Region / Country specific information - Iran
| Background: |
Known as Persia until 1935, Iran
became an Islamic republic in 1979 after the ruling shah was forced
into exile. Conservative clerical forces subsequently crushed westernizing
liberal elements. Militant 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. The key current issue is how rapidly the country should open
up to the modernizing influences of the outside world. |
| 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
references: |
Middle East |
| Area: |
total: 1.648 million
sq km
land: 1.636 million sq km
water: 12,000 sq km |
| Area
- comparative: |
slightly larger than Alaska |
| 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 |
| Coastline: |
2,440 km; note - Iran also borders
the Caspian Sea (740 km) |
| Maritime
claims: |
contiguous zone:
24 NM
continental shelf: natural prolongation
exclusive economic zone: bilateral agreements or median
lines in the Persian Gulf
territorial sea: 12 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 extremes: |
lowest point: Caspian
Sea -28 m
highest point: Qolleh-ye Damavand 5,671 m |
| Natural
resources: |
petroleum, natural gas, coal,
chromium, copper, iron ore, lead, manganese, zinc, sulfur |
| Land
use: |
arable land: 10%
permanent crops: 1%
permanent pastures: 27%
forests and woodland: 7%
other: 55% (1993 est.) |
| Irrigated land: |
94,000 sq km (1993 est.) |
| Natural
hazards: |
periodic droughts, floods; dust
storms, sandstorms; earthquakes along western border and in the northeast
|
| 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; inadequate supplies of potable water |
| 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 |
| Population: |
66,128,965 (July 2001 est.) |
| Age
structure: |
0-14 years: 32.97%
(male 11,150,053; female 10,654,884)
15-64 years: 62.38% (male 20,765,001; female 20,488,672)
65 years and over: 4.65% (male 1,617,045; female 1,453,310)
(2001 est.) |
| Population growth rate: |
0.72% (2001 est.) |
| Birth
rate: |
17.1 births/1,000 population (2001
est.) |
| Death
rate: |
5.41 deaths/1,000 population (2001
est.) |
| Net
migration rate: |
-4.51 migrant(s)/1,000 population
(2001 est.) |
| Sex
ratio: |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.11 male(s)/female
total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
| Infant
mortality rate: |
29.04 deaths/1,000 live births
(2001 est.) |
| Life
expectancy at birth: |
total population:
69.95 years
male: 68.61 years
female: 71.37 years (2001 est.) |
| Total
fertility rate: |
2.02 children born/woman (2001
est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- adult prevalence rate: |
less than 0.01% (1999 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS
- people living with HIV/AIDS: |
NA |
| Nationality: |
noun: Iranian(s)
adjective: Iranian |
| Ethnic
groups: |
Persian 51%, Azeri 24%, Gilaki
and Mazandarani 8%, Kurd 7%, Arab 3%, Lur 2%, Baloch 2%, Turkmen 2%,
other 1% |
| Religions: |
Shi'a Muslim 89%, Sunni Muslim
10%, Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian, and Baha'i 1% |
| Languages: |
Persian and Persian dialects 58%,
Turkic and Turkic dialects 26%, Kurdish 9%, Luri 2%, Balochi 1%, Arabic
1%, Turkish 1%, other 2% |
| Literacy: |
definition: age 15
and over can read and write
total population: 72.1%
male: 78.4%
female: 65.8% (1994 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 |
| 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, 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: |
Republic Day, 1 April (1979) |
| 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: Leader
of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Hoseini-KHAMENEI (since 4 June
1989)
head of government: President (Ali) Mohammad KHATAMI-Ardakani
(since 3 August 1997); First Vice President Dr. Mohammad Reza AREF-YAZDI
(since NA August 2001)
cabinet: Council of Ministers selected by the president
with legislative approval
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 NA
2005)
election results: (Ali) Mohammad KHATAMI-Ardakani reelected
president; percent of vote - (Ali) Mohammad KHATAMI-Ardakani 77% |
| 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-NA April 2000 (next to
