Iran (2002) | Serbia (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, Kohkiluyeh va Buyer Ahmad, Kordestan, Lorestan, Markazi, Mazandaran, Qazvin, Qom, Semnan, Sistan va Baluchestan, Tehran, Yazd, Zanjan | 29 districts (okrugov; singular - okrug), 1 capital city*
Serbia Proper: Belgrad*, Bor, Branicevo, Jablanica, Kolubara, Macva, Moravica, Nisava, Pcinja, Pirot, Podunavlje, Pomoravlje, Rasina, Raska, Sumadija, Toplica, Zajecar, Zlatibor Vojvodina Autonomous Province: Central Banat, North Backa, North Banat, South Backa, South Banat, Srem, West Backa Kosovo and Metojia Autonomous Province: Kosovo, Kosovska-Mitrovica, Kosovo-Pomoravlje, Pec, Prizren |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 31.6% (male 10,753,218; female 10,273,015)
15-64 years: 63.7% (male 21,383,542; female 21,096,307) 65 years and over: 4.7% (male 1,633,016; female 1,483,606) (2002 est.) |
- |
Agriculture - products | wheat, rice, other grains, sugar beets, fruits, nuts, cotton; dairy products, wool; caviar | wheat, maize, sugar beets, sunflower, beef, pork, milk |
Airports | 322 (2001) | 39 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 122
over 3,047 m: 39 2,438 to 3,047 m: 25 1,524 to 2,437 m: 27 914 to 1,523 m: 27 under 914 m: 4 (2002) |
total: 16
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 4 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 2 under 914 m: 4 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 187
over 3,047 m: 1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 9 914 to 1,523 m: 138 under 914 m: 39 (2002) |
total: 23
1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 12 (2006) |
Area | total: 1.648 million sq km
land: 1.636 million sq km water: 12,000 sq km |
total: 88,361 sq km
land: 88,361 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Alaska | slightly larger than South Carolina |
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. Key current issues affecting the country include the pace of accepting outside modernizing influences and reconciliation between clerical control of the regime and popular government participation and widespread demands for reform. | The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes was formed in 1918; its name was changed to Yugoslavia in 1929. Occupation by Nazi Germany in 1941 was resisted by various paramilitary bands that fought each other as well as the invaders. The group headed by Josip TITO took full control of Yugoslavia upon German expulsion in 1945. Although Communist, his new government and its successors (he died in 1980) managed to steer their own path between the Warsaw Pact nations and the West for the next four and a half decades. In the early 1990s, post-TITO Yugoslavia began to unravel along ethnic lines: Slovenia, Croatia, Macedonia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina were recognized as independent states in 1992. The remaining republics of Serbia and Montenegro declared a new Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY) in April 1992 and, under President Slobodan MILOSEVIC, Serbia led various military intervention efforts to unite ethnic Serbs in neighboring republics into a "Greater Serbia." These actions led to Yugoslavia being ousted from the UN in 1992, but Serbia continued its campaign until signing the Dayton Peace Accords in 1995. In 1998-99, massive expulsions by FRY forces and Serb paramilitaries of ethnic Albanians living in Kosovo provoked an international response, including the NATO bombing of Belgrade and the stationing of a NATO-led force (KFOR), in Kosovo. Federal elections in the fall of 2000, brought about the ouster of MILOSEVIC and installed Vojislav KOSTUNICA as president. The arrest of MILOSEVIC in 2001 allowed for his subsequent transfer to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia in The Hague to be tried for crimes against humanity. In 2001, the country's suspension from the UN was lifted, and it was once more accepted into UN organizations under the name of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Kosovo has been governed by the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) since June 1999, under the authority of UN Security Council Resolution 1244, pending a determination by the international community of its future status. In 2002, the Serbian and Montenegrin components of Yugoslavia began negotiations to forge a looser relationship. In February 2003 lawmakers restructured the country into a loose federation of two republics called Serbia and Montenegro. The Constitutional Charter of Serbia and Montenegro included a provision that allowed either republic to hold a referendum after three years that would allow for their independence from the state union. In the spring of 2006, Montenegro took advantage of the provision to undertake a successful independence vote enabling it to secede on 3 June. Two days later, Serbia declared that it was the successor state to the union of Serbia and Montenegro. |
Birth rate | 17.54 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | - |
Budget | revenues: $24 billion
