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Compare Benin (2005) - Iran (2005)
Compare Benin (2005) z Iran (2005)
| Benin (2005) | Iran (2005) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 12 departments; Alibori, Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Collines, Kouffo, Donga, Littoral, Mono, Oueme, Plateau, Zou | 30 provinces (ostanha, singular - ostan); Ardabil, Azarbayjan-e Gharbi, Azarbayjan-e Sharqi, Bushehr, Chahar Mahall va Bakhtiari, Esfahan, Fars, Gilan, Golestan, Hamadan, Hormozgan, Ilam, Kerman, Kermanshah, Khorasan-e Janubi, Khorasan-e Razavi, Khorasan-e Shemali, Khuzestan, Kohgiluyeh va Buyer Ahmad, Kordestan, Lorestan, Markazi, Mazandaran, Qazvin, Qom, Semnan, Sistan va Baluchestan, Tehran, Yazd, Zanjan |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: 46.5% (male 1,752,243/female 1,719,458)
15-64 years: 51.2% (male 1,868,630/female 1,948,610) 65 years and over: 2.3% (male 70,367/female 100,717) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years: 27.1% (male 9,465,475/female 8,973,828)
15-64 years: 68% (male 23,556,970/female 22,701,065) 65 years and over: 4.9% (male 1,637,512/female 1,683,010) (2005 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | cotton, corn, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, palm oil, peanuts, livestock (2001) | wheat, rice, other grains, sugar beets, fruits, nuts, cotton; dairy products, wool; caviar |
| Airports | 5 (2004 est.) | 305 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
total: 127
over 3,047 m: 39 2,438 to 3,047 m: 25 1,524 to 2,437 m: 26 914 to 1,523 m: 32 under 914 m: 5 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 4
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
total: 178
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 9 914 to 1,523 m: 129 under 914 m: 39 (2004 est.) |
| Area | total: 112,620 sq km
land: 110,620 sq km water: 2,000 sq km |
total: 1.648 million sq km
land: 1.636 million sq km water: 12,000 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Pennsylvania | slightly larger than Alaska |
| Background | Present day Benin was the site of Dahomey, a prominent West African kingdom that rose in the 15th century. The territory became a French Colony in 1872 and achieved independence on 1 August 1960, as the Republic of Benin. A succession of military governments ended in 1972 with the rise to power of Mathieu KEREKOU and the establishment of a government based on Marxist-Leninist principles. A move to representative government began in 1989. Two years later, free elections ushered in former Prime Minister Nicephore SOGLO as president, marking the first successful transfer of power in Africa from a dictatorship to a democracy. KEREKOU was returned to power by elections held in 1996 and 2001, though some irregularities were alleged. | Known as Persia until 1935, Iran became an Islamic republic in 1979 after the ruling monarchy was overthrown and the shah was forced into exile. Conservative clerical forces established a theocratic system of government with ultimate political authority nominally vested in a learned religious scholar. Iranian-US relations have been strained since a group of Iranian students seized the US Embassy in Tehran on 4 November 1979 and held it until 20 January 1981. During 1980-88, Iran fought a bloody, indecisive war with Iraq that eventually expanded into the Persian Gulf and led to clashes between US Navy and Iranian military forces between 1987-1988. Iran has been designated a state sponsor of terrorism for its activities in Lebanon and elsewhere in the world and remains subject to US economic sanctions and export controls because of its continued involvement. Following the elections of a reformist president and Majlis in the late 1990s, attempts to foster political reform in response to popular dissatisfaction have floundered as conservative politicians have prevented reform measures from being enacted, increased repressive measures, and consolidated their control over the government. |
| Birth rate | 41.99 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 16.83 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $869.4 million
expenditures: $720.4 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
revenues: $43.34 billion
expenditures: $47.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $7.6 billion (2004 est.) |
| Capital | Porto-Novo is the official capital; Cotonou is the seat of government | Tehran |
| Climate | tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north | mostly arid or semiarid, subtropical along Caspian coast |
| Coastline | 121 km | 2,440 km; note - Iran also borders the Caspian Sea (740 km) |
| Constitution | December 1990 | 2-3 December 1979; revised 1989 to expand powers of the presidency and eliminate the prime ministership |
| Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Benin
conventional short form: Benin local long form: Republique du Benin local short form: Benin former: Dahomey |
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 |
| Death rate | 13.76 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 5.55 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
| Debt - external | $1.6 billion (2000) | $13.4 billion (2004 est.) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Wayne NEILL
