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 Shah Mohammad Reza PAHLAVI was forced into exile. Conservative clerical forces led by Ayatollah Ruhollah KHOMEINI 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 - a popularly elected 86-member body of clerics. US-Iranian relations became strained when a group of Iranian students seized the US Embassy in Tehran in November 1979 and held embassy personnel hostages until mid-January 1981. The US cut off diplomatic relations with Iran in April 1980. During the period 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. Iran has been designated a state sponsor of terrorism for its activities in Lebanon and elsewhere in the world and remains subject to US UN and EU economic sanctions and export controls because of its continued involvement in terrorism and its nuclear weapons ambitions. Following the election of reformer Hojjat ol-Eslam Mohammad KHATAMI as president in 1997 and a reformist Majles (legislature) in 2000 a campaign to foster political reform in response to popular dissatisfaction was initiated. The movement floundered as conservative politicians through control of unelected institutions prevented reform measures from being enacted and increased repressive measures. 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 hardliner Mahmud AHMADI-NEJAD as president. His controversial reelection in June 2009 sparked nationwide protests over allegations of electoral fraud. The UN Security Council has passed a number of resolutions calling for Iran to suspend its uranium enrichment and reprocessing activities and comply with its IAEA obligations and responsibilities. In mid-February 2011 opposition activists conducted the largest antiregime rallies since December 2009 spurred by the success of uprisings in Tunisia and Egypt. Protester turnout probably was at most tens of thousands and security forces were deployed to disperse protesters. Additional protests in March 2011 failed to elicit significant participation largely because of the robust security response although discontent still smolders. Deteriorating economic conditions due primarily to government mismanagement and international sanctions prompted at least two major economically based protests in July and October 2012.


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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

Area
Rank: 18
Land: 1,531,595 km²
Water: 116,600 km²
Comparative: slightly smaller than Alaska

Land boundaries
Border countries: (8) Afghanistan 936 km; Armenia 35 km; Azerbaijan-proper 432 km; Azerbaijan-Naxcivan exclave 179 km; Iraq 1458 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
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 highest point: Kuh-e Damavand 5,671 m

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

Land use
Permanent crops: 1.08%
Other: 88.86% (2011)

Irrigated land: 87,000 km² (2009)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources: 137 km³ (2011)

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: 79,853,900 (July 2013 est.)
Rank: 19
Growth rate: 1.24% (2013 est.)
Growth rate rank: 95

Nationality
Adjective: Iranian

Ethnic groups: Persian 61% Azeri 16% Kurd 10% Lur 6% Baloch 2% Arab 2% Turkmen and Turkic tribes 2% other 1%

Languages: Persian (official) 53% Azeri Turkic and Turkic dialects 18% Kurdish 10% Gilaki and Mazandarani 7% Luri 6% Balochi 2% Arabic 2% other 2%

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

Demographic profile

Age structure
15-24 years: 19.8% (male 8,116,169/female 7,671,139)
25-54 years: 45.3% (male 18,380,525/female 17,766,409)
55-64 years: 6.1% (male 2,383,360/female 2,472,140)
65 years and over: 5.1% (male 1,902,743/female 2,175,724) (2013 est.)

Dependency ratios
Youth dependency ratio: 33.6 %
Elderly dependency ratio: 7.5 %
Potential support ratio: 13.4 (2013)

Median age
Male: 27.5 years
Female: 28.1 years (2013 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.24% (2013 est.)
Rank: 95

Birth rate: 18.4 births/1000 population (2013 est.)
Rank: 106

Death rate: 5.94 deaths/1000 population (2013 est.)
Rank: 167

Net migration rate: -0.1 migrant(s)/1000 population (2013 est.)
Rank: 115

Population distribution

Urbanization
Rate of urbanization: 1.25% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)

Major urban areas
Population: TEHRAN (capital) 7.19 million; Mashhad 2.592 million; Esfahan 1.704 million; Karaj 1.531 million; Tabriz 1.459 million (2009)

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 signed but not ratified: Environmental Modification Law of the Sea Marine Life Conservation

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
0-14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female
Total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2013 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Rank: 56
Male: 40.54 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 39.48 deaths/1000 live births (2013 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Rank: 149
Male: 69.09 years
Female: 72.24 years (2013 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.86 children born/woman (2013 est.)
Rank: 146

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 73.3% (2002)

Drinking water source:

Current health expenditure

Physicians density: 0.89 physicians/1000 population (2005)

Hospital bed density: 1.7 beds/1000 population (2009)

Sanitation facility access:

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate: 0.2% (2009 est.)
Adult prevalence rate rank: 99
People living with hivaids: 92,000 (2009 est.)
People living with hivaids rank: 43
Deaths: 6,400 (2009 est.)
Deaths rank: 33

Major infectious diseases
Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea
Vectorborne diseases: Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 19.4% (2008)
Rank: 99

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 4.6% (2004)
Rank: 91

Education expenditures: 4.7% of GDP (2010)
Rank: 88

Literacy
Total population: 85%
Male: 89.3%
Female: 80.7% (2008 est.)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Male: 14 years
Female: 14 years (2011)

Youth unemployment


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

Government type: theocratic republic

Capital
Geographic coordinates: 35 42 N 51 25 E
Time difference: UTC+3.5 (8.5 hours ahead of Washington DC during Standard Time)
Daylight saving time: +1hr begins fourth Tuesday in March; ends fourth Thursday in September

Administrative divisions: 31 provinces (ostanha singular - ostan); Alborz Ardabil Azarbayjan-e Gharbi (West Azerbaijan) Azarbayjan-e Sharqi (East Azerbaijan) Bushehr Chahar Mahal va Bakhtiari Esfahan Fars Gilan Golestan Hamadan Hormozgan Ilam Kerman Kermanshah Khorasan-e Jonubi (South Khorasan) Khorasan-e Razavi (Razavi Khorasan) Khorasan-e Shomali (North Khorasan) Khuzestan Kohgiluyeh va Bowyer 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); notable earlier dates: ca. 625 B.C. (unification of Iran under the Medes); ca. A.D. 1501 (Iran reunified under the Safavids); 12 December 1925 (modern Iran established under the Pahlavis)

National holiday: Republic Day 1 April (1979)

Constitution: previous 1906; latest adopted 24 October 1979 effective 3 December 1979; amended 1989 (2013)

Legal system: religious legal system based on sharia law

International law organization participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

Citizenship

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Head of government: President Hasan Fereidun RUHANI (since 3 August 2013); First Vice President Mohammad Reza RAHIMI (since 13 September 2009)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers selected by the president with legislative approval; the Supreme Leader has some control over appointments to the more sensitive ministries
Elections: supreme leader appointed for life by the Assembly of Experts; president elected by popular vote for a four-year term (eligible for a second term and additional nonconsecutive term); election last held on 14 June 2013 (next presidential election to be held in June 2017)
Election results: Hasan Fereidun RUHANI 50.7% Mohammad Baqer QALIBAF 16.6% Saeed JALILI 11.4% Mohsen REZAI 10.6% Ali Akber VELAYATI 6.2% other 4.5%

Legislative branch

Judicial branch

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation

Diplomatic representation

Flag description

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate

Real gdp per capita

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin

Agriculture products

Industries

Industrial production growth rate

Labor force

Unemployment rate

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget

Taxes and other revenues

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year

Inflation rate consumer prices

Central bank discount rate: NA%

Commercial bank prime lending rate: 11.25% (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 70

Stock of narrow money: $40.06 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 50

Stock of broad money: $183.5 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 40

Stock of domestic credit: $77.6 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 59

Market value of publicly traded shares:
Rank: 43

Current account balance: $59.38 billion (2011 est.)
Rank: 174

Exports: $144.9 billion (2011 est.)
Rank: 53
Commodities: petroleum 80% chemical and petrochemical products fruits and nuts carpets
Partners: China 22.1% India 11.9% Turkey 10.6% South Korea 7.6% Japan 7.1% (2012)

Imports: $77.81 billion (2011 est.)
Rank: 43
Commodities: industrial supplies capital goods foodstuffs and other consumer goods technical services
Partners: UAE 33.2% China 13.8% Turkey 11.8% South Korea 7.4% (2012)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $84.06 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 29

Debt external: $19.11 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 86

Stock of direct foreign investment at home: $32.44 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 57

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad: $2.915 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
Rank: 67

Exchange rates:


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Electricity
Production: 220.3 billion kWh (2011 est.)
Production rank: 20
Consumption: 182.7 billion kWh (2010 est.)
Consumption rank: 20
Exports: 6.707 billion kWh (2010 est.)
Exports rank: 25
Imports: 3.015 billion kWh (2010 est.)
Imports rank: 46
Installed generating capacity: 62.09 million kW (2010 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 15
Generation sources fossil fuels: 86.2% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 86
Generation sources nuclear: 0% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 108
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 13.7% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 104
Generation sources other renewable sources: 0.2% of total installed capacity (2010 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 93

