Iraq is governed under a provisional constitution adopted in 1968 and subsequently amended. The principal executive organization of Iraq is the Revolutionary Command Council, which is led by a chairman. The council selects a president. In practice, political power is centralized in a single leader who serves as the nation's president, as its prime minister, and as chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council. A council of ministers is the country's main administrative body.

A National Assembly was established in 1980. It is made up of 250 members popularly elected to four-year terms. The Revolutionary Command Council also has legislative functions. The leading political organization in Iraq is the Arab Baath Socialist Party, which bases its policies on pan-Arab and socialist principles. Other political groups include the Iraqi Communist Party, the Kurdistan Democratic Party, and the Kurdistan Revolutionary Party.

The 18 provinces of Iraq are administered by governors appointed by the national government. Towns and cities are run by councils headed by mayors. Three of the provinces form a Kurdish Autonomous Region, which has an elected 50-member legislature. This area came under UN and Allied protection after the Persian Gulf War, but infighting among Kurdish groups has rendered the government largely ineffective.

The judicial system of Iraq allows for separate treatment of civil and religious matters. Civil matters are handled in courts presided over by individual judges. Above these courts are five courts of appeals, located in the major cities, and a court of cassation (annulment) in Baghdad. Religious matters are usually handled by Muslim courts.

Military training in Iraq is compulsory for all males when they reach the age of 18; it consists of about two years in active service and an additional period in the reserve. In 1996 the Iraqi army had about 350,000 members (including an estimated 100,000 active reserves); the air force, 30,000 members; and the navy, 2500 members. More than 500,000 troops were reportedly deployed in Kuwait and southern Iraq following the August 1990 invasion.

Health standards in Iraq are low because of poor sanitary conditions and many endemic diseases. In 1993 the average life expectancy at birth was about 65 years; the infant mortality rate was estimated at 72 per 1000 live births. Iraq had about 9366 physicians and 31,227 hospital beds in the early 1990s. Most of the medical facilities are controlled by the central government. Working conditions are regulated by a social security law, introduced in 1957, which also provides maternity, disability, old-age, and unemployment insurance. Sanctions imposed against Iraq have resulted in falling health standards since the Persian Gulf War.