Map of Iran | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | More stats

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Background: Known as Persia until 1935 Iran became an Islamic republic in 1979 after the ruling monarchy was overthrown and the shah was forced into exile. Conservative clerical forces established a theocratic system of government with ultimate political authority vested in a learned religious scholar referred to commonly as the Supreme Leader who according to the constitution is accountable only to the Assembly of Experts. Iranian-US relations have been strained since a group of 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 that eventually expanded into the Persian Gulf and led to clashes between US Navy and Iranian military forces between 1987 and 1988. Iran has been designated a state sponsor of terrorism for its activities in Lebanon and elsewhere in the world and remains subject to US economic sanctions and export controls because of its continued involvement. Following the election of the reformist Hojjat ol-Eslam Mohammad KHATAMI as president in 1997 and similarly a reformist Majles (parliament) in 2000 a campaign to foster political reform in response to popular dissatisfaction was initiated. The movement floundered as conservative politicians prevented reform measures from being enacted increased repressive measures and made electoral gains against reformers. Starting with nationwide municipal elections in 2003 and continuing through Majles elections in 2004 conservatives reestablished control over Iran's elected government institutions which culminated with the August 2005 inauguration of an ultra-conservative layman as president.


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Location: Middle East bordering the Gulf of Oman the Persian Gulf and the Caspian Sea between Iraq and Pakistan

Geographic coordinates: 32 00 N 53 00 E

Map reference: Middle East

Area
Total: 1.648 million km²
Land: 1.636 million km²
Water: 12,000 km²
Comparative: slightly larger than Alaska

Land boundaries
Total: 5,440 km
Border countries: (8) Afghanistan 936 km; , Armenia 35 km; , Azerbaijan-proper 432 km; , Azerbaijan-Naxcivan exclave 179 km; , Iraq 1,458 km; , Pakistan 909 km; , Turkey 499 km; , Turkmenistan 992 km

Coastline: 2,440 km; note - Iran also borders the Caspian Sea (740 km)

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Contiguous zone: 24 nm
Exclusive economic zone: bilateral agreements or median lines in the Persian Gulf
Continental shelf: natural prolongation

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
Extremes lowest point: Caspian Sea -28 m
Extremes highest point: Kuh-e Damavand 5,671 m

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

Land use
Arable land: 9.78%
Permanent crops: 1.29%
Other: 88.93% (2005)

Irrigated land: 76,500 km² (2003)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: periodic droughts floods; dust storms sandstorms; earthquakes

Geography
Note: strategic location on the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz which are vital maritime pathways for crude oil transport


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Population: 65,397,521 (July 2007 est.)
Growth rate: 0.663% (2007 est.)
Below poverty line: 40% (2002 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Iranian
Adjective: Iranian

Ethnic groups: Persian 51% Azeri 24% Gilaki and Mazandarani 8% Kurd 7% Arab 3% Lur 2% Baloch 2% Turkmen 2% other 1%

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

Religions: Muslim 98% (Shi'a 89% Sunni 9%) other (includes Zoroastrian Jewish Christian and Baha'i) 2%

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 23.2% (male 7,783,794/female 7,385,721)
15-64 years: 71.4% (male 23,636,883/female 23,088,934)
65 years and over: 5.4% (male 1,701,727/female 1,800,462) (2007 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age
Total: 25.8 years
Male: 25.6 years
Female: 26 years (2007 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.663% (2007 est.)

Birth rate: 16.57 births/1000 population (2007 est.)

Death rate: 5.65 deaths/1000 population (2007 est.)

Net migration rate: -4.29 migrant(s)/1000 population (2007 est.)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: air pollution especially in urban areas from vehicle emissions refinery operations and industrial effluents; deforestation; overgrazing; desertification; oil pollution in the Persian Gulf; wetland losses from drought; soil degradation (salination); inadequate supplies of potable water; water pollution from raw sewage and industrial waste; urbanization
International agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
International agreements signed but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.054 male/female
15-64 years: 1.024 male/female
65 years and over: 0.945 male/female
Total population: 1.026 male/female (2007 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Total: 38.12 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 38.29 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 37.93 deaths/1000 live births (2007 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 70.56 years
Male: 69.12 years
Female: 72.07 years (2007 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.71 children born/woman (2007 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: less than 0.1% (2001 est.)
People living with hivaids: 31,000 (2001 est.)
Deaths: 800 (2003 est.)

