Iran

Islamic Republic of IranJomhuri-ye Eslami-ye Iran

theocratic republic

Iran as the 1999 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 107 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

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CapitalTehran
Position32 00 N, 53 00 E
Area1.648 million sq km
LocationMiddle East, bordering the Gulf of Oman, the Persian
1999

Every edition of Iran

Populationas each edition published it
65.18 million July 1999 est. · 55.65m in 1990
Population growth% a year
1.07% 1999 est. · 3.49% in 1993
Median ageyears
Not in this edition 22.9 yrs in 2003
Life expectancyyears at birth
69.76 years 1999 est. · 65.26 yrs in 1993
Fertility ratechildren per woman
2.45 children per woman 1999 est. · 6.3 in 1990
Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births
29.73 deaths per 1,000 live births 1999 est. · 91 in 1990
GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars
$5,000 1998 est. · $1,500 in 1993
GDP real growth% a year
-2.1% 1998 est. · 6% in 1993

Geography

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

17 fields

Land use(1993 est.)

arable land 10%permanent crops 1%permanent pastures 27%forests and woodland 7%other 55% (1993 est.)irrigated 94,000 sq km (1993 est.)
Area
1.648million sq km
land: 1.636 million sq kmwater: 12,000 sq kmslightly larger than Alaska
Coastline
2,440km
note: Iran also borders the Caspian Sea (740 km)contiguous zone: 24 nmcontinental shelf: natural prolongationexclusive economic zone: bilateral agreements, or median lines in the Persian Gulfterritorial sea: 12 nm
Land boundaries
5,440km
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

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

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

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

People

15 fields
Population
65,179,752
(July 1999 est.)growth rate: 1.07% (1999 est.)

Per 1,000 population(1999 est.)

Birth
20.71Death
5.39Net migration
-4.6

Male · female

TotalMale · femaleLife expectancy years (1999 est.)69.76
68.43 · 71.16
TotalMale · femaleLiteracy (1994 est.)72.1%
78.4% · 65.8%
MaleFemaleLiteracy definition: age 15 and over can read and write

Ethnic groups

Persian 51%Azerbaijani 24%Gilaki and Mazandarani 8%Kurd 7%Arab 3%Lur 2%Baloch 2%Turkmen 2%other 1%

Age structure

0-14 years:
36% (male 11,963,438; female 11,447,191)
15-64 years:
60% (male 19,549,935; female 19,276,784)
65 years and over:
4% (male 1,561,877; female 1,380,527) (1999 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:
1.13 male(s)/female
total population:
1.03 male(s)/female (1999 est.)

Infant mortality rate

29.73 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)

Total fertility rate

2.45 children born/woman (1999 est.)

Nationality

noun:
Iranian(s)
adjective:
Iranian

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%

Government

Theocratic republic; Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Hoseini-KHAMENEI (since 4 June 1989); President (Ali) Mohammad KHATAMI-Ardakani (since 3 August 1997)

19 fields

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

Government type

theocratic republic

Capital

Tehran

Administrative divisions

25 provinces (ostanha, singular--ostan); Ardabil, Azarbayjan-e Gharbi, Azarbayjan-e Sharqi, Bushehr, Chahar Mahall va Bakhtiari, Esfahan, Fars, Gilan, Hamadan, Hormozgan, Ilam, Kerman, Kermanshahan, Khorasan, Khuzestan, Kohkiluyeh va Buyer Ahmadi, Kordestan, Lorestan, Markazi, Mazandaran, Semnan, Sistan va Baluchestan, Tehran, Yazd, Zanjan; note: there may be three new provinces named Golestan, Qom, and Qazvin

Independence

1 April 1979 (Islamic Republic of Iran proclaimed)

National holiday

Islamic Republic Day, 1 April (1979)

Constitution

2-3 December 1979; revised 1989 to expand powers of the presidency and eliminate the prime ministership

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 Hasan Ebrahim HABIBI (since NA August 1989)
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 23 May 1997 (next to be held NA May 2001)
election results:
(Ali) Mohammad KHATAMI-Ardakani elected president; percent of vote--(Ali) Mohammad KHATAMI-Ardakani 69%

Legislative branch

unicameral Islamic Consultative Assembly or Majles-e-Shura-ye-Eslami (270 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)

elections:
last held 8 March and 19 April 1996 (next to be held NA March 2000)
election results:
percent of vote--NA; seats--NA

Judicial branch

Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders

  • since President KHATAMI's election in May 1997, several political parties have been licensed including
    • Executives of Construction,
    • Islamic Iran Solidarity Party,
    • and Islamic Partnership Front
    ;
  • other important political groupings are: MAHDAVI-KARUBI and Mohammad Asqar MUSAVI-KHOINIHA];
  • Islamic

Political pressure groups and leaders

  • 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, headed by Fariborz JAHANSUZAN;
  • address:
    • Iranian Interests Section,
    • Pakistani Embassy,
    • 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

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.

31 fields
GDP per capita, PPP
$5,000
purchasing power parity? · (1998 est.)
Real growth rate
-2.1%
(1998 est.)industrial production growth: 5.7% (FY95/96 est.)
Unemployment rate
30%
more than · (January 1998 est.)

