Economy
The city is located along the Shatt al-Arab waterway near the Persian Gulf, 55 kilometers (34 mi) from the Persian Gulf and 545 kilometers (339 mi) from Baghdad, Iraq's capital and largest city.
The area surrounding Basra has substantial large petroleum resources and many oil wells. The city also has an international airport, with service into Baghdad with Iraqi Airways—the national airline. Basra is in a fertile agricultural region, with major products including rice, maize corn, barley, pearl millet, wheat, dates, and livestock. Iraq has the world's 4th largest oil reserves estimated to be more 115 billion barrels (18.3×109 m3), most of it from Basra. 80% of Basra's oil potential is unexplored. A network of canals flowed through the city, giving it the nickname "The Venice of the Middle East." The tides at Basra fall by about 2.7 meters (8.9 ft). For a long time, Basra was known for the superior quality of its dates.
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Famous quotes containing the word economy:
“Wise men read very sharply all your private history in your look and gait and behavior. The whole economy of nature is bent on expression. The tell-tale body is all tongues. Men are like Geneva watches with crystal faces which expose the whole movement.”
—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)
“It enhances our sense of the grand security and serenity of nature to observe the still undisturbed economy and content of the fishes of this century, their happiness a regular fruit of the summer.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)