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 (AOE) - a popularly elected 88-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 and was subject to US, UN, and EU economic sanctions and export controls because of its continued involvement in terrorism and concerns over possible military dimensions of its nuclear program until Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) Implementation Day in 2016. The US began gradually re-imposing sanctions on Iran after the US withdrawal from JCPOA in May 2018.


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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: 1,648,195 km²
Land: 1,531,595 km²
Water: 116,600 km²
Rank: 19
Comparative: almost 2.5 times the size of Texas; slightly smaller than Alaska

Land boundaries
Total: 5,894 km
Border countries: (7) Afghanistan 921 km; , Armenia 44 km; , Azerbaijan 689 km; , Iraq 1599 km; , Pakistan 959 km; , Turkey 534 km; , Turkmenistan 1148 km

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

Maritime claims
Territorial sea: 12 nm
Contiguous zone: 24 nm

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
Mean elevation: 1305 m
Lowest point: Caspian Sea -28 m
Highest point: Kuh-e Damavand 5,625 m

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

Land use
Agricultural land: 30.1% (2011 est.)
Forest: 6.8% (2011 est.)
Other: 63.1% (2011 est.)

Irrigated land: 95,530 km² (2012)

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
Distribution: population is concentrated in the north, northwest, and west, reflecting the position of the Zagros and Elburz Mountains; the vast dry areas in the center and eastern parts of the country, around the deserts of the Dasht-e Kavir and Dasht-e Lut, have a much lower population density: 84,923,314 (July 2020 est.)
Rank: 17
Growth rate: 1.1% (2020 est.)
Growth rate rank: 96
Below poverty line: 18.7% (2007 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Iranian(s)
Adjective: Iranian

Ethnic groups: Persian, Azeri, Kurd, Lur, Baloch, Arab, Turkmen and Turkic tribes

Languages: Persian Farsi (official), Azeri and other Turkic dialects, Kurdish, Gilaki and Mazandarani, Luri, Balochi, Arabic

Religions: Muslim (official) 99.4% (Shia 90-95%, Sunni 5-10%), other (includes Zoroastrian, Jewish, and Christian) 0.3%, unspecified 0.4% (2011 est.)

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 24.11% (male 10,472,844/female 10,000,028)
15-24 years: 13.36% (male 5,806,034/female 5,537,561)
25-54 years: 48.94% (male 21,235,038/female 20,327,384)
55-64 years: 7.72% (male 3,220,074/female 3,337,420)
65 years and over: 5.87% (male 2,316,677/female 2,670,254) (2020 est.)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 45.6
Youth dependency ratio: 36
Elderly dependency ratio: 9.6
Potential support ratio: 14.2 (2020 est.)

Median age
Total: 31.7 years
Male: 31.5 years
Female: 32 years (2020 est.)
Rank: 113

Population growth rate: 1.1% (2020 est.)
Rank: 96

Birth rate: 16.3 births/1000 population (2020 est.)
Rank: 106

Death rate: 5.3 deaths/1000 population (2020 est.)
Rank: 188

Net migration rate: -0.3 migrant(s)/1000 population (2020 est.)
Rank: 117

Population distribution: population is concentrated in the north, northwest, and west, reflecting the position of the Zagros and Elburz Mountains; the vast dry areas in the center and eastern parts of the country, around the deserts of the Dasht-e Kavir and Dasht-e Lut, have a much lower population density

Urbanization
Urban population: 75.9% of total population
Note: (2015-20 est.)
Rate of urbanization: 1.71% annual rate of change

Major urban areas
Population: 9.135 million TEHRAN (capital), 3.152 million Mashhad, 2.086 million Esfahan, 1.628 million Shiraz, 1.581 million Karaj, 1.596 million Tabriz (2020)

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(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.87 male(s)/female
Total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2020 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate
Total: 14.9 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 15.8 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 13.8 deaths/1000 live births (2020 est.)
Rank: 98

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 74.5 years
Male: 73.1 years
Female: 76 years (2020 est.)
Rank: 131

Total fertility rate: 1.94 children born/woman (2020 est.)
Rank: 123

Contraceptive prevalence rate: 77.4% (2010/11)

Drinking water source
Urban: 1.4% of population
Rural: 6.9% of population
Total: 2.8% of population (2017 est.)

