Compare Iran (2003) - Romania (2004)

Compare Iran (2003) z Romania (2004)

	Iran (2003)	Romania (2004)

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	41 counties (judete, singular - judet) and 1 municipality* (municipiu); Alba, Arad, Arges, Bacau, Bihor, Bistrita-Nasaud, Botosani, Braila, Brasov, Bucuresti*, Buzau, Calarasi, Caras-Severin, Cluj, Constanta, Covasna, Dimbovita, Dolj, Galati, Gorj, Giurgiu, Harghita, Hunedoara, Ialomita, Iasi, Ilfov, Maramures, Mehedinti, Mures, Neamt, Olt, Prahova, Salaj, Satu Mare, Sibiu, Suceava, Teleorman, Timis, Tulcea, Vaslui, Vilcea, Vrancea
Age structure	0-14 years: 29.3% (male 10,279,588; female 9,727,668) 15-64 years: 65.9% (male 22,916,431; female 22,095,124) 65 years and over: 4.8% (male 1,625,113; female 1,634,902) (2003 est.)	0-14 years: 16.2% (male 1,861,801; female 1,770,746) 15-64 years: 69.4% (male 7,712,612; female 7,791,900) 65 years and over: 14.4% (male 1,330,994; female 1,887,498) (2004 est.)
Agriculture - products	wheat, rice, other grains, sugar beets, fruits, nuts, cotton; dairy products, wool; caviar	wheat, corn, barley, sugar beets, sunflower seed, potatoes, grapes; eggs, sheep
Airports	309 (2002)	62 (2003 est.)
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: 25 over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 9 1,524 to 2,437 m: 12 (2004 est.)
Airports - with unpaved runways	total: 187 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 9 914 to 1,523 m: 138 under 914 m: 39 (2002)	total: 36 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 10 under 914 m: 24 (2004 est.)
Area	total: 1.648 million sq km land: 1.636 million sq km water: 12,000 sq km	total: 237,500 sq km land: 230,340 sq km water: 7,160 sq km
Area - comparative	slightly larger than Alaska	slightly smaller than Oregon
Background	Known as Persia until 1935, Iran became an Islamic republic in 1979 after the ruling shah was forced into exile. Conservative clerical forces established a theocratic system of government with ultimate political authority vested in a learned religious scholar. 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 over disputed territory. Over the past decade, popular dissatisfaction with the government, driven by demographic changes, restrictive social policies, and poor economic conditions, has created a powerful and enduring pressure for political reform.	The principalities of Wallachia and Moldavia - for centuries under the suzerainty of the Turkish Ottoman Empire - secured their autonomy in 1856; they united in 1859 and a few years later adopted the new name of Romania. The country gained full independence in 1878. It joined the Allied Powers in World War I and acquired new territories following the conflict. In 1940, it allied with the Axis powers and participated in the 1941 German invasion of the USSR. Three years later, overrun by the Soviets, Romania signed an armistice. The post-war Soviet occupation led to the formation of a Communist "people's republic" in 1947 and the abdication of the king. The decades-long rule of dictator Nicolae CEAUSESCU, who took power in 1965, and his Securitate police state became increasingly oppressive and draconian through the 1980s. CEAUSESCU was overthrown and executed in late 1989. Former Communists dominated the government until 1996, when they were swept from power by a fractious coalition of centrist parties. In 2000, the center-left Social Democratic Party (PSD) became Romania's leading party, governing with the support of the Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania (UDMR). The opposition center-right alliance formed by the National Liberal Party (PNL) and the Democratic Party (PD) scored a surprise victory over the ruling PSD in December 2004 presidential elections. The PNL-PD alliance maintains a parliamentary majority with the support of the UDMR, the Humanist Party (PUR), and various ethnic minority groups. Although Romania completed accession talks with the European Union (EU) in December 2004, it must continue to address rampant corruption - while invigorating lagging economic and democratic reforms - before it can achieve its hope of joining the EU, tentatively set for 2007. Romania joined NATO in March of 2004.
Birth rate	17.23 births/1,000 population (2003 est.)	10.69 births/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Budget	revenues: $29.5 billion expenditures: $31.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2002 est.)	revenues: $17.06 billion expenditures: $18.38 billion, including capital expenditures of NA (2003 est.)
