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Background: |
Known as Persia until 1935, Iran
became an Islamic republic in 1979
after the ruling shah was forced
into exile. Conservative clerical
forces established a theocratic
system of government with ultimate
political authority vested in a
learned religious scholar. 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
over disputed territory. Over the
past decade, popular dissatisfaction
with the government, driven by
demographic changes, restrictive
social policies, and poor economic
conditions, has created a powerful
and enduring pressure for political
reform. |
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Location: |
Middle East, bordering the Gulf of
Oman, the Persian Gulf, and the
Caspian Sea, between Iraq and
Pakistan |
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Geographic coordinates: |
32 00 N, 53 00 E |
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Map references: |
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Area: |
total: 1.648 million sq km
land: 1.636 million sq km
water: 12,000 sq km
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Area - comparative: |
slightly larger than Alaska
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Land boundaries: |
total: 5,440 km
border countries: 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
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Coastline: |
2,440 km; note - Iran also borders
the Caspian Sea (740 km)
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Maritime claims: |
contiguous zone: 24 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM
continental shelf: natural
prolongation
exclusive economic zone:
bilateral agreements or median lines
in the Persian Gulf |
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Climate: |
mostly arid or semiarid, subtropical
along Caspian coast |
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Terrain: |
rugged, mountainous rim; high,
central basin with deserts,
mountains; small, discontinuous
plains along both coasts
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Elevation extremes: |
lowest point: Caspian Sea -28
m
highest point: Kuh-e Damavand
5,671 m |
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Natural resources: |
petroleum, natural gas, coal,
chromium, copper, iron ore, lead,
manganese, zinc, sulfur |
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Land use: |
arable land: 10.17%
permanent crops: 1.16%
other: 88.67% (1998 est.)
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Irrigated land: |
75,620 sq km (1998 est.)
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Natural hazards: |
periodic droughts, floods; dust
storms, sandstorms; earthquakes
along western border and in the
northeast |
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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
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Environment - international
agreements: |
party to: Biodiversity,
Climate Change, Desertification,
Endangered Species, Hazardous
Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test
Ban, Ozone Layer Protection,
Wetlands
signed, but not ratified:
Environmental Modification, Law of
the Sea, Marine Life Conservation
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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: |
68,278,826 (July 2003 est.)
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Age structure: |
0-14 years: 29.3% (male
10,279,588; female 9,727,668)
15-64 years: 65.9% (male
22,916,431; female 22,095,124)
65 years and over: 4.8% (male
1,625,113; female 1,634,902) (2003
est.) |
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Median age: |
total: 22.9 years
male: 22.7 years
female: 23.2 years (2002)
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Population growth rate: |
1.08% (2003 est.) |
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Birth rate: |
17.23 births/1,000 population (2003
est.) |
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Death rate: |
5.54 deaths/1,000 population (2003
est.) |
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Net migration rate: |
-0.86 migrant(s)/1,000 population
(2003 est.) |
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Sex ratio: |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06
male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.04
male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.99
male(s)/female
total population: 1.04
male(s)/female (2003 est.)
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Infant mortality rate: |
total: 44.17 deaths/1,000
live births
female: 44.02 deaths/1,000
live births (2003 est.)
male: 44.31 deaths/1,000 live
births |
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Life expectancy at birth: |
total population: 69.35 years
male: 68.04 years
female: 70.73 years (2003
est.) |
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Total fertility rate: |
1.99 children born/woman (2003 est.)
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HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: |
less than 0.1% (2001 est.)
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HIV/AIDS - people living with
HIV/AIDS: |
20,000 (2001 est.) |
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HIV/AIDS - deaths: |
290 (2001 est.) |
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Nationality: |
noun: Iranian(s)
adjective: Iranian
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Ethnic groups: |
Persian 51%, Azeri 24%, Gilaki and
Mazandarani 8%, Kurd 7%, Arab 3%,
Lur 2%, Baloch 2%, Turkmen 2%, other
1% |
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Religions: |
Shi'a Muslim 89%, Sunni Muslim 10%,
Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian, and
Baha'i 1% |
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Languages: |
Persian and Persian dialects 58%,
Turkic and Turkic dialects 26%,
Kurdish 9%, Luri 2%, Balochi 1%,
Arabic 1%, Turkish 1%, other 2%
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Literacy: |
definition: age 15 and over
can read and write
total population: 79.4%
male: 85.6%
female: 73% (2003 est.)
