Iran

Geography

Location: Asia, Middle East, bordering the Gulf of Oman, the Persian Gulf, and the Caspian Sea, between Iraq and Pakistan. Area: 1.648 million sq. km. Principal cities: Tehran, Mashhad, Tabriz, Karaj and Shiraz. Tourist attractions: Choqa Zanbil, Imam Square, Kharanaq, Mil-e Gonbad and Persepolis. Time zone: GMT + 3.5 hours.

People

Population: 65,397,521 (July 2007 est.). Population growth rate: 0.663% (2007 est.). Sex ratio: 1.026 ma!e(s)/female {2007 est.). Religions: Shi'a Muslim, Sunni Muslim, Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian, and Baha'i. Languages: Persian and Persian dialects, Turkic and Turkic dialects, Kurdish, Luri, Balochi, Arabic, Turkish, others. Literacy rate: Total 79.4%, Male 85.6%, Female 73% (2003 est.). Infant mortality rate: 38.12 deaths/ 1,000 live births (2007 est.). Life expectancy: Total 70.56 years, Male 69.12 years, Female 72.07 years (2007 est.).

Government

Capital: Tehran. National anthem:
Sorood-e-Melli-e-Jomhoori-e Eslami-e Iran. Government type: Theocratic republic. Independence: I April 1979 (proclamation of Islamic Republic of Iran). Legal system: The constitution codifies Islamic principles of ment. Executive branch: Chief of state: Supreme Leader AM Hoseini-Khamenei (since 4 June 1989). Head of government: President Mahmud Ahmadinejad (since 3 August 2005). Legislative branch: Iran has a unicam-eral Islamic Consultative Assembly or Majles-e-Shura-ye-Eslami with 290 seats. Members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms. Judicial branch: Supreme court and the four-member High Council of the Judiciary.

Economy

Currency: Iranian rial. Currency con­version: Iranian rial per Indian rupee—229.5471 (June 2007 est.). GDP: Purchasing power parity— $599.2 billion (2006 est.). GDP—real growth rate: 4.3% (2006 est.). GDP—per capita: Purchasing power parity—$8,700 (2006 est.). inflation rate: 15.8% (2006 est.). Population below poverty line: 40% (2002 est.). Unemployment rate: 15% (2007 est.). Exports: $63.18 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.). Imports: $45.48 billion f.o.b. {2006 est.). External debt: $14.8 billion (2006 est.).

Transport and Communications

Railways: 7,256 km. Roads: 179,388 km. Airports: Imam Khomeini and Isfahan International Airports. Tele­phones: 18.99 million (2005). Mobile cellular: 8.5 (2005). Internet users: 1.326 million (2002 est.). Internet country code: Jr. ISD code: 98.