Compare Croatia (2005) - Iran (2005)

Compare Croatia (2005) z Iran (2005)

	Croatia (2005)	Iran (2005)

Administrative divisions	20 counties (zupanije, zupanija - singular) and 1 city* (grad - singular); Bjelovarsko-Bilogorska Zupanija, Brodsko-Posavska Zupanija, Dubrovacko-Neretvanska Zupanija, Istarska Zupanija, Karlovacka Zupanija, Koprivnicko-Krizevacka Zupanija, Krapinsko-Zagorska Zupanija, Licko-Senjska Zupanija, Medimurska Zupanija, Osjecko-Baranjska Zupanija, Pozesko-Slavonska Zupanija, Primorsko-Goranska Zupanija, Sibensko-Kninska Zupanija, Sisacko-Moslavacka Zupanija, Splitsko-Dalmatinska Zupanija, Varazdinska Zupanija, Viroviticko-Podravska Zupanija, Vukovarsko-Srijemska Zupanija, Zadarska Zupanija, Zagreb*, Zagrebacka Zupanija	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: 16.4% (male 378,615/female 359,231) 15-64 years: 67% (male 1,497,355/female 1,514,993) 65 years and over: 16.6% (male 283,460/female 462,250) (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	wheat, corn, sugar beets, sunflower seed, barley, alfalfa, clover, olives, citrus, grapes, soybeans, potatoes; livestock, dairy products	wheat, rice, other grains, sugar beets, fruits, nuts, cotton; dairy products, wool; caviar
Airports	68 (2004 est.)	305 (2004 est.)
Airports - with paved runways	total: 23 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 9 (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: 45 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 37 (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: 56,542 sq km land: 56,414 sq km water: 128 sq km	total: 1.648 million sq km land: 1.636 million sq km water: 12,000 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly smaller than West Virginia	slightly larger than Alaska
Background	The lands that today comprise Croatia were part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until the close of World War I. In 1918, the Croats, Serbs, and Slovenes formed a kingdom known after 1929 as Yugoslavia. Following World War II, Yugoslavia became a federal independent Communist state under the strong hand of Marshal TITO. Although Croatia declared its independence from Yugoslavia in 1991, it took four years of sporadic, but often bitter, fighting before occupying Serb armies were mostly cleared from Croatian lands. Under UN supervision, the last Serb-held enclave in eastern Slavonia was returned to Croatia in 1998.	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	9.57 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)	16.83 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Budget	revenues: $14.14 billion expenditures: $15.65 billion, 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	Zagreb	Tehran
Climate	Mediterranean and continental; continental climate predominant with hot summers and cold winters; mild winters, dry summers along coast	mostly arid or semiarid, subtropical along Caspian coast
Coastline	5,835 km (mainland 1,777 km, islands 4,058 km)	2,440 km; note - Iran also borders the Caspian Sea (740 km)
Constitution	adopted on 22 December 1990; revised 2000, 2001	2-3 December 1979; revised 1989 to expand powers of the presidency and eliminate the prime ministership
Country name	conventional long form: Republic of Croatia conventional short form: Croatia local long form: Republika Hrvatska local short form: Hrvatska former: People's Republic of Croatia, Socialist Republic of Croatia	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	11.38 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)	5.55 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Debt - external	$26.4 billion (2004 est.)	$13.4 billion (2004 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Ralph FRANK embassy: 2 Thomas Jefferson, 10010 Zagreb mailing address: use street address telephone: [385] (1) 661-2200 FAX: [385] (1) 661-2373	none; note - protecting power in Iran is Switzerland
Diplomatic representation in the US	chief of mission: Ambassador Neven JURICA chancery: 2343 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 588-5899 FAX: [1] (202) 588-8936 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, New York	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	discussions continue with Bosnia and Herzegovina over several small disputed sections of the boundary; the Croatia-Slovenia land and maritime boundary agreement, which would have ceded most of Pirin Bay and maritime access to Slovenia and several villages to Croatia, remains un-ratified and in dispute; as a European Union peripheral state, neighboring Slovenia must conform to the strict Schengen border rules to curb illegal migration and commerce through southeastern Europe while encouraging close cross-border ties with Croatia	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	ODA $166.5 million (2002)	$408 million (2002 est.)
