WHO IMC Health&Nutrition UNICEF, UNHCR, UN-HABITAT Housing&Shelter UNICEF, UNIFEM, UNHCR, UNOPS, IOM Protection UNICEF, UNHCR, UN-HABITAT, WHO, IOM ACTED WaterandSanitation UNDP, UNHCR, UNICEF, UN-HABITAT, UNOPS, IOM MC Other 0 50 100 150 200 250 300 Millions 350 www.iauiraq.org Selected Indicators The size of the symbol indicates the total number of individuals affected per district al- al- al- al- Indicator All Iraq Muthanna Samawa Rumaitha Salman Khidhir % % % % % % Illiterate Women (10+) 24 37 26 41 65 48 Illiterate Men (10+) 11 17 13 17 38 21 Education (2007)* VAM Source: WFP Women with less than Primary Education (10+) 47 66 54 72 88 74 Men with less than Primary Education (10+) 31 51 40 55 77 63 Female Labour Force Participation (15-64) 18 12 13 9 13 13 Male Labour Force Participation (15-64) 81 83 84 81 88 86 Employment Female Unemployment (15-64) 13 19 15 23 18 23 Male Unemployment (15-64) 12 24 19 29 23 24 Fever in the past 2 weeks 8 7 5 7 9 11 Health Diarrhea problems in the past 2 weeks 3 3 2 3 5 4 Chronic disease 9 8 9 8 5 6 No alternative electricity source 21 30 29 57 70 48 Electricity More than 11 hours power cut or no network 55 45 17 37 62 40 Lowest per capita Income Quintile 22 40 23 58 49 40 Poverty Lowest per capita Expenditure Quintile 20 41 29 53 51 39 Sanitation: Hole/None 8 17 5 24 64 24 WATSAN Water from stream/well/tanker 11 26 13 24 95 59 Not connected to general network 26 44 37 37 99 75 Stunting: Chronic Malnutrition 22 31 25 32 45 36 Food Wasting: Acute Malnutrition 5 5 6 4 5 7 * The WFP VAM 2007 survey used a distribution of Iraqi districts which differs from that used by UN HIC. The district names and areas used for the reference map, indicator maps and demographics do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on behalf of the Secretariat of the United Nations concerning the legal status or frontier delimitation of any district or other area shown. The Information Analysis Unit is hosted by OCHA and supported by UNAMI Participating Agencies and NGOs UNAMI, OCHA, UNDP, UNICEF, UNFPA, FAO, WHO, UNHCR, WFP, ILO, IOM, Mercy Corps, International Medical Corps, GenCap and IMMAP