Iran (2001) | Equatorial Guinea (2007) | |
Administrative divisions | 28 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, Khuzestan, Kohgiluyeh va Buyer Ahmad, Kordestan, Lorestan, Markazi, Mazandaran, Qazvin, Qom, Semnan, Sistan va Baluchestan, Tehran, Yazd, Zanjan | 7 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Annobon, Bioko Norte, Bioko Sur, Centro Sur, Kie-Ntem, Litoral, Wele-Nzas |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
32.97% (male 11,150,053; female 10,654,884) 15-64 years: 62.38% (male 20,765,001; female 20,488,672) 65 years and over: 4.65% (male 1,617,045; female 1,453,310) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 41.5% (male 114,816/female 113,688)
15-64 years: 54.8% (male 145,740/female 156,097) 65 years and over: 3.8% (male 8,957/female 11,903) (2007 est.) |
Agriculture - products | wheat, rice, other grains, sugar beets, fruits, nuts, cotton; dairy products, wool; caviar | coffee, cocoa, rice, yams, cassava (tapioca), bananas, palm oil nuts; livestock; timber |
Airports | 317 (2000 est.) | 5 (2007) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
117 over 3,047 m: 38 2,438 to 3,047 m: 23 1,524 to 2,437 m: 25 914 to 1,523 m: 24 under 914 m: 7 (2000 est.) |
total: 5
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 2 (2007) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
200 over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 13 914 to 1,523 m: 122 under 914 m: 60 (2000 est.) |
total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2006) |
Area | total:
1.648 million sq km land: 1.636 million sq km water: 12,000 sq km |
total: 28,051 sq km
land: 28,051 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Alaska | slightly smaller than Maryland |
Background | Known as Persia until 1935, Iran became an Islamic republic in 1979 after the ruling shah was forced into exile. Conservative clerical forces subsequently crushed westernizing liberal elements. Militant 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 over disputed territory. The key current issue is how rapidly the country should open up to the modernizing influences of the outside world. | Equatorial Guinea gained independence in 1968 after 190 years of Spanish rule. This tiny country, composed of a mainland portion plus five inhabited islands, is one of the smallest on the African continent. President Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO has ruled the country since 1979 when he seized power in a coup. Although nominally a constitutional democracy since 1991, the 1996 and 2002 presidential elections - as well as the 1999 and 2004 legislative elections - were widely seen as flawed. The president exerts almost total control over the political system and has discouraged political opposition. Equatorial Guinea has experienced rapid economic growth due to the discovery of large offshore oil reserves, and in the last decade has become Sub-Saharan Africa's third largest oil exporter. Despite the country's economic windfall from oil production resulting in a massive increase in government revenue in recent years, there have been few improvements in the population's living standards. |
Birth rate | 17.1 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 35.16 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$27 billion expenditures: $27 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999) |
revenues: $3.546 billion
expenditures: $1.516 billion (2006 est.) |
Capital | Tehran | name: Malabo
geographic coordinates: 3 45 N, 8 47 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | mostly arid or semiarid, subtropical along Caspian coast | tropical; always hot, humid |
Coastline | 2,440 km; note - Iran also borders the Caspian Sea (740 km) | 296 km |
Constitution | 2-3 December 1979; revised 1989 to expand powers of the presidency and eliminate the prime ministership | approved by national referendum 17 November 1991; amended January 1995 |
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 |
conventional long form: Republic of Equatorial Guinea
conventional short form: Equatorial Guinea local long form: Republica de Guinea Ecuatorial/Republique de Guinee equatoriale local short form: Guinea Ecuatorial/Guinee equatoriale former: Spanish Guinea |
Currency | Iranian rial (IRR) | - |
Death rate | 5.41 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 15.01 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Debt - external | $7.5 billion (2000 est.) | $229 million (2006 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none; note - protecting power in Iran is Switzerland | chief of mission: Ambassador Donald C. JOHNSON
embassy: adjacent to the golf course at the base of Mont Febe; note - relocated embassy is opened for limited functions; inquiries should continue to be directed to the US Embassy in Yaounde, Cameroon mailing address: B.P. 817, Yaounde, Cameroon; US Embassy Yaounde, US Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-2520 telephone: [237] 220 15 00 FAX: [237] 220 16 20 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | 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 | chief of mission: Ambassador Purificacion ANGUE ONDO
chancery: 2020 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 518-5700 FAX: [1] (202) 518-5252 |
