Iran

Geography

Economics

Demographics

Military

Politics

Surface

Surface (in square kilometers)

Surface (in square miles)

Surface (water)

Water Surface (in square kilometers)

Water Surface (in square miles)

Share of water (%)

Temperature

Average temperature (in Celcius)

Average temperature (in Farenheit)

Average high temperature (in Celcius)

Average high temperature (in Farenheit)

Average low temperature (in Celcius)

Average low temperature (in Farenheit)

Rainfall

Average rainfall (mm)

Average rainfall (inch)

Distance to other capitals (kilometers)

Distance to other capitals (miles)

Proximity

Economic organizations

Gross Domestic Product (US$)

Gross Domestic Product per capita

Amount of memberships (economic organizations)

Absolute earnings for every 1$

Relative earnings

GDP in PPP per capita (in US$)

GDP in PPP per capita

Gross Domestic product (in million US$)

GDP per capita (in US$)

Surface GDP

GDP per square kilometer (in US$)

GDP per square mile(in US$)

Relative GDP in PPP

Population

Population density

Emigration

Immigration

Literacy

Health

Population density (in km2)

Population density (in mi2)

Religion

Christianity (share of the total population)

Islam (share of the total population)

Buddhism (share of the total population)

Hinduism (share of the total population)

Judaism (share of the total population)

Other religions (share of the total population)

Non-religious (share of the total population)

Military spending (in % of GDP)

Military spending

In total, Iran spends just over two percent of its GDP, or more than US$12 billion on its military which makes it the 20th most funded military in the world.

The military of Iran consists of a navy, Air Force and land forces which has the main task to ensure its territorial integrity. There is another branch within the Iranian military which is called the Islamic Revolutionary guard Corps which has its main task is to ensure the Islamic political system.

Military membership

It is a member of five international military organizations which makes it the 72nd most connected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations:

Conference on Disarmament
Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons
Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty
International Atomic Energy Agency
Non-Aligned Movement

Military membership

International wars

Iran has partaken in 14 international wars. These are:

Russo-Persian War 1826–1828
Iran crisis 1945-1946
Vietnam War 1955-1975
Shatt al-Arab clashes 1974-1975
Iran–Iraq War 1980-1988

Number of international wars fought

Military spending (in US$ million)

Membership (international political organizations)

Iran is a member of 12 international political organizations which makes it the 86th most connected state in the world. It is a member of the following organizations:

Member state of the United Nations
International Labour Organization
Asia Cooperation Dialogue
Colombo Plan
Asian–African Legal Consultative Organization
International Centre for the Study of the Preservation and Restoration of Cultural Property
Organization of Islamic Cooperation
UNIDROIT
Interpol
Permanent Court of Arbitration
South Centre (organization)
World Organization for Animal Health

Political Membership

Democracy/dictatorship rating

Despite having elections, most decisions are made by a network of unelected officials. Therefore, it is the 144th most democratic state in the world.

Democracy/Dictatorship

The politics of Iran are characterized by being a presidential democracy with a theocratic supreme leader which is the highest-ranking political official. This theocratic leader is in direct control over the legislative, executive and judicial branch of the government as well as other governmental institutions such as the military.

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Meaning the land of the free Land of the Arians, Iran is home to some of the oldest civilizations in history. Before the first millennium, there were several empires which spans across Iran. The most notable of these were the Assyrian Empire and the Persian Empire and the Empire of Alexander the great. Since the turn of the first millennium, the Persians ruled Iran for more than 200 years which was followed by the Sassanids until the seventh century. Since then, Iran had been conquered by Muslims and has converted to Islam. At the turn of the 16th century, Islam was still present in Iran, but due to the Safavid dynasty, Shiism became the dominant denomination in Islam. Since then, it had ceded its northern territory of the Caucasus to Russia in the 19th century. During the 20th century, and a military coup took place which installed a military ruler as the king of Iran. However, during the second half of the 20th century, struggles between the United Kingdom and Iran for its oil exports have led to a coup that was funded by the United Kingdom and the United States. After regaining oil rights, the king of Iran imposed a shift towards westernization in the social and economic sphere. This has led to resistance by conservative Muslims which overthrew the king in 1979. Since then, Iran has become an Islamic Republic which is ruled by a religious leader. This has led to many struggles between Iran and regional powers as well as Iran and the United States.

The geography of Iran is characterized by large mountain ranges to its north east and west. It also has two large deserts that are located in its center as well as the low-lying plane to its south. It has a desert like geography with the exception of its most northern region which consists of fertile soil and is lightly forested. To its north, it borders Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, to its east it borders Afghanistan and Pakistan, to the south it is located on the Persian Gulf, and to the west it borders Iraq and Turkey.

It is the 17th largest state in the world with a total surface area of 1.6 million square kilometers or 639,544 square miles. This makes Iran slightly smaller than Libya and slightly larger than Mongolia.

It is the seventh state with the highest amount of surface water which is 117,183 square kilometers or 45,225 square miles.

Below, a graph is shown which displays the absolute amount of water of each state in square kilometers and square miles.

70 percent of its water consumption comes from surface water which covers around seven percent of its total landmass. The remaining 30 percent is extracted through the ground by Wells or Springs.

Its climate is dependent on its latitude. Its northern part is subjected to a temperate climate with snowy winters and hot and dry summers. Its southern part does not experience any winter and is hot and humid all year round. On average, Iran experiences a temperature of 17.2 degrees Celsius or 63 degrees Fahrenheit which makes it the 125th warmest state in the world.

Its highest average temperature is between June to August when the average temperature goes up to 22.5 degrees Celsius or 72.5 degrees Fahrenheit.

Its cooler temperature from December to February, is 10.1 degrees Celsius or 50.2 degrees Fahrenheit.

