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 nominally vested in a learned religious scholar. 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 1987-1988. 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 elections of a reformist president and Majlis in the late 1990s attempts to foster political reform in response to popular dissatisfaction floundered as conservative politicians prevented reform measures from being enacted increased repressive measures and made electoral gains against reformers. Parliamentary elections in 2004 and the August 2005 inauguration of a conservative stalwart as president completed the reconsolidation of conservative power in Iran's government.

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)

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

Population: 68,688,433 (July 2006 est.)
Growth rate: 1.1% (2006 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: Shi'a Muslim 89% Sunni Muslim 9% Zoroastrian Jewish Christian and Baha'i 2%

Age structure
0-14 years: 26.1% (male 9,204,785/female 8,731,429)
15-64 years: 69% (male 24,133,919/female 23,245,255)
65 years and over: 4.9% (male 1,653,827/female 1,719,218) (2006 est.)

Median age
Total: 24.8 years
Male: 24.6 years
Female: 25 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.1% (2006 est.)

Birth rate: 17 births/1000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate: 5.55 deaths/1000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.48 migrant(s)/1000 population (2006 est.)

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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
International agreements signed but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.05 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.05 male/female
15-64 years: 1.04 male/female
65 years and over: 0.96 male/female
Total population: 1.04 male/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 40.3 deaths/1000 live births
Male: 40.49 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 40.1 deaths/1000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 70.26 years
Male: 68.86 years
Female: 71.74 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.8 children born/woman (2006 est.)

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

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 79.4%
Male: 85.6%
Female: 73% (2003 est.)

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 26 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

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

National holiday
Note: additional holidays celebrated widely in Iran include Revolution Day, 11 February (1979); Noruz (New Year's Day), 21 March; Constitutional Monarchy Day, 5 August (1925); and various Islamic observances that change in accordance with the lunar-based hejira calendar

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

Legal system: the Constitution codifies Islamic principles of government

Suffrage: 15 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, reviewing his performance, and deposing him if deemed necessary; 2) Expediency Council or Council for the Discernment of Expediency is a policy advisory and implementation board consisting of permanent and temporary members representing all major government factions, some of whom are appointed by the Supreme Leader; the 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; 3) Council of Guardians or Council of Guardians of the Constitution is a 12-member board of clerics and jurists serving six-year terms that determines whether proposed legislation is both constitutional and faithful to Islamic law; the Council also vets candidates for suitability and supervises national elections
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); election last held 17 June 2005 with a two-candidate runoff on 24 June 2005 (next to be held in 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 (by-elections next to be held in December 2006; general election 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: Supreme Court - above 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; 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 KARRUBI 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 Interpol IOC IOM IPU ISO ITU MIGA NAM OIC OPCW OPEC PCA SCO (observer) UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNHCR UNIDO UNMEE UPU WCL WCO WFTU WHO WIPO WMO WToO 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 - protecting power in Iran is Switzerland

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

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 some $40 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: $569.9 billion (2005 est.)

Real gdp growth rate: 6.9% (2005 est.)

Real gdp per capita: $8,400 (2005 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 11.6%
Industry: 42.4%
Services: 46% (2005 est.)

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

Industries: petroleum petrochemicals textiles cement and other construction materials food processing (particularly sugar refining and vegetable oil production) metal fabrication armaments

Industrial production growth rate: 3% excluding oil (2005 est.)

Labor force
Note: shortage of skilled labor (2005 est.)
By occupation agriculture: 30%
By occupation industry: 25%
By occupation services: 45% (2001 est.)

Unemployment rate: 11.2% (2004 est.)

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

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

Distribution of family income gini index: 43 (1998)

Budget
Revenues: $48.82 billion
Expenditures: $60.4 billion; including capital expenditures of $7.6 billion (2005 est.)

Public debt: 28.9% of GDP (2005 est.)

Fiscal year: 21 March - 20 March

Inflation rate consumer prices: 13.5% (2005 est.)

Current account balance: $13.27 billion (2005 est.)

Exports: $55.42 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Commodities: petroleum 80% chemical and petrochemical products fruits and nuts carpets
Partners: Japan 16.6% China 11% Italy 5.8% South Korea 5.7% South Africa 5.7% Turkey 5.6% Netherlands 4.5% France 4.3% (2005)

Imports: $42.5 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Commodities: industrial raw materials and intermediate goods capital goods foodstuffs and other consumer goods technical services military supplies
Partners: Germany 13.8% UAE 8.3% China 8.3% Italy 7% France 6.2% South Korea 5.4% Russia 4.8% (2005)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $45.46 billion (2005 est.)

Debt external: $19.06 billion (2005 est.)

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

Electricity
Production: 142.3 billion kWh (2003)
Consumption: 132.1 billion kWh (2003)
Exports: 840 million kWh (2003)
Imports: 600 million kWh (2003)

Natural gas
Production: 79 billion m³ (2003 est.)
Consumption: 79 billion m³ (2003 est.)
Exports: 3.4 billion m³ (2003 est.)
Imports: 4.92 billion m³ (2003 est.)
Proven reserves: 26.62 trillion m³ (2005)

Telephones
Main lines in use: 18.986 million (2005)
Mobile cellular: 7.222 million (2005)

Telephone system
General assessment: inadequate, but 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: as a result of heavy investing in the telephone system since 1994, the number of long-distance channels in the microwave radio relay trunk has grown substantially; many villages have been brought into the net; the number of main lines in the urban systems has approximately doubled; thousands of mobile cellular subscribers are being served; moreover, the technical level of the system has been raised by the installation of thousands of digital switches
International: country code - 98; HF radio and microwave radio relay to Turkey, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Syria, Kuwait, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan; 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; satellite earth stations - 9 Intelsat and 4 Inmarsat

Internet
Country code: .ir
Hosts: 5,242 (2006)
Users: 7.5 million (2005)