Capital	Tehran	Bucharest
Climate	mostly arid or semiarid, subtropical along Caspian coast	temperate; cold, cloudy winters with frequent snow and fog; sunny summers with frequent showers and thunderstorms
Coastline	2,440 km; note - Iran also borders the Caspian Sea (740 km)	225 km
Constitution	2-3 December 1979; revised 1989 to expand powers of the presidency and eliminate the prime ministership	8 December 1991; revision came into force 29 October 2003
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: none conventional short form: Romania local long form: none local short form: Romania
Currency	Iranian rial (IRR)	leu (ROL)
Death rate	5.54 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.)	11.69 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Debt - external	$8.7 billion (2002 est.)	$18.34 billion (2003 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US	none; note - protecting power in Iran is Switzerland	chief of mission: Ambassador Dr. Jack Dyer CROUCH II embassy: Strada Tudor Arghezi 7-9, Bucharest mailing address: American Embassy Bucharest, Department of State, 5260 Bucharest Place, Washington, DC 20521-5260 (pouch) telephone: [40] (21) 210-4042 FAX: [40] (21) 210-0395 branch office(s): Cluj-Napoca
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 Sorin Dumitru DUCARU chancery: 1607 23rd Street NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 332-4846, 4848, 4851 FAX: [1] (202) 232-4748 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, and New York
Disputes - international	Iran protests Afghanistan's limiting flow of dammed waters on Helmand River tributaries in response to prolonged drought in region; thousands of Afghan refugees still reside in Iran; despite restored diplomatic relations in 1990, disputes with Iraq over maritime and land boundaries, navigation channel, and other issues from eight-year war persist; UAE engage direct talks and Arab League support to resolve disputes over Iran's occupation of Tunb Islands and Abu Musa Island; Iran insists on division of the Caspian Sea into five equal sectors, while other littoral states have generally agreed to equidistant seabed boundaries - Iran has threatened Azerbaijanian hydrocarbon exploration in disputed waters	has not resolved claims to Ukrainian-administered Zmyinyy (Snake) Island and Black Sea maritime boundary despite ongoing talks based on 1997 friendship treaty to find a solution in two years; Hungary amended status law extending special social and cultural benefits to ethnic Hungarians in Romania, who had objected to the law
Economic aid - recipient	$408 million (2002 est.)	-
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. Relatively high oil prices in recent years have enabled Iran to amass some $15 billion in foreign exchange reserves, but have not solved Iran's structural economic problems, including high unemployment and inflation.	Romania began the transition from Communism in 1989 with a largely obsolete industrial base and a pattern of output unsuited to the country's needs. The country emerged in 2000 from a punishing three-year recession thanks to strong demand in EU export markets. Despite the global slowdown in 2001-02, strong domestic activity in construction, agriculture, and consumption have kept growth above 4%. An IMF standby agreement, signed in 2001, was accompanied by slow but palpable gains in privatization, deficit reduction, and the curbing of inflation. The IMF Board approved Romania's completion of the standby agreement in October 2003, the first time Romania had successfully concluded an IMF agreement since the 1989 revolution. In July 2004, the Executive Board of the IMF approved a 24-month standby arrangement for $367 million. The Romanian authorities do not intend to draw on this arrangement, viewing it as a precaution. Meanwhile, recent macroeconomic gains have done little to address Romania's widespread poverty, and corruption and red tape handicap the business environment.