Economy - overview	Before the dissolution of Yugoslavia, the Republic of Croatia, after Slovenia, was the most prosperous and industrialized area, with a per capita output perhaps one-third above the Yugoslav average. The economy emerged from a mild recession in 2000 with tourism, banking, and public investments leading the way. Unemployment remains high, at about 14 percent, with structural factors slowing its decline. While macroeconomic stabilization has largely been achieved, structural reforms lag because of deep resistance on the part of the public and lack of strong support from politicians. Growth, while impressively about 4% for the last several years, has been achieved through high fiscal and current account deficits. The government is gradually reducing a heavy back log of civil cases, many involving land tenure. The EU accession process should accelerate fiscal and structural reform.	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	15.2 billion kWh (2002)	119.9 billion kWh (2002)
Electricity - exports	406 million kWh (2002)	0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - imports	3.966 billion kWh (2002)	0 kWh (2002)
Electricity - production	12.51 billion kWh (2002)	129 billion kWh (2002)
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Adriatic Sea 0 m highest point: Dinara 1,830 m	lowest point: Caspian Sea -28 m highest point: Kuh-e Damavand 5,671 m
Environment - current issues	air pollution (from metallurgical plants) and resulting acid rain is damaging the forests; coastal pollution from industrial and domestic waste; landmine removal and reconstruction of infrastructure consequent to 1992-95 civil strife	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: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol	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	Croat 89.6%, Serb 4.5%, other 5.9% (including Bosniak, Hungarian, Slovene, Czech, and Roma) (2001 census)	Persian 51%, Azeri 24%, Gilaki and Mazandarani 8%, Kurd 7%, Arab 3%, Lur 2%, Baloch 2%, Turkmen 2%, other 1%
Exchange rates	kuna per US dollar - 6.0358 (2004), 6.7035 (2003), 7.8687 (2002), 8.34 (2001), 8.2766 (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 Stjepan (Stipe) MESIC (since 18 February 2000) head of government: Prime Minister Ivo SANADER (since 9 December 2003); Deputy Prime Ministers Jadranka KOSOR (since 23 December 2003) and Damir POLANEC (since NA February 2005) cabinet: Council of Ministers named by the prime minister and approved by the parliamentary Assembly elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 16 January 2005 (next to be held January 2010); the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the president and then approved by the Assembly election results: Stjepan MESIC reelected president; percent of vote - Stjepan MESIC (HNS) 66%, Jadranka KOSOR (HDZ) 34%	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	transport equipment, textiles, chemicals, foodstuffs, fuels	petroleum 80%, chemical and petrochemical products, fruits and nuts, carpets
Exports - partners	Italy 23%, Bosnia and Herzegovina 13.4%, Germany 11.4%, Austria 9.6%, Slovenia 7.6% (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	red, white, and blue horizontal bands with Croatian coat of arms (red and white checkered)	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: 8.2% industry: 30.1% services: 61.7% (2004 est.)	agriculture: 11.2% industry: 40.9% services: 48.7% (2004 est.)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $11,200 (2004 est.)	purchasing power parity - $7,700 (2004 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	3.7% (2004 est.)	6.3% (2004 est.)
Geographic coordinates	45 10 N, 15 30 E	32 00 N, 53 00 E
Geography - note	controls most land routes from Western Europe to Aegean Sea and Turkish Straits	strategic location on the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz, which are vital maritime pathways for crude oil transport
Heliports	1 (2004 est.)	13 (2004 est.)
Highways	total: 28,344 km paved: 23,979 km (including 455 km of expressways) unpaved: 4,365 km (2002)	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%: 3.4% highest 10%: 24.5% (2003 est.)	lowest 10%: NA highest 10%: NA
Illicit drugs	transit point along the Balkan route for Southwest Asian heroin to Western Europe; has been used as a transit point for maritime shipments of South American cocaine bound for Western Europe	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	machinery, transport and electrical equipment, chemicals, fuels and lubricants, foodstuffs	industrial raw materials and intermediate goods, capital goods, foodstuffs and other consumer goods, technical services, military supplies
Imports - partners	Italy 17.1%, Germany 15.5%, Russia 7.3%, Slovenia 7.1%, Austria 6.9%, France 4.4% (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	25 June 1991 (from Yugoslavia)	1 April 1979 (Islamic Republic of Iran proclaimed)
Industrial production growth rate	2.7% (2004 est.)	3.5% excluding oil (2004 est.)
