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Conventional long form
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Islamic Republic of Iran
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Conventional short form
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Iran
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Local long form
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Jomhuri-ye Eslami-ye Iran
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Administrative division
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31 provinces
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Capital
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Tehran |
| Religion |
Shiite Muslim 90-95%, Sunnite Muslim 5-10%, Christian,
Zoroastrian, Jewish, and other less than 1%.
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Government type
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Islamic Republic |
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Constitution
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2-3 December 1979, revised 1989 to expand powers
of the Presidency and eliminate the Prime Ministry
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| Legal system |
The Constitution codifies Islamic principles of government |
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Head of government
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President Hasan Rouhani (since 3 August, 2013) |
| Cabinet |
Leader of Islamic Revolution is appointed for life by assembly of experts.
Council of ministers selected by the President with legislative approval elections.
President is elected by popular vote for a four-year term
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Name Origin
The name "Iran" comes from the old Persian wordmeaning " The land of Aryans ". Iran has been the name of this country at least since the Sassanid period. However, until 1935, the English-speaking world knew this country as Persia, a legacy of the Greeks who named the region after its most important province, Pars (present-day Fars)
Flag Description
Iran’s flag is composed of three equal horizontal bands of green, white, and red (from top to bottom). Centered in the white band is the red emblem; a stylized representation of the word Allah in the shape of a tulip, a symbol of martyrdom. The words Allah Akbar, meaning "God is Great" are repeated 11 times along each of the inner edged of the green and red bands in white letters in angular Kufic script.
Location
Middle East
Area
Total: 1,648,195 sq. Km
Land: 1,531,595 sq. Km (99.27%)
Water: 116,600 sq. Km (0.73%)
Comparative: the size of the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Italy, and Switzerland all combined; almost 2.5 times the size of Texas.
Land Boundaries
Total: 5,894 km
Coastline: 2,440 km
Climate
mostly arid or semiarid, subtropical along the Caspian coast. Iran is also a four season country
Terrain
rugged, mountainous rim; high, central basin whit deserts and mountains; small, discontinuous plains along both coasts
Elevation Extremes
Lowest point: Caspian Sea - 28 m
Highest point: Damavand Peak, 5,671 m
Natural Resources
petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, iron ore, lead, manganese, zinc, sulfur
Population
-Population: 82,801,633 (July2016 est)
-Population growth rate: 1.18% (2016 est)
-Gender ratio: 0.85 males/ 1 female (2016 est)
Ethnic groups
Persian 51%/other 1%
Azeri 24% Arab 3%
Lor 2% Kurd 7%
Mazandarani and Gilaki8%
Baluch 2% Turkman2%
Languages
Persian and dialects 51%, Turkish and dialects26%, Kurdish 9%, Lori 2%, Baluchi 1%, Arabic 1%, other 3%
Economy
A mixture of state ownership of oil and other large enterprises, village agriculture, and small-scale private trading and service ventures
-Major industries: oil, gas, agriculture and carpets
-Industries: petroleum, petrochemicals, textiles, cement and other construction materials, food processing (particularly sugar refining and vegetable oil production), metal fabricating, armaments
-Agriculture-products: wheat, rice other grains, sugar beets, fruits, nuts, cotton, dairy products, wool, caviar
Exports-commodities: oil and oil products 85%, carpets, fruits and nuts, iron and steel, chemicals
Currency
Iranian rials (IR)