Electricity - consumption	115.9 billion kWh (2001)	46.1 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports	0 kWh (2001)	1.6 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports	0 kWh (2001)	400 million kWh (2001)
Electricity - production	124.6 billion kWh (2001)	50.86 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source	fossil fuel: 97.1% hydro: 2.9% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)	-
Elevation extremes	lowest point: Caspian Sea -28 m highest point: Kuh-e Damavand 5,671 m	lowest point: Black Sea 0 m highest point: Moldoveanu 2,544 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	soil erosion and degradation; water pollution; air pollution in south from industrial effluents; contamination of Danube delta wetlands
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, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants
Ethnic groups	Persian 51%, Azeri 24%, Gilaki and Mazandarani 8%, Kurd 7%, Arab 3%, Lur 2%, Baloch 2%, Turkmen 2%, other 1%	Romanian 89.5%, Hungarian 6.6%, Roma 2.5%, Ukrainian 0.3%, German 0.3%, Russian 0.2%, Turkish 0.2%, other 0.4% (2002)
Exchange rates	rials per US dollar 6,906.96 (2002), 1,753.56 (2001), 1,764.43 (2000), 1,752.93 (1999), 1,751.86 (1998) note: 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	lei per US dollar - 33,200.1 (2003), 33,055.4 (2002), 29,060.8 (2001), 21,708.7 (2000), 15,332.8 (1999)
Executive branch	chief of state: Supreme Leader 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; 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 8 June 2001 (next to be held June 2005) election results: (Ali) Mohammad KHATAMI-Ardakani reelected president; percent of vote - (Ali) Mohammad KHATAMI-Ardakani 77%	chief of state: President Traian BASESCU (since 20 December 2004) head of government: Prime Minister Calin Popescu TARICEANU (since 29 December 2004) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the prime minister elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 28 November 2004, with runoff between the top two candidates held 12 December 2004 (next to be held 28 November 2009 and 12 December 2009); prime minister appointed by the president election results: percent of vote - Traian BASESCU 51.23%, Adrian NASTASE 48.77%
Exports	NA (2001)	NA (2001)
Exports - commodities	petroleum 85%, carpets, fruits and nuts, iron and steel, chemicals	textiles and footwear, metals and metal products, machinery and equipment, minerals and fuels, chemicals, agricultural products
Exports - partners	Japan 17.4%, China 8.6%, UAE 7.6%, Italy 6.6%, South Korea 4.9%, South Africa 4.4% (2002)	Italy 24.3%, Germany 15.7%, France 7.4%, UK 6.7%, Turkey 5.1% (2003)
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 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 vertical bands of blue (hoist side), yellow, and red; the national coat of arms that used to be centered in the yellow band has been removed; now similar to the flag of Chad, also resembles the flags of Andorra and Moldova
GDP	purchasing power parity - $458.3 billion (2002 est.)	purchasing power parity - $155 billion (2003 est.)
GDP - composition by sector	agriculture: 19% industry: 26% services: 55% (2002 est.)	agriculture: 13.1% industry: 38.1% services: 48.8% (2003)
GDP - per capita	purchasing power parity - $6,800 (2002 est.)	purchasing power parity - $7,000 (2003 est.)
GDP - real growth rate	7.6% (2002 est.)	4.9% (2003 est.)
Geographic coordinates	32 00 N, 53 00 E	46 00 N, 25 00 E
Geography - note	strategic location on the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz, which are vital maritime pathways for crude oil transport	controls most easily traversable land route between the Balkans, Moldova, and Ukraine
Heliports	13 (2002)	1 (2003 est.)
Highways	total: 167,157 km paved: 94,109 km (including 890 km of expressways) unpaved: 73,048 km (1998)	total: 198,603 km paved: 98,308 km (including 113 km of expressways) unpaved: 100,295 km (2000)
Household income or consumption by percentage share	lowest 10%: NA% highest 10%: NA%	lowest 10%: 3.2% highest 10%: 25% (1998)
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 2 million drug users in the country	major transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin transiting the Balkan route and small amounts of Latin American cocaine bound for Western Europe; although not a significant financial center, role as a narcotics conduit leaves it vulnerable to laundering which occurs via the banking system, currency exchange houses, and casinos
Imports	NA (2001)	NA (2001)
Imports - commodities	industrial raw materials and intermediate goods, capital goods, foodstuffs and other consumer goods, technical services, military supplies	machinery and equipment, fuels and minerals, chemicals, textile and products, basic metals, agricultural products
Imports - partners	Germany 10.9%, Italy 9%, France 7.9%, China 7.4%, South Korea 6.5%, UAE 4.4%, Japan 4.1%, Russia 4% (2002)	Italy 19.6%, Germany 14.9%, Russia 8.3%, France 7.3% (2003)
Independence	1 April 1979 (Islamic Republic of Iran proclaimed)	9 May 1877 (independence proclaimed from Turkey; independence recognized 13 July 1878 by the Treaty of Berlin; kingdom proclaimed 26 March 1881); 30 December 1947 (republic proclaimed)
Industrial production growth rate	5.5% excluding oil (2001 est.)	2.3% (2003)
Industries	petroleum, petrochemicals, textiles, cement and other construction materials, food processing (particularly sugar refining and vegetable oil production), metal fabricating, armaments	textiles and footwear, light machinery and auto assembly, mining, timber, construction materials, metallurgy, chemicals, food processing, petroleum refining
Infant mortality rate	total: 44.17 deaths/1,000 live births male: 44.31 deaths/1,000 live births female: 44.02 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.)	total: 27.24 deaths/1,000 live births male: 30.41 deaths/1,000 live births female: 23.86 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices)	15.3% (2002 est.)	15.3% (2003)
International organization participation	CP, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, G-15, G-19, 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, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO	ACCT, Australia Group, BIS, BSEC, CE, CEI, EAPC, EBRD, EU (applicant), FAO, G- 9, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, LAIA (observer), MIGA, MONUC, NAM (guest), NSG, OAS (observer), ONUB, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UN Security Council (temporary), UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNMIK, UNMIL, UNOCI, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (associate affiliate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO, ZC
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)	100 (2002)	-
Irrigated land	75,620 sq km (1998 est.)	28,800 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch	Supreme Court	Supreme Court of Justice (judges are appointed by the president on the recommendation of the Superior Council of Magistrates)
Labor force	21 million note: shortage of skilled labor (1998)	9.28 million (2003 est.)
