Country Facts - Iran

The People

Ethnic Composition

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

Religious Composition

Shi'a Muslim	89%
Sunni Muslim	10%
Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian, and Baha'i	1%

Nationality

Iranian(s)

Languages Spoken

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

Education and Literacy

Education is free (but not compulsory) at all levels from elementary school through university. Nationwide literacy is 72.1 percent.

Labor Force

Total: 18 million (2001)

By occupation:

Agriculture	30%
Industry	25%
Services	45%

Geography

Land Mass Total

636,296 sq mi (1.648 million sq km)

Land

631,663 sq mi (1.636 million sq km)

Water

4,633 sq mi (12,000 sq km)

Land Boundaries

Total: 3,380 mi (5,440 km)

Border countries: Afghanistan 581 mi (936 km), Armenia 21 mi (35 km), Azerbaijan-proper 268 mi (432 km), Azerbaijan- Naxçivan exclave 111 mi (179 km), Iraq 905 mi (1,458 km), Pakistan 564 mi (909 km), Turkey 310 mi (499 km), Turkmenistan 616 mi (992 km)

Coastline

1,516 mi (2,440 km)

Note: Iran also borders the Caspian Sea 459 mi (740 km)

Maritime claim

Contiguous zone: 24 nm
Continental shelf: natural prolongation
Exclusive economic zone: bilateral agreements, or median lines in the Persian Gulf
Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate/Weather

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: Caspian Sea 91 ft (28 m)
Highest: Qolleh-ye Dam avand 18,605 ft (5,671 m)

Natural Resources

Petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, iron ore, lead, manganese, zinc, sulfur

Land use

Arable land	10%
Permanent crops	1%
Other	89%

(1998)

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; wetland losses from drought; soil degradation (salination); inadequate supplies of potable water; water pollution from raw sewage and industrial waste; urbanization.

Geography Note

Strategic location on the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz, which are vital maritime pathways for crude oil transport.

Demographics

Population

66,622,704 (July 2002)

Age structure

0-14 years:	31.6%	male 10,753,218	female 10,273,015
15-64 years:	63.7%	male 21,383,542	female 21,096,307
65 years and over:	4.7%	male 1,633,016	female 1,483,606

(2002)

Growth Rate

0.77% (2002)

Life Expectancy

70.25 years (2002)
female: 71.69 years
male: 68.87 years

GDP Per Capita

Purchasing power parity
US$6,400 (2001)

Infant Mortality

28.07 deaths/1,000 live births (2002)

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:	1.1 male(s)/female
Total population:	1.03 male(s)/female

(2002)

Net migration rate

-4.46 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002)

Economy & Trade

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 indicated that he will pursue diversification of Iran's oil-reliant economy although he has made little progress toward that goal. 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. The subsequent rise in oil prices in 1999-2000 afforded Iran fiscal breathing room but does not solve Iran's structural economic problems, including the encouragement of foreign investment.
The U.S.-led 2001-2002 invasion of Afghanistan to Iran's east and confrontation with Iraq to the west in 2003 have caused the Iranian economy to enter a period of stasis. Foreign investors are awaiting much greater regional stability and signs of major internal reforms in Iran before funding any sizeable projects. In early 2003, the Iranian government announced the discovery of uranium deposits, which would be used to fuel two nuclear power plants to be built with Russian aid. Although the project is positioned as a solution to Iran's electric power problems, the international community is more worried about the nuclear byproducts of the plants than the power generated.

Unemployment

14% (1999)

Inflation Rate

13% (2001)

Industries

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

Exports

US$27.4 billion (f.o.b., 2001)

Imports

US$17.2 billion (f.o.b., 2001)

Total Trade

Purchasing power parity
GDP US$426 billion (2001)

Top Export Partners

Japan 20.5%, Italy 7%, UAE 5.9%, France 4.7%, China 4.1% (1999)

Top Import Partners

Germany 11%, Italy 8.3%, China 6.1%, Japan 5.3%, UAE 5% (1999)

Top Exports

Petroleum 85%, carpets, fruits and nuts, iron and steel, chemicals

Top Imports

Industrial raw materials and intermediate goods, capital goods, foodstuffs and other consumer goods, technical services, military supplies

Debt - external

US$7.3 billion (2001)

Economic aid

US$116.5 million (1995)

Fiscal Year:

March 21 to March 20

Business Workweek

	Saturday - Thursday (Islamic workweek)	Friday
Offices	Weekdays and Saturdays 8:30a.m. to 1p.m. and 3p.m. to 7p.m.	Closed Fridays.
Retail	Saturday to Wednesday 8:30a.m. to 9p.m. Limited hours during the month of Ramadan.	Closed
Banks	Saturday to Wednesday 8:30a.m. to 4p.m. Thursday 8:30a.m. to noon.	Closed Fridays.
Government	Saturday to Wednesday 8a.m. to 2p.m.	Closed

Holidays

Official Holidays

Holidays	2003	2004	2005
Revolution Day	February 11	February 11	February 11
Festival of Sacrifice (Eid Al Adha)¹	February 12	February 2	January 21
Islamic New Year²	March 5	February 22	February 10
Oil Nationalization Day	March 20	March 20	March 20
Noruz³	March 21 or 22	March 21 or 22	March 21 or 22
Ashura*¹	March 14	March 2	February 19
Islamic Republic Day	April 1	April 1	April 1
Sizdah Bedar (Public Holiday)	April 2	April 2	April 2
Birthday of Prophet Mohammad (Mawlid an Nabi)*²	May 14	May 2	April 21
Start of Ramadan)*³	October 27	October 15	October 4
End of Ramadan (Eid Al Fitr)**¹	November 26	November 14	November 3

¹	Culmination of the Haj or Holy Pilgrimage.
²	The lunar Islamic Hijara calendar is made up of 12 months, each month alternating between 29 and 30 days per month, culminating in a total of 354 days per year. The Hijra calendar is based on the cycles of the moon and annually moves 11 days backward through the seasons.
³	The Persian New Year occurs on either March 21 or 22 of the vernal equinox.
*¹	Shi'a holiday celebrating the martyrdom of Imam Hussein.
*²	The Birthday of the Prophet Mohammad is celebrated on the twelfth day in the month of Rabi'l of the Islamic calendar.
*³	Ramadan (the month of fasting) begins with the first appearance of the new moon in the ninth month of the lunar Islamic Hijra calendar, and lasts 30 days. Dates for the start of Ramadan will vary from country to country, depending on the first appearance of the moon.
**¹	Feasting that officially marks the end of Ramadan, and commonly lasts for 3 days.

Country information used by permission of World Trade Press