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Compare Yemen (2002) - Iran (2002)

Compare Yemen (2002) z Iran (2002)

 Yemen (2002)Iran (2002)
 YemenIran
Administrative divisions 19 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah); Abyan, 'Adan, Ad Dali', Al Bayda', Al Hudaydah, Al Jawf, Al Mahrah, Al Mahwit, 'Amran, Dhamar, Hadramawt, Hajjah, Ibb, Lahij, Ma'rib, Sa'dah, San'a', Shabwah, Ta'izz


note: there may be one additional governorate of the capital city of Sanaa
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: 47% (male 4,468,928; female 4,317,648)


15-64 years: 50.1% (male 4,783,769; female 4,587,309)


65 years and over: 2.9% (male 273,282; female 270,321) (2002 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 grain, fruits, vegetables, pulses, qat (mildly narcotic shrub), coffee, cotton; dairy products, livestock (sheep, goats, cattle, camels), poultry; fish wheat, rice, other grains, sugar beets, fruits, nuts, cotton; dairy products, wool; caviar
Airports 49 (2001) 322 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways total: 16


over 3,047 m: 3


2,438 to 3,047 m: 9


1,524 to 2,437 m: 2


914 to 1,523 m: 1


under 914 m: 1 (2002)
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: 28


over 3,047 m: 2


2,438 to 3,047 m: 7


1,524 to 2,437 m: 4


914 to 1,523 m: 11


under 914 m: 4 (2002)
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: 527,970 sq km


land: 527,970 sq km


water: 0 sq km


note: includes Perim, Socotra, the former Yemen Arab Republic (YAR or North Yemen), and the former People's Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY or South Yemen)
total: 1.648 million sq km


land: 1.636 million sq km


water: 12,000 sq km
Area - comparative slightly larger than twice the size of Wyoming slightly larger than Alaska
Background North Yemen became independent of the Ottoman Empire in 1918. The British, who had set up a protectorate area around the southern port of Aden in the 19th century, withdrew in 1967 from what became South Yemen. Three years later, the southern government adopted a Marxist orientation. The massive exodus of hundreds of thousands of Yemenis from the south to the north contributed to two decades of hostility between the states. The two countries were formally unified as the Republic of Yemen in 1990. A southern secessionist movement in 1994 was quickly subdued. In 2000, Saudi Arabia and Yemen agreed to a delimitation of their border. 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 43.3 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) 17.54 births/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Budget revenues: $3 billion


expenditures: $3.1 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.)
revenues: $24 billion


expenditures: $22 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.)
Capital Sanaa Tehran
Climate mostly desert; hot and humid along west coast; temperate in western mountains affected by seasonal monsoon; extraordinarily hot, dry, harsh desert in east mostly arid or semiarid, subtropical along Caspian coast
Coastline 1,906 km 2,440 km; note - Iran also borders the Caspian Sea (740 km)
Constitution 16 May 1991; amended 29 September 1994 and February 2001 2-3 December 1979; revised 1989 to expand powers of the presidency and eliminate the prime ministership
Country name conventional long form: Republic of Yemen


conventional short form: Yemen


local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al Yamaniyah


local short form: Al Yaman
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 Yemeni rial (YER) Iranian rial (IRR)
Death rate 9.31 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) 5.39 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Debt - external $4.7 billion (2001) $8.2 billion (2002 est.)
Diplomatic representation from the US chief of mission: Ambassador Edmund J. HULL


embassy: Dhahar Himyar Zone, Sheraton Hotel District, Sanaa


mailing address: P. O. Box 22347, Sanaa


telephone: [967] (1) 303-161


FAX: [967] (1) 303-182
none; note - protecting power in Iran is Switzerland
Diplomatic representation in the US chief of mission: Ambassador Abd al-Wahhab Abdallah al-HAJRI


chancery: Suite 705, 2600 Virginia Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20037


