Slovakia (2002) | Iran (2005) | |
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Administrative divisions | 8 regions (kraje, singular - kraj); Banskobystricky, Bratislavsky, Kosicky, Nitriansky, Presovsky, Trenciansky, Trnavsky, Zilinsky | 30 provinces (ostanha, singular - ostan); Ardabil, Azarbayjan-e Gharbi, Azarbayjan-e Sharqi, Bushehr, Chahar Mahall va Bakhtiari, Esfahan, Fars, Gilan, Golestan, Hamadan, Hormozgan, Ilam, Kerman, Kermanshah, Khorasan-e Janubi, Khorasan-e Razavi, Khorasan-e Shemali, Khuzestan, Kohgiluyeh va Buyer Ahmad, Kordestan, Lorestan, Markazi, Mazandaran, Qazvin, Qom, Semnan, Sistan va Baluchestan, Tehran, Yazd, Zanjan |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 18.3% (male 508,256; female 484,739)
15-64 years: 70.1% (male 1,888,705; female 1,910,842) 65 years and over: 11.6% (male 237,770; female 392,054) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 27.1% (male 9,465,475/female 8,973,828)
15-64 years: 68% (male 23,556,970/female 22,701,065) 65 years and over: 4.9% (male 1,637,512/female 1,683,010) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | grains, potatoes, sugar beets, hops, fruit; pigs, cattle, poultry; forest products | wheat, rice, other grains, sugar beets, fruits, nuts, cotton; dairy products, wool; caviar |
Airports | 34 (2001) | 305 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 17
over 3,047 m: 2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 3 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 7 (2002) |
total: 127
over 3,047 m: 39 2,438 to 3,047 m: 25 1,524 to 2,437 m: 26 914 to 1,523 m: 32 under 914 m: 5 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 17
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 9 under 914 m: 7 (2002) |
total: 178
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 9 914 to 1,523 m: 129 under 914 m: 39 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 48,845 sq km
land: 48,800 sq km water: 45 sq km |
total: 1.648 million sq km
land: 1.636 million sq km water: 12,000 sq km |
Area - comparative | about twice the size of New Hampshire | slightly larger than Alaska |
Background | In 1918 the Slovaks joined the closely related Czechs to form Czechoslovakia. Following the chaos of World War II, Czechoslovakia became a Communist nation within Soviet-ruled Eastern Europe. Soviet influence collapsed in 1989 and Czechoslovakia once more became free. The Slovaks and the Czechs agreed to separate peacefully on 1 January 1993. Historic, political, and geographic factors have caused Slovakia to experience more difficulty in developing a modern market economy than some of its Central European neighbors. | Known as Persia until 1935, Iran became an Islamic republic in 1979 after the ruling monarchy was overthrown and the shah was forced into exile. Conservative clerical forces established a theocratic system of government with ultimate political authority nominally vested in a learned religious scholar. Iranian-US relations have been strained since a group of Iranian students seized the US Embassy in Tehran on 4 November 1979 and held it until 20 January 1981. During 1980-88, Iran fought a bloody, indecisive war with Iraq that eventually expanded into the Persian Gulf and led to clashes between US Navy and Iranian military forces between 1987-1988. Iran has been designated a state sponsor of terrorism for its activities in Lebanon and elsewhere in the world and remains subject to US economic sanctions and export controls because of its continued involvement. Following the elections of a reformist president and Majlis in the late 1990s, attempts to foster political reform in response to popular dissatisfaction have floundered as conservative politicians have prevented reform measures from being enacted, increased repressive measures, and consolidated their control over the government. |
Birth rate | 10.09 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 16.83 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $5.2 billion
expenditures: $5.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999) |
revenues: $43.34 billion
expenditures: $47.7 billion, including capital expenditures of $7.6 billion (2004 est.) |
Capital | Bratislava | Tehran |
Climate | temperate; cool summers; cold, cloudy, humid winters | mostly arid or semiarid, subtropical along Caspian coast |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 2,440 km; note - Iran also borders the Caspian Sea (740 km) |
Constitution | ratified 1 September 1992, fully effective 1 January 1993; changed in September 1998 to allow direct election of the president; amended February 2001 to allow Slovakia to apply for NATO and EU membership | 2-3 December 1979; revised 1989 to expand powers of the presidency and eliminate the prime ministership |
Country name | conventional long form: Slovak Republic
conventional short form: Slovakia local long form: Slovenska Republika local short form: Slovensko |
