Iran, a Middle Eastern country south of the Caspian Sea and north of the Persian Gulf, is three times the size of Arizona. It shares borders with Iraq, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Armenia, Afghanistan, and Pakistan.
The Elburz Mountains in the north rise to 18,603 ft (5,670 m) at Mount Damavend. From northwest to southeast, the country is crossed by a desert 800 mi (1,287 km) long.
Country lead by Chief of State: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (1989)
President: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (2005)
Population
68,688,433 (growth rate: 1.1%); birth rate: 17.0/1000; infant mortality rate: 40.3/1000; life expectancy: 70.3; density per sq mi: 109
Land Area
631,659 sq mi (1,635,999 sq km); total area: 636,296 sq mi (1,648,000 sq km)
Monetary unit
Rial Language
Persian and Persian dialects 58%, Turkic and Turkic dialects 26%, Kurdish 9%, Luri 2%, Balochi 1%, Arabic 1%, Turkish 1%, other 2%
Ethnicity Persian 51%, Azerbaijani 24%, Gilaki and Mazandarani 8%, Kurd 7%, Arab 3%, Lur 2%, Baloch 2%, Turkmen 2%, other 1%
Religion Islam 98% (Shi'a 89%, Sunni 9%); Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian, and Baha'i 2%
Transportation Railways: 7,203 km (2004). Highways: total: 167,157 km; paved: 94,109 km (including 890 km of expressways); unpaved: 73,048 km (1998). Waterways: 850 km (on Karun River and Lake Urmia) (2004). Ports and harbors: Assaluyeh, Bushehr. Airports: 305 (2004 est.).