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 77%
Male: 83.5%
Female: 70.4% (2002 est.)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional long form: Islamic Republic of Iran
Conventional short form: Iran
Local long form: Jomhuri-ye Eslami-ye Iran
Local short form: Iran
Former: Persia

Government type: theocratic republic

Capital
Name: Tehran
Geographic coordinates: 35 40 N, 51 25 E
Time difference: UTC+3.5 (8.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)

Administrative divisions: 30 provinces (ostanha singular - ostan); Ardabil Azarbayjan-e Gharbi Azarbayjan-e Sharqi Bushehr Chahar Mahall va Bakhtiari Esfahan Fars Gilan Golestan Hamadan Hormozgan Ilam Kerman Kermanshah Khorasan-e Janubi Khorasan-e Razavi Khorasan-e Shemali Khuzestan Kohgiluyeh va Buyer Ahmad Kordestan Lorestan Markazi Mazandaran Qazvin Qom Semnan Sistan va Baluchestan Tehran Yazd Zanjan

Dependent areas

Independence: 1 April 1979 (Islamic Republic of Iran proclaimed)

National holiday: 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: based on Shari'a law system; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: Supreme Leader Ali Hoseini-KHAMENEI (since 4 June 1989)
Head of government: President Mahmud AHMADI-NEJAD (since 3 August 2005); First Vice President Parviz DAVUDI (since 11 September 2005)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers selected by the president with legislative approval; the Supreme Leader has some control over appointments to the more sensitive ministries
Note: also considered part of the Executive branch of government are three oversight bodies: 1) Assembly of Experts, a popularly elected body of 86 religious scholars constitutionally charged with determining the succession of the Supreme Leader - based on his qualifications in the field of jurisprudence and commitment to the principles of the revolution, reviewing his performance, and deposing him if deemed necessary; 2) Expediency Council or the Council for the Discernment of Expediency, is a policy advisory and implementation board consisting of permanent members, who number over 40 and represent all major government factions and include the heads of the three branches of government, and the clerical members of the Council of Guardians (see next); permanent members are appointed by the Supreme Leader for five-year terms; temporary members, including Cabinet members and Majles committee chairmen, are selected when issues under their jurisdiction come before the Expediency Council; the Expediency Council exerts supervisory authority over the executive, judicial, and legislative branches and resolves legislative issues on which the Majles and the Council of Guardians disagree and since 1989 has been used to advise national religious leaders on matters of national policy; in 2005 the Council's powers were expanded, at least on paper, to act as a supervisory body for the government; 3) Council of Guardians of the Constitution or Council of Guardians or Guardians Council is a 12-member board made up of six clerics chosen by the Supreme Leader and six jurists selected by the Majles from a list of candidates recommended by the judiciary (which in turn is controlled by the Supreme Leader) for six-year terms; this Council determines whether proposed legislation is both constitutional and faithful to Islamic law, vets candidates for suitability, and supervises national elections
Elections: Supreme Leader appointed for life by the Assembly of Experts; Assembly of Experts elected by popular vote for an eight-year term; last election held 15 December 2006 concurrently with municipal elections; president elected by popular vote for a four-year term (eligible for a second term and third nonconsecutive term); last held 17 June 2005 with a two-candidate runoff on 24 June 2005 (next presidential election slated for 2009)
Election results: Mahmud AHMADI-NEJAD elected president; percent of vote - Mahmud AHMADI-NEJAD 62%, Ali Akbar Hashemi-RAFSANJANI 36%

Legislative branch
Elections: last held 20 February 2004 with a runoff held 7 May 2004 (next to be held in February 2008)
Election results: percent of vote - NA; seats by party - conservatives/Islamists 190, reformers 50, independents 43, religious minorities 5, and 2 seats unaccounted for

Judicial branch: The Supreme Court and the four-member High Council of the Judiciary have a single head and overlapping responsibilities; together they supervise the enforcement of all laws and establish judicial and legal policies; lower courts include a special clerical court a revolutionary court and a special administrative court

