NAVIGATION
|
HOME
• FLAG FINDER
• MAP FINDER
• SOURCES
• ADD YOURSELF TO THE ATLAS! COUNTRIES A-D • COUNTRIES E-K • COUNTRIES L-R • COUNTRIES S-Z |
NAVIGATION
Islamic Republic of Iran
Jomhuri-ye Eslami-ye Iran
former: Persia
GOVERNMENT
|
Country name:
|
conventional long form: Islamic Republic of Iran
conventional short form: Iran local short form: Iran local long form: Jomhuri-ye Eslami-ye Iran former: Persia |
|
Government type:
|
theocratic republic |
|
Capital:
|
Tehran |
|
Administrative divisions:
|
28 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, Khuzestan, Kohkiluyeh 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:
|
the Constitution codifies Islamic principles of government |
|
Suffrage:
|
15 years of age; universal |
|
Executive branch:
|
chief of state: Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Hoseini-KHAMENEI (since 4 June 1989)
elections: leader of the Islamic Revolution appointed for life by the Assembly of Experts; president elected by popular vote for a four-year term; election last held 8 June 2001 (next to be held NA 2005) election results: (Ali) Mohammad KHATAMI-Ardakani reelected president; percent of vote - (Ali) Mohammad KHATAMI-Ardakani 77% cabinet: Council of Ministers selected by the president with legislative approval head of government: President (Ali) Mohammad KHATAMI-Ardakani (since 3 August 1997); First Vice President Dr. Mohammad Reza AREF-YAZDI (since 26 August 2001) |
|
Legislative branch:
|
unicameral Islamic Consultative Assembly or Majles-e-Shura-ye-Eslami (290 seats, note - changed from 270 seats with the 18 February 2000 election; members elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 18 February-NA April 2000 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats by party - reformers 170, conservatives 45, and independents 10, 65 seats up for runoff; note - election on 5 May 2000 (reformers 52, conservatives 10, independents 3) |
|
Judicial branch:
|
Supreme Court |
|
Political parties and leaders:
|
the following organizations appeared to have achieved considerable success at elections to the sixth Majlis in early 2000: Assembly of the Followers of the Imam's Line, Freethinkers' Front, Islamic Iran Participation Front, Moderation and Development Party, Servants of Construction Party, Society of Self-sacrificing Devotees |
|
Political pressure groups and leaders:
|
active student groups include the pro-reform "Organization for Strengthening Unity" and "the Union of Islamic Student Societies'; groups that generally support the Islamic Republic include Ansar-e Hizballah, Mojahedin of the Islamic Revolution, Muslim Students Following the Line of the Imam, and the Islamic Coalition Association; opposition groups include the Liberation Movement of Iran and the Nation of Iran party; armed political groups that have been almost completely repressed by the government include Mojahedin-e Khalq Organization (MEK), People's Fedayeen, Democratic Party of Iranian Kurdistan; the Society for the Defense of Freedom |
|
International organization participation:
|
CCC, CP, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, G-19, G-24, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM, OIC, OPCW, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO |
|
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 |
|
Diplomatic representation from the US:
|
none; note - protecting power in Iran is Switzerland |
|
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
|
Economy - overview:
|
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. President KHATAMI has continued to follow the market reform plans of former President RAFSANJANI and has indicated that he will pursue diversification of Iran's oil-reliant economy although he has made little progress toward that goal. The strong oil market in 1996 helped ease financial pressures on Iran and allowed for Tehran's timely debt service payments. Iran's financial situation tightened in 1997 and deteriorated further in 1998 because of lower oil prices. Subsequent rises in oil prices have afforded Iran fiscal breathing room but do not solve Iran's structural economic problems, including the encouragement of foreign investment and the containment of inflation. |
|
GDP:
|
purchasing power parity - $456 billion (2002 est.) |
|
GDP - real growth rate:
|
5% (2002 est.) |
|
GDP - per capita:
|
purchasing power parity - $7,000 (2001 est.) |
|
GDP - composition by sector:
|
agriculture: 19%
industry: 26% services: 55% (2002 est.) |
|
Population below poverty line:
|
53% (1996 est.) |
|
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
|
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
|
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
|
17.3% (2002 est.) |
|
Labor force:
|
18 million
note: shortage of skilled labor (1998) |
|
Labor force - by occupation:
|
agriculture 30%, industry 25%, services 45% (2001 est.) |
|
Unemployment rate:
|
14% (1999 est.) |
|
Budget:
|
revenues: $24 billion
expenditures: $22 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2001 est.) |
|
Industries:
|
petroleum, petrochemicals, textiles, cement and other construction materials, food processing (particularly sugar refining and vegetable oil production), metal fabricating, armaments |
|
Industrial production growth rate:
|
5.5% excluding oil (2001 est.) |
|
Electricity - production:
|
120.33 billion kWh (2000) |
|
Electricity - production by source:
|
fossil fuel: 94%
hydro: 6% other: 0% (2000) nuclear: 0% |
|
Electricity - consumption:
|
111.907 billion kWh (2000) |
|
Electricity - exports:
|
0 kWh (2000) |
|
Electricity - imports:
|
0 kWh (2000) |
|
Agriculture - products:
|
wheat, rice, other grains, sugar beets, fruits, nuts, cotton; dairy products, wool; caviar |
|
Exports:
|
$24 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
|
Exports - commodities:
|
petroleum 85%, carpets, fruits and nuts, iron and steel, chemicals |
|
Exports - partners:
|
Japan 20.5%, Italy 7%, UAE 5.9%, France 4.7%, China 4.1% (1999) |
|
Imports:
|
$19.6 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.) |
|
Imports - commodities:
|
industrial raw materials and intermediate goods, capital goods, foodstuffs and other consumer goods, technical services, military supplies |
|
Imports - partners:
|
Germany 11%, Italy 8.3%, China 6.1%, Japan 5.3%, UAE 5% (1999) |
|
Debt - external:
|
$8.2 billion (2002 est.) |
|
Economic aid - recipient:
|
$129 million (1995) (2000 est.) |
|
Currency:
|
Iranian rial (IRR) |
|
Currency code:
|
IRR |
|
Exchange rates:
|
from 1997 to 2001, Iran had a multi-exchange-rate system; one of these rates, the official floating exchange rate, by which most essential goods were imported, averaged 1,750 rials per US dollar; in March 2002, the multi-exchange-rate system was converged into one rate at about 7,900 rials per US dollar |
|
Fiscal year:
|
21 March - 20 March |