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Iran

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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 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 86-member body of clerics. US-Iranian 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 and 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, UN, and EU economic sanctions and export controls because of its continued involvement in terrorism and its nuclear weapons ambitions. Following the election of reformer Hojjat ol-Eslam Mohammad KHATAMI as president in 1997 and a reformist Majles (legislature) in 2000, a campaign to foster political reform in response to popular dissatisfaction was initiated. The movement floundered as conservative politicians, through the control of unelected institutions, prevented reform measures from being enacted and increased repressive measures. Starting with nationwide municipal elections in 2003 and continuing through Majles elections in 2004, conservatives reestablished control over Iran's elected government institutions, which culminated with the August 2005 inauguration of hardliner Mahmud AHMADI-NEJAD as president. His controversial reelection in June 2009 sparked nationwide protests over allegations of electoral fraud. The UN Security Council has passed a number of resolutions (1696 in July 2006, 1737 in December 2006, 1747 in March 2007, 1803 in March 2008, and 1835 in September 2008) calling for Iran to suspend its uranium enrichment and reprocessing activities and comply with its IAEA obligations and responsibilities. Resolutions 1737, 1477, and 1803 subject a number of Iranian individuals and entities involved in Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs to sanctions. Additionally, several Iranian entities are subject to US sanctions under Executive Order 13382 designations for proliferation activities and EO 13224 designations for support of terrorism. 

Location :

Middle East, bordering the Gulf of Oman, the Persian Gulf, and the Caspian Sea, between Iraq and Pakistan 

Geographic Coordinates Center :

32 00 N, 53 00 E  (Latitude, Longtitude)

Geographic Coordinates Rectangle :

West 44.05
North 39.78
East 63.32
South 25.06

Map references :

Middle East 

Area :

total 1 648 195 square km
land 1 531 595 square km
water 116 600 square km

Land boundaries :

total 5 440 km
Afghanistan (af) 936 km
Armenia (am) 35 km
Azerbaijan-proper 432 km
Azerbaijan-Naxcivan exclave 179 km
Iraq (iq) 1 458 km
Pakistan (pk) 909 km
Turkey (tr) 499 km
Turkmenistan (tm) 992 km

Coastline :

2440.00 km

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 28 metres
highest point 5 671 metres

Natural resources :

chromium coal
copper iron ore
lead manganese
natural gas petroleum
sulfur zinc

Land use :

arable land 9.78 %
permanent crops 1.29 %
other 88.93 %

Irrigated land :

76 500 square km

Natural hazards :

dust storms earthquakes
floods periodic droughts
torms

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 :

Biodiversity Climate Change
Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol Desertification
Endangered Species Environmental Modification
Hazardous Wastes Law of the Sea
Marine Dumping Marine Life Conservation
Ozone Layer Protection Ship Pollution
Wetlands

Population :

66 429 284 

Indicators :

Growth rate 0.88 %
Birth rate 17.17 births/1,000 population
Total fertility rate 1.71 children born/woman
Death rate 5.72 deaths/1,000 population
Net migration rate -2.62 migrant(s)/1,000 population

Age structure :

0-14 years 21.70 %
15-64 years 72.90 %
65 years and over 5.40 %

Median age :

total 27.00 years
male 26.80 years
female 27.20 years

Sex ratio :

at birth 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years 1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over 0.92 male(s)/female
total population 1.02 male(s)/female

Health :

Infant mortality rate 35.78 deaths/1,000 live births
Life expectancy at birth - total population 71.14 years
Life expectancy at birth - male 69.65 years
Life expectancy at birth - female 72.72 years
HIV-AIDS adult prevalence rate 0.20 %
HIV-AIDS people living with HIV-AIDS 86 000
HIV-AIDS deaths 4 300

Religions :

Muslim 98.00 %
other 2.00 %

Languages :

Persian  
Persian dialects 58.00 %
Turkic  
Turkic dialects 26.00 %
Kurdish 9.00 %
Luri 2.00 %
Balochi 1.00 %
Arabic 1.00 %
Turkish 1.00 %

Literacy :

total population 77.00 %
male 83.50 %
female 70.40 %

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

Country Codes :

ISO 3166 IR
ISO Numeric 364
ISO3 IRN
FIPS IR
ccTLD ir
English Iran

Administrative divisions :

