|
|
Background: |
Known as Persia until 1935,
Iran became an Islamic republic in 1979 after the ruling monarchy was
overthrown and the shah was forced into exile. Conservative clerical
forces established a theocratic system of government with ultimate
political authority vested in a learned religious scholar referred to
commonly as the Supreme Leader who, according to the constitution, is
accountable only to the Assembly of Experts. US-Iranian relations have
been strained since a group of 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 that eventually
expanded into the Persian Gulf and led to clashes between US Navy and
Iranian military forces between 1987 and 1988. Iran has been designated a
state sponsor of terrorism for its activities in Lebanon and elsewhere in
the world and remains subject to US and UN economic sanctions and export
controls because of its continued involvement in terrorism and
conventional weapons proliferation. Following the election of reformer
Hojjat ol-Eslam Mohammad KHATAMI as president in 1997 and similarly a
reformer Majles (parliament) in 2000, a campaign to foster political
reform in response to popular dissatisfaction was initiated. The movement
floundered as conservative politicians, through the control of unelected
institutions, prevented reform measures from being enacted and increased
repressive measures. Starting with nationwide municipal elections in 2003
and continuing through Majles elections in 2004, conservatives
reestablished control over Iran's elected government institutions, which
culminated with the August 2005 inauguration of hardliner Mahmud
AHMADI-NEJAD as president. In December 2006 and March 2007, the
international community passed resolutions 1737 and 1747 respectively
after Iran failed to comply with UN demands to halt the enrichment of
uranium or to agree to full IAEA oversight of its nuclear program. In
October 2007, Iranian entities were also subject to US sanctions under EO
13382 designations for proliferation activities and EO 13224 designations
for providing material support to the Taliban and other terrorist
organizations. |
|
Location: |
Middle East, bordering the Gulf
of Oman, the Persian Gulf, and the Caspian Sea, between Iraq and Pakistan
|
|
Geographic coordinates: |
32 00 N, 53 00 E |
|
Map references: |
Middle East |
|
Area: |
total: 1.648 million sq
km
land: 1.636 million sq km
water: 12,000 sq km
|
|
Area - comparative: |
slightly larger than Alaska
|
|
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 |
|
Coastline: |
2,440 km; note - Iran also
borders the Caspian Sea (740 km) |
|
Maritime claims: |
territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone:
bilateral agreements or median lines in the Persian Gulf
continental shelf: natural prolongation |
|
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 |
|
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% (2005) |
|
Irrigated land: |
76,500 sq km (2003) |
|
Total renewable water resources: |
137.5 cu km (1997) |
|
Freshwater withdrawal
(domestic/industrial/agricultural): |
total: 72.88 cu km/yr
(7%/2%/91%)
per capita: 1,048 cu m/yr (2000) |
|
Natural hazards: |
periodic droughts, floods; dust
storms, sandstorms; earthquakes |
|
Environment - current issues: |
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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship
Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental
Modification, Law of the Sea, Marine Life Conservation |
|
Geography - note: |
strategic location on the
Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz, which are vital maritime pathways for
crude oil transport |
|
Population: |
65,875,223 (July 2008 est.)
|
|
Age structure: |
0-14 years: 22.3% (male
7,548,116/female 7,164,921)
15-64 years: 72.3% (male
24,090,976/female 23,522,861)
65 years and over: 5.4% (male
1,713,533/female 1,834,816) (2008 est.) |
|
Median age: |
total: 26.4 years
male: 26.2 years
female: 26.7 years (2008 est.)