be held NA 2004)
election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats by party
- reformers 170, conservatives 45, and independents 10; 65 seats were
up for runoff election on 5 May 2000 (reformers 52, conservatives 10,
independents 3) |
| Judicial
branch: |
Supreme Court |
| Political parties and leaders: |
the following organizations appeared
to have achieved considerable success at elections to the sixth Majlis
in early 2000: Assembly of the Followers of the Imam's Line, Freethinkers'
Front, Islamic Iran Participation Front, Moderation and Development
Party, Servants of Construction Party, Society of Self-sacrificing Devotees
|
| Political pressure groups and leaders: |
active student groups include
the pro-reform "Organization for Strengthening Unity" and "the Union
of Islamic Student Societies'; groups that generally support the Islamic
Republic include Ansar-e Hizballah, Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution,
Muslim Students Following the Line of the Imam, and the Islamic Coalition
Association; opposition groups include the Liberation Movement of Iran
and the Nation of Iran party; 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;
the Society for the Defense of Freedom |
| International organization participation: |
CCC, CP, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, G-19,
G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS,
IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer),
ISO, ITU, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO,
UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WToO |
| 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 |
| Diplomatic representation 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 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 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. The strong oil market in 1996 helped ease financial pressures
on Iran and allowed for Tehran's timely debt service payments. Iran's
financial situation tightened in 1997 and deteriorated further in 1998
because of lower oil prices. The subsequent zoom in oil prices in 1999-2000
afforded Iran fiscal breathing room but does not solve Iran's structural
economic problems, including the encouragement of foreign investment.
|
| GDP: |
purchasing power parity - $413
billion (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- real growth rate: |
3% (2000 est.) |
| GDP
- per capita: |
purchasing power parity - $6,300
(2000 est.) |
| GDP
- composition by sector: |
agriculture: 24%
industry: 28%
services: 48% (2000 est.) |
| Population below poverty line: |
53% (1996 est.) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share: |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices): |
16% (2000 est.) |
| Labor
force: |
17.3 million
note: shortage of skilled labor (1998) |
| Labor
force - by occupation: |
agriculture 33%, industry 25%,
services 42% (1999 est.) |
| Unemployment rate: |
14% (1999 est.) |
| Budget: |
revenues: $27 billion
expenditures: $27 billion, including capital expenditures
of $NA (1999) |
| Industries: |
petroleum, petrochemicals, textiles,
cement and other construction materials, food processing (particularly
sugar refining and vegetable oil production), metal fabricating, armaments
|
| Industrial production growth rate: |
4.4% (nonoil) (1999) |
| Electricity - production: |
103.054 billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - production by source: |
fossil fuel: 93.16%
hydro: 6.84%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1999) |
| Electricity - consumption: |
95.84 billion kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - exports: |
0 kWh (1999) |
| Electricity - imports: |
0 kWh (1999) |
| Agriculture - products: |
wheat, rice, other grains, sugar
beets, fruits, nuts, cotton; dairy products, wool; caviar |
| Exports: |
$25 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)
|
| Exports
- commodities: |
petroleum 85%, carpets, fruits
and nuts, iron and steel, chemicals |
| Exports
- partners: |
Japan, Italy, UAE, South Korea,
France, China |
| Imports: |
$15 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.)