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 |
Currency | Slovak koruna (SKK) | - |
Death rate | 9.22 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 5.55 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $9.6 billion (2002 est.) | $13.4 billion (2004 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Ronald WEISER
embassy: Hviezdoslavovo Namestie 4, 81102 Bratislava mailing address: P.O. Box 309, 814 99 Bratislava telephone: [421] (2) 5443-3338, 5443-0861 FAX: [421] (2) 5443-0096 |
none; note - protecting power in Iran is Switzerland |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Martin BUTORA
chancery: 3523 International Court NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 237-1054 FAX: [1] (202) 237-6438 |
none; note - Iran has an Interests Section in the Pakistani Embassy; address: Iranian Interests Section, Pakistani Embassy, 2209 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20007; telephone: [1] (202) 965-4990; FAX [1] (202) 965-1073 |
Disputes - international | Slovakia requested additional ICJ judgment in 1998, and talks continue to set modalities to assure Hungarian compliance with 1997 ICJ decision to proceed with construction of Gabcikovo-Nagymaros Dam, abandoned by Hungary in 1989 | Iran protests Afghanistan's limiting flow of dammed tributaries to the Helmand River in periods of drought; Iraq's lack of a maritime boundary with Iran prompts jurisdiction disputes beyond the mouth of the Shatt al Arab in the Persian Gulf; Iran and UAE engage in direct talks and solicit Arab League support to resolve disputes over Iran's occupation of Tunb Islands and Abu Musa Island; Iran stands alone among littoral states in insisting upon a division of the Caspian Sea into five equal sectors |
Economic aid - recipient | ODA $113 million (2000 est.) | $408 million (2002 est.) |
Economy - overview | Slovakia has mastered much of the difficult transition from a centrally planned economy to a modern market economy. The DZURINDA government has made excellent progress in 2001-02 in macroeconomic stabilization and structural reform. Major privatizations are nearly complete, the banking sector is almost completely in foreign hands, and foreign investment has picked up. Slovakia's economy exceeded expectations in 2001-02, despite the general European slowdown. Unemployment, at an unacceptable 17.2% in 2002, remains the economy's Achilles heel. The government faces other strong challenges in 2003, especially the cutting of budget and current account deficits and the prevention of a revival of inflation. | Iran's economy is marked by a bloated, inefficient state sector, over reliance on the oil sector, and statist policies that create major distortions throughout. Most economic activity is controlled by the state. Private sector activity is typically small-scale - workshops, farming, and services. President KHATAMI has continued to follow the market reform plans of former President RAFSANJANI, with limited progress. Relatively high oil prices in recent years have enabled Iran to amass some $30 billion in foreign exchange reserves, but have not eased economic hardships such as high unemployment and inflation. The proportion of the economy devoted to the development of weapons of mass destruction remains a contentious issue with leading Western nations. |
Electricity - consumption | 25.203 billion kWh (2000) | 119.9 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 4.9 billion kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 4.5 billion kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 27.53 billion kWh (2000) | 129 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 35%
hydro: 17% nuclear: 48% other: 0% (2000) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Bodrok River 94 m
highest point: Gerlachovsky Stit 2,655 m |
lowest point: Caspian Sea -28 m
highest point: Kuh-e Damavand 5,671 m |
Environment - current issues | air pollution from metallurgical plants presents human health risks; acid rain damaging forests | air pollution, especially in urban areas, from vehicle emissions, refinery operations, and industrial effluents; deforestation; overgrazing; desertification; oil pollution in the Persian Gulf; wetland losses from drought; soil degradation (salination); inadequate supplies of potable water; water pollution from raw sewage and industrial waste; urbanization |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Sulphur 85, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation |
Ethnic groups | Slovak 85.7%, Hungarian 10.6%, Roma 1.6% (the 1992 census figures underreport the Gypsy/Romany community, which is about 500,000), Czech, Moravian, Silesian 1.1%, Ruthenian and Ukrainian 0.6%, German 0.1%, Polish 0.1%, other 0.2% (1996) | Persian 51%, Azeri 24%, Gilaki and Mazandarani 8%, Kurd 7%, Arab 3%, Lur 2%, Baloch 2%, Turkmen 2%, other 1% |