|
|
Population growth rate: |
0.792% (2008 est.) |
|
Birth rate: |
16.89 births/1,000 population
(2008 est.) |
|
Death rate: |
5.69 deaths/1,000 population
(2008 est.) |
|
Net migration rate: |
-3.28 migrant(s)/1,000
population (2008 est.) |
|
Sex ratio: |
at birth: 1.05
male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64
years: 1.02 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.93
male(s)/female
total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2008
est.) |
|
Infant mortality rate: |
total: 36.93
deaths/1,000 live births
male: 37.12 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 36.73 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.) |
|
Life expectancy at birth: |
total population: 70.86
years
male: 69.39 years
female: 72.4 years (2008
est.) |
|
Total fertility rate: |
1.71 children born/woman (2008
est.) |
|
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: |
0.2% (2005 est.) |
|
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: |
66,000 (2005 est.) |
|
HIV/AIDS - deaths: |
1,600 (2005 est.) |
|
Major infectious diseases: |
degree of risk:
intermediate
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea
and hepatitis A
vectorborne diseases: Crimean Congo hemorrhagic
fever and malaria
note: highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza
has been identified in this country; it poses a negligible risk with
extremely rare cases possible among US citizens who have close contact
with birds (2008) |
|
Nationality: |
noun: Iranian(s)
adjective: Iranian |
|
Ethnic groups: |
Persian 51%, Azeri 24%, Gilaki
and Mazandarani 8%, Kurd 7%, Arab 3%, Lur 2%, Baloch 2%, Turkmen 2%, other
1% |
|
Religions: |
Muslim 98% (Shi'a 89%, Sunni
9%), other (includes Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian, and Baha'i) 2% |
|
Languages: |
Persian and Persian dialects
58%, Turkic and Turkic dialects 26%, Kurdish 9%, Luri 2%, Balochi 1%,
Arabic 1%, Turkish 1%, other 2% |
|
Literacy: |
definition: age 15 and
over can read and write
total population: 77%
male:
83.5%
female: 70.4% (2002 est.) |
|
Country name: |
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 |
|
Government type: |
theocratic republic |
|
Capital: |
name: Tehran
geographic coordinates: 35 40 N, 51 25 E
time
difference: UTC+3.5 (8.5 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard
Time) |
|
Administrative divisions: |
30 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-e Janubi, Khorasan-e Razavi,
Khorasan-e Shemali, Khuzestan, Kohgiluyeh va Buyer Ahmad, Kordestan,
Lorestan, Markazi, Mazandaran, Qazvin, Qom, Semnan, Sistan va Baluchestan,
Tehran, Yazd, Zanjan |
|
Independence: |
1 April 1979 (Islamic Republic
of Iran proclaimed) |
|
National holiday: |
Republic Day, 1 April (1979)
|
|
Constitution: |
2-3 December 1979; revised 1989
to expand powers of the presidency and eliminate the prime ministership
|
|
Legal system: |
based on Sharia law system; has
not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
|
Suffrage: |
16 years of age; universal
|
|
Executive branch: |
chief of state: Supreme
Leader Ali Hoseini-KHAMENEI (since 4 June 1989)
head of
government: President Mahmud AHMADI-NEJAD (since 3 August 2005); First
Vice President Parviz DAVUDI (since 11 September 2005)
cabinet:
Council of Ministers selected by the president with legislative approval;
the Supreme Leader has some control over appointments to the more
sensitive ministries
note: also considered part of the
Executive branch of government are three oversight bodies: 1) Assembly of
Experts (Majles-Khebregan), a popularly elected body of 86 religious
scholars constitutionally charged with determining the succession of the
Supreme Leader (based on his qualifications in the field of jurisprudence
and commitment to the principles of the revolution), reviewing his
performance, and deposing him if deemed necessary; 2) Expediency Council
or the Council for the Discernment of Expediency
(Majma-e-Tashkise-Maslahat-e-Nezam), is a policy advisory and
implementation board consisting of over 40 permanent members representing
all major government factions and includes the heads of the three branches
of government, and the clerical members of the Council of Guardians (see
next); permanent members are appointed by the Supreme Leader for five-year
terms; temporary members, including Cabinet members and Majles committee
chairmen, are selected when issues under their jurisdiction come before
the Expediency Council; the Expediency Council exerts supervisory
authority over the executive, judicial, and legislative branches and
resolves legislative issues on which the Majles and the Council of
Guardians disagree and since 1989 has been used to advise national
religious leaders on matters of national policy; in 2005 the Council's
powers were expanded, at least on paper, to act as a supervisory body for
the government; 3) Council of Guardians of the Constitution or Council of
Guardians or Guardians Council (Shora-ye Negaban-e Qanun-e Assassi) is a
12-member board made up of six clerics chosen by the Supreme Leader and
six jurists recommended by the judiciary (which is controlled by the
Supreme Leader) and approved by the Majles from a list of candidates
recommended by the judiciary (which in turn is controlled by the Supreme
Leader) for six-year terms; this Council determines whether proposed
legislation is both constitutional and faithful to Islamic law, vets
candidates for suitability, and supervises national elections
