Kirkuk

Also known as Karkuk, Kerkûk

Kirkuk (; ; ; ) is a major city in northern Iraq, serving as the capital of the Kirkuk Governorate. The city is home to a diverse population of Kurds, Iraqi Turkmens and Arabs. Kirkuk sits on the ruins of the original Kirkuk Citadel which sits near the Khasa River.

OverviewAI-generated

Kirkuk is a city in Iraq, serving as the capital of the Kirkuk Governorate. It is situated at an elevation of approximately 350 meters above sea level and falls within the Asia/Baghdad time zone. The city’s official name is recorded in Arabic, Kurdish, and Latin script as كركوك, Kerkük, and کەرکووک, respectively.

With a population of 975,000, Kirkuk is classified as a big city. It has also been identified as the capital of the Shahrizor eyalet. The city is described in sources such as the Brockhaus and Efron Encyclopedic Dictionary and the Encyclopædia Britannica 11th edition.

Synthesized by Vinony from 45 facts across 7 sources: Wikidata, Open Meteo, Openweathermap, OpenStreetMap, GeoNames, Vinony graph, Geo. Generated from structured data (not the Wikipedia text) and checked against those facts — may still contain errors.

Weather now

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28°clear sky

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7-day forecast

via Open-Meteo

Place details

Locality: كركوك - کەرکووك
Region: محافظة كركوك
Country: العراق
Population: 1,031,000
Timezone: Asia/Baghdad

via OpenStreetMap · GeoNames

Air quality

52US AQIModerate

PM2.5: 10.6 µg/m³
PM10: 15.4 µg/m³

As of 2026-09-14 03:00 · Open-Meteo

Key facts

Settlement.name: Kirkuk
Settlement.settlement_type: City
Settlement.pushpin_map: Iraq
Settlement.pushpin_label_position: left
Settlement.pushpin_relief: yes
Settlement.pushpin_map_caption: Location within Iraq
Settlement.subdivision_type: Country
Settlement.subdivision_type3: Governorate
Settlement.subdivision_name3: Kirkuk
Settlement.subdivision_type4: District
Settlement.subdivision_name4: Kirkuk
Settlement.elevation_m: 350
Settlement.population_total: 1,075,000
Settlement.population_as_of: 2023 est.
Settlement.timezone: GMT +3

via Wikipedia infobox

Wikidata facts

Instance of: big city
Official name: كركوك
Country: Iraq
Located in: Kirkuk Governorate
Population: 975000
Elevation: 350
Time zone: UTC+03:00
Capital of: Shahrizor eyalet
Image: Kirkuk citadel.jpg

Show 9 more facts

Commons category: Kirkuk
topic's main category: Category:Kirkuk
Commons gallery: Kirkuk
category for people born here: Category:Births in Kirkuk
category of associated people: Category:People from Kirkuk
native label: كركوك
described by source: Encyclopædia Britannica 11th edition
P8168: Maximilian Ronge
P12749: Jura Soyfer

Sources (7)

via Wikidata · CC0

Travel guide

Get around

It may be best to contact a local to help you get around. You can also go to tourism offices for advice but there aren't a lot of them here due to the small amount of tourism in this city.

Do

Visit many of its historical and modern attractions modern attractions may include places like smileland amusement park (also has a place in Mall of Kirkuk)and baba gurgur amusement Park (it has two areas one near smileland and the other north)

Eat

Today Rest & Cafe, Baghdad Road. Typical Iraqi fare and traditional tea (sweet). Daily 10:00-23:00. +964 770 347 4444 Spicy Rest, Baghdad Road. Fast food and traditional Iraqi cuisine, nice spot has a nice terrace which looks onto Baghdad Road

Sleep

Kirkuk Plaza Hotel, Baghdad Road. This one, rising like a sheet of glass off the desert floor. +964 773 088 0044 Altun Saray Hotel Altun Saray Hotel Tisin, next to the Turkish visa appiclation center.

Stay safe

The bombings and attacks have stopped since 2023, but still exercise precaution. See the warning on the Iraq article for more information.

LGBT travelers: Militias have targeted the LGBT community in Kirkuk. Local police will not help you if you feel threatened for being gay, it's recommended to hide your sexuality.

Go next

The archaeological sites of Qal'at Jarmo and Yorgan Tepe are found at the outskirts of the modern city.

Travel guide from Wikivoyage (CC BY-SA 4.0)

~36 min read

Encyclopedic overview

41 sections

Contents

Etymology
History
Ancient history
Early Bronze
Akkadian Period
Gutian Period
Ur III Period
Middle Bronze
Late Bronze
Mitanni Period
Assyrian Period
Iron Age
Islamic Conquests of Mesopotamia
British occupation
Entry into the Kingdom of Iraq
Kurdish autonomy and Arabization
Gulf War
Iraq War (2003–2011) and return of displaced Kurds
Violence after U.S. withdrawal
Kurdish control (2014–2017)
Kurdification
Iraqi central government control (2017–present)
Demographics
Ethnic groups
Arabs
Armenians
Assyrians
Jews
Kurds
Turkmens
Economy
Main sites
Geography
Climate
Notable people
Sister cities
See also
Notes
References
Further reading
External links

It is described by the Kurdish leader and former Iraqi president Jalal Talabani as “the Jerusalem of Kurdistan” even though it is not part of Iraqi Kurdistan region, while it is seen by the Turkmen activist Fatih Salah as the cultural and historical capital of Iraqi Turkmens. The government of Iraq states that Kirkuk represents a small version of Iraq due to its diverse population, and that the city is a model for coexistence in the country.

Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Kirkuk” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.