Iran
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See regional map VI
Geography
Total area: 1,648,000 km²; land area:
1,636,000km²
Comparative area: slightly larger than Alaska
Land boundaries: 5,492 km total; Afghanistan 936 km, Iraq 1,458 km, Pakistan 909 km, Turkey 499 km, USSR 1,690 km
Coastline: 3,180 km
Maritime claims:
- Continental shelf: not specific
- Exclusive fishing zone: 50 nm in the Sea of Oman; median-line boundaries in the Persian Gulf
- Territorial sea: 12 nm
Disputes: Iran began formal UN peace negotiations with Iraq in August 1988 to end the war that began on 22 September 1980—troop withdrawal, freedom of navigation, sovereignty over the Shatt al Arab waterway and prisoner-of-war exchange are the major issues for negotiation; Kurdish question among Iran, Iraq, Syria, Turkey, and the USSR; occupies three islands in the Persian Gulf claimed by UAE (Jazīreh-ye Abū Mūsá or Abū Mūsá, Jazīreh-ye Tonb-e Bozorg or Greater Tunb, and Jazīreh-ye Tonb-e Kūchek or Lesser Tunb); periodic disputes with Afghanistan over Helmand water rights; Boluch question with Afghanistan and Pakistan
Climate: mostly arid or semiarid, subtropical along Caspian coast
Terrain: rugged, mountainous rim; high, central basin with deserts, mountains; small, discontinuous plains along both coasts
Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, iron ore, lead, manganese, zinc, sulfur
Land use: 8% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 27% meadows and pastures; 11% forest and woodland; 54% other; includes 2% irrigated
Environment: deforestation; overgrazing; desertification
People
Population: 55,647,001 (July 1990),
growth rate 3.1% (1990)
Birth rate: 45 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 10 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: -5 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 91 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 62 years male, 63 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 6.3 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun—Iranian(s); adjective—Iranian
Ethnic divisions: 51% Persian, 25% Azerbaijani, 9% Kurd, 8% Gilaki and Mazandarani, 2% Lur, 1% Baloch, 1% Arab, 3% other
Religion: 95% Shi'a Muslim, 4% Sunni Muslim, 2% Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian, and Baha'i
Language: 58% Persian and Persian dialects, 26% Turkic and Turkic dialects, 9% Kurdish, 2% Luri, 1% Baloch, 1% Arabic, 1% Turkish, 2% other
Literacy: 48% (est.)
Labor force: 15,400,000; 33% agriculture, 21% manufacturing; shortage of skilled labor (1988 est.)
Organized labor: none
Government
Long-form name: Islamic Republic of Iran
Type: theocratic republic
Capital: Tehrān
Administrative divisions: 24 provinces (ostānha, singular—ostān); Āz̄arbāyjān-e Bākhtarī, Āz̄arbāyjān-e Khāvarī, Bākhtarān, Bushēhr, Chahār Maḥāll va Bakhtīārī, Eṣfahān, Fārs, Gīlān, Hamadān, Hormozgān, Īlām, Kermān, Khorāsān, Khūzestān, Kohkīlūyeh va Būyer Aḥmadī, Kordestān, Lorestān, Markazī, Mazandarān, Semnān, Sīstān va Balūchestān, Tehrān, Yazd, Zanjān
Independence: 1 April 1979, Islamic Republic of Iran proclaimed
Constitution: 2-3 December 1979; revised 1989 to expand powers of the presidency
Legal system: the new Constitution codifies Islamic principles of government
National holiday: Islamic Republic Day, 1 April (1979)
Executive branch: cleric (faqih), president, Council of Cabinet Ministers
Legislative branch: unicameral Islamic Consultative Assembly (Majlis-e-Shura-e-Islami)
Judicial branch: Supreme Court
Leaders: Cleric and functional Chief of State—Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Hoseini-KHAMENEI (since 3 June 1989);
Head of Government—President Ali Akbar RAFSANJANI (since 3 August 1989);
Political parties and leaders: there are at least seven licensed parties; the two most important are Militant Clerics Association, Mehdi Mahdavi-Karubi and Mohammad Asqar Musavi-Khoinima; Fedaiyin Islam Organization, Sadeq Khalkhali
Suffrage: universal at age 15
Elections: President—last held NA July 1989 (next to be held April 1993); results—Ali Akbar Rafsanjani was elected with only token opposition;
Islamic Consultative Assembly—last held 8 April and 13 May 1988 (next to be held April 1992); results—percent of vote by party NA; seats—(270 seats total) number of seats by party NA
Communists: 1,000 to 2,000 est. hardcore; 15,000 to 20,000 est. sympathizers; crackdown in 1983 crippled the party; trials of captured leaders began in late 1983 and remain incomplete
Other political or pressure groups: groups that generally support the Islamic Republic include Hizballah, Hojjatiyeh Society, Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution, Muslim Students Following the Line of the Imam, and Tehran Militant Clergy Association; Mojahedin Khalq Organization (MKO), People's Fedayeen, and Kurdish Democratic Party are armed political groups that have been almost completely repressed by the government
Member of: CCC, ESCAP, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, IDA, IDB, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, IPU, OIC, OPEC, UN, UNESCO, UNICEF, UNIDO, WHO
Diplomatic representation: none; protecting power in the US is Algeria—Iranian Interests Section, 2209 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington DC 20007; telephone (202) 965-4990; US—protecting power in Iran is Switzerland
Flag: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and red; the national emblem (a stylized representation of the word Allah) 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