elections: Supreme Leader appointed for life by the Assembly of
Experts; Assembly of Experts elected by popular vote for an eight-year
term; last election held 15 December 2006 concurrently with municipal
elections; Hojjat ol-Eslam Ali Akbar RAFSANJANI was elected Speaker in
September 2007, following the July death of former Speaker Ayatollah Ali
Akbar Meshkini-Qomi; president elected by popular vote for a four-year
term (eligible for a second term and third nonconsecutive term); last held
17 June 2005 with a two-candidate runoff on 24 June 2005 (next
presidential election slated for 2009)
election results: Mahmud
AHMADI-NEJAD elected president; percent of vote - Mahmud AHMADI-NEJAD 62%,
Ali Akbar Hashemi-RAFSANJANI 36% |
|
Legislative branch: |
unicameral Islamic Consultative
Assembly or Majles-e-Shura-ye-Eslami or Majles (290 seats; members elected
by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held
20 February 2004 with a runoff held 7 May 2004 (next to be held in March
2008)
election results: percent of vote - NA; seats by party -
conservatives/Islamists 190, reformers 50, independents 45, religious
minorities 5 |
|
Judicial branch: |
The Supreme Court (Qeveh
Qazaieh) and the four-member High Council of the Judiciary have a single
head and overlapping responsibilities; together they supervise the
enforcement of all laws and establish judicial and legal policies; lower
courts include a special clerical court, a revolutionary court, and a
special administrative court |
|
Political parties and leaders: |
formal political parties are a
relatively new phenomenon in Iran and most conservatives still prefer to
work through political pressure groups rather than parties, and often
political parties or coalitions are formed prior to elections and
disbanded soon thereafter; a loose pro-reform coalition called the 2nd
Khordad Front, which includes political parties as well as less formal
groups and organizations, achieved considerable success at elections to
the sixth Majles in early 2000; groups in the coalition include: Islamic
Iran Participation Front (IIPF), Executives of Construction Party
(Kargozaran), Solidarity Party, Islamic Labor Party, Mardom Salari,
Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution Organization (MIRO), and Militant
Clerics Society (Ruhaniyun); the coalition participated in the seventh
Majles elections in early 2004; following his defeat in the 2005
presidential elections, former MCS Secretary General and sixth Majles
Speaker Mehdi KARUBI formed the National Trust Party; a new conservative
group, Islamic Iran Developers Coalition (Abadgaran), took a leading
position in the new Majles after winning a majority of the seats in
February 2004; following the 2004 Majles elections, traditional and
hardline conservatives have attempted to close ranks under the United
Front of Principlists; the IIPF has repeatedly complained that the
overwhelming majority of its candidates have been unfairly disqualified
from the 2008 elections |
|
Political pressure groups and leaders: |
the Islamic Republic Party
(IRP) was Iran's sole political party until its dissolution in 1987; Iran
now has a variety of groups engaged in political activity; some are
oriented along political lines or based on an identity group; others are
more akin to professional political parties seeking members and
recommending candidates for office; some are active participants in the
Revolution's political life while others reject the state; political
pressure groups conduct most of Iran's political activities; groups that
generally support the Islamic Republic include Ansar-e Hizballah,
Followers of the Line of the Imam and the Leader, Islamic Coalition Party
(Motalefeh), Islamic Engineers Society, and Tehran Militant Clergy
Association (Ruhaniyat); active pro-reform student groups include the
Office of Strengthening Unity (OSU); opposition groups include Freedom
Movement of Iran, the National Front, Marz-e Por Gohar, Baluchistan
People's Party (BPP), and various ethnic and Monarchist organizations;
armed political groups that have been repressed by the government include
Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan (KDPI), Komala, Mujahidin-e Khalq
Organization (MEK or MKO), People's Fedayeen, Jundallah, and the People's
Free Life Party of Kurdistan (PJAK) |
|
International organization participation: |
ABEDA, CP, ECO, FAO, G-24,
G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC,
IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU,
MIGA, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, SAARC, SCO (observer), UN, UNCTAD,
UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMEE, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WTO (observer) |
|
Diplomatic representation in the US: |
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; FAX [1] (202) 965-1073 |
|
Diplomatic representation from the US: |
none; note - the American
Interests Section is located in the Swiss Embassy compound at Africa
Avenue, West Farzan Street, number 59, Tehran, Iran; telephone 021 8878
2964 or 021 8879 2364; FAX 021 8877 3265 |
|
Flag description: |
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
|
|
Economy - overview: |
Iran's economy is marked by an
inefficient state sector, reliance on the oil sector (which provides 85%
of government revenues), and statist policies that create major
distortions throughout. Most economic activity is controlled by the state.