Current health expenditure: 8.7% (2017)

Physicians density: 1.13 physicians/1000 population (2017)

Hospital bed density: 1.6 beds/1000 population (2017)

Sanitation facility access
Urban: 1.1% of population (2015 est.)
Rural: 4.3% of population
Total: 1.9% of population (2017 est.)

Hiv/Aids
Adult prevalence rate note: <.1% (2019 est.)
People living with hivaids: 59,000 (2019 est.)
People living with hivaids rank: 58
Deaths: 2,500 (2019 est.)
Deaths rank: 41

Major infectious diseases
Degree of risk: intermediate (2020)
Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea
Vectorborne diseases: Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever
Note: a new coronavirus is causing sustained community spread of respiratory illness (COVID-19) in Iran; sustained community spread means that people have been infected with the virus, but how or where they became infected is not known, and the spread is ongoing; illness with this virus has ranged from mild to severe with fatalities reported; as of 8 December 2020, Iran has reported a total of 1,028,986 cases of COVID-19 or 12,251 cumulative cases of COVID-19 per 1 million population with 595 cumulative deaths per 1 million population

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 25.8% (2016)
Rank: 47

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 4.1% (2011)
Rank: 88

Education expenditures: 4% of GDP (2018)
Rank: 97

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 85.5%
Male: 90.4%
Female: 80.8% (2016)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 15 years
Male: 15 years
Female: 15 years (2017)

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
Etymology: name derives from the Avestan term aryanam meaning Land of the Noble [Ones]

Government type: theocratic republic

Capital
Name: Tehran
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 Wednesday in March; ends fourth Friday in September: etymology: various explanations of the city's name have been proffered, but the most plausible states that it derives from the Persian words 'tah' meaning 'end or bottom' and 'ran' meaning '[mountain] slope' to signify 'bottom of the mountain slope'; Tehran lies at the bottom slope of the Elburz Mountains

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. 550 B.C. (Achaemenid (Persian) Empire established); A.D. 1501 (Iran reunified under the Safavid Dynasty); 1794 (beginning of Qajar Dynasty); 12 December 1925 (modern Iran established under the PAHLAVI Dynasty)

National holiday: Republic Day, 1 April (1979)

Constitution
History: previous 1906; latest adopted 24 October 1979, effective 3 December 1979
Amendments: proposed by the supreme leader - after consultation with the Exigency Council - and submitted as an edict to the Council for Revision of the Constitution, a body consisting of various executive, legislative, judicial, and academic leaders and members; passage requires absolute majority vote in a referendum and approval of the supreme leader; articles including Iran’s political system, its religious basis, and its form of government cannot be amended; amended 1989

Legal system: religious legal system based on secular and Islamic law

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

Citizenship
Citizenship by birth: no
Citizenship by descent only: the father must be a citizen of Iran
Dual citizenship recognized: no
Residency requirement for naturalization: 5 years

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: Supreme Leader Ali Hoseini-KHAMENEI (since 4 June 1989)
Head of government: President Hasan Fereidun ROHANI (since 3 August 2013); First Vice President Eshagh JAHANGIRI (since 5 August 2013)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers selected by the president with legislative approval; the supreme leader has some control over appointments to several ministries
Electionsappointments: supreme leader appointed for life by Assembly of Experts; president directly elected by absolute majority popular vote in 2 rounds if needed for a 4-year term (eligible for a second term and an additional nonconsecutive term); election last held on 19 May 2017 (next to be held on 18 June 2021)
Election results: Hasan Fereidun ROHANI reelected president; percent of vote - Hasan Fereidun ROHANI (Moderation and Development Party) 58.8%, Ebrahim RAISI (Combat Clergy Association) 39.4% , Mostafa MIR-SALIM Islamic Coalition Party) 1.2%, Mostafa HASHEMITABA(Executives of Construction Party) 0.5%
Note: 3 oversight bodies are also considered part of the executive branch of government

