Statistical information Iran 1992

Iran in the World

Iran - Introduction 1992

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Background: Known as Persia until 1935 Iran became an Islamic republic in 1979 after the ruling shah was forced into exile. Conservative clerical forces subsequently crushed westernizing liberal elements. Militant Iranian students seized the US Embassy in Tehran on 4 November 1979 and held it until 20 January 1981. During 1980-88 Iran fought a bloody indecisive war with Iraq over disputed territory. The key current issue is how rapidly the country should open up to the modernizing influences of the outside world.

Iran - Geography 1992

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Location

Geographic coordinates

Map reference

Area
Total: 1,648,000 km²
Land: 1,636,000 km²
Comparative: slightly larger than Alaska

Land boundaries: 5,440 km; Afghanistan 936 km, Armenia 35 km, Azerbaijan (north) 432 km, Azerbaijan (northwest) 179 km, Iraq 1,458 km, Pakistan 909 km, Turkey 499 km, Turkmenistan 992 km

Coastline: 2,440 km

Maritime claims
Continental shelf: not specific
Exclusive fishing zone: 50 nm in the Sea of Oman; continental shelf limit, continental shelf boundaries, or median lines in the Persian Gulf
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Disputes: Iran and Iraq restored diplomatic relations in 1990 but are still trying to work out written agreements settling outstanding disputes from their eight-year war concerning border demarcation, prisoners-of-war, and freedom of navigation and sovereignty over the Shatt-al-Arab waterway;
Iran occupies two islands in the Persian Gulf claimed by the UAE:

Tunb as
Sughra (Arabic), Jazireh-ye Tonb-e Kuchek (Persian) or Lesser Tunb, and Tunb al Kubra (Arabic), Jazireh-ye Tonb-e Bozorg (Persian) or Greater Tunb; it jointly administers with the UAE an island in the Persian Gulf claimed by the UAE, Abu Musa (Arabic) or Jazireh-ye Abu Musa (Persian)

Climate: mostly arid or semiarid, subtropical along Caspian coast

Terrain: rugged, mountainous rim; high, central basin with deserts, mountains; small, discontinuous plains along both coasts

Elevation

Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, iron ore, lead, manganese, zinc, sulfur

Land use

Land use: arable land: 8%; permanent crops: NEGL%; meadows and pastures 27%; forest and woodland 11%; other 54%; includes irrigated 2%

Irrigated land

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards

Geography

Iran - People 1992

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Population: 61,183,138 (July 1992), growth rate 3.5% (1992)

Nationality: noun - Iranian(s; adjective - Iranian

Ethnic groups:

Persian 51%, Azerbaijani 25%, Kurd 9%, Gilaki and
Mazandarani 8%, Lur 2%, Baloch 1%, Arab 1%, other 3%

Languages: 58% Persian and Persian dialects, 26% Turkic and Turkic dialects, 9% Kurdish, 2% Luri, 1% Baloch, 1% Arabic, 1% Turkish, 2% other

Religions:

Shi`a Muslim 95%, Sunni Muslim 4%, Zoroastrian, Jewish,
Christian, and Baha'i 1%

Demographic profile

Age structure

Age structure

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate

Birth rate: 44 births/1000 population (1992)

Death rate: 8 deaths/1000 population (1992)

Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1000 population (1992)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: deforestation; overgrazing; desertification

Air pollutants

Sex ratio

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 64 deaths/1000 live births (1992)

Life expectancy at birth: 64 years male, 66 years female (1992)

Total fertility rate: 6.5 children born/woman (1992)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy: 54% (male 64%, female 43%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment

Iran - Government 1992

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Country name
Conventional long form: Islamic Republic of Iran

Government type: theocratic republic

Capital: Tehran

Administrative divisions:

24 provinces (ostanha, singular - ostan);
Azarbayjan-e Bakhtari, Azarbayjan-e Khavari, Bakhtaran, Bushehr, Chahar
Machall va Bakhtiari, Ecsfahan, Fars, Gilan, Hamadan, Hormozgan, Ilam,
Kerman, Khorasan, Khuzestan, Kohkiluyeh va Buyer Achmadi, Kordestan,
Lorestan, Markazi, Mazandaran, Semnan, Sistan va Baluchestan, Tehran, Yazd,
Zanjan

Dependent areas

Independence: 1 April 1979, Islamic Republic of Iran proclaimed

National holiday: Islamic Republic Day, 1 April (1979)

Constitution: 2-3 December 1979; revised 1989 to expand powers of the presidency and eliminate the prime ministership

Legal system: the Constitution codifies Islamic principles of government

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: universal at age 15
President:

last held July 1989 (next to be held April 1993); results -
Ali Akbar HASHEMI-RAFSANJANI was elected with only token opposition

