Map of Iran | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024 | 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 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 hostage 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
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 1,599 km; Pakistan 959 km; Turkey 534 km; Turkmenistan 1,148 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
Highest point: Kuh-e Damavand 5,625 m
Lowest point: Caspian Sea -28 m
Mean elevation: 1,305 m

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

Land use
Agricultural land: 30.1% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land arable land: 10.8% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land permanent crops: 1.2% (2018 est.)
Agricultural land permanent pasture: 18.1% (2018 est.)
Forest: 6.8% (2018 est.)
Other: 63.1% (2018 est.)

Irrigated land: 79,721 km² (2020)

Major rivers
By length in km:

Major watersheds area km²: Indian Ocean drainage: (Persian Gulf) Tigris and Euphrates (918,044 km²)

Total water withdrawal
Municipal: 6.2 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
Industrial: 1.1 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)
Agricultural: 86 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

Total renewable water resources: 137.05 billion cubic meters (2020 est.)

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: 87,590,873 (2023 est.)
Growth rate: 0.93% (2023 est.)
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
Major-language samples:

Religions: Muslim (official) 99.6% (Shia 90-95%, Sunni 5-10%), other (includes Zoroastrian, Jewish, and Christian) 0.3%, unspecified 0.2% (2016 est.)

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 23.51% (male 10,533,573/female 10,060,225)
15-64 years: 69.82% (male 31,140,117/female 30,014,613)
65 years and over: 6.67% (2023 est.) (male 2,723,298/female 3,119,047)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 45.3
Youth dependency ratio: 34.6
Elderly dependency ratio: 10.7
Potential support ratio: 9.3 (2021 est.)

Median age
Total: 33.3 years (2023 est.)
Male: 33.1 years
Female: 33.5 years

Population growth rate: 0.93% (2023 est.)

Birth rate: 14.8 births/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Death rate: 5.2 deaths/1,000 population (2023 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2023 est.)

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: 77.3% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization: 1.32% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Major urban areas
Population: 9.500 million TEHRAN (capital), 3.368 million Mashhad, 2.258 million Esfahan, 1.721 million Shiraz, 1.661 million Tabriz, 1.594 million Karaj (2023)

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-London Convention, Marine Dumping-London Protocol, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
International agreements signed, but not ratified: Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation

Air pollutants
Particulate matter emissions: 31.62 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)
Carbon dioxide emissions: 661.71 megatons (2016 est.)
Methane emissions: 158.71 megatons (2020 est.)

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.87 male(s)/female
Total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2023 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio: 22 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 14.6 deaths/1,000 live births (2023 est.)
Male: 15.7 deaths/1,000 live births
Female: 13.4 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 75.4 years (2023 est.)
Male: 74.1 years
Female: 76.9 years

Total fertility rate: 1.92 children born/woman (2023 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate: NA

Drinking water source
Improved urban: 99.8% of population
Improved rural: 98.1% of population
Improved total: 99.4% of population
Unimproved urban: 0.2% of population
Unimproved rural: 1.9% of population
Unimproved total: 0.6% of population (2020 est.)

Current health expenditure: 5.3% of GDP (2020)

Physicians density: 1.58 physicians/1,000 population (2018)

Hospital bed density: 1.6 beds/1,000 population (2017)

Sanitation facility access
Improved urban:
Unimproved urban:

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases
Degree of risk: intermediate (2023)
Food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea
Vectorborne diseases: Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever

Obesity adult prevalence rate: 25.8% (2016)

Alcohol consumption
Per capita total: 0.02 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita beer: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita wine: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita spirits: 0.02 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Per capita other alcohols: 0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)

Tobacco use
Total: 13.6% (2020 est.)
Male: 24.1% (2020 est.)
Female: 3.1% (2020 est.)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 4.3% (2017)

Education expenditures: 3.6% of GDP (2020 est.)

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 88.7%
Male: 92.4%
Female: 88.7% (2021)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education
Total: 15 years
Male: 15 years
Female: 15 years (2020)

Youth unemployment
Rate ages 15 24 total: 27.2% (2021 est.)
Rate ages 15 24 male: 24%
Rate ages 15 24 female: 41.7%


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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 Ebrahim RAISI (since 18 June 2021); First Vice President Mohammad MOKHBER (since 8 August 2021)
Cabinet: Council of Ministers selected by the president with legislative approval; the supreme leader has some control over appointments to several ministries
Elections/appointments: 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 18 June 2021 (next to be held in June 2025)
Election results:

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 and hardliners 226, reformists 19, independents 40, religious minorities 5; as of June 2021 by-elections; composition - men 274, women 16, percent of women 5.6%

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:

International organization participation: BRICS, 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, UNOOSA, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: none; Iran has an Interests Section in the Pakistani Embassy; address: Iranian Interests Section, Embassy of Pakistan, 1250 23rd Street NW, Washington, DC 20,037; telephone: [1] (202) 965-4,990; FAX [1] (202) 965-1073; email: requests@daftar.org; info@daftarwashington.com; website: https://daftar.org/
From the us embassy: none; the US Interests Section is located in the Embassy of Switzerland; US Foreign Interests Section, Embassy of Switzerland, Pasdaran, Shahid Mousavi Street (Golestan 5th), Corner of Paydarfard Street, No. 55, Tehran

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)
Lyrics/music: 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 KHOMEINI
Note 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
Total World Heritage Sites: 27 (25 cultural, 2 natural)
Selected World Heritage Site locales:


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Economy overview: traditionally state-controlled economy but reforming state-owned financial entities; strong oil/gas, agricultural, and service sectors; recent massive inflation due to exchange rate depreciation, international sanctions, and investor uncertainty; increasing poverty

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

Real gdp growth rate:

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

Gross national saving

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, sugar cane, milk, sugar beet, tomatoes, barley, potatoes, oranges, poultry, apples

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: 3.21% (2021 est.)

Labor force: 27.682 million (2021 est.)
Note: shortage of skilled labor

Unemployment rate:
Note: data are Iranian Government numbers

Youth unemployment
Rate ages 15 24 total: 27.2% (2021 est.)
Rate ages 15 24 male: 24%
Rate ages 15 24 female: 41.7%

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

Gini index
Coefficient distribution of family income: 40.9 (2019 est.)

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

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $60.714 billion (2019 est.)
Expenditures: $90.238 billion (2019 est.)
Surplus  or deficit: -2.3% (of GDP) (2017 est.)

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

Public debt:
Note: includes publicly guaranteed debt

Revenue
From forest resources: 0.01% of GDP (2017 est.)
From coal: 0.01% of GDP (2017 est.)

Fiscal year: 21 March - 20 March

Inflation rate consumer prices:
Note: official Iranian estimate

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:
Partners: China 48%, India 12%, South Korea 8%, Turkey 6%, United Arab Emirates 5% (2019)
Commodities: ethylene polymers, pistachios, iron, copper, industrial alcohols, aluminum (2021)

Imports:
Partners: China 28%, United Arab Emirates 20%, India 11%, Turkey 7%, Brazil 6%, Germany 5% (2019)
Commodities: rice, corn, broadcasting equipment, soybean products, beef (2019)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:

Debt external:

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% (2021)
Installed generating capacity: 80.553 million kW (2020 est.)
Consumption: 279,826,390,000 kWh (2019 est.)
Exports: 6.365 billion kWh (2019 est.)
Imports: 2.738 billion kWh (2019 est.)
Transmission/distribution losses: 34.303 billion kWh (2019 est.)
Generation sources fossil fuels: 88.7% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources nuclear: 1.9% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources solar: 0.1% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources wind: 0.2% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 9.1% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources tide and wave: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources geothermal: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)
Generation sources biomass and waste: 0% of total installed capacity (2020 est.)

Coal
Production: 2.783 million metric tons (2020 est.)
Consumption: 2.794 million metric tons (2020 est.)
Exports: 76,000 metric tons (2020 est.)
Imports: 87,000 metric tons (2020 est.)
Proven reserves: 1.203 billion metric tons (2019 est.)

Petroleum
Total petroleum production: 3,450,300 bbl/day (2021 est.)
Refined petroleum consumption: 1.934 million bbl/day (2019 est.)
Crude oil and lease condensate exports: 2,230,900 bbl/day (2018 est.)
Crude oil and lease condensate imports: 33,500 bbl/day (2018 est.)
Crude oil estimated reserves: 208.6 billion barrels (2021 est.)

Crude oil

Refined petroleum
Products production: 1.764 million bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products exports: 397,200 bbl/day (2015 est.)
Products imports: 64,160 bbl/day (2015 est.)

Natural gas
Production: 237,561,415,000 cubic meters (2019 est.)
Consumption: 220,704,282,000 cubic meters (2019 est.)
Exports: 17,607,046,000 cubic meters (2019 est.)
Imports: 1,153,457,000 cubic meters (2019 est.)
Proven reserves: 33,987,296,000,000 cubic meters (2021 est.)

Carbon dioxide emissions: 646.038 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From coal and metallurgical coke: 5.142 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From petroleum and other liquids: 204.21 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)
From consumed natural gas: 436.687 million metric tonnes of CO2 (2019 est.)

Energy consumption per capita: 145.54 million Btu/person (2019 est.)


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Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 29,342,060 (2022 est.)
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 33 (2021 est.)
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 135,899,424 (2021 est.)
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 155 (2021 est.)

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 more than 60 television channels, more than 50 radio stations, and dozens of newspapers and websites; 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; most major international broadcasters transmit to Iran (2023)

Internet
Country code: .ir
Users total: 69.52 million (2021 est.)
Users percent of population: 79% (2021 est.)

Broadband fixed subscriptions
Total: 9,564,195 (2020 est.)
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 11 (2020 est.)


