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Guide to Iran

Introduction

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 have floundered as conservative politicians have prevented reform measures from being enacted, increased repressive measures, and consolidated their control over the government.

Geography

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
Area - comparative: slightly larger than Alaska
Land boundaries: total
Coastline: 2,440 km; note - Iran also borders the Caspian Sea (740 km)
Maritime claims: territorial sea
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
Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, iron ore, lead, manganese, zinc, sulfur
Land use: arable land
Irrigated land: 75,620 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: periodic droughts, floods; dust storms, sandstorms; earthquakes
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
Environment - international agreements: party to
Geography - note: strategic location on the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz, which are vital maritime pathways for crude oil transport

People

Population: 68,017,860 (July 2005 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years
Median age: total
Population growth rate: 0.86% (2005 est.)
Birth rate: 16.83 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Death rate: 5.55 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Net migration rate: -2.64 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth
Infant mortality rate: total
Life expectancy at birth: total population
Total fertility rate: 1.82 children born/woman (2005 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: less than 0.1% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 31,000 (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 800 (2003 est.)
Nationality: noun
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 9%, Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian, and Baha'i 2%
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

Government

Country name: conventional long form
Government type: theocratic republic
Capital: Tehran
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: Republic Day, 1 April (1979) note
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
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
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
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
International organization participation: CP, ECO, FAO, 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, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO
Diplomatic representation in the US: none; note - Iran has an Interests Section in the Pakistani Embassy; address
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 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

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 KHATAMI 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 $30 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.
GDP (purchasing power parity): $516.7 billion (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 6.3% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $7,700 (2004 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture
Labor force: 23 million note
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture 30%, industry 25%, 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%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 15.5% (2004 est.)
Investment (gross fixed): 31.3% of GDP (2004 est.)
Budget: revenues
Public debt: 27% of GDP (2004 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: 3.5% excluding oil (2004 est.)
Electricity - production: 129 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel
Electricity - consumption: 119.9 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports: 0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports: 0 kWh (2002)
Oil - production: 3.962 million bbl/day (2004 est.)
Oil - consumption: 1.4 million bbl/day (2002 est.)
Oil - exports: 2.5 million bbl/day (2004 est.)
Oil - imports: NA
Oil - proved reserves: 130.8 billion bbl (2004 est.)
Natural gas - production: 79 billion cu m (2003 est.)
Natural gas - consumption: 72.4 billion cu m (2003 est.)
Natural gas - exports: 3.4 billion cu m (2003 est.)
Natural gas - imports: 4.92 billion cu m (2003 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves: 26.7 trillion cu m (2004)
Current account balance: $2.1 billion (2004 est.)
Exports: $38.79 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Exports - commodities: petroleum 80%, chemical and petrochemical products, fruits and nuts, carpets
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)
Imports: $31.3 billion f.o.b. (2004 est.)
Imports - commodities: industrial raw materials and intermediate goods, capital goods, foodstuffs and other consumer goods, technical services, military supplies
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)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: $29.87 billion (2004 est.)
Debt - external: $13.4 billion (2004 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: $408 million (2002 est.)
Currency (code): Iranian rial (IRR)
Currency code: IRR
Exchange rates: rials per US dollar - 8,614 (2004), 8,193.9 (2003), 6,907 (2002), 1,753.6 (2001), 1,764.4 (2000) note
Fiscal year: 21 March - 20 March

Communications

Telephones - main lines in use: 14,571,100 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 3,376,500 (2003)
Telephone system: general assessment
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 hosts: 5,269 (2004)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 100 (2002)
Internet users: 4.3 million (2003)

Transportation

Railways: total
Highways: total
Waterways: 850 km (on Karun River and Lake Urmia) (2004)
Pipelines: condensate/gas 212 km; gas 16,998 km; liquid petroleum gas 570 km; oil 8,256 km; refined products 7,808 km (2004)
Ports and harbors: Assaluyeh, Bushehr
Merchant marine: total
Airports: 305 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways: total
Airports - with unpaved runways: total
Heliports: 13 (2004 est.)

Military

Military branches: Islamic Republic of Iran Regular Forces (Artesh)
Military service age and obligation: 18 years of age for compulsory military service; 16 years of age for volunteers; soldiers as young as 9 were recruited extensively during the Iran-Iraq War; conscript service obligation - 18 months (2004)
Manpower available for military service: males age 18-49
Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49
Manpower reaching military service age annually: males
Military expenditures - dollar figure: $4.3 billion (2003 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: 3.3% (2003 est.)

Transnational Issues

Disputes - international: Iran protests Afghanistan's limiting flow of dammed tributaries to the Helmand River in periods of drought; Iraq's lack of a maritime boundary with Iran prompts jurisdiction disputes beyond the mouth of the Shatt al Arab in the Persian Gulf; Iran and UAE engage in direct talks and solicit Arab League support to resolve disputes over Iran's occupation of Tunb Islands and Abu Musa Island; Iran stands alone among littoral states in insisting upon a division of the Caspian Sea into five equal sectors
Refugees and internally displaced persons: refugees (country of origin)
Illicit drugs: despite substantial interdiction efforts, Iran remains a key transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin to Europe; domestic narcotics consumption remains a persistent problem and according to official Iranian statistics there are at least two million drug users in the country; lax anti-money-laundering regulations
Last updated: 20 October, 2005


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