Legislative branch
Description: unicameral Islamic Consultative Assembly or Majles-e Shura-ye Eslami or Majles (290 seats; 285 members directly elected in single- and multi-seat constituencies by 2-round vote, and 1 seat each for Zoroastrians, Jews, Assyrian and Chaldean Christians, Armenians in the north of the country and Armenians in the south; members serve 4-year terms); note - all candidates to the Majles must be approved by the Council of Guardians, a 12-member group of which 6 are appointed by the supreme leader and 6 are jurists nominated by the judiciary and elected by the Majles
Elections: first round held on 21 February 2020 and second round for 11 remaining seats held on 11 September 2020 (next full Majles election to be held in 2024)
Election results: percent of vote by coalition (first round) - NA; seats by coalition (first round) - conservatives 219, reformists 20, independents 35, religious minorities 5; remaining 11 seats to be decided in April 2020

Judicial branch
Highest courts: Supreme Court (consists of the chief justice and organized into 42 two-bench branches, each with a justice and a judge)
Judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court president appointed by the head of the High Judicial Council (HJC), a 5-member body to include the Supreme Court chief justice, the prosecutor general, and 3 clergy, in consultation with judges of the Supreme Court; president appointed for a single, renewable 5-year term; other judges appointed by the HJC; judge tenure NA
Subordinate courts: Penal Courts I and II; Islamic Revolutionary Courts; Courts of Peace; Special Clerical Court (functions outside the judicial system and handles cases involving clerics); military courts

Political parties and leaders: Combatant Clergy AssociationCouncil for Coordinating the Reforms FrontExecutives of Construction PartyFollowers of the Guardianship of the Jurisprudent [Ali LARIJANI]Front of Islamic Revolutionary Stability [Morteza AGHA-TEHRANI, general secretary]Islamic Coalition PartyIslamic Iran Participation Front [associated with former President Mohammed KHATAMI]Militant Clerics SocietyModeration and Development PartyNational Trust PartyNational Unity PartyPervasive Coalition of Reformists [Ali SUFI, chairman] (includes Council for Coordinating the Reforms Front, National Trust Party, Union of Islamic Iran People Party, Moderation and Development Party)Principlists Grand Coalition [Ali Reza ZAKANI] (includes Combatant Clergy Association and Islamic Coalition Party, Society of Devotees and Pathseekers of the Islamic Revolution, Front of Islamic Revolution Stability)Progress, Welfare, and Justice FrontProgress and Justice Population of Islamic Iran or PJP [Hosein GHORBANZADEH, general secretary]Resistance Front of Islamic Iran [Yadollah HABIBI, general secretary]Steadfastness FrontUnion of Islamic Iran People's PartyWayfarers of the Islamic Revolution

International organization participation: CICA, CP, D-8, ECO, FAO, G-15, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC (national committees), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, SAARC (observer), SCO (observer), UN, UNAMID, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNITAR, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)

Diplomatic representation
In the us: none; 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; the US Interests Section is located in the Embassy of Switzerland; Embassy of Switzerland, US Foreign Interests Section No. 39, Shahid Mousavi (Golestan 5th), Pasdaran Ave., Tehran, Iran

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; green is the color of Islam and also represents growth, white symbolizes honesty and peace, red stands for bravery and martyrdom

National symbols: lion; national colors: green, white, red

National anthem
Name: Soroud-e Melli-ye Jomhouri-ye Eslami-ye Iran (National Anthem of the Islamic Republic of Iran)
Lyricsmusic: multiple authors/Hassan RIAHI: note 1: adopted 1990; Iran has had six national anthems; the first, entitled Salam-e Shah (Royal Salute) was in use from 1873-1909; next came Salamati-ye Dowlat-e Elliye-ye Iran (Salute of the Sublime State of Persia, 1909-1933); it was followed by Sorud-e melli (The Imperial Anthem of Iran; 1933-1979), which chronicled the exploits of the Pahlavi Dynasty; Ey Iran (Oh Iran) functioned unofficially as the national anthem for a brief period between the ouster of the Shah in 1979 and the early days of the Islamic Republic in 1980; Payandeh Bada Iran (Long Live Iran) was used between 1980 and 1990 during the time of Ayatollah KHOMEINInote 2: a recording of the current Iranian national anthem is unavailable since the US Navy Band does not record anthems for countries from which the US does not anticipate official visits; the US does not have diplomatic relations with Iran

