Iran

Partners situated in Iran

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Iran in a nutshell

(sourced from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iran)

Iran (Persian: ايران), officially the Islamic Republic of Iran and formerly known internationally as Persia until 1935, is a country in Central Eurasia, located on the northeastern shore of the Persian Gulf and the southern shore of the Caspian Sea. Since 1949, "Persia" and "Iran" have been used interchangeably in cultural context, however, Iran is the name used officially in political context. The name Iran is a cognate of Aryan, and means "Land of the Aryans".

Iran is the 18th largest country in the world in terms of area at 1,648,195 km², with an area roughly equal to that of the United Kingdom, France, Spain, and Germany combined.

Iran has a population of just over 66 million according to some sources, but over 70 million by others. (Possibly the difference is accounted for by refugees.)

It is a country of special geostrategic significance due to its central location in Eurasia. Iran is bordered on the north by Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan. As Iran is a littoral state of the Caspian Sea, which is an inland sea and condominium, Kazakhstan and Russia are also Iran's direct neighbors to the north. Iran is bordered on the east by Afghanistan and Pakistan, on the south by the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, and on the west by Turkey and Iraq.

Tehran is the capital, the country's largest city and the political, cultural, commercial, and industrial centre of the nation. Iran is a regional power, and holds an important position in international energy security and world economy as a result of its large reserves of petroleum and natural gas.

Iran is divided into 30 provinces (ostān), each governed by an appointed governor (استاندار, ostāndār). The provinces are divided into counties (shahrestān), and subdivided into districts (bakhsh) and sub-districts (dehestān).

Iran is home to one of the world's oldest continuous major civilizations, with historical and urban settlements dating back to 7000 BC. Iran officially became an Islamic republic on 1 April 1979, following the Iranian Revolution.

The political system of Iran, based on the 1979 Constitution, comprises several intricately connected governing bodies. The highest state authority is the Supreme Leader. Shia Islam is the official religion and Persian is the official language.

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. Its economic infrastructure has been improving steadily over the past two decades but continues to be affected by inflation and unemployment. In the early 21st century the service sector contributed the largest percentage of the GDP, followed by industry (mining and manufacturing) and agriculture. In 2006, about 45% of the government's budget came from oil and natural gas revenues, and 31% came from taxes and fees. Government spending contributed to an average annual inflation rate of 14% in the period 2000–2004. Iran has earned $70 billion in foreign exchange reserves mostly from crude oil exports (80% as of 2007). In 2007, the GDP was estimated at $206 billion ($852 billion at PPP), or $3,160 per capita ($12,300 at PPP). Iran's official annual growth rate was at 6% (2008). Because of these figures and the country’s diversified but small industrial base, the United Nations classifies Iran's economy as semi-developed. Iran is a diverse country consisting of people of many religions and ethnic backgrounds cemented by the Persian culture. The majority of the population speaks the Persian language, which is also the official language of the country, as well as other Iranian languages or dialects. Turkic languages and dialects (most importantly Azeri) are spoken in different areas in Iran. Additionally, Arabic is spoken in the southwestern parts of the country.

The main ethnic groups are Persians (51%), Azeris (24%), Gilaki and Mazandarani (8%), Kurds (7%), Arabs (3%), Baluchi (2%), Lurs (2%), Turkmens (2%), Laks, Qashqai, Armenians, Persian Jews, Georgians, Assyrians, Circassians, Tats, Mandaeans, Gypsies, Brahuis, Hazara, Kazakhs and others (1%).

Iran's population increased dramatically during the latter half of the 20th century, reaching about 72 million by 2008. In recent years, however, Iran's birth rate has dropped significantly. Studies show that Iran's rate of population growth will continue to slow until it stabilizes at just above 90 million by 2050. More than two-thirds of the population is under the age of 30, and the literacy rate is 82%.

Women today compose more than half of the incoming classes for universities around the country and increasingly continue to play pivotal roles in society.

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