Islamic Republic of Iran

National name: Jomhuri-ye Eslami-ye Iran

Chief of State: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (1989)

President: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (2005)

Land area: 631,659 sq mi (1,635,999 sq km); total area: 636,296 sq mi (1,648,000 sq km)

Population (2006 est.): 68,688,433 (growth rate: 1.1%); birth rate: 17.0/1000; infant mortality rate: 40.3/1000; life expectancy: 70.3; density per sq mi: 109

Capital and largest city (2003 est.): Teheran, 7,796,257 (city proper)

Other large cities: Mashad, 2,061,100; Isfahan, 1,378,600; Tabriz, 1,213,400

Monetary unit: Rial

Languages: Persian and Persian dialects 58%, Turkic and Turkic dialects 26%, Kurdish 9%, Luri 2%, Balochi 1%, Arabic 1%, Turkish 1%, other 2%

Ethnicity/race: Persian 51%, Azerbaijani 24%, Gilaki and Mazandarani 8%, Kurd 7%, Arab 3%, Lur 2%, Baloch 2%, Turkmen 2%, other 1%

Religions: Islam 98% (Shi'a 89%, Sunni 9%); Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian, and Baha'i 2%

Literacy rate: 79% (2003 est.)

Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2005 est.): $552.8 billion; per capita $8,100. Real growth rate: 4.8%. Inflation: 16%. Unemployment: 11.2% (2004 est.). Arable land: 9%. Agriculture: wheat, rice, other grains, sugar beets, fruits, nuts, cotton; dairy products, wool; caviar. Labor force: 23.68 million; note: shortage of skilled labor; agriculture 30%, industry 25%, services 45% (2001 est.). Industries: petroleum, petrochemicals, textiles, cement and other construction materials, food processing (particularly sugar refining and vegetable oil production), metal fabrication, armaments. Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, iron ore, lead, manganese, zinc, sulfur. Exports: $55.42 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.): petroleum 80%, chemical and petrochemical products, fruits and nuts, carpets. Imports: $42.5 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.): industrial raw materials and intermediate goods, capital goods, foodstuffs and other consumer goods, technical services, military supplies. Major trading partners: Japan, China, Italy, South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, Turkey, Netherlands, Germany, France, UAE, South Korea, Russia (2004).

Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 14,571,100 (2003); mobile cellular: 3,376,500 (2003). Radio broadcast stations: AM 72, FM 5, shortwave 5 (1998). Television broadcast stations: 28 (plus 450 low-power repeaters) (1997). Internet hosts: 5,269 (2004). Internet users: 4.3 million (2003).

Transportation: Railways: 7,203 km (2004). Highways: total: 167,157 km; paved: 94,109 km (including 890 km of expressways); unpaved: 73,048 km (1998). Waterways: 850 km (on Karun River and Lake Urmia) (2004). Ports and harbors: Assaluyeh, Bushehr. Airports: 305 (2004 est.).

International disputes: 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.

 

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