Iran (2001) | Palau (2006) | |
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 | 16 states; Aimeliik, Airai, Angaur, Hatohobei, Kayangel, Koror, Melekeok, Ngaraard, Ngarchelong, Ngardmau, Ngatpang, Ngchesar, Ngeremlengui, Ngiwal, Peleliu, Sonsorol |
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: 26.3% (male 2,789/female 2,622)
15-64 years: 69.1% (male 7,664/female 6,549) 65 years and over: 4.6% (male 453/female 502) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | wheat, rice, other grains, sugar beets, fruits, nuts, cotton; dairy products, wool; caviar | coconuts, copra, cassava (tapioca), sweet potatoes; fish |
Airports | 317 (2000 est.) | 3 (2006) |
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: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2006) |
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: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 (2006) |
Area | total:
1.648 million sq km land: 1.636 million sq km water: 12,000 sq km |
total: 458 sq km
land: 458 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Alaska | slightly more than 2.5 times the size of Washington, DC |
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. | After three decades as part of the UN Trust Territory of the Pacific under US administration, this westernmost cluster of the Caroline Islands opted for independence in 1978 rather than join the Federated States of Micronesia. A Compact of Free Association with the US was approved in 1986, but not ratified until 1993. It entered into force the following year, when the islands gained independence. |
Birth rate | 17.1 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 18.03 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$27 billion expenditures: $27 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999) |
revenues: $72.07 million
expenditures: $72.43 million; including capital expenditures of $12.98 million (FY98/99 est.) |
Capital | Tehran | name: Melekeok
geographic coordinates: 7 29 N, 134 38 E time difference: UTC+9 (14 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | mostly arid or semiarid, subtropical along Caspian coast | tropical; hot and humid; wet season May to November |
Coastline | 2,440 km; note - Iran also borders the Caspian Sea (740 km) | 1,519 km |
Constitution | 2-3 December 1979; revised 1989 to expand powers of the presidency and eliminate the prime ministership | 1 January 1981 |
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 Palau
conventional short form: Palau local long form: Beluu er a Belau local short form: Belau former: Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, Palau District |
Currency | Iranian rial (IRR) | - |
Death rate | 5.41 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 6.8 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $7.5 billion (2000 est.) | $0 (FY99/00) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none; note - protecting power in Iran is Switzerland | chief of mission: US ambassador to the Philippines is accredited to Palau
embassy: Koror (no street address) mailing address: P. O. Box 6028, Republic of Palau 96940 telephone: [680] 488-2920, 2990 FAX: [680] 488-2911 |
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 Hersey KYOTA
chancery: 1700 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Suite 400, Washington, DC 20006 telephone: [1] (202) 452-6814 FAX: [1] (202) 452-6281 consulate(s) general: Honolulu consulate(s): Tamuning (Guam) |
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 | border delineation disputes being negotiated with Philippines, Indonesia |
Economic aid - recipient | $116.5 million (1995) | $19.6 million; note - the Compact of Free Association with the US, entered into after the end of the UN trusteeship on 1 October 1994, provides Palau with up to $700 million in US aid over 15 years in return for furnishing military facilities |
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 economy consists primarily of tourism, subsistence agriculture, and fishing. The government is the major employer of the work force, relying heavily on financial assistance from the US. Business and tourist arrivals numbered 63,000 in 2003. The population enjoys a per capita income twice that of the Philippines and much of Micronesia. Long-run prospects for the key tourist sector have been greatly bolstered by the expansion of air travel in the Pacific, the rising prosperity of leading East Asian countries, and the willingness of foreigners to finance infrastructure development. |
Electricity - consumption | 95.84 billion kWh (1999) | - |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | - |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | - |
Electricity - production | 103.054 billion kWh (1999) | - |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
93.16% hydro: 6.84% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Caspian Sea -28 m highest point: Qolleh-ye Damavand 5,671 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mount Ngerchelchuus 242 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 | inadequate facilities for disposal of solid waste; threats to the marine ecosystem from sand and coral dredging, illegal fishing practices, and overfishing |
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, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection
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% | Palauan (Micronesian with Malayan and Melanesian admixtures) 69.9%, Filipino 15.3%, Chinese 4.9%, other Asian 2.4%, white 1.9%, Carolinian 1.4%, other Micronesian 1.1%, other or unspecified 3.2% (2000 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 |
the US dollar is used |
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 Tommy Esang REMENGESAU, Jr. (since 19 January 2001) and Vice President Camsek CHIN (since 1 January 2005); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Tommy Esang REMENGESAU, Jr. (since 19 January 2001) and Vice President Camsek CHIN (since 1 January 2005) cabinet: NA elections: president and vice president elected on separate tickets by popular vote for four-year terms (eligible for a second term); election last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held November 2008) election results: Tommy Esang REMENGESAU, Jr. reelected president; percent of vote - Tommy Esang REMENGESAU, Jr. 64%, Polycarp BASILIUS 33%; Elias Camsek CHIN elected vice president; percent of vote - Elias Camsek CHIN 70%, Sandra PIERANTOZZI 29% |
Exports | $25 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $5.882 million f.o.b. (2004 est.) |
Exports - commodities | petroleum 85%, carpets, fruits and nuts, iron and steel, chemicals | shellfish, tuna, copra, garments |
Exports - partners | Japan, Italy, UAE, South Korea, France, China | US, Japan, Singapore (2004) |
Fiscal year | 21 March - 20 March | 1 October - 30 September |
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 | light blue with a large yellow disk (representing the moon) shifted slightly to the hoist side |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $413 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
24% industry: 28% services: 48% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: NA% 6.2%
industry: NA% 12% services: NA% 81.8% |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $6,300 (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 3% (2000 est.) | 5.5% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 32 00 N, 53 00 E | 7 30 N, 134 30 E |