Private sector activity is typically small-scale workshops, farming, and
services. President Mahmud AHMADI-NEJAD failed to make any notable
progress in fulfilling the goals of the nation's latest five-year plan. A
combination of price controls and subsidies, particularly on food and
energy, continue to weigh down the economy, and administrative controls,
widespread corruption, and other rigidities undermine the potential for
private-sector-led growth. As a result of these inefficiencies,
significant informal market activity flourishes and shortages are common.
High oil prices in recent years have enabled Iran to amass nearly $70
billion in foreign exchange reserves. Yet this increased revenue has not
eased economic hardships, which include double-digit unemployment and
inflation. The economy has seen only moderate growth. Iran's educated
population, economic inefficiency and insufficient investment - both
foreign and domestic - have prompted an increasing number of Iranians to
seek employment overseas, resulting in significant 'brain drain.' |
|
GDP (purchasing power parity): |
$852.6 billion (2007 est.)
|
|
GDP (official exchange rate): |
$278.1 billion (2007 est.)
|
|
GDP - real growth rate: |
4.3% (2007 est.) |
|
GDP - per capita (PPP): |
$12,300 (2007 est.) |
|
GDP - composition by sector: |
agriculture: 11%
industry: 45.3%
services: 43.7% (2007 est.) |
|
Labor force: |
28.7 million
note:
shortage of skilled labor (2006 est.) |
|
Labor force - by occupation: |
agriculture: 25%
industry: 31%
services: 45% (June 2007) |
|
Unemployment rate: |
11% according to the Iranian
government (June 2007) |
|
Population below poverty line: |
18% (2007 est.) |
|
Household income or consumption by percentage
share: |
lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 33.7% (1998) |
|
Distribution of family income - Gini index: |
43 (1998) |
|
Inflation rate (consumer prices): |
17% (July 2007 est.) |
|
Investment (gross fixed): |
17% of GDP (2007 est.) |
|
Budget: |
revenues: $64 billion
expenditures: $64 billion (2007 est.) |
|
Public debt: |
23.2% of GDP (2007 est.) |
|
Agriculture - products: |
wheat, rice, other grains,
sugar beets, sugar cane, fruits, nuts, cotton; dairy products, wool;
caviar |
|
Industries: |
petroleum, petrochemicals,
fertilizers, caustic soda, textiles, cement and other construction
materials, food processing (particularly sugar refining and vegetable oil
production), ferrous and non-ferrous metal fabrication, armaments |
|
Industrial production growth rate: |
4.8% excluding oil (2007 est.)