Exchange rates | koruny per US dollar - 47.792 (September 2001), 46.035 (2000), 41.363 (1999), 35.233 (1998), 33.616 (1997) | rials per US dollar - 8,614 (2004), 8,193.9 (2003), 6,907 (2002), 1,753.6 (2001), 1,764.4 (2000)
note: Iran has been using a managed floating exchange rate regime since unifying multiple exchange rates in March 2002 |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Rudolf SCHUSTER (since 15 June 1999)
head of government: Prime Minister Mikulas DZURINDA (since 30 October 1998) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the recommendation of the prime minister elections: president elected by direct, popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 29 May 1999 (next to be held NA May/June 2004); following National Council elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of a majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the president election results: Rudolf SCHUSTER elected president in the first direct, popular election; percent of vote - Rudolf SCHUSTER 57% note: government coalition - SDK, SDL, SMK, SOP, KDH |
chief of state: Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Hoseini-KHAMENEI (since 4 June 1989)
head of government: President Mahmud AHMADI-NEJAD (since 3 August 2005) First Vice President Dr. Mohammad Reza AREF-Yazdi (since 26 August 2001) cabinet: Council of Ministers selected by the president with legislative approval; the Supreme Leader has some control over appointments to the more sensitive ministries elections: leader of the Islamic Revolution appointed for life by the Assembly of Experts; president elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 17 June 2005 with a two-candidate runoff on 24 June 2005 (next to be held NA 2009) election results: Mahmud AHMADI-NEJAD elected president; percent of vote - Mahmud AHMADI-NEJAD 62%, Ali Akbar Hashemi RAFSANJANI 36%; note - 2% of ballots spoiled |
Exports | $12.9 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) | 2.5 million bbl/day (2004 est.) |
Exports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment 39.4%, intermediate manufactured goods 27.5%, miscellaneous manufactured goods 13%, chemicals 8% (1999) | petroleum 80%, chemical and petrochemical products, fruits and nuts, carpets |
Exports - partners | EU 59.9% (Germany 27.0%, Italy 8.8%, Austria 8.1%), Czech Republic 16.6% (2001) | Japan 18.4%, China 9.7%, Italy 6%, South Africa 5.8%, South Korea 5.4%, Taiwan 4.6%, Turkey 4.4%, Netherlands 4% (2004) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 21 March - 20 March |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of white (top), blue, and red superimposed with the Slovak cross in a shield centered on the hoist side; the cross is white centered on a background of red and blue | three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and red; the national emblem (a stylized representation of the word Allah in the shape of a tulip, a symbol of martyrdom) in red is centered in the white band; ALLAH AKBAR (God is Great) in white Arabic script is repeated 11 times along the bottom edge of the green band and 11 times along the top edge of the red band |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $66 billion (2002 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 5%
industry: 34% services: 61% (2000) |
agriculture: 11.2%
industry: 40.9% services: 48.7% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $12,200 (2002 est.) | purchasing power parity - $7,700 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4% (2002 est.) | 6.3% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 48 40 N, 19 30 E | 32 00 N, 53 00 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; most of the country is rugged and mountainous; the Tatra Mountains in the north are interspersed with many scenic lakes and valleys | strategic location on the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz, which are vital maritime pathways for crude oil transport |
Heliports | 1 (2002) | 13 (2004 est.) |
Highways | total: 17,710 km
paved: 17,533 km (including 288 km of expressways) unpaved: 177 km (1998 est.) |
total: 167,157 km
paved: 94,109 km (including 890 km of expressways) unpaved: 73,048 km (1998) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 5%
highest 10%: 18% (1992) (1992) |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin bound for Western Europe; producer of synthetic drugs for regional market | despite substantial interdiction efforts, Iran remains a key transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin to Europe; domestic narcotics consumption remains a persistent problem and according to official Iranian statistics there are at least two million drug users in the country; lax anti-money-laundering regulations |