telephone: [1] (202) 965-4760


FAX: [1] (202) 337-2017
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 demarcation of delimited boundary with Saudi Arabia involves nomadic tribal affiliations; Yemen has asserted traditional fishing rights to islands ceded to Eritrea in ICJ ruling 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 $176.1 million (1995) (1995) $129 million (1995) (2000 est.)
Economy - overview Yemen, one of the poorest countries in the Arab world, reported strong growth in the mid-1990s with the onset of oil production, but has been harmed by periodic declines in oil prices. Yemen has embarked on an IMF-supported structural adjustment program designed to modernize and streamline the economy, which has led to substantial foreign debt relief and restructuring. Aided by higher oil prices in 1999-2000, Yemen worked to maintain tight control over spending and implement additional components of the IMF program. A high population growth rate and internal political dissension complicate the government's task. 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 2.976 billion kWh (2000) 111.907 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (2000) 0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - imports 0 kWh (2000) 0 kWh (2000)
Electricity - production 3.2 billion kWh (2000) 120.33 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source fossil fuel: 100%


hydro: 0%


nuclear: 0%


other: 0% (2000)
fossil fuel: 94%


hydro: 6%


nuclear: 0%


other: 0% (2000)
Elevation extremes lowest point: Arabian Sea 0 m


highest point: Jabal an Nabi Shu'ayb 3,760 m
lowest point: Caspian Sea -28 m


highest point: Kuh-e Damavand 5,671 m
Environment - current issues very limited natural fresh water resources; inadequate supplies of potable water; overgrazing; soil erosion; desertification 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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection


signed, but not ratified: Nuclear Test Ban
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 predominantly Arab; but also Afro-Arab, South Asians, Europeans Persian 51%, Azeri 24%, Gilaki and Mazandarani 8%, Kurd 7%, Arab 3%, Lur 2%, Baloch 2%, Turkmen 2%, other 1%
Exchange rates Yemeni rials per US dollar - 171.860 (December 2001), 168.678 (2001), 161.718 (2000), 155.718 (1999), 135.882 (1998), 129.281 (1997) 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: President Field Marshall Ali Abdallah SALIH (since 22 May 1990, the former president of North Yemen, assumed office upon the merger of North and South Yemen); Vice President Maj. Gen. Abd al-Rab Mansur al-HADI (since 3 October 1994)


head of government: Prime Minister Abd al-Qadir BA JAMAL (since 4 April 2001)


cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister


elections: president elected by direct, popular vote for a seven-year term (recently extended from a five-year term by constitutional amendment); election last held 23 September 1999 (next to be held NA 2006); vice president appointed by the president; prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president


election results: Ali Abdallah SALIH elected president; percent of vote - Ali Abdallah SALIH 96.3%, Najib Qahtan AL-SHAABI 3.7%
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 $3.9 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) $24 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Exports - commodities crude oil, coffee, dried and salted fish petroleum 85%, carpets, fruits and nuts, iron and steel, chemicals
Exports - partners Thailand 34%, China 26%, South Korea 14%, Singapore 9%, Japan 3%, Saudi Arabia 3% (1999) Japan 20.5%, Italy 7%, UAE 5.9%, France 4.7%, China 4.1% (1999)
Fiscal year calendar year 21 March - 20 March
Flag description three equal horizontal bands of red (top), white, and black; similar to the flag of Syria which has two green stars and of Iraq which has three green stars (plus an Arabic inscription) in a horizontal line centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Egypt which has a heraldic eagle centered in the white band 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 - $14.8 billion (2001 est.) purchasing power parity - $456 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture: 17%


industry: 40%


services: 43% (1998)
agriculture: 19%


industry: 26%


services: 55% (2002 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $820 (2001 est.) purchasing power parity - $7,000 (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 4% (2001 est.) 5% (2002 est.)
Geographic coordinates 15 00 N, 48 00 E 32 00 N, 53 00 E
Geography - note strategic location on Bab el Mandeb, the strait linking the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, one of world's most active shipping lanes strategic location on the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz, which are vital maritime pathways for crude oil transport
Heliports - 13 (2002)
Highways total: 69,263 km


paved: 9,963 km


unpaved: 59,300 km (1999)
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%: 3%


