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Compare Swaziland (2001) - Iran (2002)
Compare Swaziland (2001) z Iran (2002)
| Swaziland (2001) | Iran (2002) | |
 |  | |
| Administrative divisions | 4 districts; Hhohho, Lubombo, Manzini, Shiselweni | 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 |
| Age structure | 0-14 years:
45.53% (male 250,327; female 252,479) 15-64 years: 51.88% (male 276,186; female 296,728) 65 years and over: 2.59% (male 11,687; female 16,936) (2001 est.) |
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 | sugarcane, cotton, corn, tobacco, rice, citrus, pineapples, sorghum, peanuts; cattle, goats, sheep | wheat, rice, other grains, sugar beets, fruits, nuts, cotton; dairy products, wool; caviar |
| Airports | 18 (2000 est.) | 322 (2001) |
| Airports - with paved runways | total:
1 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
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) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
17 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 10 (2000 est.) |
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) |
| Area | total:
17,363 sq km land: 17,203 sq km water: 160 sq km |
total: 1.648 million sq km
land: 1.636 million sq km water: 12,000 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly smaller than New Jersey | slightly larger than Alaska |
| Background | Autonomy for the Swazis of southern Africa was guaranteed by the British in the late 19th century; independence was granted 1968. Student and labor unrest during the 1990s have pressured the monarchy (one of the oldest on the continent) to grudgingly allow political reform and greater democracy. | 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. |
| Birth rate | 40.12 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 17.54 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
| Budget | revenues:
$400 million expenditures: $450 million, including capital expenditures of $115 million (FY96/97) |
revenues: $24 billion
expenditures: $22 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
| Capital | Mbabane; note - Lobamba is the royal and legislative capital | Tehran |
| Climate | varies from tropical to near temperate | 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 | none; constitution of 6 September 1968 was suspended 12 April 1973; a new constitution was promulgated 13 October 1978, but was not formally presented to the people; since then a few more outlines for a constitution have been compiled under the Constitutional Review Commission (CRC), but so far none have been accepted | 2-3 December 1979; revised 1989 to expand powers of the presidency and eliminate the prime ministership |
| Country name | conventional long form:
Kingdom of Swaziland conventional short form: Swaziland |
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 | lilangeni (SZL) | Iranian rial (IRR) |
| Death rate | 21.84 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 5.39 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
| Debt - external | $281 million (2000 est.) | $8.2 billion (2002 est.) |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Gregory L. JOHNSON embassy: Central Bank Building, Warner Street, Mbabane mailing address: P. O. Box 199, Mbabane telephone: [268] 404-6441 through 404-6445 FAX: [268] 404-5959 |
none; note - protecting power in Iran is Switzerland |
| Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Mary Madzandza KANYA chancery: 3400 International Drive NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 362-6683 FAX: [1] (202) 244-8059 |
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 |
| Disputes - international | Swaziland has asked South Africa to open negotiations on reincorporating some nearby South African territories that are populated by ethnic Swazis or that were long ago part of the Swazi Kingdom | 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 |
| Economic aid - recipient | $55 million (1995) | $129 million (1995) (2000 est.) |
| Economy - overview | In this small landlocked economy, subsistence agriculture occupies more than 60% of the population. Manufacturing features a number of agroprocessing factories. Mining has declined in importance in recent years: diamond mines have shut down because of the depletion of easily accessible reserves; high-grade iron ore deposits were depleted by 1978; and health concerns have cut world demand for asbestos. Exports of soft drink concentrate, sugar, and wood pulp are the main earners of hard currency. Surrounded by South Africa, except for a short border with Mozambique, Swaziland is heavily dependent on South Africa from which it receives four-fifths of its imports and to which it sends two-thirds of its exports. Remittances from the Southern African Customs Union and Swazi workers in South African mines substantially supplement domestically earned income. The government is trying to improve the atmosphere for foreign investment. Overgrazing, soil depletion, drought, and sometimes floods persist as problems for the future. Prospects for 2001 are strengthened by government millennium projects for a new convention center, additional hotels, an amusement park, a new airport, and stepped-up roadbuilding and factory construction plans. | 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. |
| Electricity - consumption | 198 million kWh (1999) | 111.907 billion kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - exports | 852 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - imports | 701 million kWh
note: supplied by South Africa (1999) |
0 kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - production | 375 million kWh (1999) | 120.33 billion kWh (2000) |
| Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
53.33% hydro: 46.67% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 94%
hydro: 6% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Great Usutu River 21 m highest point: Emlembe 1,862 m |
