Statistics
Country Name: Islamic Republic of Iran
Government Type: Theocratic Republic
Capitol: Tehran
Time Difference: +3.5 of GMT
Official Currency: Iranian Rial (IRR)
International Calling Code: +98
Ethnic Groups: Persian 61%, Azeri 16%, Kurd 10%, Lur 6%, Baloch 2%, Arab 2%, Turkmen and Turkic tribes 2%, other 1%
Languages: Persian (official) 53%, Azeri Turkic and Turkic dialects 18%, Kurdish 10%, Gilaki and Mazandarani 7%, Luri 6%, Balochi 2%, Arabic 2%, other 2%
Religions: Muslim (official) 98% (Shia 89%, Sunni 9%), other (includes Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian, and Baha'i) 2%
Population: 78,868,711 (July 2012 est.)
Legal System: religious legal system based on sharia law
Location: Middle East, bordering the Gulf of Oman, the Persian Gulf, and the Caspian Sea, between Iraq and Pakistan
Area: Total: 1,648,195 sq km (Land: 1,531,595 sq km & Water: 116,600 sq km)
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
Administrative Divisions: 31 provinces; Alborz, Ardabil, Azarbayjan-e Gharbi (West Azerbaijan), Azarbayjan-e Sharqi (East Azerbaijan), Bushehr, Chahar Mahal va Bakhtiari, Esfahan, Fars, Gilan, Golestan, Hamadan, Hormozgan, Ilam, Kerman, Kermanshah, Khorasan-e Jonubi (South Khorasan), Khorasan-e Razavi (Razavi Khorasan), Khorasan-e Shomali (North Khorasan), Khuzestan, Kohgiluyeh va Bowyer Ahmad, Kordestan, Lorestan, Markazi, Mazandaran, Qazvin, Qom, Semnan, Sistan va Baluchestan, Tehran, Yazd, Zanjan
Indepedence: 1 April 1979 (Islamic Republic of Iran proclaimed);
notable earlier dates:
• ca. 625 B.C. (unification of Iran under the Medes);
• ca. A.D. 1501 (Iran reunified under the Safavids);
• 12 December 1925 (modern Iran established under the Pahlavis)
Elevation extremes: Lowest point: Caspian Sea -28 m, Highest point: Kuh-e Damavand 5,671 m
Natural Resources: petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, iron ore, lead, manganese, zinc, sulfur
Land Use: Arable land: 9.78% Permanent crops: 1.29% Other: 88.93%
Life Expectancy: Total population: 70.35 years (male: 68.84 years / female: 71.93 years )
Literacy: Total population: 77% (male: 83.5% / female: 70.4% )