highest 10%: 26% (1998) (1998)
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 $3 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) $19.6 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Imports - commodities food and live animals, machinery and equipment industrial raw materials and intermediate goods, capital goods, foodstuffs and other consumer goods, technical services, military supplies
Imports - partners Saudi Arabia 10%, UAE 8%, France 7%, US 7%, Italy 6% (1999) Germany 11%, Italy 8.3%, China 6.1%, Japan 5.3%, UAE 5% (1999)
Independence 22 May 1990, Republic of Yemen was established with the merger of the Yemen Arab Republic [Yemen (Sanaa) or North Yemen] and the Marxist-dominated People's Democratic Republic of Yemen [Yemen (Aden) or South Yemen]; previously North Yemen had become independent on NA November 1918 (from the Ottoman Empire) and South Yemen had become independent on 30 November 1967 (from the UK) 1 April 1979 (Islamic Republic of Iran proclaimed)
Industrial production growth rate NA% 5.5% excluding oil (2001 est.)
Industries crude oil production and petroleum refining; small-scale production of cotton textiles and leather goods; food processing; handicrafts; small aluminum products factory; cement petroleum, petrochemicals, textiles, cement and other construction materials, food processing (particularly sugar refining and vegetable oil production), metal fabricating, armaments
Infant mortality rate 66.78 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) 28.07 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 10% (2001 est.) 17.3% (2002 est.)
International organization participation ACC, AFESD, AL, AMF, CAEU, CCC, ESCWA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ITU, NAM, OAS (observer), OIC, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO (observer) 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) 1 (2000) 8 (2000)
Irrigated land 4,900 sq km (1998 est.) 75,620 sq km (1998 est.)
Judicial branch Supreme Court Supreme Court
Labor force NA 18 million


note: shortage of skilled labor (1998)
Labor force - by occupation most people are employed in agriculture and herding; services, construction, industry, and commerce account for less than one-fourth of the labor force agriculture 30%, industry 25%, services 45% (2001 est.)
Land boundaries total: 1,746 km


border countries: Oman 288 km, Saudi Arabia 1,458 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: 2.75%


permanent crops: 0.21%


other: 97.04% (1998 est.)
arable land: 10.17%


permanent crops: 1.16%


other: 88.67% (1998 est.)
Languages Arabic 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 Islamic law, Turkish law, English common law, and local tribal customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction the Constitution codifies Islamic principles of government
Legislative branch a new constitutional amendment ratified on 20 February 2001 created a bicameral legislature consisting of a Shura Council (111 seats; members appointed by the president) and a House of Representatives (301 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)


elections: last held 27 April 1997 (next to be held 27 April 2003)


election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - GPC 189, Islah 52, Nasserite Unionist Party 3, National Arab Socialist Baath Party 2, independents 54, election pending 1; seats by party as of January 2002: GPC 223, Islah 64, Nasserite Unionist Party 3, National Arab Socialist Baath Party 2, YSP 2, independents 7
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: 60.59 years


male: 58.81 years


female: 62.46 years (2002 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: 38%


male: 53%


female: 26% (1990 est.)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write


total population: 72.1%


male: 78.4%


female: 65.8% (1994 est.)
Location Middle East, bordering the Arabian Sea, Gulf of Aden, and Red Sea, between Oman and Saudi Arabia Middle East, bordering the Gulf of Oman, the Persian Gulf, and the Caspian Sea, between Iraq and Pakistan
Map references Middle East Middle East
Maritime claims contiguous zone: 24 NM


continental shelf: 200 NM or to the edge of the continental margin


exclusive economic zone: 200 NM


territorial sea: 12 NM
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: 4 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 15,002 GRT/23,752 DWT


