

At the first formation of the Iraqi government, the public road network evolved from caravan dirt roads to a network of modern paved roads with the construction of a large number of modern bridges across the country.
The total length of external roads network (outside the boundaries of the municipalities and the Municipality of Baghdad) is about 42,000 km comprising highways (Highway No. (1) and Abu Ghraib highway), and arterial roads linking the provincial centers and borders crossings and secondary roads linking districts, counties and rural roads linking residential complexes in villages and rural areas with secondary arterial roads, and the following table shows the lengths of paved roads network with different classes up to 2004
Road class |
Length (km)
|
Expressway |
1084 |
Arterial roads |
11000 |
Secondary roads |
15200 |
Rural roads |
3700 |
Border roads |
11000 |