|
|
Electricity - production: |
170.4 billion kWh (2005) |
|
Electricity - production by source: |
fossil fuel: 97.1%
hydro: 2.9%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001)
|
|
Electricity - consumption: |
136.2 billion kWh (2005) |
|
Electricity - exports: |
2.761 billion kWh (2005) |
|
Electricity - imports: |
2.074 billion kWh (2005) |
|
Oil - production: |
4.15 million bbl/day (2006
est.) |
|
Oil - consumption: |
1.63 million bbl/day (2006
est.) |
|
Oil - exports: |
2.52 million bbl/day (2006
est.) |
|
Oil - imports: |
153,600 bbl/day (2004) |
|
Oil - proved reserves: |
132.5 billion bbl based on
Iranian claims (1 January 2006 est.) |
|
Natural gas - production: |
101 billion cu m (2005 est.)
|
|
Natural gas - consumption: |
98.19 billion cu m (2005 est.)
|
|
Natural gas - exports: |
4.33 billion cu m (2005 est.)
|
|
Natural gas - imports: |
5.8 billion cu m (2005) |
|
Natural gas - proved reserves: |
26.37 trillion cu m (1 January
2006 est.) |
|
Current account balance: |
$19 billion (2007 est.) |
|
Exports: |
$76.5 billion f.o.b. (2007
est.) |
|
Exports - commodities: |
petroleum 80%, chemical and
petrochemical products, fruits and nuts, carpets |
|
Exports - partners: |
Japan 14%, China 12.8%, Turkey
7.2%, Italy 6.3%, South Korea 6%, Netherlands 4.6% (2006) |
|
Imports: |
$61.3 billion f.o.b. (2007
est.) |
|
Imports - commodities: |
industrial raw materials and
intermediate goods, capital goods, foodstuffs and other consumer goods,
technical services |
|
Imports - partners: |
Germany 12.2%, China 10.5%, UAE
9.3%, France 5.6%, Italy 5.4%, South Korea 5.4%, Russia 4.4% (2006) |
|
Economic aid - recipient: |
$104 million (2005 est.) |
|
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: |
$69.2 billion (2007 est.)
|
|
Debt - external: |
$13.8 billion (31 December 2007
est.) |
|
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home: |
$4.345 billion (2006 est.)
|
|
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad: |
$138 million (2006 est.) |
|
Market value of publicly traded shares: |
$45.2 billion (December 2007)
|
|
Currency (code): |
Iranian rial (IRR) |
|
Currency code: |
IRR |
|
Exchange rates: |
rials per US dollar - 9,407.5
(2007), 9,227.1 (2006), 8,964 (2005), 8,614 (2004), 8,193.9 (2003)
note: Iran has been using a managed floating exchange rate
regime since unifying multiple exchange rates in March 2002 |
|
Fiscal year: |
21 March - 20 March
|
|
Telephones - main lines in use: |
21.981 million (2006) |
|
Telephones - mobile cellular: |
13.659 million (2006) |
|
Telephone system: |
general assessment:
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: the addition of new fiber cables
and modern switching and exchange systems installed by Iran's state-owned
telecom company have improved and expanded the main line network greatly;
main line availability has more than doubled to 22 million lines since
2000; additionally, mobile service has increased dramatically serving
nearly 13.7 million subscribers in 2006
international: country
code - 98; 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; HF radio and microwave radio
relay to Turkey, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Syria,
Kuwait, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan; satellite earth stations - 13 (9
Intelsat and 4 Inmarsat) (2006) |
|
Radio broadcast stations: |
AM 72, FM 5, shortwave 5 (1998)
|
|
Radios: |
17 million (1997) |
|
Television broadcast stations: |
28 (plus 450 repeaters) (1997)
|
|
Televisions: |
4.61 million (1997) |
|
Internet country code: |
.ir |
|
Internet hosts: |
6,111 (2007) |
|
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): |
100 (2002) |
|
Internet users: |
18 million (2006)
|
|
Airports: |
331 (2007) |
|
Airports - with paved runways: |
total: 129
over
3,047 m: 40
2,438 to 3,047 m: 28
1,524 to 2,437
m: 24
914 to 1,523 m: 32
under 914 m: 5 (2007)
|
|
Airports - with unpaved runways: |
total: 202
over
3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 10
914 to 1,523 m:
145
under 914 m: 46 (2007) |