Imports | $15.4 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | NA |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment 37.7%, intermediate manufactured goods 18%, fuels 13%, chemicals 11%, miscellaneous manufactured goods 9.5% (1999) | industrial raw materials and intermediate goods, capital goods, foodstuffs and other consumer goods, technical services, military supplies |
Imports - partners | EU 49.8% (Germany 24.7%, Italy 6.4%), Czech Republic 15.1%, Russia 14.8% (2001) | Germany 12.8%, France 8.3%, Italy 7.7%, China 7.2%, UAE 7.2%, South Korea 6.1%, Russia 5.4% (2004) |
Independence | 1 January 1993 (Czechoslovakia split into the Czech Republic and Slovakia) | 1 April 1979 (Islamic Republic of Iran proclaimed) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4.4% (2002 est.) | 3.5% excluding oil (2004 est.) |
Industries | metal and metal products; food and beverages; electricity, gas, coke, oil, nuclear fuel; chemicals and manmade fibers; machinery; paper and printing; earthenware and ceramics; transport vehicles; textiles; electrical and optical apparatus; rubber products | petroleum, petrochemicals, textiles, cement and other construction materials, food processing (particularly sugar refining and vegetable oil production), metal fabrication, armaments |
Infant mortality rate | 8.76 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 41.58 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 41.75 deaths/1,000 live births female: 41.41 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.3% (2002 est.) | 15.5% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CCC, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, EU (applicant), FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM (guest), NSG, OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, PFP, UN, UNAMSIL, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNFICYP, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNTAET, UNTSO, UPU, WCL, WEU (associate partner), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO, ZC | CP, ECO, FAO, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 6 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | 1,740 sq km (1998 est.) | 75,620 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges are elected by the National Council); Constitutional Court (judges appointed by president from group of nominees approved by the National Council) | Supreme Court - above a special clerical court, a revolutionary court, and a special administrative court |
Labor force | 3 million (1999) | 23 million
note: shortage of skilled labor (2004 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | industry 29%, agriculture 9%, construction 8%, transport and communication 8%, services 46% (1994) (1994) | agriculture 30%, industry 25%, services 45% (2001 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 1,524 km
border countries: Austria 91 km, Czech Republic 215 km, Hungary 677 km, Poland 444 km, Ukraine 97 km |
total: 5,440 km
border countries: Afghanistan 936 km, Armenia 35 km, Azerbaijan-proper 432 km, Azerbaijan-Naxcivan exclave 179 km, Iraq 1,458 km, Pakistan 909 km, Turkey 499 km, Turkmenistan 992 km |
Land use | arable land: 30.74%
permanent crops: 2.64% other: 66.62% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 8.72%
permanent crops: 1.39% other: 89.89% (2001) |
Languages | Slovak (official), Hungarian | Persian and Persian dialects 58%, Turkic and Turkic dialects 26%, Kurdish 9%, Luri 2%, Balochi 1%, Arabic 1%, Turkish 1%, other 2% |
Legal system | civil law system based on Austro-Hungarian codes; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction; legal code modified to comply with the obligations of Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and to expunge Marxist-Leninist legal theory | the Constitution codifies Islamic principles of government |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Council of the Slovak Republic or Narodna Rada Slovenskej Republiky (150 seats; members are elected on the basis of proportional representation to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 20-21 September 2002 (next to be held NA September 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - HZDS-LS 19.5%, SDKU 15.1%, SMER 13.5%, SMK 11.2%, KDH 8.3%, ANO 8%, KSS 6.3%; seats by party - governing coalition 78 (SDKU 28, SMK 20, KDH 15, ANO 15), opposition 72 (HZDS 36, SMER 25, KSS 11) |
unicameral Islamic Consultative Assembly or Majles-e-Shura-ye-Eslami (290 seats, note - changed from 270 seats with the 18 February 2000 election; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 20 February 2004 with a runoff held 7 May 2004 (next to be held February 2008) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats by party - conservatives/Islamists 190, reformers 50, independents 43, religious minorities 5, and 2 seats unaccounted for |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 74.2 years
male: 70.19 years female: 78.41 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 69.96 years