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Military expenditures:

Military and security forces:
Note 1: the Artesh Navy operates Iran’s larger warships and operates in the Gulf of Oman, the Caspian Sea, and deep waters in the region and beyond; the IRGC Navy has responsibility for the closer-in waters of the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz
Note 2: the Basij is a volunteer paramilitary group under the IRGC with local organizations across the country, which sometimes acts as an auxiliary law enforcement unit for the IRGC; it is formally known as the Organization for the Mobilization of the Oppressed; it is also known as the Popular Mobilization Army
Note 3: the Ministry of Intelligence and Security and law enforcement forces under the Interior Ministry, which report to the president, and the IRGC, which reports to the supreme leader, share responsibility for law enforcement and maintaining order
Note 4: the Law Enforcement Command (FARAJA) is the uniformed police of Iran and includes branches for public security, traffic control, anti-narcotics, special forces (riot control, counterterrorism, hostage rescue, etc), intelligence, and criminal investigations; it has responsibility for border security (Border Guard Command)

Military service age and obligation: military service is compulsory for all Iranian men 18/19 to approximately age 40; 16 for voluntary military service (may be as low as 15 for the Basij); conscript military service obligation is 18-24 months, depending on the location of service (soldiers serving in places of high security risk and deprived areas serve shorter terms); women exempted from military service (2023)
Note: conscripts serve in the Artesh, IRGC, and Law Enforcement; approximately 80% of Artesh ground forces personnel are conscripts, while Navy and Air/Air Defense Force personnel are primarily volunteers; conscripts reportedly comprise more than 50% of the IRGC

Space program
Overview: has an ambitious civil and military space program focused on acquiring and operating satellites and developing indigenous satellite/space launch vehicles (SLV); designs, builds, and operates satellites, including communications, remote sensing (RS), and scientific; manufactures and operates SLVs; researching and developing other space-related capabilities and technologies in such areas as telecommunications, RS, navigation, and space situational awareness; UN Security Council and other international sanctions against Iran’s weapons of mass destruction program have severely limited Iran’s cooperation with foreign space agencies and commercial space industries; in recent years, however, it has cooperated with North Korea and Russia on space issues; Iran has also had relations with regional and international space organizations, such as the Asia-Pacific Space Cooperation Organization and the International Telecommunications Satellite Organization; it was a founding member of the UN Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space (COPUOS) established in 1958 (2023)
Overview note: further details about the key activities, programs, and milestones of the country’s space program, as well as government spending estimates on the space sector, appear in space programs

Terrorist groups
Terrorist groups: Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)/Qods Force; Islamic State of Iraq and ash-Sham (ISIS); Jaysh al Adl (Jundallah); Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK); al-Qa’ida
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 terrorist organizations


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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 (2018) mt-km

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix: EP

Airports: 319 (2021)
With paved runways: 140
With paved runways note: paved runways have a concrete or asphalt surface but not all have facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control; the length of a runway required for aircraft to safely operate depends on a number of factors including the type of aircraft, the takeoff weight (including passengers, cargo, and fuel), engine types, flap settings, landing speed, elevation of the airport, and average maximum daily air temperature; paved runways can reach a length of 5,000 m (16,000 ft.), but the “typical” length of a commercial airline runway is between 2,500-4,000 m (8,000-13,000 ft.)
With unpaved runways: 179
With unpaved runways note: unpaved runways have a surface composition such as grass or packed earth and are most suited to the operation of light aircraft; unpaved runways are usually short, often less than 1,000 m (3,280 ft.) in length; airports with unpaved runways often lack facilities for refueling, maintenance, or air traffic control

Heliports: 26 (2021)

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: 8,483.5 km (2014)
Standard gauge: 8,389.5 km (2014) 1.435-m gauge (189.5 km electrified)
Broad gauge: 94 km (2014) 1.676-m gauge

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

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

Merchant marine
Total: 942 (2022)
By type: bulk carrier 32, container ship 31, general cargo 393, oil tanker 83, other 403

Ports and terminals
Major seaports: Bandar-e Asaluyeh, Bandar Abbas, Bandar-e Emam Khomeyni
Container ports teus: Bandar Abbas


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Disputes international: Iran-Afghanistan: Iran protests Afghanistan's limiting flow of dammed Helmand River tributaries during drought; Afghan and Iranian commissioners have discussed boundary monument densification and resurvey

Refugees and internally displaced persons
Refugees country of origin: 500,000 undocumented Afghans, 750,000 Afghan refugee card holders, 12,000 Iraqi refugee card holders (2022)
Stateless persons: 34 (mid-year 2021)

Illicit drugs: significant transit and destination country for opiates and cannabis products mainly from Afghanistan and Pakistan; produces and consumes methamphetamine and traffics it to  international markets; one of the primary transshipment routes for Southwest Asian heroin to Europe; opium and cannabis most widely used drugs domestically along with increase in crystal methamphetamine