Labor force - by occupation	agriculture 30%, industry 25%, services 45% (2001 est.)	agriculture 41.4%, industry 27.3%, services 31.3% (2000)
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: 2,508 km border countries: Bulgaria 608 km, Hungary 443 km, Moldova 450 km, Serbia and Montenegro 476 km, Ukraine (north) 362 km, Ukraine (east) 169 km
Land use	arable land: 10.17% permanent crops: 1.16% other: 88.67% (1998 est.)	arable land: 40.82% permanent crops: 2.25% other: 56.93% (2001)
Languages	Persian and Persian dialects 58%, Turkic and Turkic dialects 26%, Kurdish 9%, Luri 2%, Balochi 1%, Arabic 1%, Turkish 1%, other 2%	Romanian (official), Hungarian, German
Legal system	the Constitution codifies Islamic principles of government	former mixture of civil law system and communist legal theory; is now based on the constitution of France's Fifth Republic
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 2000 with a runoff held 5 May 2000 (next to be held February 2004) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats by party - reformers 189, conservatives 54, independents 42, seats reserved for religious minorities 5	bicameral Parliament or Parlament consists of the Senate or Senat (137 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote on a proportional representation basis to serve four-year terms) and the Chamber of Deputies or Adunarea Deputatilor (332 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote on a proportional representation basis to serve four-year terms) elections: Senate - last held 28 November 2004 (next to be held 28 November 2008); Chamber of Deputies - last held 28 November 2004 (next to be held 28 November 2008) election results: Senate - percent of vote by alliance/party - PSD-PUR 37.1%, PNL-PD 31.8%, PRM 13.6%, UDMR 6.2%; seats by party - PSD 46, PNL 28, PD 21, PRM 21, PUR 11, UMDR 10; Chamber of Deputies - percent of vote by alliance/party - PSD-PUR 36.6%, PNL-PD 31.3%%, PRM 12.9%, UDMR 6.2%; seats by party - PSD 113, PNL 64, PD 48, PRM 48, UDMR 22, PUR 19, ethnic minorities 18
Life expectancy at birth	total population: 69.35 years male: 68.04 years female: 70.73 years (2003 est.)	total population: 71.12 years male: 67.63 years female: 74.82 years (2004 est.)
Literacy	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 79.4% male: 85.6% female: 73% (2003 est.)	definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 98.4% male: 99.1% female: 97.7% (2003 est.)
Location	Middle East, bordering the Gulf of Oman, the Persian Gulf, and the Caspian Sea, between Iraq and Pakistan	Southeastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Bulgaria and Ukraine
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	territorial sea: 12 nm contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm continental shelf: 200-m depth or to the depth of exploitation
Merchant marine	total: 139 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 4,190,576 GRT/7,276,700 DWT ships by type: bulk 43, cargo 34, chemical tanker 4, container 10, liquefied gas 1, multi-functional large-load carrier 6, petroleum tanker 30, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 9, short-sea passenger 1 (2002 est.)	total: 45 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 395,350 GRT/510,232 DWT by type: bulk 7, cargo 26, container 1, passenger 1, petroleum tanker 4, rail car carrier 2, roll on/roll off 4 foreign-owned: Greece 1, Italy 2 registered in other countries: 39 (2004 est.)
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	Ground Forces, Naval Forces, Air and Air Defense Forces (AMR), Civil Defense
Military expenditures - dollar figure	$9.7 billion (FY00)	$985 million (2002)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP	3.1% (FY00)	2.47% (2002)
Military manpower - availability	males age 15-49: 20,343,063 (2003 est.)	males age 15-49: 5,952,834 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service	males age 15-49: 12,094,551 (2003 est.)	males age 15-49: 5,007,375 (2004 est.)