|
Heliports: |
14 (2007) |
|
Pipelines: |
condensate 7 km; condensate/gas
397 km; gas 19,161 km; liquid petroleum gas 570 km; oil 8,438 km; refined
products 7,936 km (2007) |
|
Railways: |
total: 8,367 km
broad gauge: 94 km 1.676-m gauge
standard gauge:
8,273 km 1.435-m gauge (146 km electrified) (2006) |
|
Roadways: |
total: 179,388 km
paved: 120,782 km (includes 878 km of expressways)
unpaved: 58,606 km (2003) |
|
Waterways: |
850 km (on Karun River;
additional service on Lake Urmia) (2006) |
|
Merchant marine: |
total: 131 ships (1000
GRT or over) 4,721,202 GRT/8,309,580 DWT
by type: bulk carrier
35, cargo 45, chemical tanker 4, container 9, liquefied gas 1,
passenger/cargo 4, petroleum tanker 29, roll on/roll off 4
foreign-owned: 1 (UAE 1)
registered in other
countries: 33 (Bolivia 1, Cyprus 2, Malta 24, Panama 4, St Kitts and
Nevis 1, St Vincent and The Grenadines 1) (2007) |
|
Ports and terminals: |
Assaluyeh, Bandar Abbas,
Bandar-e-Eman Khomeyni |
|
Military branches: |
Islamic Republic of Iran
Regular Forces (Artesh): Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force of the Military of
the Islamic Republic of Iran (Niru-ye Hava'i-ye Artesh-e Jomhuri-ye
Eslami-ye Iran; includes air defense); Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps
(Sepah-e Pasdaran-e Enqelab-e Eslami, IRGC): Ground Forces, Navy, Air
Force, Qods Force (special operations), and Basij Force (Popular
Mobilization Army); Law Enforcement Forces (2008) |
|
Military service age and obligation: |
19 years of age for compulsory
military service; 16 years of age for volunteers; 17 years of age for Law
Enforcement Forces; 15 years of age for Basij Forces (Popular Mobilization
Army); conscript military service obligation - 18 months; women exempt
from military service (2008) |
|
Manpower available for military service: |
males age 16-49:
20,212,275
females age 16-49: 19,638,751 (2008 est.) |
|
Manpower fit for military service: |
males age 16-49:
17,416,126
females age 16-49: 16,928,226 (2008 est.) |
|
Manpower reaching military service age annually: |
males age 16-49: 766,668
females age 16-49: 727,654 (2008 est.) |
|
Military expenditures - percent of GDP: |
2.5% (2006) |
| Transnational Issues |
Iran |
|
Disputes - international: |
Iran protests Afghanistan's
limiting flow of dammed tributaries to the Helmand River in periods of
drought; Iraq's lack of a maritime boundary with Iran prompts jurisdiction
disputes beyond the mouth of the Shatt al Arab in the Persian Gulf; Iran
and UAE dispute Tunb Islands and Abu Musa Island, which are occupied by
Iran; Iran stands alone among littoral states in insisting upon a division
of the Caspian Sea into five equal sectors |
|
Refugees and internally displaced persons: |
refugees (country of
origin): 662,355 (Afghanistan), 54,000 (Iraq) (2006) |
|
Trafficking in persons: |
current situation: Iran
is a source, transit, and destination country for women and girls
trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation and involuntary
servitude; according to foreign observers, women and girls are trafficked
to Pakistan, Turkey, the Persian Gulf, and Europe for sexual exploitation,
while boys from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan are trafficked
through Iran en route to Persian Gulf states where they are ultimately
forced to work as camel jockeys, beggars, or laborers; Afghan women and
girls are trafficked to the country for forced marriages and sexual
exploitation; women and children are also trafficked internally for the
purposes of forced marriage, sexual exploitation, and involuntary
servitude
tier rating: Tier 3 - Iran is downgraded to Tier 3
after persistent, credible reports of Iranian authorities punishing
victims of trafficking with beatings, imprisonment, and execution |
|
Illicit drugs: |
despite substantial
interdiction efforts, Iran remains a key transshipment point for Southwest
Asian heroin to Europe; highest percentage of the population in the world
using opiates; lacks anti-money-laundering laws |
|