Political parties and leaders: formal political parties are a relatively new phenomenon in Iran and most conservatives still prefer to work through political pressure groups rather than parties and often political parties or groups are formed prior to elections and disbanded soon thereafter; a loose pro-reform coalition called the 2nd Khordad Front which includes political parties as well as less formal pressure groups and organizations achieved considerable success at elections to the sixth Majles in early 2000; groups in the coalition include: Islamic Iran Participation Front (IIPF) Executives of Construction Party (Kargozaran) Solidarity Party Islamic Labor Party Mardom Salari Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution Organization (MIRO) and Militant Clerics Society (Ruhaniyun); the coalition participated in the seventh Majles elections in early 2004; following his defeat in the 2005 presidential elections former MCS Secretary General Mehdi KARUBI formed the National Trust Party; a new apparently conservative group the Builders of Islamic Iran took a leading position in the new Majles after winning a majority of the seats in February 2004

International organization participation: ABEDA CP ECO FAO G-15 G-24 G-77 IAEA IBRD ICAO ICC ICCt (signatory) ICRM IDA IDB IFAD IFC IFRCS IHO ILO IMF IMO IMSO Interpol IOC IOM IPU ISO ITSO ITU MIGA NAM OIC OPCW OPEC PCA SCO (observer) UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNHCR UNIDO UNMEE UNWTO UPU WCL WCO WFTU WHO WIPO WMO WTO (observer)

Diplomatic representation
In the us: none; note - Iran has an Interests Section in the Pakistani Embassy; address: Iranian Interests Section Pakistani Embassy 2,209 Wisconsin Avenue NW Washington DC 20,007; telephone: [1] (202) 965-4,990; FAX [1] (202) 965-1073
From the us: none; note - the American Interests Section is located in the Swiss Embassy compound at Africa Avenue West Farzan Street number 59 Tehran Iran; telephone 021 8,878 2,964 or 021 8,879 2,364; FAX 021 8,877 3,265

Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of green (top) white and red; the national emblem (a stylized representation of the word Allah in the shape of a tulip a symbol of martyrdom) in red is centered in the white band; ALLAH AKBAR (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


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Economy overview: Iran's economy is marked by a bloated inefficient state sector over reliance on the oil sector and statist policies that create major distortions throughout. Most economic activity is controlled by the state. Private sector activity is typically small-scale workshops farming and services. President Mahmud AHMADI-NEJAD has continued to follow the market reform plans of former President RAFSANJANI with limited progress. Relatively high oil prices in recent years have enabled Iran to amass nearly $60 billion in foreign exchange reserves but have not eased economic hardships such as high unemployment and inflation. The proportion of the economy devoted to the development of weapons of mass destruction remains a contentious issue with leading Western nations.

Real gdp purchasing power parity: $599.2 billion (2006 est.)

Real gdp growth rate: 4.3% (2006 est.)

Real gdp per capita: $8,700 (2006 est.)

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 11%
Industry: 44.9%
Services: 44.1% (2006 est.)

Agriculture products: wheat rice other grains sugar beets fruits nuts cotton; dairy products wool; caviar

Industries: petroleum petrochemicals fertilizers caustic soda textiles cement and other construction materials food processing (particularly sugar refining and vegetable oil production) ferrous and non-ferrous metal fabrication armaments

Industrial production growth rate: 3.2% excluding oil (2006 est.)

Labor force
Note: shortage of skilled labor (2006 est.)
By occupation agriculture: 30%
By occupation industry: 25%
By occupation services: 45% (2001 est.)

Unemployment rate: 15% according to the Iranian government (2007 est.)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: 40% (2002 est.)

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: NA%
Highest 10: NA% (1998)

Distribution of family income gini index: 43 (1998)

Budget
Revenues: $110.8 billion
Expenditures: $93.61 billion (2006 est.)

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt: 23.6% of GDP (2006 est.)

Revenue

Fiscal year: 21 March - 20 March

Inflation rate consumer prices: 12% (2006 est.)

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: $38.72 billion (2005)

Current account balance: $16.51 billion (2006 est.)

Exports: $66.67 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)
Commodities: petroleum 80% chemical and petrochemical products fruits and nuts carpets
Partners: Japan 14% China 12.8% Turkey 7.2% Italy 6.3% South Korea 6% Netherlands 4.6% (2006)

Imports: $45.67 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.)
Commodities: industrial raw materials and intermediate goods capital goods foodstuffs and other consumer goods technical services military supplies
Partners: Germany 12% China 10.5% UAE 9.4% France 5.6% Italy 5.4% South Korea 5.4% Russia 4.5% (2006)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $58.46 billion (2006 est.)