expenditures: $22 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
revenues: $11.45 billion
expenditures: $11.12 billion; including capital expenditures $NA; note - figures are for Serbia and Montenegro; Serbian Statistical Office indicates that for 2006 budget, Serbia will have revenues of $7.08 billion (2005 est.) |
Capital | Tehran | name: Belgrade
geographic coordinates: 44 50 N, 20 30 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
Climate | mostly arid or semiarid, subtropical along Caspian coast | in the north, continental climate (cold winters and hot, humid summers with well distributed rainfall); in other parts, continental and Mediterranean climate (hot, dry summers and autumns and relatively cold winters with heavy snowfall) |
Coastline | 2,440 km; note - Iran also borders the Caspian Sea (740 km) | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 2-3 December 1979; revised 1989 to expand powers of the presidency and eliminate the prime ministership | 28 September 1990; note - a new draft constitution approved by Parliament on 30 September 2006 stresses that Kosovo is an integral part of Serbia; the draft must still be approved by a national referendum |
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 Serbia
conventional short form: Serbia local long form: Republika Srbija local short form: Srbija former: People's Republic of Serbia, Socialist Republic of Serbia |
Currency | Iranian rial (IRR) | - |
Death rate | 5.39 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | - |
Debt - external | $8.2 billion (2002 est.) | $15.43 billion (including Montenegro) (2005 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none; note - protecting power in Iran is Switzerland | chief of mission: Ambassador Michael C. POLT
embassy: Kneza Milosa 50, 11000 Belgrade mailing address: 5070 Belgrade Place, Washington, DC 20521-5070 telephone: [381] (11) 361-9344 FAX: [381] (11) 361-8230 note: there is a branch office in Pristina at 30 Nazim Hikmet 38000 Prstina, Kososvo; telephone: [381] (38) 549-516; FAX:[381] (38) 549-890 |
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 Ivan VUJACIC
chancery: 2134 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-0333 FAX: [1] (202) 332-3933 consulate(s) general: Chicago, New York |
Disputes - international | despite restored diplomatic relations in 1990, Iran lacks maritime boundary with Iraq and disputes land boundary, navigation channels, and other issues from eight-year war; UAE seeks United Arab League and other international support against Iran's occupation of Greater Tunb Island (called Tunb al Kubra in Arabic by UAE and Jazireh-ye Tonb-e Bozorg in Persian by Iran) and Lesser Tunb Island (called Tunb as Sughra in Arabic by UAE and Jazireh-ye Tonb-e Kuchek in Persian by Iran) and attempts to occupy completely a jointly administered island in the Persian Gulf (called Abu Musa in Arabic by UAE and Jazireh-ye Abu Musa in Persian by Iran); Iran insists on division of Caspian Sea into five equal sectors while Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Russia, and Turkmenistan have generally agreed upon equidistant seabed boundaries; Iran threatens to conduct oil exploration in Azerbaijani-claimed waters, while interdicting Azerbaijani activities | the final status of the Serbian province of Kosovo remains unresolved and several thousand peacekeepers from the UN Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) have administered the region since 1999, with Kosovar Albanians overwhelmingly supporting and Serbian officials opposing Kosovo independence; the international community had agreed to begin a process to determine final status but contingency of solidifying multi-ethnic democracy in Kosovo has not been satisfied; ethnic Albanians in Kosovo refuse demarcation of the boundary with Macedonia in accordance with the 2000 Macedonia-Serbia and Montenegro delimitation agreement; Serbia and Montenegro delimited about half of the boundary with Bosnia and Herzegovina, but sections with Serbia along the Drina River remain in dispute |
Economic aid - recipient | $129 million (1995) (2000 est.) | $2 billion pledged in 2001 to Serbia and Montenegro (disbursements to follow over several years; aid pledged by EU and US has been placed on hold because of lack of cooperation by Serbia in handing over General Ratco MLADIC to the criminal court in The Hague) |
