Links:
IranVisitor.com
Blogs:
Bazaar Dispatch
Iran News Blog
Iran Travel & Tourism
Tools:
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By: Bijan M. Sadeghi |
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Genral Information: |
Iran, a Middle Eastern country south of the Caspian Sea and north of the Persian Gulf, is three times the size of Arizona. It shares borders with Iraq, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Armenia, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.
The Alburz Mountains in the north rise to 18,603 ft (5,670 m) at Mount Damavand. From northwest to southeast, the country is crossed by a desert 800 mi (1,287 km) long.
Iran has been an Islamic theocracy since the Pahlavi monarchy regime was overthrown on Feb. 11, 1979.
Land area:
631,659 sq mi (1,635,999 sq km) Total
area: Population :
Capital (2003 est.):
Other large
cities:
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Ethnicity/race:
Persian 51% Azerbaijani 24% Gilaki, Mazandarani 8% Kurd 7% Arab 3% Lur 2% Baloch 2% Turkmen 2% Other 1%
Religions:
Languages:
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Communications:
Telephones: main lines in use: 14,571,100 (2003); mobile cellular: 3,376,500 (2003). Radio Stations: AM 72, FM 5, Shortwave 5 (1998). Television Stations: 28 (1997). Internet Hosts: 5,269 (2004). Internet Users: 4.3 million (2003)
Transportation:
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Economics: Monetary unit: Rial GDP/PPP : $552.8 billion (2005). per capita $8,100. Real growth rate: 4.8%. Inflation: 16%. Unemployment: 11.2% (2004 est.). Labor force: 23.68 million; agriculture 30%, industry 25%, services 45% (2001). Agriculture: wheat, rice, other grains, sugar beets, fruits, nuts, cotton; dairy products, wool; caviar. Arable land: 9%.
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Industries: petroleum,petrochemicals textiles,cement and other construction materials, food processing, metal fabrication, armaments. Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, iron ore, lead, manganese, zinc, sulfur. Exports: $55.4 billion f.o.b. (2005) petroleum 80%, chemical and petrochemical products,fruits and nuts, carpets. Imports: $42.5 billion f.o.b. (2005) industrial raw materials and intermediate goods, capital goods, foodstuffs and other consumer goods, technical services, military supplies. Major trading partners: Japan, China, Italy, Turkey South Africa, South Korea, Taiwan, Netherlands, Germany, France, UAE, South Korea, Russia. |