Debt external: $13.73 billion (2006 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home: $4.345 billion (2006 est.)

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad: $138 million (2006 est.)

Exchange rates
Note: Iran has been using a managed floating exchange rate regime since unifying multiple exchange rates in March 2002


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Electricity
Production: 170.4 billion kWh (2005)
Consumption: 136.2 billion kWh (2005)
Exports: 2.761 billion kWh (2005)
Imports: 2.074 billion kWh (2005)

Coal

Petroleum

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas
Production: 96.77 billion m³ (2005 est.)
Consumption: 98.19 billion m³ (2005 est.)
Exports: 4.143 billion m³ (2005 est.)
Imports: 5.563 billion m³ (2005)
Proven reserves: 26.37 trillion m³ (1 January 2006 est.)

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Main lines in use: 21.981 million (2006)
Mobile cellular: 13.659 million (2006)

Telephone system
General assessment: currently being modernized and expanded with the goal of not only improving the efficiency and increasing the volume of the urban service but also bringing telephone service to several thousand villages, not presently connected
Domestic: the addition of new fiber cables and modern switching and exchange systems installed by Iran's state-owned telecom company have improved and expanded the main line network greatly; main line availability has more than doubled to 19 million lines since 1995; additionally, mobile service has increased dramatically serving some 8.5 million subscribers in 2005
International: country code - 98; submarine fiber-optic cable to UAE with access to Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG); Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic line runs from Azerbaijan through the northern portion of Iran to Turkmenistan with expansion to Georgia and Azerbaijan; HF radio and microwave radio relay to Turkey, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Syria, Kuwait, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan; satellite earth stations - 9 Intelsat and 4 Inmarsat (2006)

Broadcast media

Internet
Country code: .ir
Hosts: 6,111 (2007)
Users: 18 million (2006)

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Percent of gdp: 2.5% (2006)

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age for male compulsory military service; 16 years of age for volunteers; soldiers as young as 9 were recruited extensively during the Iran-Iraq War; conscript service obligation - 18 months (2004)

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 331 (2007)
With paved runways total: 129
With paved runways over 3047 m: 40
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 28
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 24
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 32
With paved runways under 914 m: 5 (2007)
With unpaved runways total: 202
With unpaved runways over 3047 m: 1
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 10
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 145
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 46 (2007)

Heliports: 14 (2007)

Pipelines: condensate 7 km; condensate/gas 397 km; gas 17,099 km; liquid petroleum gas 570 km; oil 8,521 km; refined products 7,808 km (2006)

Railways
Total: 8,367 km
Broad gauge: 94 km 1.676-m gauge
Standard gauge: 8,273 km 1.435-m gauge (146 km electrified) (2006)

Roadways
Total: 179,388 km
Paved: 120,782 km (includes 878 km of expressways)
Unpaved: 58,606 km (2003)

Waterways: 850 km (on Karun River; additional service on Lake Urmia) (2006)

Merchant marine
Total: 131 ships (1000 GRT or over) 4,721,202 GRT/8,309,580 DWT
By type: bulk carrier 35, cargo 45, chemical tanker 4, container 9, liquefied gas 1, passenger/cargo 4, petroleum tanker 29, roll on/roll off 4
Foreign owned: 1 (UAE 1)
Registered in other countries: 33 (Bolivia 1, Cyprus 2, Malta 24, Panama 4, St Kitts and Nevis 1, St Vincent and The Grenadines 1) (2007)

Ports and terminals: Assaluyeh Bushehr


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Disputes international: Iran protests Afghanistan's limiting flow of dammed tributaries to the Helmand River in periods of drought; Iraq's lack of a maritime boundary with Iran prompts jurisdiction disputes beyond the mouth of the Shatt al Arab in the Persian Gulf; Iran and UAE dispute Tunb Islands and Abu Musa Island which are occupied by Iran; Iran stands alone among littoral states in insisting upon a division of the Caspian Sea into five equal sectors

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Refugees country of origin: 662,355 (Afghanistan), 54,000 (Iraq) (2006)

Illicit drugs: despite substantial interdiction efforts Iran remains a key transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin to Europe; highest percentage of the population in the world using opiates; lacks anti-money-laundering laws