Education
The National Campaign for Eradication of Illiteracy:
Refusing to send your child to school at the age of six was a crime punished by law, usually by prison time, under Saddam's regime starting from the late '70s and up until he was removed from power, and yes, that did include girls. Saddam was actually very supportive of women in that regard. In 1976, Iraq hosted the "Baghdad Conference for the Eradication of Illiteracy". Shortly after, he initiated the "National Campaign for Eradication of Illiteracy". The results were very positive, so much that Iraq was awarded The United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) prize for eradicating illiteracy in 1982, just three years after Saddam became president.[1]
Free Education
Education was made free to everyone in Iraq under Saddam's regime. This not only includes grade school, but also covers college and graduate level education.[2] It started in the early '70s and resulted, by the mid '80s, in an unprecedented 100% enrollment rates, and of course helped build a better educated middle class. Those years were called "The Golden Years" for the Iraqi Education System. [2][3]
Furthermore, government scholarships were given every years for hundreds, if not thousands, of Iraqis to study abroad. This resulted in a solid education system that enjoyed a reputation that made it the destination for many Arab students in the area, whom were also given free education.[4]
Educational Institutes
Out of all the universities in Iraq, only about four were established before Saddam's regime. The University of Baghdad, found in 1908 and the second largest Arab university after the University of Cairo, was only followed by ones in Mosul and Basrah, Iraq's other major cities, roughly 60 years later. Nowadays, every province in Iraq has a university of its own, if not more than one.[5][6]
Furthermore, a number of schools were built in every city, and at least one was built in every village in the country. Also, a pair of gifted schools were built and named after Saddam in every province, one for males, the other for females. I've personally graduated from one of those. Out of 90 students in my school's class of 2003, 40 got into Medical School, all of the rest became engineers. Those schools degraded significantly after 2003, I must say. One particular gifted school was built in Baghdad in 1998. Its Wikipedia article claims that its purpose was to prepare intelligent students for Saddam's service, and while that might very well be true, it provides no citations on the matter.[7]
Economy:
Nationalization of Oil:
As vice president, Saddam led the oil nationalization process for Al-Ba'ath party in 1972.[8] Western oil companies had a strong monopoly over the Iraqi oil production.[9] The aftermath of the nationalization was tripling[10] the Iraqi oil production in the first ~8 years, let alone not having to give percentages of the profits to non-Iraqi companies and strengthening the Iraqi economy in the process.
Agriculture and Empowering of Farmers:
While Feudalism was prohibited in 1958 by the July 14th revolution years before Al-Ba'ath party took charge, farmers were very much empowered by the government under Saddam regime. They were given pieces of land, loans, modern machinery, discounted seeds and water supplies, and every other resource necessary for them to thrive and succeed.[11] This also included the biggest land reclamation project in the history of Iraq, [12] since large areas of land became inarable in the beginning of the century. Saddam's river, also known as the third river, among other projects, was constructed to fight the issue, although that river was mainly constructed for the draining of the Hawizeh marshes to gain a tactical advantage over the Iranis during the Iran-Iraq war.[13]
Helping The Middle Class:
Saddam had numerous achievements in this area. Iraqis, and especially government employees, were given small pieces of land for them to build houses on, which was complimented by loans specifically tailored for that purpose. Houses and apartments were also given to some government employees. That either came in the form of living on government property without paying rent for college professors for example, but also manifested in building housing units that were given for free for people to own. Another way to give out housing units was by encouraging communities to collaboratively build housing complexes on government-owned land for those in need. I was unable to find any citations for this, feel free to post what you find in the comments and I'll update the answer accordingly.
Regionally, Saddam also had a number of achievements. An example is providing work opportunities for Egyptian and Moroccan famers. In 1980, the number of Egyptian workers grew to 1.5 million in Iraq. Saddam provided them with free health insurance and social security coverage as well. [12] This and other gestures towards neighboring Arab countries explain the outrage in the Arab world when Saddam was removed from power and later executed. Arabs viewed Iraqis as traitors since they only experienced the bright side of Saddam, and were spared the horrors that we suffered as his people.
Infrastructure:
Water and Electricity were made available to nearly every city and village in Iraq. "Model Villages" were built to provide farmers with better services and overall living standards. At least one school and clinic were built in every village. Roads were paved and modern highways were constructed all over the country. Bridges and recreational villages were built in numerous locations.
Work on the Mosul Dam, the fourth largest dam in the middle east, was started in 1980, a year after he became president and was finished 6 years later. A number of other modern dams were built during the '70s and '80s, giving Iraq more control over its water resources, and providing them with electricity. [14]
Furthermore, light and heavy industries flourished in the '80s as a part of a policy to decrease dependency on oil that Saddam deputed. [15] Large factories were built all over the country and Iraq was making its own radios, televisions, heaters, air conditioners, fridges, and just about anything else you can think of. My family still has some house appliances around that were made in Iraq during the '80s.
Healthcare:
Basic healthcare was free for everyone, and generally dirt cheap for anything that requires more than a simple visit to the doctor. Medicine prices were heavily discounted by the government. Things like birth control pills were made available, usually for free, for Iraqi women. Kids were vaccinated door-to-door by the government. Medical care reached 97% of the urban population and 71% of the rural population. Mortality rate was 50/1000 LB, infant mortality was 40/1000 LB. Hospitals were built in every city and the Iraqi healthcare system was known to be of very high quality, Iraq was actually about to gain developed country status, versus being a developing country.[16]
Additionally, a committee that answers to Saddam himself was initiated to evaluate cases that needed medical attention outside the country, and patients were flown to destination countries and treated all on the government's expense.
AKA tons of debate regardless of what we do. It's always a lose-lose.