Industries	chemicals and plastics, machine tools, fabricated metal, electronics, pig iron and rolled steel products, aluminum, paper, wood products, construction materials, textiles, shipbuilding, petroleum and petroleum refining, food and beverages; tourism	petroleum, petrochemicals, textiles, cement and other construction materials, food processing (particularly sugar refining and vegetable oil production), metal fabrication, armaments
Infant mortality rate	total: 6.84 deaths/1,000 live births male: 6.79 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.88 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)	2.5% (2004 est.)	15.5% (2004 est.)
International organization participation	ABEDA, BIS, CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, FAO, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MINURSO, MINUSTAH, NAM (observer), OAS (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMOGIP, UNOCI, UPU, WCO, 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	30 sq km (1998 est.)	75,620 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	Supreme Court; Constitutional Court; judges for both courts appointed for eight-year terms by the Judicial Council of the Republic, which is elected by the Assembly	Supreme Court - above a special clerical court, a revolutionary court, and a special administrative court
Labor force	1.71 million (2004 est.)	23 million note: shortage of skilled labor (2004 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture 2.7%, industry 32.8%, services 64.5% (2004)	agriculture 30%, industry 25%, services 45% (2001 est.)
Land boundaries	total: 2,197 km border countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina 932 km, Hungary 329 km, Serbia and Montenegro (north) 241 km, Serbia and Montenegro (south) 25 km, Slovenia 670 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: 26.09% permanent crops: 2.27% other: 71.65% (2001)	arable land: 8.72% permanent crops: 1.39% other: 89.89% (2001)
Languages	Croatian 96.1%, Serbian 1%, other and undesignated 2.9% (including Italian, Hungarian, Czech, Slovak, and German) (2001 census)	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 civil law system	the Constitution codifies Islamic principles of government
Legislative branch	unicameral Assembly or Sabor (152 seats; note - one seat was added in the November 2003 parliamentary elections; members elected from party lists by popular vote to serve four-year terms) elections: Assembly - last held 23 November 2003 (next to be held in 2007) election results: Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA%; number of seats by party - HDZ 66, SDP 34, HSS 10, HNS 10, HSP 8, IDS 4, Libra 3, HSU 3, SDSS 3, other 11 note: minority government coalition - HDZ, DC, HSLS, HSU, SDSS	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: 74.45 years male: 70.79 years female: 78.31 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: 98.5% male: 99.4% female: 97.8% (2003 est.)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 79.4% male: 85.6% female: 73% (2003 est.)
Location	Southeastern Europe, bordering the Adriatic Sea, between Bosnia and Herzegovina and Slovenia	Middle East, bordering the Gulf of Oman, the Persian Gulf, and the Caspian Sea, between Iraq and Pakistan
Map references	Europe	Middle East
Maritime claims	territorial sea: 12 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation	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: 73 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 750,579 GRT/1,178,786 DWT by type: bulk carrier 25, cargo 12, chemical tanker 2, passenger/cargo 25, petroleum tanker 4, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 4 foreign-owned: 1 (Denmark 1) registered in other countries: 31 (2005)	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	Ground Forces (Hrvatska Vojska, HKoV), Naval Forces (Hrvatska Ratna Mornarica, HRM), Air and Air Defense Forces (Hrvatsko Ratno Zrakoplovstvo i Protuzrakoplovna Obrana, HRZiPZO)	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	$620 million (2004)	$4.3 billion (2003 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	2.39% (2002 est.)	3.3% (2003 est.)