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Country name: |
conventional long form:
Islamic Republic of Iran
conventional short form: Iran
local short form: Iran
former: Persia
local long form: Jomhuri-ye
Eslami-ye Iran |
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Government type: |
theocratic republic |
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Capital: |
Tehran |
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Administrative divisions: |
28 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, Khuzestan,
Kohkiluyeh va Buyer Ahmad,
Kordestan, Lorestan, Markazi,
Mazandaran, Qazvin, Qom, Semnan,
Sistan va Baluchestan, Tehran, Yazd,
Zanjan |
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Independence: |
1 April 1979 (Islamic Republic of
Iran proclaimed) |
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National holiday: |
Republic Day, 1 April (1979)
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) |
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Constitution: |
2-3 December 1979; revised 1989 to
expand powers of the presidency and
eliminate the prime ministership
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Legal system: |
the Constitution codifies Islamic
principles of government
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Suffrage: |
15 years of age; universal
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Executive branch: |
chief of state: Supreme
Leader Ayatollah Ali
Hoseini-KHAMENEI (since 4 June 1989)
elections: leader of the
Islamic Revolution appointed for
life by the Assembly of Experts;
president elected by popular vote
for a four-year term; election last
held 8 June 2001 (next to be held
June 2005)
election results: (Ali)
Mohammad KHATAMI-Ardakani reelected
president; percent of vote - (Ali)
Mohammad KHATAMI-Ardakani 77%
cabinet: Council of Ministers
selected by the president with
legislative approval; the Supreme
Leader has some control over
appointments to the more sensitive
ministries
head of government: President
(Ali) Mohammad KHATAMI-Ardakani
(since 3 August 1997); First Vice
President Dr. Mohammad Reza
AREF-YAZDI (since 26 August 2001)
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Legislative branch: |
unicameral Islamic Consultative
Assembly or Majles-e-Shura-ye-Eslami
(290 seats, note - changed from 270
seats with the 18 February 2000
election; members elected by popular
vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 18
February 2000 with a runoff held 5
May 2000 (next to be held February
2004)
election results: percent of
vote - NA%; seats by party -
reformers 189, conservatives 54,
independents 42, seats reserved for
religious minorities 5 |
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Judicial branch: |
Supreme Court |
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Political parties and leaders: |
a loose pro-reform coalition called
the 2nd Khordad front achieved
considerable success at elections to
the sixth Majles in early 2000, and
groups in the coalition include:
Islamic Iran Participation Front
(IIPF); Executives of Construction
Party (Kargozaran); Solidarity
Party; Mojahedin of the Islamic
Revolution Organization (MIRO); and
Militant Clerics Society
(Ruhaniyun); a new apparently
conservative group, the Builders of
Islamic Iran, emerged at the local
level in early 2003 |
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Political pressure groups and
leaders: |
active pro-reform student groups
include the "Organization for
Strengthening Unity"; groups that
generally support the Islamic
Republic include Ansar-e Hizballah,
Muslim Students Following the Line
of the Imam, Tehran Militant Clergy
Association (Ruhaniyat), Islamic
Coalition Association, and Islamic
Engineers Society; opposition groups
include Freedom Movement of Iran,
the National Front, Marz-e Por
Gohar, and various Monarchist
organizations; armed political
groups that have been almost
completely repressed by the
government include Mojahedin-e Khalq
Organization (MEK), People's
Fedayeen, Democratic Party of
Iranian Kurdistan, and Komala
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International organization
participation: |
CP, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, G-15, G-19,
G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC,
ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB,
IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF,
IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU,
NAM, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN,
UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU,
WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO
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Diplomatic representation in the US: |
none; note - Iran has an Interests
Section in the Pakistani Embassy;
address: Iranian Interests Section,
Pakistani Embassy, 2209 Wisconsin
Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007;
telephone: [1] (202) 965-4990
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Diplomatic representation from the
US: |
none; note - protecting power in
Iran is Switzerland |
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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
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Economy - overview: |
Iran's economy is a mixture of
central planning, state ownership of
oil and other large enterprises,
village agriculture, and small-scale
private trading and service
ventures. President KHATAMI has
continued to follow the market
reform plans of former President
RAFSANJANI and has indicated that he
will pursue diversification of
Iran's oil-reliant economy although
he has made little progress toward
that goal. Relatively high oil
prices in recent years have enabled
Iran to amass some $15 billion in
foreign exchange reserves, but have
not solved Iran's structural
economic problems, including high
unemployment and inflation.
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GDP: |
purchasing power parity - $456
billion (2002 est.) |
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GDP - real growth rate: |
6.5% (2002 est.) |
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GDP - per capita: |
purchasing power parity - $7,000
(2002 est.) |
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GDP - composition by sector: |
agriculture: 19%
industry: 26%
services: 55% (2002 est.)
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Population below poverty line: |
40% (2002 est.) |
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Household income or consumption by
percentage share: |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
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Inflation rate (consumer prices): |
15.3% (2002 est.) |
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Labor force: |
21 million
note: shortage of skilled
labor (1998) |
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Labor force - by occupation: |
agriculture 30%, industry 25%,
services 45% (2001 est.)
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Unemployment rate: |
16.3% (2003 est.) |
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Budget: |
revenues: $29.5 billion
expenditures: $31.6 billion,
including capital expenditures of
$NA (2002 est.) |
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Industries: |
petroleum, petrochemicals, textiles,
cement and other construction
materials, food processing
(particularly sugar refining and
vegetable oil production), metal
fabricating, armaments |
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Industrial production growth rate: |
5.5% excluding oil (2001 est.)