30 provinces (ostanha, singular - ostan); Ardabil, Azarbayjan-e Gharbi, Azarbayjan-e Sharqi, Bushehr, Chahar Mahal va Bakhtiari, Esfahan, Fars, Gilan, Golestan, Hamadan, Hormozgan, Ilam, Kerman, Kermanshah, Khorasan-e Jonubi, Khorasan-e Razavi, Khorasan-e Shomali, Khuzestan, Kohgiluyeh va Bowyer Ahmad, Kordestan, Lorestan, Markazi, Mazandaran, Qazvin, Qom, Semnan, Sistan va Baluchestan, Tehran, Yazd, Zanjan 

Capital :

name Tehran
geographic coordinates 35 40 N, 51 25 E
time difference 3.50

International organization participation :

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

Independence :

1979-04-01 

National holiday :

Republic Day

1979-04-01

Executive branch :

President Mahmud AHMADI-NEJAD

GDP - Gross Domestic product :

PPP - Purchasing Power Parity 876 000 000 000 $
Official Exchange Rate 331 800 000 000
RGR - Real Growth rate 2.60 %
PPP - per capita 12 900 $

GDP Composition by sector :

agriculture 10.90 %
industry 45.20 %
services 43.90 %

Labor force - by occupation :

agriculture 25.00 %
industry 31.00 %
services 45.00 %

Other Indicators :

Labor force 25 020 000 people
Unemployment rate 11.80 %
Population below poverty line 18.00 %
Distribution of family income - Gini index 44.50
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 16.80 %
Investment (gross fixed) 27.70 % of GDP
Current account balance 2 249 000 000 $
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold 81 310 000 000 $
Debt external 18 730 000 000 $
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad 793 000 000 $
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home 7 854 000 000 $
Market value of publicly traded shares 45 570 000 000 $
Military expenditures 2.50 % of GDP
Public debt 19.40 % of GDP

Household income or consumption by percentage share :

lowest 10% 2.60 %
highest 10% 29.60 %

Budget :

revenues 97 710 000 000 $
expenditures 84 780 000 000 $

Agriculture - products :

caviar cotton
dairy fruits
nuts other grains
rice sugar beets
sugarcane wheat
wool

Industries :

armaments caustic soda
cement and other construction materials ferrous and non ferrous metal fabrication
fertilizer food processing
petrochemicals petroleum
sugar refining and vegetable oil production textiles

Energy :

Electricity Production 192 600 000 000 kWh
Electricity Consumption 153 800 000 000 kWh
Electricity Exports 2 520 000 000 kWh
Electricity Imports 1 842 000 000 kWh
Oil Production 4 174 000 bbl/day
Oil Consumption 1 755 000 bbl/day
Oil Exports 2 719 000 bbl/day
Oil Imports 212 200 bbl/day
Oil Proved reserves 136 199 999 999 bbl
Natural gas Production 116 300 000 000 cubic metres
Natural gas Consumption 119 000 000 000 cubic metres
Natural gas Exports 4 246 000 000 cubic metres
Natural gas Imports 6 900 000 000 cubic metres
Electricity Exports 28 080 000 000 000 cubic metres

Value :

70 160 000 000 $

Partners :

China (cn) 15.20 %
Japan (jp) 14.20 %
India (in) 9.20 %
South Korea 6.40 %
Turkey (tr) 6.40 %
Italy (it) 4.50 %

Commodities :

carpets chemical and petrochemical products
crude oil fruits and nuts

Value :

57 160 000 000 $

Partners :

UAE 18.80 %
China (cn) 12.60 %
Germany (de) 9.00 %
South Korea 6.80 %
Russia (ru) 5.20 %
Italy (it) 5.00 %
France (fr) 4.10 %

Commodities :

capital products foodstuffs technical services
industrial raw materials and intermediate products

Currency-name :

Iranian rial 

Communications :

Telephons Main lines in use 24 800 000
Telephons Mobile, Cellular 43 000 000
FM Radio broadcast stations 6
Television broadcast stations 29
Internet Country code (ccTLD) ir
Internet Hosts 45 678
Internet Users 23 000 000

Transportation :

Airports with paved runways 133
Heliports 19
Pipelines - gas 12 km
Pipelines - oil 7 018 km
Pipelines - condensate 7 km
Pipelines - refined products 7 936 km
Pipelines - liquid petroleum gas 570 km
Roadways - total 172 927 km
Roadways - expressways 1 429 km
Roadways - paved 125 908 km
Roadways - unpaved 47 019 km
Railways 8 442 km
Waterways 850 km

Photos

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