Coal

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 3.589 million bbl/day (2012 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 6
Crude oil exports: 2.377 million bbl/day (2010 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 4
Crude oil imports: 15,600 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 72
Crude oil proven reserves: 154.6 billion bbl (1 January 2013 es)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 4

Crude oil

Refined petroleum
Products production: 1.712 million bbl/day (2010 est.)
Products production rank: 13
Products consumption: 1.694 million bbl/day (2011 est.)
Products consumption rank: 14
Products exports: 330,800 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Products exports rank: 22
Products imports: 180,400 bbl/day (2010 est.)
Products imports rank: 29

Natural gas
Production: 151.8 billion m³ (2011 est.)
Production rank: 4
Consumption: 144.6 billion m³ (2010 est.)
Consumption rank: 5
Exports: 9.05 billion m³ (2011 est.)
Exports rank: 28
Imports: 10.59 billion m³ (2011 est.)
Imports rank: 30
Proven reserves: 33.61 trillion m³ (1 January 2013 es)
Proven reserves rank: 2

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 624.9 million Mt (2011 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 8

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Main lines in use: 28.76 million (2012)
Main lines in use rank: 12
Mobile cellular: 58.16 million (2012)
Mobile cellular rank: 24

Telephone system
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 fixed-line network greatly; fixed-line availability has more than doubled to more than 27 million lines since 2000; additionally mobile-cellular service has increased dramatically serving roughly 56 million subscribers in 2011; combined fixed and mobile-cellular subscribership now exceeds 100 per 100 persons
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 - 13 (9 Intelsat and 4 Inmarsat) (2011)

Broadcast media: state-run broadcast media with no private independent broadcasters; Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB) the state-run TV broadcaster operates 5 nationwide channels a news channel about 30 provincial channels and several international channels; about 20 foreign Persian-language TV stations broadcasting on satellite TV are capable of being seen in Iran; satellite dishes are illegal and while their use had been tolerated authorities began confiscating satellite dishes following the unrest stemming from the 2009 presidential election; IRIB operates 8 nationwide radio networks a number of provincial stations and an external service; most major international broadcasters transmit to Iran (2009)

Internet
Country code: .ir
Hosts: 197,804 (2012)
Hosts rank: 72
Users: 8.214 million (2009)
Users rank: 35

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures: 2.5% of GDP (2006)
Rank: 56

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age for compulsory military service; 16 years of age for volunteers; 17 years of age for Law Enforcement Forces; 15 years of age for Basij Forces (Popular Mobilization Army); conscript military service obligation is 18 months; women exempt from military service (2012)

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 319 (2013)
Rank: 22
With paved runways over 3047 m: 42
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 29
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 26
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 36
With paved runways under 914 m: 7 (2013)
With unpaved runways over 3047 m: 1
With unpaved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 2
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 9
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 135
With unpaved runways: 32 (2013)

Heliports: 26 (2013)

Pipelines: condensate 7 km; condensate/gas 973 km; gas 20,794 km; liquid petroleum gas 570 km; oil 8,625 km; refined products 7,937 km (2013)

Railways
Rank: 24
Broad gauge: 94 km 1.676-m gauge
Standard gauge: 8,348 km 1.435-m gauge (148 km electrified) (2008)

Roadways
Rank: 26
Paved: 160,366 km (includes 1948 km of expressways)
Unpaved: 38,500 km (2010)

Waterways: 850 km (on Karun River; some navigation on Lake Urmia) (2012)
Rank: 70

Merchant marine
Rank: 60
By type: bulk carrier 8 cargo 51 chemical tanker 3 container 4 liquefied gas 1 passenger/cargo 3 petroleum tanker 2 refrigerated cargo 2 roll on/roll off 2
Foreign owned: 2 (UAE 2)
Registered in other countries: 71 (Barbados 5 Cyprus 10 Hong Kong 3 Malta 48 Panama 5) (2010)

Ports and terminals: Bandar-e Asaluyeh Bandar Abbas Bandar Emam Khomeyni


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Disputes international: Iran protests Afghanistan's limiting flow of dammed Helmand River tributaries during 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; Azerbaijan Kazakhstan and Russia ratified Caspian seabed delimitation treaties based on equidistance while Iran continues to insist on a one-fifth slice of the sea; Afghan and Iranian commissioners have discussed boundary monument densification and resurvey

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs: despite substantial interdiction efforts and considerable control measures along the border with Afghanistan Iran remains one of the primary transshipment routes for Southwest Asian heroin to Europe; suffers one of the highest opiate addiction rates in the world and has an increasing problem with synthetic drugs; lacks anti-money laundering laws; has reached out to neighboring countries to share counter-drug intelligence