Assyrians in Iraq

Assyrians in Iraq are those Assyrians still residing in the country of Iraq. They are (along with the Mandeans) the indigenous people of Iraq, descending from the ancient Mesopotamians, in particular from the Akkadian peoples (Assyrians and Babylonians) and the Aramean tribes who intermingled with them from the 10th century BC onwards. Assyria existed as an independent state and sometimes empire in what is today Iraq from the 23rd century BC to the end of the 7th century BC, and then as an occupied but named entity (Athura, Asuristan, Assyria, Adiabene) until the late 7th century AD. Assyrians are a Semitic people who speak evolutions of the ancient eastern Aramaic dialects that have existed in Iraq since 1200 BC, and follow Eastern Rite Christianity which first appeared in the region in the 1st century AD, in particular the Assyrian Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church and Ancient Church of the East. The vast majority of Iraqi Christians are ethnic Assyrians.

According to the Central Intelligence Agency, the Christians of Iraq or other religions (excluding Islam), including the Assyrian community, make up 3% of the Iraqi population. The last Iraqi census, in 1987, counted 1.4 million Christians, including the Assyrian community, although many left the country during the 1990s when economic sanctions were imposed on the country. Other indigenous Assyrian communities can be found just outside Iraq's borders in north east Syria, south east Turkey and north west Iran.