Geography - note | - | westernmost archipelago in the Caroline chain, consists of six island groups totaling more than 300 islands; includes World War II battleground of Beliliou (Peleliu) and world-famous rock islands |
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.) | $107.3 million f.o.b. (2004 est.) |
Imports - commodities | industrial raw materials and intermediate goods, capital goods, foodstuffs and other consumer goods, technical services, military supplies | machinery and equipment, fuels, metals; foodstuffs |
Imports - partners | Germany, South Korea, Italy, UAE, France, Japan | US, Singapore, Japan, South Korea (2004) |
Independence | 1 April 1979 (Islamic Republic of Iran proclaimed) | 1 October 1994 (from the US-administered UN Trusteeship) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4.4% (nonoil) (1999) | NA% |
Industries | petroleum, petrochemicals, textiles, cement and other construction materials, food processing (particularly sugar refining and vegetable oil production), metal fabricating, armaments | tourism, craft items (from shell, wood, pearls), construction, garment making |
Infant mortality rate | 29.04 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 14.46 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 16.19 deaths/1,000 live births female: 12.63 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 16% (2000 est.) | 2.7% (2005 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 | ACP, AsDB, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IMF, IOC, IPU, MIGA, OPCW, PIF, Sparteca, SPC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, WHO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 8 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 94,000 sq km (1993 est.) | NA |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court | Supreme Court; National Court; Court of Common Pleas |
Labor force | 17.3 million
note: shortage of skilled labor (1998) |
9,777 (2005) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 33%, industry 25%, services 42% (1999 est.) | agriculture: 20%
industry: NA% services: NA% (1990) |
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 |
0 km |
Land use | arable land:
10% permanent crops: 1% permanent pastures: 27% forests and woodland: 7% other: 55% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 8.7%
permanent crops: 4.35% other: 86.95% (2005) |
Languages | Persian and Persian dialects 58%, Turkic and Turkic dialects 26%, Kurdish 9%, Luri 2%, Balochi 1%, Arabic 1%, Turkish 1%, other 2% | Palauan 64.7% official in all islands except Sonsoral (Sonsoralese and English are official), Tobi (Tobi and English are official), and Angaur (Angaur, Japanese, and English are official), Filipino 13.5%, English 9.4%, Chinese 5.7%, Carolinian 1.5%, Japanese 1.5%, other Asian 2.3%, other languages 1.5% (2000 census) |
Legal system | the Constitution codifies Islamic principles of government | based on Trust Territory laws, acts of the legislature, municipal, common, and customary laws |
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) |
bicameral Parliament or Olbiil Era Kelulau (OEK) consists of the Senate (9 seats; members elected by popular vote on a population basis to serve four-year terms) and the House of Delegates (16 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held November 2008); House of Delegates - last held 2 November 2004 (next to be held November 2008) election results: Senate - percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 9 (four new members elected); House of Delegates - percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 16 (one new member elected) |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
69.95 years male: 68.61 years female: 71.37 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 70.42 years
male: 67.26 years female: 73.77 years (2006 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: 92% male: 93% female: 90% (1980 est.) |
Location | Middle East, bordering the Gulf of Oman, the Persian Gulf, and the Caspian Sea, between Iraq and Pakistan | Oceania, group of islands in the North Pacific Ocean, southeast of the Philippines |
Map references | Middle East | Oceania |
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: 3 nm
exclusive fishing 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.) |
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Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the US; under a Compact of Free Association between Palau and the US, the US military is granted access to the islands for 50 years, but it has not stationed any military forces there (2005) |
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 | no regular military forces; Palau National Police (2006) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $5.787 billion (FY98/99) | NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.9% (FY98/99) | NA |
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) | Constitution Day, 9 July (1979) |
Nationality | noun:
Iranian(s) adjective: Iranian |
noun: Palauan(s)
adjective: Palauan |
Natural hazards | periodic droughts, floods; dust storms, sandstorms; earthquakes along western border and in the northeast | typhoons (June to December) |
Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, iron ore, lead, manganese, zinc, sulfur | forests, minerals (especially gold), marine products, deep-seabed minerals |
Net migration rate | -4.51 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 1.85 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 5,900 km; petroleum products 3,900 km; natural gas 4,550 km | - |
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 | none |
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.) | 20,579 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 53% (1996 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.72% (2001 est.) | 1.31% (2006 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 1, FM 4, shortwave 1 (2002) |
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% | Roman Catholic 41.6%, Protestant 23.3%, Modekngei 8.8% (indigenous to Palau), Seventh-Day Adventist 5.3%, Jehovah's Witness 0.9%, Latter-Day Saints 0.6%, other religion 3.1%, unspecified or none 16.4% (2000 census) |
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: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.17 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.9 male(s)/female total population: 1.13 male(s)/female (2006 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: NA
domestic: NA international: country code - 680; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 6.313 million (1997) | 6,700 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 265,000 (August 1998) | 1,000 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 28 (plus 450 low-power repeaters) (1997) | 1 (cable) (2005) |
Terrain | rugged, mountainous rim; high, central basin with deserts, mountains; small, discontinuous plains along both coasts | varying geologically from the high, mountainous main island of Babelthuap to low, coral islands usually fringed by large barrier reefs |
Total fertility rate | 2.02 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.46 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 14% (1999 est.) | 4.2% (2005 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 |
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