Disputes - international | Iran and Iraq restored diplomatic relations in 1990 but are still trying to work out written agreements settling outstanding disputes from their eight-year war concerning border demarcation, prisoners-of-war, and freedom of navigation and sovereignty over the Shatt al Arab waterway; Iran occupies two islands in the Persian Gulf claimed by the UAE: Lesser Tunb (called Tunb as Sughra in Arabic by UAE and Jazireh-ye Tonb-e Kuchek in Persian by Iran) and Greater Tunb (called Tunb al Kubra in Arabic by UAE and Jazireh-ye Tonb-e Bozorg in Persian by Iran); Iran jointly administers with the UAE an island in the Persian Gulf claimed by the UAE (called Abu Musa in Arabic by UAE and Jazireh-ye Abu Musa in Persian by Iran) - over which Iran has taken steps to exert unilateral control since 1992, including access restrictions and a military build-up on the island; the UAE has garnered significant diplomatic support in the region in protesting these Iranian actions; Caspian Sea boundaries are not yet determined among Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan | in 2002, ICJ ruled on an equidistance settlement of Cameroon-Equatorial Guinea-Nigeria maritime boundary in the Gulf of Guinea, but a dispute between Equatorial Guinea and Cameroon over an island at the mouth of the Ntem River and imprecisely defined maritime coordinates in the ICJ decision delay final delimitation; UN urges Equatorial Guinea and Gabon to resolve the sovereignty dispute over Gabon-occupied Mbane and lesser islands and to create a maritime boundary in the hydrocarbon-rich Corisco Bay |
Economic aid - recipient | $116.5 million (1995) | $NA (2005) |
Economy - overview | 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 has 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 zoom 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 discovery and exploitation of large oil reserves have contributed to dramatic economic growth in recent years. Forestry, farming, and fishing are also major components of GDP. Subsistence farming predominates. Although pre-independence Equatorial Guinea counted on cocoa production for hard currency earnings, the neglect of the rural economy under successive regimes has diminished potential for agriculture-led growth (the government has stated its intention to reinvest some oil revenue into agriculture). A number of aid programs sponsored by the World Bank and the IMF have been cut off since 1993, because of corruption and mismanagement. No longer eligible for concessional financing because of large oil revenues, the government has been trying to agree on a "shadow" fiscal management program with the World Bank and IMF. Government officials and their family members own most businesses. Undeveloped natural resources include titanium, iron ore, manganese, uranium, and alluvial gold. Growth remained strong in 2006, led by oil. Equatorial Guinea now has the fourth highest per capita income in the world, after Luxembourg, Bermuda, and Jersey. |
Electricity - consumption | 95.84 billion kWh (1999) | 26.04 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production | 103.054 billion kWh (1999) | 28 million kWh (2005) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
93.16% hydro: 6.84% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Caspian Sea -28 m highest point: Qolleh-ye Damavand 5,671 m |
lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Pico Basile 3,008 m |
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; inadequate supplies of potable water | tap water is not potable; deforestation |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Persian 51%, Azeri 24%, Gilaki and Mazandarani 8%, Kurd 7%, Arab 3%, Lur 2%, Baloch 2%, Turkmen 2%, other 1% | Fang 85.7%, Bubi 6.5%, Mdowe 3.6%, Annobon 1.6%, Bujeba 1.1%, other 1.4% (1994 census) |
Exchange rates | Iranian rials per US dollar - 1,754.71 (January 2001), 1,764.43 (2000), 1,725.93 (1999), 1,751.86 (1998), 1,752.92 (1997), 1,750.76 (1996)
note: Iran has three officially recognized exchange rates; the averages for 1999 are as follows: the official floating rate of 1,750 rials per US dollar, the "export" rate of 3,000 rials per US dollar, and the variable Tehran Stock Exchange rate, which averages 7,863 rials per US dollar; the market rate averages 8,615 rials per US dollar |
Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XAF) per US dollar - 522.4 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003), 696.99 (2002) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Hoseini-KHAMENEI (since 4 June 1989) head of government: President (Ali) Mohammad KHATAMI-Ardakani (since 3 August 1997); First Vice President Dr. Mohammad Reza AREF-YAZDI (since NA August 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers selected by the president with legislative approval 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 8 June 2001 (next to be held NA 2005) election results: (Ali) Mohammad KHATAMI-Ardakani reelected president; percent of vote - (Ali) Mohammad KHATAMI-Ardakani 77% |
chief of state: President Brig. Gen. (Ret.) Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO (since 3 August 1979 when he seized power in a military coup)
head of government: Prime Minister Ricardo Mangue Obama NFUBEA (since 14 August 2006); First Deputy Prime Minister Mercelino Oyono NTUTUMU (since 15 June 2004) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term (no term limits); election last held 15 December 2002 (next to be held in December 2009); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president election results: Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO reelected president; percent of vote - Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO 97.1%, Celestino Bonifacio BACALE 2.2%; elections marred by widespread fraud |
Exports | $25 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | petroleum 85%, carpets, fruits and nuts, iron and steel, chemicals | petroleum, methanol, timber, cocoa |
Exports - partners | Japan, Italy, UAE, South Korea, France, China | China 30.9%, US 22.3%, Spain 12.7%, Taiwan 10.6%, Portugal 6.1% (2006) |
Fiscal year | 21 March - 20 March | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and red; the national emblem (a stylized representation of the word Allah) 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 | three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and red with a blue isosceles triangle based on the hoist side and the coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms has six yellow six-pointed stars (representing the mainland and five offshore islands) above a gray shield bearing a silk-cotton tree and below which is a scroll with the motto UNIDAD, PAZ, JUSTICIA (Unity, Peace, Justice) |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $413 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
