IRAN

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What is peace in simple words?

Peace is a stress-free state of security and calmness that comes when there’s no fighting or war, everything coexisting in perfect harmony and freedom. In our war-torn world, it seems like there’s not nearly enough peace. However peace can be big and small, seen in entire countries or brief moments.

Iran | Facts & Information

Infoplease has everything you need to know about Iran. Check out our country profile, full of essential information about Iran’s geography, history, government, economy, population, culture, religion and languages. If that’s not enough, click over to our collection of world maps and flags.

Facts & Figures

  • Chief of State: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (1989)

    President: Hassan Rouhani (2013)

    Land area: 631,659 sq mi (1,635,999 sq km); total area: 636,293 sq mi (1,648,000 sq km)

    Population (2014 est.): 80,840,713 (growth rate: 1.22%); birth rate: 18.23/1000; infant mortality rate: 39/1000; life expectancy: 70.89

    Capital and largest city (2011 est.): Tehran, 7.304 million

    Other large cities: Mashhad 2.713 million; Esfahan 1.781 million; Karaj 1.635 million; Tabriz 1.509 million; Shiraz 1.321 million (2011)

    Monetary unit: Rial

    National name: Jomhuri-ye Eslami-ye Iran

    Languages: Persian (official) 53%, Azeri Turkic and Turkic dialects 18%, Kurdish 10%, Gilaki and Mazandarani 7%, Luri 6%, Balochi 2%, Arabic 2%, other 2%

    Ethnicity/race: Persian 61%, Azeri 16%, Kurd 10%, Arab 2%, Lur 6%, Baloch 2%, Turkmen 2%, other

    Religions: Muslim (official) 99.4% (Shia 90-95%, Sunni 5-10%), other (includes Zoroastrian, Jewish, and Christian) 0.3%, unspecified 0.4% (2011 est.)

    National Holiday: Republic Day, April 1

    Literacy rate: 85% (2008 est.)

    Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2013 est.): $987.1 billion; per capita $12,800. Real growth rate: -1.5%. Inflation: 42.3%. Unemployment: 16%. Arable land: 10.05%. Agriculture: wheat, rice, other grains, sugar beets, fruits, nuts, cotton; dairy products, wool; caviar. Labor force: 27.72 million; note: shortage of skilled labor; agriculture 16.9%, industry 34.4%, services 48.7% (2012 est.). Industries: petroleum, petrochemicals, textiles, cement and other construction materials, food processing (particularly sugar refining and vegetable oil production), metal fabrication, armaments. Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, iron ore, lead, manganese, zinc, sulfur. Exports: $61.22 billion (2013 est.): petroleum 80%, chemical and petrochemical products, fruits and nuts, carpets. Imports: $64.42 billion (2013 est.): industrial raw materials and intermediate goods, capital goods, foodstuffs and other consumer goods, technical services, military supplies. Major trading partners: Japan, China, Italy, South Korea, Turkey, Germany, UAE, India (2012).