By Virginia de Leon / Staff writer

Ask Americans about Iraq and United Nations sanctions, weapons of mass destruction and President Saddam Hussein usually come to mind.

But life for most Iraqis is more complex than the rhetoric for war and the stereotypes we sometimes have about Islam and the Middle East.

Iraq -- a country slightly larger than the size of two Idahos -- is home to more than 24 million people. More than four out of 10 are under the age of 15.

In many ways, these kids are a lot like those who grow up here in the Inland Northwest.

They're sports fans, especially when it comes to soccer. They enjoy listening to popular music. Many go to school.

But because of poverty, malnutrition and a pervasive hopelessness, the future for most Iraqi children looks grim. They'll never own a car or travel outside their hometown or village. Most won't go to college.

Although children are required to have six years of primary education, many don't attend class because they have to work to support their families.

Those who go to school -- which is free, like public schools in the United States -- are taught to be loyal to their country and to learn about Saddam and the Baath Party, which has been in charge since 1986.

By the time they're in sixth grade, girls are trained to become mothers by learning how to cook, sew and take care of babies. But unlike women in some Muslim countries, these girls will be allowed to hold jobs, own land and inherit property when they grow up.

Since many children drop out of school, only 58 percent of the population over 15 can read and write.

The people of Iraq didn't always suffer from such a high degree of illiteracy and poverty.

In the 1980s, Iraq was the second largest producer of oil in the world and had some of the best hospitals and universities in the developing world.

But after Saddam's 10-year war with Iran and the economic sanctions that followed the Persian Gulf War, Iraq's economy deteriorated.

Since 1991, the country's gross domestic product has dropped from $3,000 per capita to $715 -- virtually wiping out the middle class.

Despite the threat of war, life goes on as usual for Iraqis.

Many earn a living by farming or raising livestock. The majority who live in the city work for the government.

At home, most families eat together -- foods such as kebabs, skewered grilled meat; quzi, stuffed roasted lamb, masgouf, a specialty that uses fish from the Tigris river; and kubba, minced meat, nuts, raisins and spices. Most meals include samoons, flat rounds of white bread. Baklava, also available in the Inland Northwest, is a favorite dessert.

Religion plays an important role in the lives of most Iraqi children.

All but 4 percent are Muslim and belong to one of the two main branches of Islam -- Shiite, which make up about two-thirds of the Muslims; and Sunni, the remaining one-third.

At school, children study the Quran, the Holy Book of Islam. A few even learn to recite all of its 6,436 verses by heart.

Although the vast majority are adherents of Islam, only three-quarters of the population are Arab. About 20 percent are Kurds, who live in the mountains of northeast Iraq and have long sought independence. The rest are Assyrian or members of other minority groups.

While teens in the Inland Northwest have cell phones of their own, those in Iraq would consider themselves lucky to have access to a telephone in the neighborhood. The entire country has a total of 675,000 phones.

About 80 out of every 1,000 people have a television set. In the United States, there are more than 800 TVs for every 1,000. Iraq has only 13 TV stations, all of them controlled by the government.

Although Internet cafes are popping up in Baghdad, the capital, computers are considered a luxury. The entire country has only one Internet service provider, which is also controlled and heavily censored by the government.

Iraqi youth listen to contemporary pop music sung in Arabic by Kadham Al Sahar, Ilham Madafee and other Iraqi stars.

Art, particularly modern painting and sculpture, has flourished in Iraq. Baghdad is now home to several dozen private galleries, along with state-owned ones like the Saddam Center for Fine Arts.

More than most Muslim countries, Iraq's population has been exposed to modern, Westernized lifestyles -- a fact that doesn't sit well with Muslim fundamentalists.

Sources for this story include: CIA, The World Factbook 2002; United Nations Educational Scientific Cultural Organization; Scholastic News' Teacher Resource Center; BBC News; The Lonely Planet; The Boston Globe; and Web sites including iraqioasis.com, iraq.net and MapZones.com.