National holiday	Independence Day, 8 October (1991); note - 25 June 1991 is the day the Croatian Parliament voted for independence; following a 3-month moratorium to allow the European Community to solve the Yugoslav crisis peacefully, Parliament adopted a decision on 8 October 1991 to sever constitutional relations with Yugoslavia	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: Croat(s), Croatian(s) adjective: Croatian	noun: Iranian(s) adjective: Iranian
Natural hazards	destructive earthquakes	periodic droughts, floods; dust storms, sandstorms; earthquakes
Natural resources	oil, some coal, bauxite, low-grade iron ore, calcium, gypsum, natural asphalt, silica, mica, clays, salt, hydropower	petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, iron ore, lead, manganese, zinc, sulfur
Net migration rate	1.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)	-2.64 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
Pipelines	gas 1,340 km; oil 583 km (2004)	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	Croatian Bloc or HB [Ivic PASALIC]; Croatian Christian Democratic Union or HKDU [Anto KOVACEVIC]; Croatian Democratic Union or HDZ [Ivo SANADER]; Croatian Party of Rights or HSP [Anto DJAPIC]; Croatian Peasant Party or HSS [Zlatko TOMCIC]; Croatian Pensioner Party or HSU [Vladimir JORDAN]; Croatian People's Party or HNS [Vesna PUSIC] (in 2005 party merged with Libra to become Croatian People's Party-Liberal Democrats or NS-LD [Vesna PUSIC]); Croatian Social Liberal Party or HSLS [Ivan CEHOK]; Croatian True Revival Party or HIP [Miroslav TUDJMAN]; Democratic Centre or DC [Vesna SKARE-OZBOLT]; Independent Democratic Serb Party or SDSS [Vojislav STANIMIROVIC]; Istrian Democratic Assembly or IDS [Ivan JAKOVCIC]; Liberal Party or LS [Zlatko BENASIC]; Party of Liberal Democrats or Libra [Jozo RADOS] (in 2005 merged with HNS); Social Democratic Party of Croatia or SDP [Ivica RACAN]	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	4,495,904 (July 2005 est.)	68,017,860 (July 2005 est.)
Population below poverty line	11% (2003)	40% (2002 est.)
Population growth rate	-0.02% (2005 est.)	0.86% (2005 est.)
Ports and harbors	Omisalj, Ploce, Rijeka, Sibenik, Vukovar (on Danube)	Assaluyeh, Bushehr
Radio broadcast stations	AM 16, FM 98, shortwave 5 (1999)	AM 72, FM 5, shortwave 5 (1998)
Railways	total: 2,726 km standard gauge: 2,726 km 1.435-m gauge (984 km electrified) (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	Roman Catholic 87.8%, Orthodox 4.4%, other Christian 0.4%, Muslim 1.3%, other and unspecified 0.9%, none 5.2% (2001 census)	Shi'a Muslim 89%, Sunni Muslim 9%, Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian, and Baha'i 2%
Sex ratio	at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.61 male(s)/female total population: 0.92 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 (16 years of age, if employed)	15 years of age; universal
Telephone system	general assessment: NA domestic: reconstruction plan calls for replacement of all analog circuits with digital and enlarging the network; a backup will be included in the plan for the main trunk international: country code - 385; digital international service is provided through the main switch in Zagreb; Croatia participates in the Trans-Asia-Europe (TEL) fiber-optic project, which consists of two fiber-optic trunk connections with Slovenia and a fiber-optic trunk line from Rijeka to Split and Dubrovnik; Croatia is also investing in ADRIA 1, a joint fiber-optic project with Germany, Albania, and Greece (2000)	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	1.825 million (2002)	14,571,100 (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular	2.553 million (2003)	3,376,500 (2003)
Television broadcast stations	36 (plus 321 repeaters) (September 1995)	28 (plus 450 low-power repeaters) (1997)
Terrain	geographically diverse; flat plains along Hungarian border, low mountains and highlands near Adriatic coastline and islands	rugged, mountainous rim; high, central basin with deserts, mountains; small, discontinuous plains along both coasts
Total fertility rate	1.39 children born/woman (2005 est.)	1.82 children born/woman (2005 est.)
Unemployment rate	13.8% (2004 est.)	11.2% (2004 est.)
Waterways	785 km (2004)	850 km (on Karun River and Lake Urmia) (2004)

Sitemap: Compare countries listing (map site) | Country listing (map site)
Links: Add to favorites | Information about this website | Stats | Polityka prywatnosci
This page was generated in ##czas## s. Size this page: ##rozmiar_strony## kB.