lowest point: Caspian Sea -28 m
highest point: Kuh-e Damavand 5,671 m |
| Environment - current issues | limited supplies of potable water; wildlife populations being depleted because of excessive hunting; overgrazing; soil degradation; soil erosion | 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:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: Desertification, Law of the Sea |
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 |
| Ethnic groups | African 97%, European 3% | Persian 51%, Azeri 24%, Gilaki and Mazandarani 8%, Kurd 7%, Arab 3%, Lur 2%, Baloch 2%, Turkmen 2%, other 1% |
| Exchange rates | emalangeni per US dollar - 7.7803 (January 2001), 6.9056 (2000), 6.1087 (1999), 5.4807 (1998), 4.6032 (1997), 4.2706 (1996); note - the Swazi lilangeni is at par with the South African rand; emalangeni is the plural form of lilangeni | 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 |
| Executive branch | chief of state:
King MSWATI III (since 25 April 1986) head of government: Prime Minister Sibusiso Barnabas DLAMINI (since 9 August 1996) cabinet: Cabinet recommended by the prime minister and confirmed by the monarch elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; prime minister appointed by the monarch |
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% |
| Exports | $881 million (f.o.b., 2000) | $24 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
| Exports - commodities | soft drink concentrates, sugar, wood pulp, cotton yarn, refrigerators, citrus and canned fruit | petroleum 85%, carpets, fruits and nuts, iron and steel, chemicals |
| Exports - partners | South Africa 65%, EU 12%, Mozambique 11%, US 5% (1998) | Japan 20.5%, Italy 7%, UAE 5.9%, France 4.7%, China 4.1% (1999) |
| Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | 21 March - 20 March |
| Flag description | three horizontal bands of blue (top), red (triple width), and blue; the red band is edged in yellow; centered in the red band is a large black and white shield covering two spears and a staff decorated with feather tassels, all placed horizontally | 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 - $4.4 billion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $456 billion (2002 est.) |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
10% industry: 46% services: 44% (1998 est.) |
agriculture: 19%
industry: 26% services: 55% (2002 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $4,000 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $7,000 (2001 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | 2.4% (2000 est.) | 5% (2002 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 26 30 S, 31 30 E | 32 00 N, 53 00 E |
| Geography - note | landlocked; almost completely surrounded by South Africa | strategic location on the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz, which are vital maritime pathways for crude oil transport |
| Heliports | - | 13 (2002) |
| Highways | total:
3,000 km paved: 850 km unpaved: 2,150 km (1997) |
total: 140,200 km
paved: 49,440 km (including 470 km of expressways) unpaved: 90,760 km (1998 est.) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
| Illicit drugs | - | despite substantial interdiction efforts, Iran remains a key transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin to Europe; domestic narcotics consumption remains a persistent problem and Iranian press reports estimate at least 1.8 million drug users in the country |
| Imports | $928 million (f.o.b., 2000) | $19.6 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
| Imports - commodities | motor vehicles, machinery, transport equipment, foodstuffs, petroleum products, chemicals | industrial raw materials and intermediate goods, capital goods, foodstuffs and other consumer goods, technical services, military supplies |
| Imports - partners | South Africa 84%, EU 5%, Japan 2%, Singapore 2% (1998) | Germany 11%, Italy 8.3%, China 6.1%, Japan 5.3%, UAE 5% (1999) |
| Independence | 6 September 1968 (from UK) | 1 April 1979 (Islamic Republic of Iran proclaimed) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 3.7% (FY95/96) | 5.5% excluding oil (2001 est.) |
| Industries | mining (coal and asbestos), wood pulp, sugar, soft drink concentrates | petroleum, petrochemicals, textiles, cement and other construction materials, food processing (particularly sugar refining and vegetable oil production), metal fabricating, armaments |
| Infant mortality rate | 109.19 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 28.07 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 6.4% (2000 est.) | 17.3% (2002 est.) |
| International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, SACU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | 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 |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 3 (2000) | 8 (2000) |
| Irrigated land | 670 sq km (1993 est.) | 75,620 sq km (1998 est.) |
| Judicial branch | High Court; Court of Appeal; judges for both courts are appointed by the monarch | Supreme Court |
| Labor force | NA | 18 million
note: shortage of skilled labor (1998) |
| Labor force - by occupation | private sector 70%, public sector 30% | agriculture 30%, industry 25%, services 45% (2001 est.) |
| Land boundaries | total:
535 km border countries: Mozambique 105 km, South Africa 430 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:
11% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 62% forests and woodland: 7% other: 20% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 10.17%
permanent crops: 1.16% other: 88.67% (1998 est.) |
| Languages | English (official, government business conducted in English), siSwati (official) | Persian and Persian dialects 58%, Turkic and Turkic dialects 26%, Kurdish 9%, Luri 2%, Balochi 1%, Arabic 1%, Turkish 1%, other 2% |
| Legal system | based on South African Roman-Dutch law in statutory courts and Swazi traditional law and custom in traditional courts; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | the Constitution codifies Islamic principles of government |
| Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament or Libandla, an advisory body, consists of the Senate (30 seats - 10 appointed by the House of Assembly and 20 appointed by the monarch; members serve five-year terms) and the House of Assembly (65 seats - 10 appointed by the monarch and 55 elected by popular vote; members serve five-year terms)
elections: House of Assembly - last held 16 and 24 October 1998 (next to be held NA 2003) election results: House of Assembly - balloting is done on a nonparty basis; candidates for election are nominated by the local council of each constituency and for each constituency the three candidates with the most votes in the first round of voting are narrowed to a single winner by a second round |
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) |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population:
38.62 years male: 37.86 years female: 39.4 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 70.25 years
male: 68.87 years female: 71.69 years (2002 est.) |
| Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 76.7% male: 78% female: 75.6% (1995 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 72.1% male: 78.4% female: 65.8% (1994 est.) |
| Location | Southern Africa, between Mozambique and South Africa | Middle East, bordering the Gulf of Oman, the Persian Gulf, and the Caspian Sea, between Iraq and Pakistan |
| Map references | Africa | Middle East |
| Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | contiguous zone: 24 NM
continental shelf: natural prolongation exclusive economic zone: bilateral agreements or median lines in the Persian Gulf territorial sea: 12 NM |
| 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.) |
| Military branches | Umbutfo Swaziland Defense Force (Army), Royal Swaziland Police Force | 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 |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure | $19.198 million (FY00/01) | $9.7 billion (FY00) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 4.75% (FY00/01) | 3.1% (FY00) |
| Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
248,084 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 18,868,571 (2002 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
143,618 (2001 est.) |
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 | Independence Day, 6 September (1968) | Republic Day, 1 April (1979) |
| Nationality | noun:
Swazi(s) adjective: Swazi |
noun: Iranian(s)
adjective: Iranian |
| Natural hazards | NA | periodic droughts, floods; dust storms, sandstorms; earthquakes along western border and in the northeast |
| Natural resources | asbestos, coal, clay, cassiterite, hydropower, forests, small gold and diamond deposits, quarry stone, and talc | petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, iron ore, lead, manganese, zinc, sulfur |
| Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -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 |
| Political parties and leaders | Imbokodvo National Movement or INM [leader NA]; Ngwane National Libertatory Congress or NNLC [Obed DLAMINI, president]; People's United Democratic Movement or PUDEMO [Mario MASUKU, president]; Swaziland National Front or SWANAFRO [Elmond SHONGWE, president]; Swaziland Progressive Party or SPP [J. J. NQUKU, president]; Swaziland United Front or SUF [Matsapa SHONGWE, leader]
note: political parties are banned by the constitution promulgated on 13 October 1978; illegal parties are prohibited from holding large public gatherings; the organizations listed are political associations |
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 |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | 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 | 1,104,343
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2001 est.) |
66,622,704 (July 2002 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | NA% | 53% (1996 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 1.83% (2001 est.) | 0.77% (2002 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | none | 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 7, FM 6 (2000) | AM 72, FM 5, shortwave 5 (1998) |
| Radios | 155,000 (1997) | 17 million (1997) |
| Railways | total:
297 km; note - includes 71 km which are not in use narrow gauge: 297 km 1.067-m gauge |
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) |
| Religions | Protestant 55%, Muslim 10%, Roman Catholic 5%, indigenous beliefs 30% | Shi'a Muslim 89%, Sunni Muslim 10%, Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian, and Baha'i 1% |
| Sex ratio | at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
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 | 18 years of age | 15 years of age; universal |
| Telephone system | general assessment:
not a modern system domestic: system consists of carrier-equipped, open-wire lines and low-capacity, microwave radio relay international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
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 |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 33,500 (2000) | 6.313 million (1997) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 30,000 (2000) | 265,000 (August 1998) |
| Television broadcast stations | 10 (2000) | 28 (plus 450 low-power repeaters) (1997) |
| Terrain | mostly mountains and hills; some moderately sloping plains | rugged, mountainous rim; high, central basin with deserts, mountains; small, discontinuous plains along both coasts |
| Total fertility rate | 5.82 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 2.01 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 22% (1995 est.) | 14% (1999 est.) |
| Waterways | none | 904 km
note: the Shatt al Arab is usually navigable by maritime traffic for about 130 km; channel has been dredged to 3 m and is in use |
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