National heritage


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Economy overview

Real gdp purchasing power parity
Real:
Real note: data are in 2017 dollars

Real gdp growth rate:
Rank: 78

Real gdp per capita:
Note: data are in 2017 dollars
Rank: 72

Gross national saving:
Rank: 12

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 49.7% (2017 est.)
Government consumption: 14% (2017 est.)
Investment in fixed capital: 20.6% (2017 est.)
Investment in inventories: 14.5% (2017 est.)
Exports of goods and services: 26% (2017 est.)
Imports of goods and services: -24.9% (2017 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 9.6% (2016 est.)
Industry: 35.3% (2016 est.)
Services: 55% (2017 est.)

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

Industries: petroleum, petrochemicals, gas, fertilizer, caustic soda, textiles, cement and other construction materials, food processing (particularly sugar refining and vegetable oil production), ferrous and nonferrous metal fabrication, armaments

Industrial production growth rate: 3% (2017 est.)
Rank: 103

Labor force: 30.5 million (2017 est.)
Note: shortage of skilled labor
Rank: 17
By occupation agriculture: 16.3%
By occupation industry: 35.1%
By occupation services: 48.6% (2013 est.)

Unemployment rate:
Note: data are Iranian Government numbers
Rank: 162

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line: 18.7% (2007 est.)

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 2.6%
Highest 10: 29.6% (2005)

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: 74.4 billion (2017 est.)
Expenditures: 84.45 billion (2017 est.)
Surplus or deficit: -2.3% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
Surplus or deficit rank: 110

Taxes and other revenues: 17.3% (of GDP) (2017 est.)
Rank: 170

Public debt:
Note: includes publicly guaranteed debt
Rank: 132

Revenue

Fiscal year: 21 March - 20 March

Inflation rate consumer prices:
Note: official Iranian estimate
Rank: 210

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:
Rank: 25

Exports:
Rank: 47
Partners: China 27.5%, India 15.1%, South Korea 11.4%, Turkey 11.1%, Italy 5.7%, Japan 5.3% (2017)
Commodities: petroleum 60%, chemical and petrochemical products, fruits and nuts, carpets, cement, ore

Imports:
Rank: 53
Commodities: industrial supplies, capital goods, foodstuffs and other consumer goods, technical services
Partners: UAE 29.8%, China 12.7%, Turkey 4.4%, South Korea 4%, Germany 4% (2017)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
Rank: 21

Debt external:
Rank: 122

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates:


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Electricity
Access electrification total population: 100% (2020)
Production: 272.3 billion kWh (2016 est.)
Production rank: 15
Consumption: 236.3 billion kWh (2016 est.)
Consumption rank: 17
Exports: 6.822 billion kWh (2015 est.)
Exports rank: 28
Imports: 4.221 billion kWh (2016 est.)
Imports rank: 44
Installed generating capacity: 77.6 million kW (2016 est.)
Installed generating capacity rank: 16
Generation sources fossil fuels: 84% of total installed capacity (2016 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels rank: 74
Generation sources nuclear: 1% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources nuclear rank: 29
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 15% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity rank: 103
Generation sources other renewable sources: 0% of total installed capacity (2017 est.)
Generation sources other renewable sources rank: 193

Coal

Petroleum
Petroleum total petroleum production: 4.251 million bbl/day (2018 est.)
Petroleum total petroleum production rank: 6
Crude oil exports: 750,200 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Crude oil exports rank: 16
Crude oil imports: 0 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Crude oil imports rank: 144
Crude oil proven reserves: 157.2 billion bbl (1 January 2018 est.)
Crude oil proven reserves rank: 4

Crude oil

Refined petroleum
Products production: 1.764 million bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products production rank: 11
Products consumption: 1.804 million bbl/day (2016 est.)
Products consumption rank: 12
Products exports: 397,200 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products exports rank: 21
Products imports: 64,160 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products imports rank: 72