On average, Iran receives 34 centimetres or 13.5 inches of rainfall per year which makes Iran the 173rd state with the highest amount of rainfall. Most of its rainfall falls in its north and west while in its southern and eastern part are considered to be the driest.

The capital of Iran, Tehran is a home to 8.2 million people. The capital that is closest located to Tehran is Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, with a distance of 562 kilometers or 349 miles. The capital that is furthest removed from Tehran is Nuku'alofa of Tonga with a distance of 15,259 kilometers or 9408 two miles.

The Iranian economy is mostly a centralized economy with very limited freedom of private enterprise. Most of its revenue comes from the export of oil which is solely responsible for 80 percent of its GDP. Because of its centralized planning, prices are artificially kept down which hinders further economic development within Iran. Other factors that are at play are international sanctions which limit the economic development of Iran. Most of its goods are exported to China Iraq which combined make up nearly 20 percent of total exports. Most of its imports come from China and the United Arab Emirates which combined represent nearly 40 percent of all imports.

Iran is a member of 14 international economic organizations making it the 64th most connected in the world. It is a member of the following organizations:

Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank
Federation of Euro-Asian Stock Exchanges
International Monetary Fund
Islamic Development Bank
OPEC Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
World Bank Group
World Customs Organization
World Trade Organization
Economic Cooperation Organization
TRACECA Transport Corridor Europe-Caucasus-Asia
International Renewable Energy Agency
Group of 15
Group of 77
Group of 24

Its GDP is around US$528 billion which makes it the 24th highest in the world and represents 0.631 percent of total global GDP.

Its GDP per service area, however, is the 111th highest with US$319,000 per square kilometer or US$826,000 per square mile.

Its GDP per capita is the 89th highest in the world with US$6327.

The absolute earnings (GDP per capita) reflect the average yearly income. The figure below shows how much, on average, an inhabitant of another state earns for every $1 earned by a citizen of this state.

Its purchasing power is the 88th highest in the world with US$14,967.

The relative Gross Domestic Product in Purchasing Power Parity compares the purchasing power of this state with that of the rest of the world. The graph on the left shows how much purchasing power of 1$ compared to the purchasing power of other states

Iran is the 19th most populous state in the world with more than 83 million people. It is also ethnically diverse due to its history with other regional powers. Most Iranians today are a mix between Turkish, Mongol and Arab descent. There is also a significant Kurdish minority residing in Iran. Most Iranians speak Persian Farsi which is its official language. Other smaller minorities speak mainly the language of regional states.

Iran has around 50 people per square kilometer or 130 people per square mile which makes it the 129th most densely populated state in the world.

Emigration from Iran is represented by 1.6 percent of the population, or 1.3 million people. Nearly half of all migrants went to the United States or Canada and consisted of highly educated Iranians that were looking for better economic opportunities or left Iran after its revolution in 1979.

Immigration to Iran has been limited by the Iranian government, but it has accepted refugees from Afghanistan. Nearly 95 percent of the nearly 2.5 million immigrants are from Afghanistan and represent nearly 3 percent of the total population. This makes Iran the 21st state with the highest amount of emigrants nearly representing one percent of total immigration.

With the literacy rate of 86.3 percent, Iran is the 127th most literate state in the world. Its education is provided for free through primary and secondary education, but education is a very limited in rural areas. There is also a gap between men and women which is slowly starting to close as more young girls attend school.

The average life expectancy is 77.4 years which makes it the 73rd highest in the world. Women reach an average age of 78.5 years while men reach an average age of 76.2 years. Compared to 50 years ago, the Iranian healthcare service has made large strides in reducing communicable diseases as well as neonatal deaths. However, traffic incidents are still among the highest risk to the population.

Islam is recognized as the official religion in Iran. This includes all of the Iranian branches. Other religions, which are minority religions are either not recognized or report harassment or intimidation by Iranian officials.

Christianity is represented by 0.9 percent of the population making the around the 186th most Christian state in the world. Iran has had a long history with Christianity due to its proximity to other Christian states. The majority of Christians that reside in Iran are of Armenian descent which left Armenia during the occupation of the Soviet Union. After a war with Iraq as well as the dissolution of the Soviet Union, many Armenians returned to Armenia which has led to a decline in the Christian population.

Islam was introduced in Iran during the seventh century and has become the official religion of Iran. Contrary to other Muslim majority states, the Iranian population has the Shiite branch of Islam as the dominant branch which is represented by nearly 90 percent of all Muslims. With 95.5 percent of Iranians adhering to Islam, it is the 21st most Islamic state in the world.

Buddhism arrived in Iran during the second century where its growth was short lived as Zoroastrianism and later on Islam suppressed the spread of Buddhism which came nearly extinct at the end of the 9th century. Today, around 0.17 percent of the population adheres to Buddhism.

Hinduism is followed by 0.07 percent of the population and is mainly represented by Indian migrants that have settled in Iran during the 19th century.

Judaism has had a long history within Iran. The first Jews fled to Iran after being persecuted by the Assyrian Empire during the eighth century BC. The Jewish community flourished until the sixth century and currently represents 0.04 percent of the Iranian population.

Other religions are represented by 2.7 percent of the population. The most prominent of these are Zoroastrianism and Yarsan which are followed by nearly 1 million people.

Irreligion is practiced by one percent of the population. Despite not being formally recognized by the Iranian state and being punishable by death.

Civil war in Afghanistan 1996-1001
Shebaa Farms conflict 2000-2006
War in Darfur 2003-present
Iran–PJAK conflict 2004-2015
Houthi insurgency in Yemen 2004-2015

Lebanon War 2006-2006
Syrian Civil War 2011-present
Iraqi–Kurdish conflict 2017-2017
Persian Gulf crisis 2019-present