ships by type: cargo 1, petroleum tanker 3


note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Hong Kong 2 (2002 est.)
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 - note establishement of a Coast Guard, scheduled for May 2001, has been delayed -
Military branches Army (includes Special Forces, established in 1999), Navy, Air Force, Air Defense Forces, Republican Guard 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 $482.5 million (FY01) $9.7 billion (FY00)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP 5.2% (FY01) 3.1% (FY00)
Military manpower - availability males age 15-49: 4,272,156 (2002 est.) males age 15-49: 18,868,571 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - fit for military service males age 15-49: 2,397,914 (2002 est.) males age 15-49: 11,192,731 (2002 est.)
Military manpower - military age 14 years of age (2002 est.) 21 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - reaching military age annually males: 238,690 (2002 est.) males: 823,041 (2002 est.)
National holiday Unification Day, 22 May (1990) Republic Day, 1 April (1979)
Nationality noun: Yemeni(s)


adjective: Yemeni
noun: Iranian(s)


adjective: Iranian
Natural hazards sandstorms and dust storms in summer periodic droughts, floods; dust storms, sandstorms; earthquakes along western border and in the northeast
Natural resources petroleum, fish, rock salt, marble, small deposits of coal, gold, lead, nickel, and copper, fertile soil in west petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, iron ore, lead, manganese, zinc, sulfur
Net migration rate 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) -4.46 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.)
Pipelines crude oil 644 km; petroleum products 32 km crude oil 5,900 km; petroleum products 3,900 km; natural gas 4,550 km
Political parties and leaders there are over 12 political parties active in Yemen, some of the more prominent are: General People's Congress or GPC [President Ali Abdallah SALIH]; Islamic Reform Grouping or Islah [Shaykh Abdallah bin Husayn al-AHMAR]; National Arab Socialist Baath Party [Dr. Qassim SALAAM]; Nasserite Unionist Party [Abdel Malik al-MAKHLAFI]; Yemeni Socialist Party or YSP [Ali Salih MUQBIL]


note: President SALIH's General People's Congress or GPC won a landslide victory in the April 1997 legislative election and no longer governs in coalition with Shaykh Abdallah bin Husayn al-AHMAR's Islamic Reform Grouping or Islah - the two parties had been in coalition since the end of the civil war in 1994; the YSP, a loyal opposition party, boycotted the April 1997 legislative election, but announced that it would participate in Yemen's first local elections which were held in February 2001; these local elections aim to decentralize political power and are a key element of the government's political reform program
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 18,701,257 (July 2002 est.) 66,622,704 (July 2002 est.)
Population below poverty line NA 53% (1996 est.)
Population growth rate 3.4% (2002 est.) 0.77% (2002 est.)
Ports and harbors Aden, Al Hudaydah, Al Mukalla, As Salif, Ras Issa, Mocha, Nishtun 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 6, FM 1, shortwave 2 (1998) AM 72, FM 5, shortwave 5 (1998)
Radios 1.05 million (1997) 17 million (1997)
Railways 0 km 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 Muslim including Shaf'i (Sunni) and Zaydi (Shi'a), small numbers of Jewish, Christian, and Hindu Shi'a Muslim 89%, Sunni Muslim 10%, Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian, and Baha'i 1%
Sex ratio at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female


under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female


15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female


65 years and over: 1.01 male(s)/female


total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2002 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; universal 15 years of age; universal
Telephone system general assessment: since unification in 1990, efforts have been made to create a national telecommunications network


domestic: the national network consists of microwave radio relay, cable, tropospheric scatter, and GSM cellular mobile telephone systems


international: satellite earth stations - 3 Intelsat (2 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean), 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region), and 2 Arabsat; microwave radio relay to Saudi Arabia and Djibouti
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 291,359 (1999) 6.313 million (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular 32,042 (2000) 265,000 (August 1998)
Television broadcast stations 7 (plus several low-power repeaters) (1997) 28 (plus 450 low-power repeaters) (1997)
Terrain narrow coastal plain backed by flat-topped hills and rugged mountains; dissected upland desert plains in center slope into the desert interior of the Arabian Peninsula rugged, mountainous rim; high, central basin with deserts, mountains; small, discontinuous plains along both coasts
Total fertility rate 6.9 children born/woman (2002 est.) 2.01 children born/woman (2002 est.)
Unemployment rate 30% (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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