embassy: Rue Caporal Bernard Anani, Cotonou mailing address: 01 B. P. 2012, Cotonou telephone: [229] 30-06-50 FAX: [229] 30-06-70 |
none; note - protecting power in Iran is Switzerland |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Cyrille Segbe OGUIN
chancery: 2124 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 232-6656 FAX: [1] (202) 265-1996 |
none; note - Iran has an Interests Section in the Pakistani Embassy; address: Iranian Interests Section, Pakistani Embassy, 2209 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007; telephone: [1] (202) 965-4990; FAX [1] (202) 965-1073 |
| Disputes - international | two villages remain in dispute along the border with Burkina Faso; accuses Burkina Faso of moving boundary pillars; much of Benin-Niger boundary, including tripoint with Nigeria, remains undemarcated, and the states expect a ruling in 2005 from the ICJ over the disputed Niger and Mekrou River islands; a joint task force was established in 2004 that resolved disputes over and redrew the maritime and the 870-km land boundary with Nigeria, including the sovereignty over seven villages along the Okpara River; a joint boundary commission continues to resurvey the boundary with Togo to verify Benin's claim that Togo moved boundary stones | Iran protests Afghanistan's limiting flow of dammed tributaries to the Helmand River in periods of drought; Iraq's lack of a maritime boundary with Iran prompts jurisdiction disputes beyond the mouth of the Shatt al Arab in the Persian Gulf; Iran and UAE engage in direct talks and solicit Arab League support to resolve disputes over Iran's occupation of Tunb Islands and Abu Musa Island; Iran stands alone among littoral states in insisting upon a division of the Caspian Sea into five equal sectors |
| Economic aid - recipient | $342.6 million (2000) | $408 million (2002 est.) |
| Economy - overview | The economy of Benin remains underdeveloped and dependent on subsistence agriculture, cotton production, and regional trade. Growth in real output has averaged around 5% in the past six years, but rapid population growth has offset much of this increase. Inflation has subsided over the past several years. In order to raise growth still further, Benin plans to attract more foreign investment, place more emphasis on tourism, facilitate the development of new food processing systems and agricultural products, and encourage new information and communication technology. The 2001 privatization policy should continue in telecommunications, water, electricity, and agriculture in spite of initial government reluctance. The Paris Club and bilateral creditors have eased the external debt situation, while pressing for more rapid structural reforms. Benin continues to be hurt by Nigerian trade protection that bans imports of a growing list of products from Benin and elsewhere. As a result, smuggling and criminality along the Benin-Nigeria border has been on the rise. | Iran's economy is marked by a bloated, inefficient state sector, over reliance on the oil sector, and statist policies that create major distortions throughout. Most economic activity is controlled by the state. Private sector activity is typically small-scale - workshops, farming, and services. President KHATAMI has continued to follow the market reform plans of former President RAFSANJANI, with limited progress. Relatively high oil prices in recent years have enabled Iran to amass some $30 billion in foreign exchange reserves, but have not eased economic hardships such as high unemployment and inflation. The proportion of the economy devoted to the development of weapons of mass destruction remains a contentious issue with leading Western nations. |
| Electricity - consumption | 565.2 million kWh (2002) | 119.9 billion kWh (2002) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2002) |
| Electricity - imports | 300 million kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2002) |
| Electricity - production | 285.2 million kWh (2002) | 129 billion kWh (2002) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Sokbaro 658 m |
lowest point: Caspian Sea -28 m
highest point: Kuh-e Damavand 5,671 m |
| Environment - current issues | inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching threatens wildlife populations; deforestation; desertification | 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 |
| Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation |
| Ethnic groups | African 99% (42 ethnic groups, most important being Fon, Adja, Yoruba, Bariba), Europeans 5,500 | Persian 51%, Azeri 24%, Gilaki and Mazandarani 8%, Kurd 7%, Arab 3%, Lur 2%, Baloch 2%, Turkmen 2%, other 1% |
| Exchange rates | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002), 733.04 (2001), 711.98 (2000) | rials per US dollar - 8,614 (2004), 8,193.9 (2003), 6,907 (2002), 1,753.6 (2001), 1,764.4 (2000)
note: Iran has been using a managed floating exchange rate regime since unifying multiple exchange rates in March 2002 |