24% industry: 28% services: 48% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 3.1%
industry: 92% services: 4.8% (2006 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $6,300 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 3% (2000 est.) | 18.6% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 32 00 N, 53 00 E | 2 00 N, 10 00 E |
Geography - note | - | insular and continental regions widely separated |
Heliports | 11 (2000 est.) | - |
Highways | total:
140,200 km paved: 49,440 km (including 470 km of expressways) unpaved: 90,760 km (1998 est.) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | despite substantial interdiction efforts, Iran remains a key transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin to Europe; domestic consumption of narcotics remains a persistent problem and Iranian press reports estimate that there are at least 1.2 million drug users in the country | - |
Imports | $15 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | industrial raw materials and intermediate goods, capital goods, foodstuffs and other consumer goods, technical services, military supplies | petroleum sector equipment, other equipment |
Imports - partners | Germany, South Korea, Italy, UAE, France, Japan | US 37.8%, Spain 9.5%, Cote d'Ivoire 7.9%, France 6.1%, South Korea 6.1%, UK 5.8%, Italy 5% (2006) |
Independence | 1 April 1979 (Islamic Republic of Iran proclaimed) | 12 October 1968 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4.4% (nonoil) (1999) | 30% (2002 est.) |
Industries | petroleum, petrochemicals, textiles, cement and other construction materials, food processing (particularly sugar refining and vegetable oil production), metal fabricating, armaments | petroleum, fishing, sawmilling, natural gas |
Infant mortality rate | 29.04 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 87.15 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 93.17 deaths/1,000 live births female: 80.95 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 16% (2000 est.) | 5% (2006 est.) |
International organization participation | CCC, CP, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, G-19, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WToO | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, BDEAC, CEMAC, FAO, FZ, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ITSO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OAS (observer), OIF, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WTO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 8 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 94,000 sq km (1993 est.) | NA |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court | Supreme Tribunal |
Labor force | 17.3 million
note: shortage of skilled labor (1998) |
NA |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 33%, industry 25%, services 42% (1999 est.) | - |
Land boundaries | 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 |
total: 539 km
border countries: Cameroon 189 km, Gabon 350 km |
Land use | arable land:
10% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 27% forests and woodland: 7% other: 55% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 4.63%
permanent crops: 3.57% other: 91.8% (2005) |
Languages | Persian and Persian dialects 58%, Turkic and Turkic dialects 26%, Kurdish 9%, Luri 2%, Balochi 1%, Arabic 1%, Turkish 1%, other 2% | Spanish 67.6% (official), other 32.4% (includes French (official), Fang, Bubi) (1994 census) |
Legal system | the Constitution codifies Islamic principles of government | partly based on Spanish civil law and tribal custom |
Legislative branch | 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 18 February-NA April 2000 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats by party - reformers 170, conservatives 45, and independents 10; 65 seats were up for runoff election on 5 May 2000 (reformers 52, conservatives 10, independents 3) |
unicameral House of People's Representatives or Camara de Representantes del Pueblo (100 seats; members directly elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 25 April 2004 (next to be held in 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PDGE 98, CPDS 2 note: Parliament has little power since the constitution vests all executive authority in the president |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
69.95 years male: 68.61 years female: 71.37 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 49.51 years
male: 48.11 years female: 50.95 years (2007 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 72.1% male: 78.4% female: 65.8% (1994 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 85.7% male: 93.3% female: 78.4% (2003 est.) |
Location | Middle East, bordering the Gulf of Oman, the Persian Gulf, and the Caspian Sea, between Iraq and Pakistan | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Biafra, between Cameroon and Gabon |
Map references | Middle East | Africa |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: natural prolongation exclusive economic zone: bilateral agreements or median lines in the Persian Gulf territorial sea: 12 NM |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | total:
152 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,097,977 GRT/7,131,688 DWT ships by type: bulk 49, cargo 38, chemical tanker 4, combination bulk 1, container 10, liquefied gas 1, multi-functional large-load carrier 6, petroleum tanker 32, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 9, short-sea passenger 1 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Singapore 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 1 ship (1000 GRT or over) 1,745 GRT/3,434 DWT
by type: cargo 1 (2007) |