male: 68.58 years female: 71.4 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 79.4% male: 85.6% female: 73% (2003 est.) |
Location | Central Europe, south of Poland | Middle East, bordering the Gulf of Oman, the Persian Gulf, and the Caspian Sea, between Iraq and Pakistan |
Map references | Europe | Middle East |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: bilateral agreements or median lines in the Persian Gulf continental shelf: natural prolongation |
Merchant marine | total: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 15,191 GRT/19,489 DWT
ships by type: cargo 3 (2002 est.) |
total: 144 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 4,715,242 GRT/8,240,069 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 38, cargo 49, chemical tanker 4, container 14, liquefied gas 1, passenger 1, passenger/cargo 5, petroleum tanker 30, roll on/roll off 2 foreign-owned: 1 (UAE 1) registered in other countries: 8 (2005) |
Military branches | Army (Ground Forces), Air and Air Defense Forces, Home Guards (Territorial Defense Forces), Civil Defense Force, Railway Armed Forces (subordinate to the Ministry of Transportation, Post, and Telecommunications) | Islamic Republic of Iran Regular Forces (Artesh): Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force (includes Air Defense)
Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (Sepah-e Pasdaran-e Enqelab-e Eslami, IRGC): Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force, Qods Force (special operations), and Basij Force (Popular Mobilization Army) Law Enforcement Forces: (2004) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $406 million (2002) | $4.3 billion (2003 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.89% (2002) | 3.3% (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,486,728 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 1,136,775 (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 45,502 (2002 est.) | - |
National holiday | Constitution Day, 1 September (1992) | Republic Day, 1 April (1979)
note: additional holidays celebrated widely in Iran include Revolution Day, 11 February (1979); Noruz (New Year's Day), 21 March; Constitutional Monarchy Day, 5 August (1925) |
Nationality | noun: Slovak(s)
adjective: Slovak |
noun: Iranian(s)
adjective: Iranian |
Natural hazards | NA | periodic droughts, floods; dust storms, sandstorms; earthquakes |
Natural resources | brown coal and lignite; small amounts of iron ore, copper and manganese ore; salt; arable land | petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, iron ore, lead, manganese, zinc, sulfur |
Net migration rate | 0.53 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | -2.64 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | petroleum products NA km; natural gas 2,700 km | condensate/gas 212 km; gas 16,998 km; liquid petroleum gas 570 km; oil 8,256 km; refined products 7,808 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | Christian Democratic Movement or KDH [Pavol HRUSOVSKY]; Democratic Party or DS [Ludovit KANIK]; Direction (Smer) [Robert FICO]; Liberal Democratic Union or LDU [Jan BUDAJ]; Movement for a Democratic Slovakia-People's Party or HZDS-LS [Vladimir MECIAR]; Party of Civic Understanding or SOP [Pavol HAMZIK]; note - SSDS and SZS joined the SOP parliamentary caucus; Party of the Democratic Left or SDL [Pavel KONCOS]; Party of the Hungarian Coalition or SMK [Bela BUGAR]; Real Slovak National Party or PSNS [Jan SLOTA]; Slovak Communist Party or KSS [leader NA]; Slovak Democratic and Christian Union or SDKU [Mikulas DZURINDA]; note - this is DZURINDA's new party for the 2002 elections; he remains chairman of a rump and splintering SDK; Slovak Democratic Coalition or SDK (loose parliamentary club grouping, representing members of the smaller SSDS, SZS, and those committed to run under SDKU in 2002) [Mikulas DZURINDA]; Slovak National Party or SNS [Anna MALIKOVA]; Yes (ANO) [Paval RUSKO] | formal political parties are a relatively new phenomenon in Iran and most conservatives still prefer to work through political pressure groups rather than parties; a loose pro-reform coalition called the 2nd Khordad front, which includes political parties as well as less formal pressure groups and organizations, achieved considerable success at elections to the sixth Majles in early 2000; groups in the coalition include: Islamic Iran Participation Front (IIPF); Executives of Construction Party (Kargozaran); Solidarity Party; Islamic Labor Party; Mardom Salari; Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution Organization (MIRO); and Militant Clerics Society (Ruhaniyun); the coalition participated in the seventh Majles elections in early 2004; a new apparently conservative group, the Builders of Islamic Iran, took a leading position in the new Majles after winning a majority of the seats in February 