Budget

Revenues
$34.6 billionExpenditures
$34.9 billion
expenditures including capital expenditures of $11.8 billion (FY96/97)

Electricity

fossil fuel 90.57%hydro 9.43%nuclear 0% · other 0%
Electricity production
79.5 billion (1996)Electricity consumption
79.5 billion (1996)

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.

In the early 1990s, Iran experienced a financial crisis and was forced to reschedule $15 billion in debt. 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. As a result Iran has begun to cut imports and fall into arrears on its debt payments.

GDP

purchasing power parity--$339.7 billion (1998 est.)

GDP--composition by sector

agriculture:
NA%
industry:
NA%
services:
NA%

Labor force

15.4 million note: shortage of skilled labor

Labor force--by occupation

agriculture 33%, manufacturing 21% (1988 est.)

Industries

petroleum, petrochemicals, textiles, cement and other construction materials, food processing (particularly sugar refining and vegetable oil production), metal fabricating, armaments

Agriculture--products

  • wheat, rice, other grains, sugar beets, fruits, nuts, cotton;
  • dairy products, wool;
  • caviar

Exports

$12.2 billion (f.o.b., 1998 est.)

Exports--commodities

petroleum 80%, carpets, fruits, nuts, hides, iron, steel

Exports--partners

Japan, Italy, Greece, France, Spain, South Korea

Imports

$13.8 billion (f.o.b., 1998 est.)

Imports--commodities

machinery, military supplies, metal works, foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals, technical services, refined oil products

Imports--partners

Germany, Italy, Japan, UAE, UK, Belgium

Debt--external

$21.9 billion (1996 est.)

Economic aid--recipient

$116.5 million (1995)

Currency

10 Iranian rials (IR) = 1 toman; note--domestic figures are generally referred to in terms of the toman

Exchange rates

  • Iranian rials (IR) per US$1--1,754.63 (January 1999), 1,751.86 (1998), 1,752.92 (1997), 1,750.76 (1996), 1,747.93 (1995), 1,748.75 (1994);
  • black market rate: 7,000 rials per US$1 (December 1998);
  • note--as of May 1995, the "official rate" of 1,750 rials per US$1 is used for imports of essential goods and services and for oil exports, whereas the "official export rate" of 3,000 rials per US$1 is used for non-oil exports and imports not covered by the official rate

Fiscal year

21 March--20 March

Communications

6 fields
Fixed lines
8,991,797
(1997 est.)

Telephone system

domestic:
  • 25 regional telecommunications authorities created in 1996;
  • these authorities are responsible for implementing paging services and cellular systems;
  • microwave radio relay extends throughout the country with the system centered in Tehran;
  • system is moving toward digitization and direct-dial capability;
  • 255 long-distance circuits (1999 est.);
  • 366 telephone exchanges (1995 est.);
  • 204,400 microwave channels (1996 est.);
  • 230,000 cellular telephone subscribers (1997 est.);
  • 3,930 pager subscribers (1995 est.)
international:
  • 13,985 international circuits (1999 est.) with a plan to reach 14,000 by March 1999;
  • satellite earth stations--9 Intelsat (with 50 terminals) and 4 Inmarsat;
  • 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;
  • four Internet service providers as of 1997 with the number increasing (service limited to electronic mail to promote Iranian culture)

Radio broadcast stations

AM 72, FM 6, shortwave 5 (1998 est.)

Radios

13 million (1999 est.)

Television broadcast stations

28 (in addition, there are 450 low-power repeaters, all government controlled) (1997)

Televisions

7 million (1999 est.)

Transportation

10 fields

Merchant marine, 132 ships by type(1998 est.)

bulk 46cargo 35chemical tanker 4combination bulk 1container 5liquefied gas tanker 1multifunction large-load carrier 6oil tanker 21refrigerated cargo 2roll-on/roll-off cargo 10short-sea passenger 1

Airports by runway lengthpaved only

under 914 m
6
over 3,047 m: 38 2,438 to 3,047 m: 18 1,524 to 2,437 m: 25 914 to 1,523 m: 23

Airports by runway lengthunpaved only

under 914 m
32
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 5 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 914 to 1,523 m: 126

Networkskm

Highways
162,000Railways
7,286Waterways
904
Highways: paved: 81,000 km (including 470 km of expressways) · unpaved: 81,000 km (1996 est.) · Railways: broad gauge: 94 km 1.676-m gauge · standard gauge: 7,192 km 1.435-m gauge (146 km electrified) (1996 est.) · Waterways: ; 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

Railways

total:
7,286 km
broad gauge:
94 km 1.676-m gauge
standard gauge:
7,192 km 1.435-m gauge (146 km electrified) (1996 est.)

Highways

total:
162,000 km
paved:
81,000 km (including 470 km of expressways)
unpaved:
81,000 km (1996 est.)

Waterways

  • 904 km;
  • 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 Imam 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

Airports

288 (1998 est.)

Heliports

11 (1998 est.)

Military

7 fields

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--availability

males age 15-49: 17,203,360 (1999 est.)

Military manpower--fit for military service

males age 15-49: 10,217,269 (1999 est.)

Military expenditures--dollar figure

$5.787 billion (FY98/99)

Transnational Issues

2 fields

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);
  • it 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

Central Intelligence Agency. “Iran.” The World Factbook 1999. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/iran/1999.

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