I·ran   (-rn, -rän, -rn) Formerly Per·sia (pûrzh, -sh).   A country of southwest Asia. Inhabited since c. 2000 B.C. by Iranian peoples, the region later became the core of the Persian Empire. After being conquered by Alexander the Great and ruled by the Parthian Arsacid dynasty, Persia was reestablished under the Sassanian dynasty (A.D. 224-651) and, after invasions by Arabs (7th century), Turks (10th century), and Mongols (13th-14th centuries), was reestablished again under the Safavid dynasty (1502-1736). The country, officially renamed Iran in 1935, was ruled by the Pahlavi dynasty from 1925 until the ouster of Muhammad Reza Pahlavi (1979) in a revolution led by the Ayatollah Khomeini, who established an Islamic republic. Tehran is the capital and the largest city. Population: 59,778,000.

Geography:

Location: Middle East, bordering the Gulf of Oman and the Persian
Gulf, between Iraq and Pakistan

Map references: Middle East

Area:
total area: 1.648 million sq km
land area: 1.636 million sq km
comparative area: slightly larger than Alaska

Land boundaries: total 5,440 km, Afghanistan 936 km, Armenia 35 km,
Azerbaijan (north) 432 km, Azerbaijan (northwest) 179 km, Iraq 1,458
km, Pakistan 909 km, Turkey 499 km, Turkmenistan 992 km

Coastline: 2,440 km
note: Iran also borders the Caspian Sea (740 km)

Maritime claims:
contiguous zone: 24 nm
continental shelf: natural prolongation
exclusive economic zone: bilateral agreements, or median lines in the
Persian Gulf
territorial sea: 12 nm

International disputes: 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: Tunb as Sughra (Arabic),
Jazireh-ye Tonb-e Kuchek (Persian) or Lesser Tunb, and Tunb al Kubra
(Arabic), Jazireh-ye Tonb-e Bozorg (Persian) or Greater Tunb; it
jointly administers with the UAE an island in the Persian Gulf claimed
by the UAE, Abu Musa (Arabic) or Jazireh-ye Abu Musa (Persian); in
1992 the dispute over Abu Musa and the Tunb islands became more acute
when Iran unilaterally tried to control the entry of third country
nationals into the UAE portion of Abu Musa island, Tehran subsequently
backed off in the face of significant diplomatic support for the UAE
in the region, but in 1994 it increased its military presence on the
disputed islands; periodic disputes with Afghanistan over Helmand
water rights; Caspian Sea boundaries are not yet determined

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

Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper,
iron ore, lead, manganese, zinc, sulfur

Land use:
arable land: 8%
permanent crops: 0%
meadows and pastures: 27%
forest and woodland: 11%
other: 54%

Irrigated land: 57,500 sq km (1989 est.)

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
natural hazards: periodic droughts, floods; duststorms, sandstorms;
earthquakes along the Western border
international agreements: party to - Endangered Species, Hazardous
Wastes, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands; signed,
but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification,
Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation

Iran:People

Population: 64,625,455 (July 1995 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 45% (female 14,113,933; male 14,995,015)
15-64 years: 51% (female 16,237,810; male 16,803,943)
65 years and over: 4% (female 1,197,869; male 1,276,885) (July 1995
est.)

Population growth rate: 2.29% (1995 est.)

Birth rate: 34.85 births/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Death rate: 6.85 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Net migration rate: -5.11 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 54.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 66.97 years
male: 65.77 years
female: 68.22 years (1995 est.)

Total fertility rate: 4.93 children born/woman (1995 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Iranian(s)
adjective: Iranian

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

Religions: Shi'a Muslim 95%, Sunni Muslim 4%, Zoroastrian, Jewish,
Christian, and Baha'i 1%

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

Literacy: age 15 and over can read and write (1991)
total population: 66%
male: 74%
female: 56%

Labor force: 15.4 million
by occupation: agriculture 33%, manufacturing 21%
note: shortage of skilled labor (1988 est.)