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Electricity - production: |
124.6 billion kWh (2001)
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Electricity - production by source: |
fossil fuel: 97.1%
hydro: 2.9%
other: 0% (2001)
nuclear: 0% |
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Electricity - consumption: |
115.9 billion kWh (2001)
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Electricity - exports: |
0 kWh (2001) |
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Electricity - imports: |
0 kWh (2001) |
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Oil - production: |
3.804 million bbl/day (2001 est.)
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Oil - consumption: |
1.277 million bbl/day (2001 est.)
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Oil - exports: |
NA (2001) |
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Oil - imports: |
NA (2001) |
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Oil - proved reserves: |
94.39 billion bbl (January 2002
est.) |
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Natural gas - proved reserves: |
24.8 trillion cu m (January 2002
est.) |
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Agriculture - products: |
wheat, rice, other grains, sugar
beets, fruits, nuts, cotton; dairy
products, wool; caviar |
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Exports: |
$24.8 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)
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Exports - commodities: |
petroleum 85%, carpets, fruits and
nuts, iron and steel, chemicals
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Exports - partners: |
Japan 25%, China 12%, Italy 10%,
South Korea 10%, Greece 5% (2001)
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Imports: |
$21.8 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)
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Imports - commodities: |
industrial raw materials and
intermediate goods, capital goods,
foodstuffs and other consumer goods,
technical services, military
supplies |
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Imports - partners: |
Germany 13%, Italy 10%, France 8%,
China 7%, South Korea 7% (2001)
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Debt - external: |
$8.7 billion (2002 est.)
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Economic aid - recipient: |
$408 million (2002 est.)
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Currency: |
Iranian rial (IRR) |
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Currency code: |
IRR |
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Exchange rates: |
rials per US dollar 6,906.96 (2002),
1,753.56 (2001), 1,764.43 (2000),
1,752.93 (1999), 1,751.86 (1998)
note: from 1997 to 2001, Iran
had a multi-exchange-rate system;
one of these rates, the official
floating exchange rate, by which
most essential goods were imported,
averaged 1,750 rials per US dollar;
in March 2002, the
multi-exchange-rate system was
converged into one rate at about
7,900 rials per US dollar
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Fiscal year: |
21 March - 20 March |
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Telephones - main lines in use: |
6.313 million (1997) |
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Telephones - mobile cellular: |
265,000 (August 1998) |
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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;
and 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: 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 |
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Radio broadcast stations: |
AM 72, FM 5, shortwave 5 (1998)
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Television broadcast stations: |
28 (plus 450 low-power repeaters)
(1997) |
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Internet country code: |
.ir |
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Internet Service Providers (ISPs): |
100 (2002) |
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Internet users: |
1.326 million (2002 est.)
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Railways: |
total: 7,201 km
broad gauge: 94 km 1.676-m
gauge
standard gauge: 7,107 km
1.435-m gauge (146 km electrified)
(2002) |
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Highways: |
total: 140,200 km
paved: 49,440 km (including
470 km of expressways)
unpaved: 90,760 km (1998
est.) |
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Waterways: |
904 km
note: the Shatt al Arab is
usually navigable by maritime
traffic for about 130 km; channel
has been dredged to 3 m and is in
use |
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Pipelines: |
crude oil 5,900 km; petroleum
products 3,900 km; natural gas 4,550
km |
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Ports and harbors: |
Abadan (largely destroyed in
fighting during 1980-88 war), Ahvaz,
Bandar 'Abbas, Bandar-e Anzali,
Bushehr, Bandar-e Emam Khomeyni,
Bandar-e Lengeh, Bandar-e Mahshahr,
Bandar-e Torkaman, Chabahar (Bandar
Beheshti), Jazireh-ye Khark, Jazireh-ye
Lavan, Jazireh-ye Sirri,
Khorramshahr (limited operation
since November 1992), Now Shahr
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Merchant marine: |
total: 139 ships (1,000 GRT
or over) 4,190,576 GRT/7,276,700 DWT
ships by type: bulk 43, cargo
34, chemical tanker 4, container 10,
liquefied gas 1, multi-functional
large-load carrier 6, petroleum
tanker 30, refrigerated cargo 1,
roll on/roll off 9, short-sea
passenger 1 (2002 est.) |
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Airports: |
309 (2002) |
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Airports - with paved runways: |
total: 122
over 3,047 m: 39
2,438 to 3,047 m: 25
914 to 1,523 m: 27
under 914 m: 4 (2002)
1,524 to 2,437 m: 27
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Airports - with unpaved runways: |
total: 187
over 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 9
under 914 m: 39 (2002)
914 to 1,523 m: 138
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Heliports: |
13 (2002) |
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Source : irantouristguide.com Web Site |
