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3 definitions found
From The Collaborative International Dictionary of English v.0.48 [gcide]:
Iran \I`ran"\ ([=e]`r[aum]n"), n. [Mod. Persian Ir[=a]n. Cf.
{Aryan}.]
The native name of Persia, the name adopted by the modern
nation of Iran.
[1913 Webster +PJC]
From WordNet (r) 2.0 [wn]:
Iran
n : a theocratic islamic republic in the Middle East in western
Asia; Iran was the core of the ancient empire that was
known as Persia until 1935; rich in oil; involved in
state-sponsored terrorism [syn: {Islamic Republic of Iran},
{Persia}]
From CIA World Factbook 2002 [world02]:
Iran
Introduction Iran
-----------------
Background: Known as Persia until 1935, Iran
became an Islamic republic in 1979
after the ruling shah was forced
into exile. Conservative clerical
forces subsequently crushed
westernizing liberal elements.
Militant 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
over disputed territory. Key current
issues affecting the country include
the pace of accepting outside
modernizing influences and
reconciliation between clerical
control of the regime and popular
government participation and
widespread demands for reform.
Geography Iran
--------------
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: contiguous zone: 24 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM
continental shelf: natural
prolongation
exclusive economic zone: bilateral
agreements or median lines in the
Persian Gulf
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: 10.17%
permanent crops: 1.16%
other: 88.67% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land: 75,620 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards: periodic droughts, floods; dust
storms, sandstorms; earthquakes
along western border and in the
northeast
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 party to: Biodiversity, Climate
agreements: Change, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine
Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone
Layer Protection, 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
People Iran
-----------
Population: 66,622,704 (July 2002 est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 31.6% (male 10,753,218;
female 10,273,015)
15-64 years: 63.7% (male 21,383,542;
female 21,096,307)
65 years and over: 4.7% (male
1,633,016; female 1,483,606) (2002
est.)
Population growth rate: 0.77% (2002 est.)
Birth rate: 17.54 births/1,000 population (2002
est.)
Death rate: 5.39 deaths/1,000 population (2002
est.)
Net migration rate: -4.46 migrant(s)/1,000 population
(2002 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 1.1 male(s)/
female
total population: 1.03 male(s)/
female (2002 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 28.07 deaths/1,000 live births (2002
est.)
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 70.25 years
female: 71.69 years (2002 est.)
male: 68.87 years
Total fertility rate: 2.01 children born/woman (2002 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: less than 0.01% (1999 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/ NA
AIDS:
HIV/AIDS - deaths: NA
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: Shi'a Muslim 89%, Sunni Muslim 10%,
Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian, and
Baha'i 1%
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: 72.1%
male: 78.4%
female: 65.8% (1994 est.)
Government Iran
---------------
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 active student groups include the
leaders: 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 CCC, CP, ECO, ESCAP, FAO, G-19, G-
participation: 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 none; note - protecting power in
US: 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 Iran
------------
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.
The subsequent rise in oil prices in
1999-2000 afforded Iran fiscal
breathing room but does not solve
Iran's structural economic problems,
including the encouragement of
foreign investment.
GDP: purchasing power parity - $426
billion (2001 est.)
GDP - real growth rate: 5% (2001 est.)
GDP - per capita: purchasing power parity - $6,400
(2001 est.)
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 20%
industry: 24%
services: 56% (2001 est.)
Population below poverty line: 53% (1996 est.)
Household income or consumption by lowest 10%: NA%
percentage share: highest 10%: NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 13% (2001 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% (2001 nonoil est.)
Electricity - production: 120.33 billion kWh (2000)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 94.24%
hydro: 5.76%
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: $27.4 billion (f.o.b., 2001 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: $17.2 billion (f.o.b., 2001 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: $7.3 billion (2001 est.)