Military branches | Islamic Republic of Iran regular forces (includes Ground Forces, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces), Revolutionary Guards (includes Ground, Air, Navy, Qods, and Basij-mobilization-forces), Law Enforcement Forces | National Guard (Army, with Coast Guard (Navy) and Air Wing) (2007) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $5.787 billion (FY98/99) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.9% (FY98/99) | 0.1% (2006 est.) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
18,319,328 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
10,872,407 (2001 est.) |
- |
Military manpower - military age | 21 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
823,040 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Republic Day, 1 April (1979) | Independence Day, 12 October (1968) |
Nationality | noun:
Iranian(s) adjective: Iranian |
noun: Equatorial Guinean(s) or Equatoguinean(s)
adjective: Equatorial Guinean or Equatoguinean |
Natural hazards | periodic droughts, floods; dust storms, sandstorms; earthquakes along western border and in the northeast | violent windstorms, flash floods |
Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, iron ore, lead, manganese, zinc, sulfur | petroleum, natural gas, timber, gold, bauxite, diamonds, tantalum, sand and gravel, clay |
Net migration rate | -4.51 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 5,900 km; petroleum products 3,900 km; natural gas 4,550 km | condensate 46 km; condensate/gas 5 km; gas 47 km; oil 31 km (2006) |
Political parties and leaders | the following organizations appeared to have achieved considerable success at elections to the sixth Majlis in early 2000: Assembly of the Followers of the Imam's Line, Freethinkers' Front, Islamic Iran Participation Front, Moderation and Development Party, Servants of Construction Party, Society of Self-sacrificing Devotees | Convergence Party for Social Democracy or CPDS [Placido MIKO Abogo]; Democratic Party for Equatorial Guinea or PDGE (ruling party) [Teodoro OBIANG NGUEMA MBASOGO]; Party for Progress of Equatorial Guinea or PPGE [Severo MOTO]; Popular Action of Equatorial Guinea or APGE [Miguel Esono EMAN]; Popular Union or UP |
Political pressure groups and leaders | active student groups include the pro-reform "Organization for Strengthening Unity" and "the Union of Islamic Student Societies'; groups that generally support the Islamic Republic include Ansar-e Hizballah, Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution, Muslim Students Following the Line of the Imam, and the Islamic Coalition Association; opposition groups include the Liberation Movement of Iran and the Nation of Iran party; armed political groups that have been almost completely repressed by the government include Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK), People's Fedayeen, Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan; the Society for the Defense of Freedom | NA |
Population | 66,128,965 (July 2001 est.) | 551,201 (July 2007 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 53% (1996 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.72% (2001 est.) | 2.015% (2007 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Abadan (largely destroyed in fighting during 1980-88 war), Ahvaz, Bandar 'Abbas, Bandar-e Anzali, Bushehr, Bandar-e Emam Khomeyni, Bandar-e Lengeh, Bandar-e Mahshahr, Bandar-e Torkaman, Chabahar (Bandar Beheshti), Jazireh-ye Khark, Jazireh-ye Lavan, Jazireh-ye Sirri, Khorramshahr (limited operation since November 1992), Now Shahr | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 72, FM 5, shortwave 5 (1998) | AM 0, FM 3, shortwave 5 (2001) |
Radios | 17 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
5,600 km broad gauge: 94 km 1.676-m gauge standard gauge: 5,506 km 1.435-m gauge (146 km electrified) note: broad gauge track is employed at the borders with Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan which have broad-gauge rail systems (2001) |
- |
Religions | Shi'a Muslim 89%, Sunni Muslim 10%, Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian, and Baha'i 1% | nominally Christian and predominantly Roman Catholic, pagan practices |
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: 1.11 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.934 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.752 male(s)/female total population: 0.957 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
Suffrage | 15 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | 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: 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; Internet service available but limited to electronic mail to promote Iranian culture |
general assessment: digital fixed-line network in most major urban areas and good mobile coverage
domestic: fixed-line density is about 2 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular subscribership has been increasing and in 2005 stood at about 20 percent of the population international: country code - 240; international communications from Bata and Malabo to African and European countries; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 6.313 million (1997) | 10,000 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 265,000 (August 1998) | 96,900 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 28 (plus 450 low-power repeaters) (1997) | 1 (2001) |
Terrain | rugged, mountainous rim; high, central basin with deserts, mountains; small, discontinuous plains along both coasts | coastal plains rise to interior hills; islands are volcanic |
Total fertility rate | 2.02 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 4.48 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 14% (1999 est.) | 30% (1998 est.) |
Waterways | 904 km
note: the Shatt al Arab is usually navigable by maritime traffic for about 130 km; channel has been dredged to 3 m and is in use |
- |