Kurdistan

Situated on vast untapped oil fields, Kurdistan has the resources to become one of the most prosperous regions in the Middle East. As a major economic power in Iraq, Kurdistan has the lowest poverty rates and the highest standard of living in Iraq. It is the most stable and secure region of Iraq where not a single coalition soldier or foreigner has been killed, wounded or kidnapped since the 2003 invasion of Iraq. But local Kurdish leaders and the Iraqi government in Baghdad are in a deadlock over the rights of ownership, as the imminent announcement of contracts to begin pumping oil from the region cause ethnic tensions to rise.