Capital: Tehran
Currency: Iranian Rial (IRR)
Borders: 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
Iran is located in the Middle East. It borders the Oman and Persian
Gulfs to the south, Afghanistan and Pakistan to the east, Iraq and
Turkey to the west and Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and the
Caspian Sea to the north. The total land area measures 1.636 million
sq km with a further 12,000 sq km of water. The total coastline
stretches 2440 km along the southern gulfs and the Caspian Sea. The
terrain is largely comprised of a rugged mountainous rim with a high
central basin encasing many deserts and mountains. A low-lying
discontinuous plain is evident along the coastlines. The highest
area of elevation is Kuh-e Damavand at 5671m. Surprisingly the
lowest area of elevation is the Caspian Sea at -28m. Iran is
situated in a prime position along the Persian Gulf, a key maritime
route for Crude Oil transportation. Iran also possesses some very
valuable natural resources such as petroleum, natural gas, coal,
chromium, copper, iron ore, lead, manganese and zinc.
Originally known as Persia until 1935, Iran became an Islamic
republic in 1979. The ethnic groups that make up the population of
Iran are Persian, Azeri, Gilaki, Mazandarani, Kurd, Arab, Lur,
Baloch and Turkmen. The main languages spoken are both Persian and
Turkic. The capital city and industrial heart of Iran is Tehran. The
national unit of currency is the Iranian Rial.
Iran's economy is represented by oil, industry and agriculture. The
labour force in Iran is approximately 18 million although there is a
considerable shortage of skilled labour. More than 30% of the
workforce is within the agricultural sector, producing wheat, rice,
sugar beet, fruits, nuts and cotton. The caviar industry is fairly
well represented within Iran. Petroleum is by far the biggest
industry. The crude oil pipeline in Iran measures 5900 km. Iran's
largest export partner is Japan. The transport network in Iran is
comprised of 6130km of railways and 140,200 km of highways, 49,440km
of which are paved.
The climate of Iran is arid to semi-arid in the centre and
subtropical along the Caspian coast. Iran is often affected by
droughts, floods, sandstorms and earthquakes. The highest recorded
temperature in Tehran was 43°C. |