Economic aid - recipient: $116.5 million (1995)
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
Communications Iran
-------------------
Telephones - main lines in use: 6.313 million (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular: 265,000 (August 1998)
Telephone system: general assessment: inadequate but
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: as a result of heavy
investing in the telephone system
since 1994, the number of long-
distance channels in the microwave
radio relay trunk has grown
substantially; many villages have
been brought into the net; the
number of main lines in the urban
systems has approximately doubled;
and thousands of mobile cellular
subscribers are being served;
moreover, the technical level of the
system has been raised by the
installation of thousands of digital
switches
international: HF radio and
microwave radio relay to Turkey,
Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Afghanistan,
Turkmenistan, Syria, Kuwait,
Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan;
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;
satellite earth stations - 9
Intelsat and 4 Inmarsat; Internet
service available but limited to
electronic mail to promote Iranian
culture
Radio broadcast stations: AM 72, FM 5, shortwave 5 (1998)
Radios: 17 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations: 28 (plus 450 low-power repeaters)
(1997)
Televisions: 4.61 million (1997)
Internet country code: .ir
Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 8 (2000)
Internet users: 250,000 (2001)
Transportation Iran
-------------------
Railways: total: 6,130 km
broad gauge: 94 km 1.676-m gauge
standard gauge: 6,036 km 1.435-
m gauge (187 km electrified)
note: broad-gauge track is employed
at the borders with Azerbaijan and
Turkmenistan which have broad-gauge
rail systems; 41 km of the standard-
gauge, electrified track is in
suburban service at Tehran (2001)
Highways: total: 140,200 km
paved: 49,440 km (including 470 km
of expressways)
unpaved: 90,760 km (1998 est.)
Waterways: 904 km
note: the Shatt al Arab is usually
navigable by maritime traffic for
about 130 km; channel has been
dredged to 3 m and is in use
Pipelines: crude oil 5,900 km; petroleum
products 3,900 km; natural gas 4,550
km
Ports and harbors: Abadan (largely destroyed in
fighting during 1980-88 war), Ahvaz,
Bandar 'Abbas, Bandar-e Anzali,
Bushehr, Bandar-e Emam Khomeyni,
Bandar-e Lengeh, Bandar-e Mahshahr,
Bandar-e Torkaman, Chabahar (Bandar
Beheshti), Jazireh-ye Khark,
Jazireh-ye Lavan, Jazireh-ye Sirri,
Khorramshahr (limited operation
since November 1992), Now Shahr
Merchant marine: total: 147 ships (1,000 GRT or over)
totaling 4,136,971 GRT/7,166,703 DWT
ships by type: bulk 48, cargo 36,
chemical tanker 4, container 10,
liquefied gas 1, multi-functional
large-load carrier 6, petroleum
tanker 30, refrigerated cargo 2,
roll on/roll off 9, short-sea
passenger 1 (2002 est.)
Airports: 322 (2001)
Airports - with paved runways: total: 118
over 3,047 m: 40
2,438 to 3,047 m: 24
914 to 1,523 m: 23
under 914 m: 7 (2001)
1,524 to 2,437 m: 24
Airports - with unpaved runways: total: 204
under 914 m: 63 (2001)
over 3,047 m: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3
914 to 1,523 m: 124
1,524 to 2,437 m: 13
Heliports: 11 (2001)
Military Iran
-------------
Military branches: Islamic Republic of Iran regular
forces (includes Ground Forces,
Navy, Air Force and Air Defense
Command), Iranian Revolutionary
Guards Corps (IRGC) (includes Ground
Forces, Air Force, Navy, Qods
[special operations], and Basij
[Popular Mobilization Army] forces),
Law Enforcement Forces
Military manpower - military age: 21 years of age (2002 est.)
Military manpower - availability: males age 15-49: 18,868,571 (2002
est.)
Military manpower - fit for military males age 15-49: 11,192,731 (2002
service: est.)
Military manpower - reaching males: 823,041 (2002 est.)
military age annually:
Military expenditures - dollar $9.7 billion (FY00)
figure:
Military expenditures - percent of 3.1% (FY00)
GDP:
Transnational Issues Iran
-------------------------
Disputes - international: despite restored diplomatic
relations in 1990, Iran lacks
maritime boundary with Iraq and
disputes land boundary, navigation
channels, and other issues from
eight-year war; UAE seeks United
Arab League and other international
support against Iran's occupation of
Greater Tunb Island (called Tunb al
Kubra in Arabic by UAE and Jazireh-
ye Tonb-e Bozorg in Persian by Iran)
and Lesser Tunb Island (called Tunb
as Sughra in Arabic by UAE and
Jazireh-ye Tonb-e Kuchek in Persian
by Iran) and attempts to occupy
completely a jointly administered
island in the Persian Gulf (called
Abu Musa in Arabic by UAE and
Jazireh-ye Abu Musa in Persian by
Iran); Iran insists on division of
Caspian Sea into five equal sectors
while Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan,
Russia, and Turkmenistan have
generally agreed upon equidistant
seabed boundaries; Iran threatens to
conduct oil exploration in
Azerbaijani-claimed waters, while
interdicting Azerbaijani activities
Illicit drugs: despite substantial interdiction
efforts, Iran remains a key
transshipment point for Southwest
Asian heroin to Europe; domestic
narcotics consumption remains a
persistent problem and Iranian press
reports estimate at least 1.8
million drug users in the country
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