Iran
General
Population: 77,891,220 (2011)
Land Area: 1,648,000 sq km
Natural Resources: Petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, iron ore, lead, manganese, zinc, sulfur
Capital: Tehran
Political System: Theocratic Republic
State Leader: Ali Hoseini-Khamenei (1989)
Head of Government: Mahmud Ahmadinejad (2005)
Languages: Persian, Turkic, Kurdish, Luri, Balochi, Arabic, Turkish
Currency: Iranian Rial (IRR)
Major Religions: Muslim 98%, Other 2%
Major Ethnicities: Persian 51%, Azeri 24%, Gilaki and Mazandarani 8%, Kurd 7%, Arab 3%, Lur 2%, Baloch 2%, Turkmen 2%, Other 1%
Life Expectancy: 70.06 years (2011)
Economy
GDP Official Exchange Rate: 337.9 billion (2010)
GDP Purchasing Power Parity: 863.5 billion (2010)
GDP Per Capita (PPP): 11,200 (2010)
GDP Growth Rate: 3% (2010)
GDP Structure: Agriculture 11%, Industry 45.9%, Services 43.1% (2010)
Labour Force By Occupation: Agriculture 25%, Industry 31%, Services 45% (2007)
Industries: Petroleum, petrochemicals, fertilizers, caustic soda, textiles, cement and other construction materials, food processing, ferrous and non-ferrous metal fabrication, armaments
Agriculture Products: Wheat, rice, other grains, sugar beets, sugar cane, fruits, nuts, cotton; dairy products, wool; caviar
Human Development Index: 0.707 (88th)
Tourism Revenue: 1.324 billion (2004)
Unemployment Rate: 14.6% (2010)
Military
Army Size: 420 000 (2004)
Budget: 2.5% of GDP (2006)
Current Situation
Iran is located in Central Eurasia. Iran is bordered by Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Pakistan, Turkey and Turkmenistan. Iran has large reserves of petroleum the profits of which amount for roughly 45% of government budget. Iran has a high unemployment rate and a high number of people living below the poverty line, but the economy is steadily growing. However a tense relationship with the United States and most of the Western countries prevents Iran from reaching its full economic potential.
Photo Gallery
Sources
CIA World Factbook: Iran
The Economist: The World In 2010
Wikipedia: Iran
http://hdrstats.undp.org/en/countries/profiles/IRN.html
Updated on: December 21, 2011