| Executive branch | chief of state: President Mathieu KEREKOU (since 4 April 1996); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Mathieu KEREKOU (since 4 April 1996); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president reelected by popular vote for a five-year term; runoff election held 22 March 2001 (next to be held March 2006) election results: Mathieu KEREKOU reelected president; percent of vote - Mathieu KEREKOU 84.1%, Bruno AMOUSSOU 15.9% note: the four top-ranking contenders following the first-round presidential elections were: Mathieu KEREKOU (incumbent) 45.4%, Nicephore SOGLO (former president) 27.1%, Adrien HOUNGBEDJI (National Assembly Speaker) 12.6%, and Bruno AMOUSSOU (Minister of State) 8.6%; the second-round balloting, originally scheduled for 18 March 2001, was postponed four days because both SOGLO and HOUNGBEDJI withdrew alleging electoral fraud; this left KEREKOU to run against his own Minister of State, AMOUSSOU, in what was termed a "friendly match" |
chief of state: Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Hoseini-KHAMENEI (since 4 June 1989)
head of government: President Mahmud AHMADI-NEJAD (since 3 August 2005) First Vice President Dr. Mohammad Reza AREF-Yazdi (since 26 August 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers selected by the president with legislative approval; the Supreme Leader has some control over appointments to the more sensitive ministries elections: leader of the Islamic Revolution appointed for life by the Assembly of Experts; president elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 17 June 2005 with a two-candidate runoff on 24 June 2005 (next to be held NA 2009) election results: Mahmud AHMADI-NEJAD elected president; percent of vote - Mahmud AHMADI-NEJAD 62%, Ali Akbar Hashemi RAFSANJANI 36%; note - 2% of ballots spoiled |
| Exports | NA | 2.5 million bbl/day (2004 est.) |
| Exports - commodities | cotton, crude oil, palm products, cocoa | petroleum 80%, chemical and petrochemical products, fruits and nuts, carpets |
| Exports - partners | China 28.7%, India 18.4%, Ghana 6.3%, Thailand 6%, Niger 5.8%, Indonesia 4.2%, Nigeria 4.2% (2004) | Japan 18.4%, China 9.7%, Italy 6%, South Africa 5.8%, South Korea 5.4%, Taiwan 4.6%, Turkey 4.4%, Netherlands 4% (2004) |
| Fiscal year | calendar year | 21 March - 20 March |
| Flag description | two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and red (bottom) with a vertical green band on the hoist side | 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 |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 36.3%
industry: 14.3% services: 49.4% (2004 est.) |
agriculture: 11.2%
industry: 40.9% services: 48.7% (2004 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,200 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $7,700 (2004 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 5% (2004 est.) | 6.3% (2004 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 9 30 N, 2 15 E | 32 00 N, 53 00 E |
| Geography - note | sandbanks create difficult access to a coast with no natural harbors, river mouths, or islands | strategic location on the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz, which are vital maritime pathways for crude oil transport |
| Heliports | - | 13 (2004 est.) |
| Highways | total: 6,787 km
paved: 1,357 km (including 10 km of expressways) unpaved: 5,430 km (1999 est.) |
total: 167,157 km
paved: 94,109 km (including 890 km of expressways) unpaved: 73,048 km (1998) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
| Illicit drugs | transshipment point for narcotics associated with Nigerian trafficking organizations and most commonly destined for Western Europe and the US; vulnerable to money laundering due to a poorly regulated financial infrastructure | despite substantial interdiction efforts, Iran remains a key transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin to Europe; domestic narcotics consumption remains a persistent problem and according to official Iranian statistics there are at least two million drug users in the country; lax anti-money-laundering regulations |
| Imports | NA | NA |
| Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, capital goods, petroleum products | industrial raw materials and intermediate goods, capital goods, foodstuffs and other consumer goods, technical services, military supplies |
| Imports - partners | China 32.2%, France 13%, Thailand 6.7%, Cote d'Ivoire 5.3% (2004) | Germany 12.8%, France 8.3%, Italy 7.7%, China 7.2%, UAE 7.2%, South Korea 6.1%, Russia 5.4% (2004) |
| Independence | 1 August 1960 (from France) | 1 April 1979 (Islamic Republic of Iran proclaimed) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 8.3% (2001 est.) | 3.5% excluding oil (2004 est.) |
| Industries | textiles, food processing, construction materials, cement (2001) | petroleum, petrochemicals, textiles, cement and other construction materials, food processing (particularly sugar refining and vegetable oil production), metal fabrication, armaments |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 85 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 90 deaths/1,000 live births female: 79.86 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
total: 41.58 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 41.75 deaths/1,000 live births female: 41.41 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.8% (2004 est.) | 15.5% (2004 est.) |
| International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, MINUSTAH, MONUC, NAM, OIC, ONUB, OPCW, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNOCI, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | CP, ECO, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO |
| Irrigated land | 120 sq km (1998 est.) | 75,620 sq km (1998 est.) |
| Judicial branch | Constitutional Court or Cour Constitutionnelle; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; High Court of Justice | Supreme Court - above a special clerical court, a revolutionary court, and a special administrative court |
| Labor force | NA (1996) | 23 million
note: shortage of skilled labor (2004 est.) |
| Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture 30%, industry 25%, services 45% (2001 est.) |
| Land boundaries | total: 1,989 km
border countries: Burkina Faso 306 km, Niger 266 km, Nigeria 773 km, Togo 644 km |
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 |
| Land use | arable land: 18.08%
permanent crops: 2.4% other: 79.52% (2001) |
arable land: 8.72%
permanent crops: 1.39% other: 89.89% (2001) |
| Languages | French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north) | Persian and Persian dialects 58%, Turkic and Turkic dialects 26%, Kurdish 9%, Luri 2%, Balochi 1%, Arabic 1%, Turkish 1%, other 2% |
| Legal system | based on French civil law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | the Constitution codifies Islamic principles of government |
| Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (83 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 30 March 2003 (next to be held March 2007) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Presidential Movement 52, opposition (PRB, PRD, E'toile, and 5 other small parties) 31 |
unicameral Islamic Consultative Assembly or Majles-e-Shura-ye-Eslami (290 seats, note - changed from 270 seats with the 18 February 2000 election; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 20 February 2004 with a runoff held 7 May 2004 (next to be held February 2008) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats by party - conservatives/Islamists 190, reformers 50, independents 43, religious minorities 5, and 2 seats unaccounted for |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 52.66 years
male: 51.53 years female: 53.82 years (2005 est.) |
total population: 69.96 years
male: 68.58 years female: 71.4 years (2005 est.) |
| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 33.6% male: 46.4% female: 22.6% (2002 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 79.4% male: 85.6% female: 73% (2003 est.) |
| Location | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Nigeria and Togo | Middle East, bordering the Gulf of Oman, the Persian Gulf, and the Caspian Sea, between Iraq and Pakistan |
| Map references | Africa | Middle East |
| Maritime claims | territorial sea: 200 nm | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: bilateral agreements or median lines in the Persian Gulf continental shelf: natural prolongation |
| Merchant marine | - | total: 144 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 4,715,242 GRT/8,240,069 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 38, cargo 49, chemical tanker 4, container 14, liquefied gas 1, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 5, petroleum tanker 30, roll on/roll off 2 foreign-owned: 1 (UAE 1) registered in other countries: 8 (2005) |
| Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force | Islamic Republic of Iran Regular Forces (Artesh): Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force (includes Air Defense)
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (Sepah-e Pasdaran-e Enqelab-e Eslami, IRGC): Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force, Qods Force (special operations), and Basij Force (Popular Mobilization Army) Law Enforcement Forces: (2004) |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $96.5 million (2004) | $4.3 billion (2003 est.) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.4% (2004) | 3.3% (2003 est.) |
| National holiday | National Day, 1 August (1960) | 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) |
| Nationality | noun: Beninese (singular and plural)
adjective: Beninese |
noun: Iranian(s)
adjective: Iranian |
| Natural hazards | hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north from December to March | periodic droughts, floods; dust storms, sandstorms; earthquakes |
| Natural resources | small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber | petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, iron ore, lead, manganese, zinc, sulfur |
| Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | -2.64 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
| Pipelines | - | condensate/gas 212 km; gas 16,998 km; liquid petroleum gas 570 km; oil 8,256 km; refined products 7,808 km (2004) |
| Political parties and leaders | African Congress for Renewal or DUNYA [Saka SALEY]; African Movement for Democracy and Progress or MADEP [Sefou FAGBOHOUN]; Alliance of the Social Democratic Party or PSD [Bruno AMOUSSOU]; Coalition of Democratic Forces [Gatien HOUNGBEDJI]; Democratic Renewal Party or PRD [Adrien HOUNGBEDJI]; Front for Renewal and Development or FARD-ALAFIA [Jerome Sakia KINA]; Impulse for Progress and Democracy or IPD [Bertin BORNA]; Key Force or FC [leader NA]; Presidential Movement (UBF, MADEP, FC, IDP, and four small parties); Renaissance Party du Benin or PRB [Nicephore SOGLO]; The Star Alliance (Alliance E'toile) [Sacca LAFIA]; Union of Tomorrow's Benin or UBF [Bruno AMOUSSOU]