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. Subsequent rises in oil prices have afforded Iran fiscal breathing room but do not solve Iran's structural economic problems, including the encouragement of foreign investment and the containment of inflation. | MILOSEVIC-era mismanagement of the economy, an extended period of economic sanctions, and the damage to Yugoslavia's infrastructure and industry during the NATO airstrikes in 1999 left the economy only half the size it was in 1990. After the ousting of former Federal Yugoslav President MILOSEVIC in October 2000, the Democratic Opposition of Serbia (DOS) coalition government implemented stabilization measures and embarked on a market reform program. After renewing its membership in the IMF in December 2000, a down-sized Yugoslavia continued to reintegrate into the international community by rejoining the World Bank (IBRD) and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD). A World Bank-European Commission sponsored Donors' Conference held in June 2001 raised $1.3 billion for economic restructuring. In November 2001, the Paris Club agreed to reschedule the country's $4.5 billion public debt and wrote off 66% of the debt. In July 2004, the London Club of private creditors forgave $1.7 billion of debt, just over half the total owed. Belgrade has made only minimal progress in restructuring and privatizing its holdings in major sectors of the economy, including energy and telecommunications. It has made halting progress towards EU membership and is currently pursuing a Stabilization and Association Agreement with Brussels. Serbia is also pursuing membership in the World Trade Organization. Unemployment remains an ongoing political and economic problem. The Republic of Montenegro severed its economy from Serbia during the MILOSEVIC era; therefore, the formal separation of Serbia and Montenegro in June 2006 had little real impact on either economy. Kosovo's economy continues to transition to a market-based system and is largely dependent on the international community and the diaspora for financial and technical assistance. The euro and the Yugoslav dinar are both accepted currencies in Kosovo. While maintaining ultimate oversight, UNMIK continues to work with the EU and Kosovo's local provisional government to accelerate economic growth, lower unemployment, and attract foreign investment to help Kosovo integrate into regional economic structures. The complexity of Serbia and Kosovo's political and legal relationships has created uncertainty over property rights and hindered the privatization of state-owned assets in Kosovo. Most of Kosovo's population lives in rural towns outside of the largest city, Pristina. Inefficient, near-subsistence farming is common.
note: economic data for Serbia currently reflects information for the former Serbia and Montenegro, unless otherwise noted; data for Serbia alone will be added when available |
Electricity - consumption | 111.907 billion kWh (2000) | NA |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 12.05 billion kWh (excluding Kosovo; exported to Montenegro) (2004) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 11.23 billion kWh (excluding Kosovo; imports from Montenegro) (2004) |
Electricity - production | 120.33 billion kWh (2000) | 33.87 billion kWh (excluding Kosovo and Montenegro) (2004) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 94%
hydro: 6% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caspian Sea -28 m
highest point: Kuh-e Damavand 5,671 m |
lowest point: NA
highest point: Daravica 2,656 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; wetland losses from drought; soil degradation (salination); inadequate supplies of potable water; water pollution from raw sewage and industrial waste; urbanization | air pollution around Belgrade and other industrial cities; water pollution from industrial wastes dumped into the Sava which flows into the Danube |
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: Air Pollution, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, 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% | Serb 66%, Albanian 17%, Hungarian 3.5%, other 13.5% (1991) |
Exchange rates | from 1997 to 2001, Iran had a multi-exchange-rate system; one of these rates, the official floating exchange rate, by which most essential goods were imported, averaged 1,750 rials per US dollar; in March 2002, the multi-exchange-rate system was converged into one rate at about 7,900 rials per US dollar | new Yugoslav dinars per US dollar - 58.6925 (2005) |
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 26 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 Boris TADIC (since 11 July 2004)
head of government: Prime Minister Vojislav KOSTUNICA (since 3 March 2004) cabinet: Federal Ministries act as cabinet elections: president elected by direct vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 27 June 2004 (next to be held June 2009); prime minister elected by the Assembly election results: Boris TADIC elected president in the second round of voting; Boris TADIC received 53% of the vote |
Exports | $24 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) | 0 cu m |
Exports - commodities | petroleum 85%, carpets, fruits and nuts, iron and steel, chemicals | manufactured goods, food and live animals, machinery and transport equipment |
Exports - partners | Japan 20.5%, Italy 7%, UAE 5.9%, France 4.7%, China 4.1% (1999) | - |
Fiscal year | 21 March - 20 March | - |
Flag description | 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 | three equal horizontal stripes of red (top), blue, and white; charged with the coat of arms of Serbia shifted slightly to the hoist side |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $456 billion (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 19%
