Iran
|
| Basic Facts |
| 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 former: Persia |
| Gevernment type | theocratic republic |
| Capital |
name: Tehran
geographic coordinates: 35 40 N, 51 26 E time difference: UTC+3.5 (8.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| 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 |
| Currency | Iranian rial (IRR) |
| Internet country code | .ir |
| Ports and terminals | Assaluyeh, Bushehr |
| Agriculture products | wheat, rice, other grains, sugar beets, fruits, nuts, cotton; dairy products, wool; caviar |
| Industries | petroleum, petrochemicals, fertilizers, caustic soda, textiles, cement and other construction materials, food processing (particularly sugar refining and vegetable oil production), ferrous and non-ferrous metal fabrication, armaments |
| Geography |
| Location | Middle East, bordering the Gulf of Oman, the Persian Gulf, and the Caspian Sea, between Iraq and Pakistan |
| Coordinates | 32 00 N, 53 00 E |
| Continent | Middle East |
| Area |
total: 1.648 million sq km
land: 1.636 million sq km water: 12,000 sq km |
| Boundaries |
total: 5,440 km
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 |
| Coastline | 2,440 km; note - Iran also borders the Caspian Sea (740 km) |
| 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 |
| Natural hazards | periodic droughts, floods; dust storms, sandstorms; earthquakes |
| People |
| Population | 68,688,433 (July 2006 est.) |
| 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% |