2004 |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Association of Employers of Slovakia; Association of Towns and Villages or ZMOS; Confederation of Trade Unions or KOZ; Metal Workers Unions or KOVO and METALURG | political pressure groups conduct most of Iran's political activities; groups that generally support the Islamic Republic include Ansar-e Hizballah, Muslim Students Following the Line of the Imam, Tehran Militant Clergy Association (Ruhaniyat), Islamic Coalition Party (Motalefeh), and Islamic Engineers Society; active pro-reform student groups include the Organization for Strengthening Unity; opposition groups include Freedom Movement of Iran, the National Front, Marz-e Por Gohar, and various ethnic and Monarchist organizations; armed political groups that have been almost completely repressed by the government include Mujahidin-e Khalq Organization (MEK), People's Fedayeen, Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan, and Komala |
Population | 5,422,366 (July 2002 est.) | 68,017,860 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 40% (2002 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.14% (2002 est.) | 0.86% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bratislava, Komarno | Assaluyeh, Bushehr |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 15, FM 78, shortwave 2 (1998) | AM 72, FM 5, shortwave 5 (1998) |
Radios | 3.12 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total: 3,660 km
broad gauge: 102 km 1.520-m gauge standard gauge: 3,507 km 1.435-m gauge (1,505 km electrified; 1,011 km double-tracked) narrow gauge: 51 km (46 km 1,000-m gauge; 5 km 0.750-m gauge) (2001) |
total: 7,203 km
broad gauge: 94 km 1.676-m gauge standard gauge: 7,109 km 1.435-m gauge (189 km electrified) (2004) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 60.3%, atheist 9.7%, Protestant 8.4%, Orthodox 4.1%, other 17.5% | Shi'a Muslim 89%, Sunni Muslim 9%, Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian, and Baha'i 2% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.61 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.97 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 15 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: a modernization and privatization program is increasing accessibility to telephone service, reducing the waiting time for new subscribers, and generally improving service quality
domestic: predominantly an analog system that is now receiving digital equipment and is being enlarged with fiber-optic cable, especially in the larger cities; mobile cellular capability has been added international: three international exchanges (one in Bratislava and two in Banska Bystrica) are available; Slovakia is participating in several international telecommunications projects that will increase the availability of external services |
general assessment: inadequate but currently being modernized and expanded with the goal of not only improving the efficiency and increasing the volume of the urban service but also bringing telephone service to several thousand villages, not presently connected
domestic: as a result of heavy investing in the telephone system since 1994, the number of long-distance channels in the microwave radio relay trunk has grown substantially; many villages have been brought into the net; the number of main lines in the urban systems has approximately doubled; and thousands of mobile cellular subscribers are being served; moreover, the technical level of the system has been raised by the installation of thousands of digital switches international: country code - 98; HF radio and microwave radio relay to Turkey, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Syria, Kuwait, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan; submarine fiber-optic cable to UAE with access to Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG); Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic line runs from Azerbaijan through the northern portion of Iran to Turkmenistan with expansion to Georgia and Azerbaijan; satellite earth stations - 9 Intelsat and 4 Inmarsat |
Telephones - main lines in use | 1,934,558 (1998) | 14,571,100 (2003) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 736,662 (April 1999) | 3,376,500 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 38 (plus 864 repeaters) (1995) | 28 (plus 450 low-power repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | rugged mountains in the central and northern part and lowlands in the south | rugged, mountainous rim; high, central basin with deserts, mountains; small, discontinuous plains along both coasts |
Total fertility rate | 1.25 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 1.82 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 17.2% (2002 est.) | 11.2% (2004 est.) |
Waterways | 172 km (all on the Danube) | 850 km (on Karun River and Lake Urmia) (2004) |