industry: 26% services: 55% (2002 est.) |
agriculture: 16.6%
industry: 25.5% services: 57.9% (2005 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $7,000 (2001 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | 5% (2002 est.) | 5.9% for Serbia alone (excluding Kosovo) (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 32 00 N, 53 00 E | 44 00 N, 21 00 E |
Geography - note | strategic location on the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz, which are vital maritime pathways for crude oil transport | controls one of the major land routes from Western Europe to Turkey and the Near East |
Heliports | 13 (2002) | 4 (2006) |
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% |
- |
Illicit drugs | despite substantial interdiction efforts, Iran remains a key transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin to Europe; domestic narcotics consumption remains a persistent problem and Iranian press reports estimate at least 1.8 million drug users in the country | transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin moving to Western Europe on the Balkan route; economy vulnerable to money laundering |
Imports | $19.6 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) | 0 cu m |
Imports - commodities | industrial raw materials and intermediate goods, capital goods, foodstuffs and other consumer goods, technical services, military supplies | - |
Imports - partners | Germany 11%, Italy 8.3%, China 6.1%, Japan 5.3%, UAE 5% (1999) | - |
Independence | 1 April 1979 (Islamic Republic of Iran proclaimed) | 5 June 2006 (from Serbia and Montenegro) |
Industrial production growth rate | 5.5% excluding oil (2001 est.) | 1.4% (2006 est.) |
Industries | petroleum, petrochemicals, textiles, cement and other construction materials, food processing (particularly sugar refining and vegetable oil production), metal fabricating, armaments | sugar, agricultural machinery, electrical and communication equipment, paper and pulp, lead, transportation equipment |
Infant mortality rate | 28.07 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | - |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 17.3% (2002 est.) | 15.5% (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, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO | ABEDA, BIS, BSEC, CE, CEI, EBRD, FAO, G-9, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD (suspended), IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITU, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OAS (observer), OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, SECI, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO (observer) |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 8 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 75,620 sq km (1998 est.) | NA |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court | Constitutional Court (nine justices with life tenure) |
Labor force | 18 million
note: shortage of skilled labor (1998) |
2.961 million for Serbia (including Kosovo) (2002 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 30%, industry 25%, services 45% (2001 est.) | agriculture: 30%
industry: 46% services: 24% note: excluding Kosovo and Montenegro (2002) |
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: 2,027 km
border countries: Albania 115 km, Bosnia and Herzegovina 302 km, Bulgaria 318 km, Croatia 241 km, Hungary 151 km, Macedonia 221 km, Montenegro 203 km, Romania 476 km |
Land use | arable land: 10.17%
permanent crops: 1.16% other: 88.67% (1998 est.) |
arable land: NA
permanent crops: NA other: NA |
Languages | Persian and Persian dialects 58%, Turkic and Turkic dialects 26%, Kurdish 9%, Luri 2%, Balochi 1%, Arabic 1%, Turkish 1%, other 2% | Serbian (official nationwide); Romanian, Hungarian, Slovak, Ukrainian, and Croatian (all official in Vojvodina); Albanian (official in Kosovo) |
Legal system | the Constitution codifies Islamic principles of government | based on civil law system |
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 up for runoff; note - election on 5 May 2000 (reformers 52, conservatives 10, independents 3) |
unicameral National Assembly (250 deputies elected by direct vote for a four-year term)
elections: last held 28 December 2003 (next to be held December 2007) election results: SRS 83, DSS 53, DS 37, G17 Plus 34, SPO-NS 22, SPS 22 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 70.25 years
male: 68.87 years female: 71.69 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 74 years
male: 71 years female: 76 years |
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: 96.4% male: 98.9% female: 94.1% (2002 est.) |
Location | Middle East, bordering the Gulf of Oman, the Persian Gulf, and the Caspian Sea, between Iraq and Pakistan | Southeastern Europe, between Macedonia and Hungary |
Map references | Middle East | Europe |
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 |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 147 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,136,971 GRT/7,166,703 DWT
