Question

ethnic and religious populations in iraq, 2015 estimates
group\tpopulation
shia arabs\t15 million
sunni arabs\t9 million
sunni kurds\t4 million
turkmen\t3 million
shia kurds\t500 thousand
armenian\t500 thousand
yazidi\t500 thousand
based on the data in the table, which of the following is a possible impact of ethnic and religious diversity in iraq?
centrifugal forces like ethnicity and religion lead to devolutionary pressures in the country by politically dividing regions.
ethnicity and religion act as centripetal forces in the country by creating a common iraqi identity among the population
ethnicity and religion facilitate democratization in the country by motivating participation in elections.
ethnicity and religion promote economic development in the country by generating national pride in the country’s accomplishments.
ethnicity and religion increase cultural cohesion in the country by promoting shared political ideology

Explanation:

To determine the impact, we analyze centrifugal/centripetal forces. Iraq has diverse ethnic (Sunni, Shia, Kurds, Turkmen, etc.) and religious groups. Centrifugal forces divide regions (e.g., ethnic/religious differences leading to political division). Centripetal forces unify, but Iraq’s diversity often causes division. The first option says centrifugal forces (ethnicity/religion) cause devolutionary pressures by dividing regions, which matches Iraq’s context (e.g., sectarian/ethnic tensions leading to political fragmentation). Other options (centripetal, democratization, economic dev, cultural cohesion) don’t align with Iraq’s ethnic - religious strife history.

Answer:

The option: "Centrifugal forces like ethnicity and religion lead to devolutionary pressures in the country by politically dividing regions."