Iran:Government

Names:
conventional long form: Islamic Republic of Iran
conventional short form: Iran
local long form: Jomhuri-ye Eslami-ye Iran
local short form: Iran

Digraph: IR

Type: theocratic republic

Capital: Tehran

Administrative divisions: 24 provinces (ostanha, singular - ostan);
Azarbayjan-e Bakhtari (West Azerbaijan), Azarbayjan-e Khavari (East
Azerbaijan), Bakhtaran, Bushehr, Chahar Mahall va Bakhtiari, Esfahan,
Fars, Gilan, Hamadan, Hormozgan, Ilam, Kerman, Khorasan, Khuzestan,
Kohkiluyeh va Buyer Ahmadi, Kordestan, Lorestan, Markazi, Mazandaran,
Semnan, Sistan va Baluchestan, Tehran, Yazd, Zanjan
note: there may be a new province named Ardabil formed from a part of
Azarbayjan-e Khavari (East Azerbaijan) which may have been renamed
Azarbayjan-e Markazi (Central Azerbaijan); the name Bakhtaran may have
been changed to Kermanshahan

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

Legal system: the Constitution codifies Islamic principles of
government

Suffrage: 15 years of age; universal

Executive branch:
supreme leader (rahbar) and functional chief of state: Leader of the
Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Hoseini-KHAMENEI (since 4 June 1989)
head of government: President Ali Akbar Hashemi-RAFSANJANI (since 3
August 1989); election last held June 1993 (next to be held June
1997); results - Ali Akbar Hashemi-RAFSANJANI was elected with 63% of
the vote
cabinet: Council of Ministers; selected by the president with
legislative approval

Legislative branch: unicameral
Islamic Consultative Assembly (Majles-e-Shura-ye-Eslami): elections
last held 8 April 1992 (next to be held April 1996); results - percent
of vote by party NA; seats - (270 seats total) number of seats by
party NA

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders: there are at least 76 licensed parties;
the three most important are - Tehran Militant Clergy Association,
Mohammad Reza MAHDAVI-KANI; Militant Clerics Association, Mehdi
MAHDAVI-KARUBI and Mohammad Asqar MUSAVI-KHOINIHA; Fedaiyin Islam
Organization, Sadeq KHALKHALI

Other political or pressure groups: groups that generally support the
Islamic Republic include Hizballah, Mojahedin of the Islamic
Revolution, Muslim Students Following the Line of the Imam; armed
political groups that have been almost completely repressed by the
government include Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK), People's
Fedayeen, Kurdish Democratic Party; the Society for the Defense of
Freedom

Member of: CCC, CP, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, G-19, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD,
ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT,
INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM, OIC, OPEC,
PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTO

Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission: Iran has an Interests Section in the Pakistani
Embassy in Washington, DC
chancery: Iranian Interests Section, 2209 Wisconsin Avenue NW,
Washington, DC 20007
telephone: [1] (202) 965-4990

US diplomatic representation: protecting power in Iran is Switzerland

Flag: 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 Alkbar (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

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. Over the past
several years, the government has introduced several measures to
liberalize the economy and reduce government intervention, but most of
these changes have moved slowly because of political opposition. Iran
has faced increasingly severe financial difficulties since mid-1992
due to an import surge that began in 1989 and general financial
mismanagement. At yearend 1993 the Iranian Government estimated that
it owed foreign creditors about $30 billion; an estimated $8 billion
of this debt was in arrears. At yearend 1994, Iran rescheduled $12
billion in debt. Earnings from oil exports - which provide 90% of
Iran's export revenues - are providing less relief to Iran than usual
because of reduced oil prices.

National product: GDP - purchasing power parity - $310 billion (1994
est.)

National product real growth rate: -2% (1994 est.)

National product per capita: $4,720 (1994 est.)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 35% (1994)

Unemployment rate: over 30% (1994 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA

Exports: $16 billion (f.o.b., FY92/93 est.)
commodities: petroleum 90%, carpets, fruits, nuts, hides
partners: Japan, Italy, France, Netherlands, Belgium/Luxembourg,
Spain, and Germany

Imports: $18 billion (c.i.f., FY92/93 est.)
commodities: machinery, military supplies, metal works, foodstuffs,
pharmaceuticals, technical services, refined oil products
partners: Germany, Japan, Italy, UK, UAE

External debt: $30 billion (December 1993)

Industrial production: growth rate 4.6% (1993 est.); accounts for
almost 30% of GDP, including petroleum