|
| Imports
- commodities: |
industrial raw materials and intermediate
goods, capital goods, foodstuffs and other consumer goods, technical
services, military supplies |
| Imports
- partners: |
Germany, South Korea, Italy, UAE,
France, Japan |
| Debt
- external: |
$7.5 billion (2000 est.) |
| Economic
aid - recipient: |
$116.5 million (1995) |
| Currency: |
Iranian rial (IRR) |
| Exchange
rates: |
Iranian rials per US dollar -
1,754.71 (January 2001), 1,764.43 (2000), 1,725.93 (1999), 1,751.86
(1998), 1,752.92 (1997), 1,750.76 (1996)
note: Iran has three officially recognized exchange rates;
the averages for 1999 are as follows: the official floating rate of
1,750 rials per US dollar, the "export" rate of 3,000 rials per US dollar,
and the variable Tehran Stock Exchange rate, which averages 7,863 rials
per US dollar; the market rate averages 8,615 rials per US dollar |
| Fiscal
year: |
21 March - 20 March |
| Telephones - main lines in use: |
6.313 million (1997) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular: |
265,000 (August 1998) |
| 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; Internet service available but limited to
electronic mail to promote Iranian culture |
| Radio
broadcast stations: |
AM 72, FM 5, shortwave 5 (1998)
|
| Radios: |
17 million (1997) |
| Television broadcast stations: |
28 (plus 450 low-power repeaters)
(1997) |
| Televisions: |
4.61 million (1997) |
| Internet
country code: |
.ir |
| Internet
Service Providers (ISPs): |
8 (2000) |
| Internet
users: |
100,000 (2000) |
| Railways: |
total: 5,600 km
broad gauge: 94 km 1.676-m gauge
standard gauge: 5,506 km 1.435-m gauge (146 km electrified)
note: broad gauge track is employed at the borders with
Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan which have broad-gauge rail systems (2001)
|
| Highways: |
total: 140,200 km
paved: 49,440 km (including 470 km of expressways)
unpaved: 90,760 km (1998 est.) |
| 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 |
| Pipelines: |
crude oil 5,900 km; petroleum
products 3,900 km; natural gas 4,550 km |
| 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 |
| Merchant
marine: |
total: 152 ships
(1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,097,977 GRT/7,131,688 DWT
ships by type: bulk 49, cargo 38, chemical tanker 4, combination
bulk 1, container 10, liquefied gas 1, multi-functional large-load carrier
6, petroleum tanker 32, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 9, short-sea
passenger 1
note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here
as a flag of convenience: Singapore 1 (2000 est.) |
| Airports: |
317 (2000 est.) |
| Airports
- with paved runways: |
total: 117
over 3,047 m: 38
2,438 to 3,047 m: 23
1,524 to 2,437 m: 25
914 to 1,523 m: 24
under 914 m: 7 (2000 est.) |
| Airports
- with unpaved runways: |
total: 200
over 3,047 m: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 13
914 to 1,523 m: 122
under 914 m: 60 (2000 est.) |
| Heliports: |
11 (2000 est.) |
| Military
branches: |
Islamic Republic of Iran regular
forces (includes Ground Forces, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces), Revolutionary
Guards (includes Ground, Air, Navy, Qods, and Basij-mobilization-forces),
Law Enforcement Forces |
| Military
manpower - military age: |
21 years of age |
| Military
manpower - availability: |
males age 15-49:
18,319,328 (2001 est.) |
| Military
manpower - fit for military service: |
males age 15-49:
10,872,407 (2001 est.) |
| Military
manpower - reaching military age annually: |
males: 823,040 (2001
est.) |
| Military
expenditures - dollar figure: |
$5.787 billion (FY98/99) |
| Military
expenditures - percent of GDP: |
2.9% (FY98/99) |
| Disputes
- international: |
Iran and Iraq restored diplomatic
relations in 1990 but are still trying to work out written agreements
settling outstanding disputes from their eight-year war concerning border
demarcation, prisoners-of-war, and freedom of navigation and sovereignty
over the Shatt al Arab waterway; Iran occupies two islands in the Persian
Gulf claimed by the UAE: Lesser Tunb (called Tunb as Sughra in Arabic
by UAE and Jazireh-ye Tonb-e Kuchek in Persian by Iran) and Greater
Tunb (called Tunb al Kubra in Arabic by UAE and Jazireh-ye Tonb-e Bozorg
in Persian by Iran); Iran jointly administers with the UAE an island
in the Persian Gulf claimed by the UAE (called Abu Musa in Arabic by
UAE and Jazireh-ye Abu Musa in Persian by Iran) - over which Iran has
taken steps to exert unilateral control since 1992, including access
restrictions and a military build-up on the island; the UAE has garnered
significant diplomatic support in the region in protesting these Iranian
actions; Caspian Sea boundaries are not yet determined among Azerbaijan,
Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan |
| Illicit
drugs: |
despite substantial interdiction
efforts, Iran remains a key transshipment point for Southwest Asian
heroin to Europe; domestic consumption of narcotics remains a persistent
problem and Iranian press reports estimate that there are at least 1.2
million drug users in the country |
|
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