Iran

conventional long form: Islamic Republic of Iran
Capital: -
Type of Government: theocratic republic-
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
Age Structure: 0-14 years: 27.1% (male 9,465,475/female 8,973,828)
Agriculture: wheat, rice, other grains, sugar beets, fruits, nuts, cotton; dairy products, wool; caviar
Airports: 305 (2004 est.)
With Paved Runways: total: 129-
With Unpaved Runways:
Area: -. -
Background:
Birth rate: 16.83 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget: revenues: $48.82 billion-
Coastline: -
Climate: -
Communications:
Constitution: 2-3 December 1979; revised 1989 to expand powers of the presidency and eliminate the prime ministership
Currency: Iranian rial (IRR)
Current account balance: $8.179 billion (2005 est.)
Death rate: 5.55 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external: $16.94 billion (2005 est.)-
Dependency status: -
Dependent areas:
Diplomatic representation from the US: none; note - protecting power in Iran is Switzerland
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; FAX [1] (202) 965-1073-
Disputes - international: -
Distribution of family income: -
Economic aid - donor:
Economic aid - recipient: $408 million (2002 est.)-
Economy - overview:
Electricity - consumption:
Electricity - exports:
Electricity - imports:
Electricity - production:
Elevation extremes: -
Environment - current issues:
Environment - International Agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
Ethnic groups: Persian 51%, Azeri 24%, Gilaki and Mazandarani 8%, Kurd 7%, Arab 3%, Lur 2%, Baloch 2%, Turkmen 2%, other 1%
Exchange rates: rials per US dollar - 9,040.26 (2005), 8,614 (2004), 8,193.9 (2003), 6,907 (2002), 1,753.6 (2001)
Executive branch: chief of state: Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Hoseini-KHAMENEI (since 4 June 1989)
Exports: $55.42 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Exports - partners: Japan 18.4%, China 9.7%, Italy 6%, South Africa 5.8%, South Korea 5.4%, Taiwan 4.6%, Turkey 4.4%, Netherlands 4% (2004)
Fiscal year: 21 March - 20 March
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
GDP (official exchange rate): $182.5 billion (2005 est.)
GDP (purchasing power parity): $551.6 billion (2005 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 11.8%
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $8,100 (2005 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 4.8% (2005 est.)-
Geographic coordinates: -
Geography - note: -
Government - note:
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: less than 0.1% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 800 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 31,000 (2001 est.)-
Heliports:
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA-
Illicit drugs:
Imports: $42.5 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Imports - partners: Germany 12.8%, France 8.3%, Italy 7.7%, China 7.2%, UAE 7.2%, South Korea 6.1%, Russia 5.4% (2004)
Independence: 1 April 1979 (Islamic Republic of Iran proclaimed)
Industrial production growth rate: 3% excluding oil (2005 est.)
Industries: petroleum, petrochemicals, textiles, cement and other construction materials, food processing (particularly sugar refining and vegetable oil production), metal fabrication, armaments
Infant mortality rate: total: 41.58 deaths/1,000 live births
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 16% (2005 est.)
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, 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)
Internet country code: .ir
Internet hosts: 5,269 (2004)
Internet users: 4.3 million (2003)
Investment (gross fixed): 30.5% of GDP (2005 est.)
Irrigated land: 75,620 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court - above a special clerical court, a revolutionary court, and a special administrative court
Labor force: 23.68 million
Labor force - by occupation:
Land boundaries: total: 5,440 km
Land use: arable land: 8.72%
Languages: Persian and Persian dialects 58%, Turkic and Turkic dialects 26%, Kurdish 9%, Luri 2%, Balochi 1%, Arabic 1%, Turkish 1%, other 2%
Legal system: the Constitution codifies Islamic principles of government
Legislative branch:
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 69.96 years
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write-
Location: -
Major infectious diseases:
Manpower available for military service: males age 18-49: 18,319,545 (2005 est.)
Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 15,665,725 (2005 est.)-
Manpower reaching military service age annually: -
Map references:
Maritime claims: territorial sea: 12 nm
Median age: total: 24.23 years-
Merchant marine: -
Military - note:
Military branches: Islamic Republic of Iran Regular Forces (Artesh): Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force (includes Air Defense)
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $4.3 billion (2003 est.)-
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: -
Military service age and obligation:
National holiday: Republic Day, 1 April (1979)
Nationality: noun: Iranian(s)-
Natural gas - consumption: -
Natural gas - exports: -
Natural gas - imports:
Natural gas - production: -
Natural gas - proved reserves: -
Natural hazards: -
Natural resources:
Net migration rate: -2.64 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Oil - consumption: 1.425 million bbl/day (2003 est.)
Oil - exports: 2.5 million bbl/day (2004 est.)
Oil - imports: NA (2001)
Oil - production: 3.979 million bbl/day (2005 est.)-
Oil - proved reserves: -
People - note:
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; 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
Political pressure groups and leaders: political pressure groups conduct most of Iran's political activities; 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 Party (Motalefeh), and Islamic Engineers Society; active pro-reform student groups include the Organization for Strengthening Unity; opposition groups include Freedom Movement of Iran, the National Front, Marz-e Por Gohar, and various ethnic and Monarchist organizations; armed political groups that have been almost completely repressed by the government include Mujahidin-e Khalq Organization (MEK), People's Fedayeen, Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, and Komala
Population: 68,017,860 (July 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line: 40% (2002 est.)
Population growth rate: 0.86% (2005 est.)-
Ports and terminals:
Public debt: 27.5% of GDP (2005 est.)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 72, FM 5, shortwave 5 (1998)-
Railways:
Refugees and internally displaced persons: refugees (country of origin): 1,223,823 (Afghanistan) 124,014 (Iraq) (2004)
Religions: Shi'a Muslim 89%, Sunni Muslim 9%, Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian, and Baha'i 2%
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $40.06 billion (2005 est.)
Roadways: total: 178,152 km
Sex ratio:
Suffrage: 15 years of age; universal
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
Telephones - main lines in use: 14,571,100 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 3,376,500 (2003)
Television broadcast stations: 28 (plus 450 low-power repeaters) (1997)-
Terrain:
Total fertility rate: 1.82 children born/woman (2005 est.)-
Transportation - note:
Unemployment rate: 11.2% (2004 est.)-
Waterways: