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
– Area:
Total: 1,648,195 sq km
land: 1,531,595 sq km
water: 116,600 sq km
– Area – comparative:
almost 2.5 times the size of Texas ; slightly smaller than Alaska
– Land boundaries:
Total: 5,894 km
border countries: Afghanistan 921 km, Armenia 44 km, Azerbaijan 689 km, Iraq 1,599 km, Pakistan 959 km, Turkey 534 km, Turkmenistan 1,148 km
– Coastline:
2,440 km; note – Iran also borders the Caspian Sea (740 km)
– Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: bilateral agreements or median lines in the Persian Gulf
continental shelf: natural prolongation
– Climate:
mostly arid or semiarid, subtropical along Caspian coast
Elevation extremes:
mean elevation: 1,305 m
elevation extremes: -28 m lowest point: Caspian Sea
5625 highest point: Kuh-e Damavand
– Natural resources:
petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, iron ore, lead, manganese, zinc, sulfur
People
– Population:
83,024,745 (July 2018 est.)
– Age structure:
0-14 years: 24.23% (male 10,291,493 /female 9,823,838)
15-24 years: 14.05% (male 5,973,320 /female 5,689,501)
25-54 years: 48.86% (male 20,698,748 /female 19,863,223)
55-64 years: 7.39% (male 3,022,134 /female 3,113,443)
65 years and over: 5.48% (male 2,111,390 /female 2,437,655) (2018 est.)
– Population growth rate:
1.19% (2018 est.)
– Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
15-24 years: 1.05 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
25-54 years: 1.04 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
55-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
– Nationality:
noun: Iranian(s)
adjective: Iranian
– Ethnic groups:
Persian, Azeri, , Kurd, Arab, Lur, Baloch, Arab ,Turkmen, and Turkic tribes
-Religions:
Muslim 99.4%(Shia 90-95% ,Sunni 5-10%), Other (includes Zoroastrian ,Jewish ,and Christian 0.4% ), unspecified 0.3%
– Languages:
Persian (official), Azeri Turkic and Turkic dialects, Kurdish, Gilaki and Mazandarani, Luri, Balochi , Arabic
Government
– 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
– Capital:
Tehran
Administrative divisions:
31 provinces (ostanha, singular – ostan); Alborz, Ardabil, Azarbayjan-e Gharbi (West Azerbayjan) , Azarbayjan-e Sharqi (East Azerbayjan), Bushehr, Chahar Mahal va Bakhtiari, Esfahan, Fars, Gilan, Golestan, Hamadan, Hormozgan, Ilam, Kerman, Kermanshah, Khorasan-e Janubi(South Khorasan), Khorasan-e Razavi(Razavi Khorasan), Khorasan-e Shemali(North Khorasan), Khuzestan,
Kohgiluyeh va Bowyer Ahmad, Kordestan, Lorestan, Markazi, Mazandaran, Qazvin, Qom, Semnan, Sistan va Baluchestan, Tehran, Yazd, Zanjan
– National holiday:
Republic Day, 1 April (1979)
note: additional holidays celebrated widely in Iran include Revolution Day,
11 February (1979); Noruz (New Year’s Day), 21 March; Constitutional Monarchy Day, 5 August (1925)
– 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
– GDP (purchasing power parity):
$1.64 trillion (2017 est.)
$1.581 trillion (2016 est.)
$1.405 trillion (2015 est.)
Country comparison to the world: 18
note: data are in 2017 US dollars
– GDP (official exchange rate):
$430.7 billion (2017 est.)
– GDP – real growth rate:
3.7% (2017 est.)
12.5% (2016 est.)
-1.6% (2015 est.)
Country comparison to the world: 89
– GDP – per capita (PPP):
$20,100 (2017 est.)
$19,600 (2016 est.)
$17,700 (2015 est.)
Country comparison to the world: 89
note: data are in 2017 US dollars
– GDP – composition by sector:
agriculture: 9.6% (2016 est.)
industry: 35.3% (2016 est.)
services: 55% (2017 est.)
– Currency:
Iranian Rial (IRR)
Agriculture – products:
wheat, rice, other grains, sugar beets, fruits, nuts, cotton; dairy products, wool; caviar
– Industries:
petroleum, petrochemicals, gas,fertilizers,caustic soda,textiles, cement and other construction materials, food processing (particularly sugar refining and vegetable oil production), metal fabrication,ferrous and nonferrous metal fabrication ,armaments
Exports:
$101.4 billion (2017 est.)
$83.98 billion (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 37
Imports:
$76.39 billion (2017 est.)
$63.14 billion (2016 est.)
Country comparison to the world: 44
Internet country code:
.ir
– Internet hosts:
45,678 (2009)
– Internet users:
36.07 million
Transportation
– Railways:
total: 8,484 km (2014)
standard gauge: 8,389.5 km 1.435-m gauge (189.5 km electrified) (2014)
broad gauge: 94 km 1.676-m gauge (2014)
country comparison to the world: 25
– Highways:
total: 198,866 km
paved: 160,366 km (including 1,948 km of expressways)
unpaved: 38,000 km (2014)
– Ports and harbors:
Abadan, Ahvaz, Bandar ‘Abbas, Bandar-e Anzali, Bushehr, Bandar-e Emam Khomeyni, Bandar-e Lengeh, Bandar-e Mah Shahr, Bandar-e Torkaman, Chabahar , Jazireh-ye Khark, Jazireh-ye Lavan, Jazireh-ye Sirri, Khorramshahr, Now Shahr
– Airports:
319 (2013 est.)