Military manpower - military age	21 years of age (2003 est.)	-
Military manpower - reaching military age annually	males: 870,711 (2003 est.)	males: 163,577 (2004 est.)
National holiday	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)	Unification Day (of Romania and Transylvania), 1 December (1918)
Nationality	noun: Iranian(s) adjective: Iranian	noun: Romanian(s) adjective: Romanian
Natural hazards	periodic droughts, floods; dust storms, sandstorms; earthquakes along western border and in the northeast	earthquakes, most severe in south and southwest; geologic structure and climate promote landslides
Natural resources	petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, iron ore, lead, manganese, zinc, sulfur	petroleum (reserves declining), timber, natural gas, coal, iron ore, salt, arable land, hydropower
Net migration rate	-0.86 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.)	-0.13 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 est.)
Pipelines	condensate/gas 212 km; gas 16,998 km; liquid petroleum gas 570 km; oil 8,256 km; refined products 7,808 km (2003)	gas 3,508 km; oil 2,427 km (2004)
Political parties and leaders	a loose pro-reform coalition called the 2nd Khordad front achieved considerable success at elections to the sixth Majles in early 2000, and groups in the coalition include: Islamic Iran Participation Front (IIPF); Executives of Construction Party (Kargozaran); Solidarity Party; Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution Organization (MIRO); and Militant Clerics Society (Ruhaniyun); a new apparently conservative group, the Builders of Islamic Iran, emerged at the local level in early 2003	Democratic Party or PD [Emil BOC]; Democratic Union of Hungarians in Romania or UDMR [Bela MARKO]; Humanist Party or PUR [Dan VOICULESCU]; National Liberal Party or PNL [Calin Popescu TARICEANU]; Romania Mare Party (Greater Romanian Party) or PRM [Corneliu Vadim TUDOR]; Social Democratic Party or PSD [Adrian NASTASE], formerly known as the Party of Social Democracy in Romania or PDSR
Political pressure groups and leaders	active pro-reform student groups include the "Organization for Strengthening Unity"; 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 Association, and Islamic Engineers Society; opposition groups include Freedom Movement of Iran, the National Front, Marz-e Por Gohar, and various Monarchist organizations; 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, and Komala	various human rights and professional associations
Population	68,278,826 (July 2003 est.)	22,355,551 (July 2004 est.)
Population below poverty line	40% (2002 est.)	44.5% (2000)
Population growth rate	1.08% (2003 est.)	-0.11% (2004 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	Braila, Constanta, Galati, Mangalia, Sulina, Tulcea
Radio broadcast stations	AM 72, FM 5, shortwave 5 (1998)	AM 40, FM 202, shortwave 3 (1998)
Railways	total: 7,201 km broad gauge: 94 km 1.676-m gauge standard gauge: 7,107 km 1.435-m gauge (146 km electrified) (2002)	total: 11,385 km (3,888 km electrified) standard gauge: 10,898 km 1.435-m gauge broad gauge: 60 km 1.524-m gauge narrow gauge: 427 km 0.760-m gauge (2003)
Religions	Shi'a Muslim 89%, Sunni Muslim 10%, Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian, and Baha'i 1%	Eastern Orthodox (including all sub-denominations) 87%, Protestant 6.8%, Catholic 5.6%, other (mostly Muslim) 0.4%, unaffiliated 0.2% (2002)
Sex ratio	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: 0.99 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2003 est.)	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: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2004 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	general assessment: poor domestic service, but improving domestic: 90% of telephone network is automatic; trunk network is mostly microwave radio relay, with some fiber-optic cable; about one-third of exchange capacity is digital; roughly 3,300 villages have no service international: country code - 40; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat; new digital, international, direct-dial exchanges operate in Bucharest; note - Romania is an active participant in several international telecommunication network projects (1999)
Telephones - main lines in use	6.313 million (1997)	4.3 million (2003)
Telephones - mobile cellular	265,000 (August 1998)	6.9 million (2003)
Television broadcast stations	28 (plus 450 low-power repeaters) (1997)	48 (plus 392 repeaters) (1995)
Terrain	rugged, mountainous rim; high, central basin with deserts, mountains; small, discontinuous plains along both coasts	central Transylvanian Basin is separated from the Plain of Moldavia on the east by the Carpathian Mountains and separated from the Walachian Plain on the south by the Transylvanian Alps
Total fertility rate	1.99 children born/woman (2003 est.)	1.35 children born/woman (2004 est.)
Unemployment rate	16.3% (2003 est.)	7.2% (2003)
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	1,731 km (2004)

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