note: approximately 20 additional minor parties |
formal political parties are a relatively new phenomenon in Iran and most conservatives still prefer to work through political pressure groups rather than parties; a loose pro-reform coalition called the 2nd Khordad front, which includes political parties as well as less formal pressure groups and organizations, achieved considerable success at elections to the sixth Majles in early 2000; groups in the coalition include: Islamic Iran Participation Front (IIPF); Executives of Construction Party (Kargozaran); Solidarity Party; Islamic Labor Party; Mardom Salari; Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution Organization (MIRO); and Militant Clerics Society (Ruhaniyun); the coalition participated in the seventh Majles elections in early 2004; a new apparently conservative group, the Builders of Islamic Iran, took a leading position in the new Majles after winning a majority of the seats in February 2004 |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | political pressure groups conduct most of Iran's political activities; groups that generally support the Islamic Republic include Ansar-e Hizballah, Muslim Students Following the Line of the Imam, Tehran Militant Clergy Association (Ruhaniyat), Islamic Coalition Party (Motalefeh), and Islamic Engineers Society; active pro-reform student groups include the Organization for Strengthening Unity; opposition groups include Freedom Movement of Iran, the National Front, Marz-e Por Gohar, and various ethnic and Monarchist organizations; armed political groups that have been almost completely repressed by the government include Mujahidin-e Khalq Organization (MEK), People's Fedayeen, Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, and Komala |
| Population | 7,460,025
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2005 est.) |
68,017,860 (July 2005 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 33% (2001 est.) | 40% (2002 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 2.82% (2005 est.) | 0.86% (2005 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | Cotonou | Assaluyeh, Bushehr |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 9, shortwave 4 (2000) | AM 72, FM 5, shortwave 5 (1998) |
| Railways | total: 578 km
narrow gauge: 578 km 1.000-m gauge (2004) |
total: 7,203 km
broad gauge: 94 km 1.676-m gauge standard gauge: 7,109 km 1.435-m gauge (189 km electrified) (2004) |
| Religions | indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 30%, Muslim 20% | Shi'a Muslim 89%, Sunni Muslim 9%, Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian, and Baha'i 2% |
| Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.97 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
| Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 15 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: fair system of open-wire, microwave radio relay, and cellular connections international: country code - 229; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean); fiber optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC) provides connectivity to Europe and Asia |
general assessment: inadequate but currently being modernized and expanded with the goal of not only improving the efficiency and increasing the volume of the urban service but also bringing telephone service to several thousand villages, not presently connected
domestic: as a result of heavy investing in the telephone system since 1994, the number of long-distance channels in the microwave radio relay trunk has grown substantially; many villages have been brought into the net; the number of main lines in the urban systems has approximately doubled; and thousands of mobile cellular subscribers are being served; moreover, the technical level of the system has been raised by the installation of thousands of digital switches international: country code - 98; HF radio and microwave radio relay to Turkey, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Syria, Kuwait, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan; submarine fiber-optic cable to UAE with access to Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG); Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic line runs from Azerbaijan through the northern portion of Iran to Turkmenistan with expansion to Georgia and Azerbaijan; satellite earth stations - 9 Intelsat and 4 Inmarsat |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 66,500 (2003) | 14,571,100 (2003) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 236,200 (2003) | 3,376,500 (2003) |
| Television broadcast stations | 1 (2001) | 28 (plus 450 low-power repeaters) (1997) |
| Terrain | mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains | rugged, mountainous rim; high, central basin with deserts, mountains; small, discontinuous plains along both coasts |
| Total fertility rate | 5.86 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 1.82 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | NA | 11.2% (2004 est.) |
| Waterways | 150 km (on River Niger along northern border) (2004) | 850 km (on Karun River and Lake Urmia) (2004) |
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