Natural gas
Production: 214.5 billion m³ (2017 est.)
Production rank: 3
Consumption: 206.9 billion m³ (2017 est.)
Consumption rank: 4
Exports: 11.64 billion m³ (2017 est.)
Exports rank: 18
Imports: 3.993 billion m³ (2017 est.)
Imports rank: 40
Proven reserves: 33.72 trillion m³ (1 January 2018 est.)
Proven reserves rank: 2

Carbon dioxide emissions
From consumption of energy: 638.3 million Mt (2017 est.)
From consumption of energy rank: 10

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 29,330,454
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 34.92 (2019 est.)
Fixed lines rank: 9
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 119,598,034
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 142.39 (2019 est.)
Mobile cellular rank: 15

Telephone system

Broadcast media: state-run broadcast media with no private, independent broadcasters; Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), the state-run TV broadcaster, operates 19 nationwide channels including a news channel, about 34 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 is subjectively tolerated, authorities confiscate satellite dishes from time to time; IRIB operates 16 nationwide radio networks, a number of provincial stations, and an external service; most major international broadcasters transmit to Iran (2019)

Internet
Country code: .ir
Users total: 58,117,322
Users percent of population: 70% (July 2018 est.)
Users rank: 14

Broadband fixed subscriptions
Total: 9,806,123
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 12 (2018 est.)
Rank: 18


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Military expenditures:
Rank: 16

Military and security forces: Islamic Republic of Iran Regular Forces (Artesh): Ground Forces, Navy (includes marines), Air Force, Air Defense Forces; Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (Sepah, IRGC): Ground Forces, Navy (includes marines), Aerospace Force (controls strategic missile force), Qods Force (special operations), Cyber Command, Basij Paramilitary Forces (Popular Mobilization Army); Law Enforcement Forces (border and security troops, assigned to the armed forces in wartime) (2019)

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 18-24 months; women exempt from military service (2019)

Space program

Terrorist groups: Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps/Qods Force; Jaysh al Adl (Jundallah); Kurdistan Workers' Party; al-Qa’ida (2019)
Note: details about the history, aims, leadership, organization, areas of operation, tactics, targets, weapons, size, and sources of support of the group(s) appear(s) in a title='Appendix-T' href='../appendix/appendix-t.html'>Appendix-T/a>


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National air transport system
Number of registered air carriers: 22 (2020)
Inventory of registered aircraft operated by air carriers: 237
Annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers: 25,604,871 (2018)
Annual freight traffic on registered air carriers: 290.74 million
Note: mt-km (2018)

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: EP (2016)

Airports: 319 (2013)
Rank: 22
With paved runways total: 140 (2019)
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
With unpaved runways total: 179 (2013)
With unpaved runways over 3047 m: 1 (2013)
With unpaved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 2 (2013)
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 9 (2013)
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 135 (2013)
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 32 (2013)

Heliports: 26 (2013)

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

Railways
Total: 8,484 km (2014)
Standard gauge: 8,390 km
Note: 1.676-m gauge (2014)
Broad gauge: 94 km
Rank: 25

Roadways
Total: 223,485 km (2018)
Paved: 195,485 km (2018)
Unpaved: 28,000 km (2018)
Rank: 23

Waterways: 850 km
Note: (on Karun River; some navigation on Lake Urmia) (2012)
Rank: 69

Merchant marine
Total: 785
By type: bulk carrier 31, container ship 26, general cargo 361, oil tanker 17, other 350 (2019)
Rank: 30

Ports and terminals
Major seaport: Bandar-e Asaluyeh, Bandar Abbas, Bandar Emam
Container port: Bandar Abbas (2,607,000) (2017)


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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
Refugees: 2.5-3.0 (1 million registered, 1.5-2.0 million undocumented) (Afghanistan) (2015); 28,268 (Iraq) (2019)

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; regularly enforces the death penalty for drug offences; lacks anti-money laundering laws; has reached out to neighboring countries to share counter-drug intelligence