Islamic Consultative Assembly:

last held 8 April 1992 (next to be held
April 1996); results - percent of vote by party NA; seats - (270 seats total) number of seats by party NA

Communists: 1,000 to 2,000 est. hardcore; 15,000 to 20,000 est. sympathizers; crackdown in 1983 crippled the party; trials of captured leaders began in late 1983

Executive branch: cleric (faqih), president, Council of Ministers

Legislative branch: unicameral Islamic Consultative Assembly (Majles-e-Shura-ye-Eslami)

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation:

CCC, CP, ESCAP, FAO, G-19, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC,
IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO,
ITU, LORCS, NAM, OIC, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU,
WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation: none; protecting power in the US is Pakistan - Iranian Interests Section, 2,315 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20,008; telephone (202) 939-6,200
US: protecting power in Iran is Switzerland

Diplomatic representation

Flag description

: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and red; the national emblem (a stylized representation of the word Allah) in red is centered in the white band; Allah Alkbar (God is Great) in white Arabic script is repeated 11 times along the bottom edge of the green band and 11 times along the top edge of the red band

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage

Iran - Economy 1992

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Economy overview:

Iran's economy is a mixture of central planning, state ownership of oil and other large enterprises, village agriculture, and small-scale private trading and service ventures. After a decade of economic decline, Iran's GNP grew roughly 4% in FY90 and 10% in FY91. An oil windfall in 1990 combined with a substantial increase in imports contributed to
Iran's recent economic growth. Iran has also begun implementing a number of economic reforms to reduce government intervention (including subsidies) and has allocated substantial resources to development projects in the hope of stimulating the economy. Nevertheless, lower oil revenues in 1991 - oil accounts for more than 90% of export revenues and provides roughly 65% of the financing for the five-year economic development plan - and dramatic increases in external debt are threatening development plans and could prompt Iran to cut imports, thus limiting economic growth in the medium term.

GNP: exchange rate conversion - $90 billion, per capita $1,500; real growth rate 10% (FY91 est.)

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate

Real gdp per capita

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Agriculture products: principal products - wheat, rice, other grains, sugar beets, fruits, nuts, cotton, dairy products, wool, caviar; not self-sufficient in food

Industries: petroleum, petrochemicals, textiles, cement and other building materials, food processing (particularly sugar refining and vegetable oil production), metal fabricating (steel and copper)

Industrial production growth rate: growth rate NA%

Labor force: 15,400,000; agriculture 33%, manufacturing 21%; shortage of skilled labor (1988 est.)
Organized labor: none

Labor force

Unemployment rate: 30% (1989)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget: revenues $63 billion; expenditures $80 billion, including capital expenditures of $23 billion (FY90 est.)

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year: 21 March - 20 March

Inflation rate consumer prices

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports: $17.8 billion (f.o.b., 1990)
Commodoties: petroleum 90%, carpets, fruits, nuts, hides
Partners: Japan, Italy, France, Netherlands, Belgium/Luxembourg, Spain, and Germany

Imports: $15.9 billion (c.i.f., 1990)
Commodoties: machinery, military supplies, metal works, foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals, technical services, refined oil products
Partners: Germany, Japan, Italy, UK, France

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: Iranian rials (IR) per US$1 - 65.515 (January 1992), 67.505 (1991), 68.096 (1990), 72.015 (1989), 68.683 (1988), 71.460 (1987; note - black-market rate 1,400 (January 1991)

Iran - Energy 1992

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Electricity
Production: 14,579,000 kW capacity; 40,000 million kWh produced, 740 kWh per capita (1989)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita

Iran - Communication 1992

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Telephones

Telephone system

Broadcast media

Internet

Broadband fixed subscriptions

Iran - Military 1992

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Military expenditures
Percent of gdp:

exchange rate conversion - $13 billion, 14-15% of
GNP (1991 est.)

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups

Iran - Transportation 1992

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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports:

214 total, 188 usable; 81 with permanent-surface runways; 16
with runways over 3,659 m; 16
with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 71
with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Heliports

Pipelines: crude oil 5,900 km; petroleum products 3,900 km; natural gas 4,550 km

Railways

Roadways

Waterways: 904 km; the Shatt-al-Arab is usually navigable by maritime traffic for about 130 km, but closed since September 1980 because of Iran-Iraq war

Merchant marine:

134 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,466,395
GRT/8,329,760 DWT; includes 38 cargo, 6 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 32 oil tanker, 4 chemical tanker, 3 refrigerated cargo, 47 bulk, 2 combination bulk, 1 liquefied gas

Civil air: 48 major transport aircraft

Ports and terminals

Iran - Transnational issues 1992

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Disputes international

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs: illicit producer of opium poppy for the domestic and international drug trade