Electricity:
capacity: 19,080,000 kW
production: 50.8 billion kWh
consumption per capita: 745 kWh (1993)

Industries: petroleum, petrochemicals, textiles, cement and other
building materials, food processing (particularly sugar refining and
vegetable oil production), metal fabricating, armaments and military
equipment

Agriculture: accounts for about 20% of GDP; principal products -
wheat, rice, other grains, sugar beets, fruits, nuts, cotton, dairy
products, wool, caviar; not self-sufficient in food

Illicit drugs: illicit producer of opium poppy for the domestic and
international drug trade; produced 35-70 metric tons in 1993; net
opiate importer but also a key transshipment point for Southwest Asian
heroin to Europe

Economic aid:
recipient: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-80), $1 billion;
Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-89), $1.675 billion; Communist countries (1970-89), $976 million

note: aid fell sharply following the 1979 revolution

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 - 1,749.04 (January 1995),
1,748.75 (1994), 1,267.77 (1993), 65.552 (1992), 67.505 (1991); black
market rate: 3,000 rials per US$1 (December 1994)

Fiscal year: 21 March - 20 March

Iran:Transportation

Railroads:
total: 4,850 km; note - 480 km under construction from Bafq to
Bandar-e 'Abbas; segment from Bafq to Sirjan has been completed and is
operational; section from Sirjan to Bandar-e 'Abbas still under
construction
broad gauge: 90 km 1.676-m gauge
narrow gauge: 4,760 km 1.432-m gauge

Highways:
total: 140,200 km
paved: 42,694 km
unpaved: gravel, crushed stone 46,866 km; improved earth 49,440 km;
unimproved earth 1,200 km

Inland waterways: 904 km; the Shatt al Arab is usually navigable by
maritime traffic for about 130 km; channel has been dredged to 3
meters and is in use

Pipelines: crude oil 5,900 km; petroleum products 3,900 km; natural
gas 4,550 km

Ports: Abadan (largely destroyed in fighting during 1980-88 war),
Ahvaz, Bandar Beheshti, Bandar-e 'Abbas, Bandar-e Anzali, Bandar-e
Bushehr, Bandar-e Khomeyni, Bandar-e Mah Shahr, Bandar-e Torkeman,
Jazireh-ye Khark, Jazireh-ye Lavan, Jazireh-ye Sirri, Khorramshahr
(limited operation since November 1992), Now Shahr

Merchant marine:
total: 132 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 3,816,820 GRT/6,991,693
DWT
ships by type: bulk 48, cargo 38, chemical tanker 5, combination bulk
2, liquefied gas tanker 1, oil tanker 26, refrigerated cargo 3,
roll-on/roll-off cargo 8, short-sea passenger 1

Airports:
total: 261
with paved runways over 3,047 m: 28
with paved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 12
with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 32
with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 20
with paved runways under 914 m: 46
with unpaved runways over 3,047 m: 2
with unpaved runways 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 18
with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 101

Iran:Communications

Telephone system: 2,143,000 telephones; 35 telephones/1,000 persons
local: NA
intercity: microwave radio relay extends throughout country; system
centered in Tehran
international: 3 INTELSAT (2 Atlantic Ocean and 1 Indian Ocean) earth
stations; HF radio and microwave radio relay to Turkey, Pakistan,
Syria, Kuwait, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan; submarine fiber optic cable
to UAE

Radio:
broadcast stations: AM 77, FM 3, shortwave 0
radios: NA

Television:
broadcast stations: 28
televisions: NA

Iran:Defense Forces

Branches: Islamic Republic of Iran Ground Forces, Navy, Air and Air
Defense Force, Revolutionary Guards (includes Basij militia with its
ground, air, and naval forces), Law Enforcement Forces

Manpower availability: males age 15-49 14,639,290; males fit for
military service 8,703,732; males reach military age (21) annually
615,096 (1995 est.)

Defense expenditures: according to official Iranian data, Iran spent
1,785 billion rials, including $808 million in hard currency, in 1992
and budgeted 2,507 billion rials, including $850 million in hard
currency, for 1993
note: conversion of rial expenditures into US dollars using the
current exchange rate could produce misleading results.