ships by type: bulk 48, cargo 36, chemical tanker 4, container 10, liquefied gas 1, multi-functional large-load carrier 6, petroleum tanker 30, refrigerated cargo 2, roll on/roll off 9, short-sea passenger 1 (2002 est.) |
note: see entry for Montenegro |
Military branches | Islamic Republic of Iran regular forces (includes Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force and Air Defense Command), Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) (includes Ground Forces, Air Force, Navy, Qods [special operations], and Basij [Popular Mobilization Army] forces), Law Enforcement Forces | Serbian Armed Forces (Vojska Srbije, VS): Serbian Land Forces (Kopnene Vojska, KoV), Air Force and Air Defense Force (Vozduhoplostvo i Protivozduhoplovna Odbrana, ViPO), naval force to be determined (2006) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $9.7 billion (FY00) | $14.85 million |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3.1% (FY00) | - |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 18,868,571 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 11,192,731 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - military age | 21 years of age (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 823,041 (2002 est.) | - |
National holiday | Republic Day, 1 April (1979) | National Day, 27 April |
Nationality | noun: Iranian(s)
adjective: Iranian |
noun: Serb(s)
adjective: Serbian |
Natural hazards | periodic droughts, floods; dust storms, sandstorms; earthquakes along western border and in the northeast | destructive earthquakes |
Natural resources | petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, iron ore, lead, manganese, zinc, sulfur | oil, gas, coal, iron ore, copper, lead, zinc, antimony, chromite, nickel, gold, silver, magnesium, pyrite, limestone, marble, salt, arable land |
Net migration rate | -4.46 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | - |
Pipelines | crude oil 5,900 km; petroleum products 3,900 km; natural gas 4,550 km | gas 3,177 km; oil 393 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 | Democratic Party of Serbia or DSS [Vojislav KOSTUNICA]; Democratic Party or DS [Boris TADIC]; G17 Plus [Mladjan DINKIC is acting leader]; Serbian Radical Party or SRS [Vojislav SESELJ, but Tomislav NIKOLIC is acting leader]; Socialist Party of Serbia or SPS [vacant, but Ivica DACIC is head of the SPS Main Board]; New Serbia or NS [Velimir ILIC]; Serbian Renewal Movement or SPO [Vuk DRASKOVIC] |
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 | - |
Population | 66,622,704 (July 2002 est.) | 9,396,411 (2002 census) |
Population below poverty line | 53% (1996 est.) | 30%
note: data covers the former Serbia and Montenegro (1999 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.77% (2002 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) | 153 (2001) |
Radios | 17 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total: 6,130 km
broad gauge: 94 km 1.676-m gauge standard gauge: 6,036 km 1.435-m gauge (187 km electrified) note: broad-gauge track is employed at the borders with Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan which have broad-gauge rail systems; 41 km of the standard-gauge, electrified track is in suburban service at Tehran (2001) |
total: 4,135 km
standard guage: 4,135 km 1.435-m guage (electrified 1,195 km) (2005) |
Religions | Shi'a Muslim 89%, Sunni Muslim 10%, Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian, and Baha'i 1% | Serbian Orthodox, Muslim, Roman Catholic, Protestant |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.1 male(s)/female total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
- |
Suffrage | 15 years of age; universal | 18 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: modernization of the telecommunications network has been slow as a result of damage stemming from the 1999 war and transition to a competitive market-based system; network was only 65% digitalized in 2005
domestic: teledensity remains below the average for neighboring states; GSM wireless service, available through two providers with national coverage, is growing very rapidly; best telecommunications service limited to urban centers international: country code - 381 |
Telephones - main lines in use | 6.313 million (1997) | 2,685,400 (2004) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 265,000 (August 1998) | 5.229 million (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 28 (plus 450 low-power repeaters) (1997) | - |
Terrain | rugged, mountainous rim; high, central basin with deserts, mountains; small, discontinuous plains along both coasts | extremely varied; to the north, rich fertile plains; to the east, limestone ranges and basins; to the southeast, ancient mountains and hills |
Total fertility rate | 2.01 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 1.78 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 14% (1999 est.) | 31.6%
note: unemployment is approximately 50% in Kosovo (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 |
587 km - primarily on Danube and Sava rivers (2005) |