Iran

Capital: Tehran Population: 75,149,669 Official Languages: Persian Time Zone: +3:30 Summer +4:30 Dialing Code: +98

Government: Unitary Islamic republic Area: 1,648,195 km2 largest city: Tehran Currency : Rial ISO 3166 code: IR

Basic Info

Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran ‎, Jomhuri-ye Eslāmi-ye Irān), is a country in Western Asia. The name "Iran", which in Persian means "Land of the Aryans", has been in native use since the Sassanian era, in antiquity. It came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia, Both "Persia" and "Iran" are used interchangeably in cultural contexts; however, "Iran" is the name used officially in political contexts.

Geography

Iran is the eighteenth largest country in the world, with an area of 1,648,195 km2 (636,372 sq mi). Its area roughly equals that of the United Kingdom, France, Spain, and Germany combined, or somewhat more than the US state of Alaska. Iran lies between latitudes 24° and 40° N, and longitudes 44° and 64° E. Its borders are with Azerbaijan (611 km/380 mi (with Azerbaijan-Naxcivan exclave (179 km/111 mi )) and Armenia (35 km/22 mi) to the north-west; the Caspian Sea to the north; Turkmenistan (992 km/616 mi) to the north-east; Pakistan (909 km/565 mi) and Afghanistan (936 km/582 mi) to the east; Turkey (499 km/310 mi) and Iraq (1,458 km/906 mi) to the west; and finally the waters of the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman to the south.

Climate

Iran's climate ranges from arid or semiarid, to subtropical along the Caspian coast and the northern forests. On the northern edge of the country (the Caspian coastal plain) temperatures rarely fall below freezing and the area remains humid for the rest of the year. Summer temperatures rarely exceed 29 °C (84.2 °F). Annual precipitation is 680 mm (26.8 in) in the eastern part of the plain and more than 1,700 mm (66.9 in) in the western part.

Religion

Religion in Iran is dominated by the Twelver Shia branch of islam, which is the official state religion and to which about 90% to 95% of Iranians belong. About 4% to 8% of Iranians belong to the Sunni branch of islam, mainly Kurds and Iran's Balochi Sunni. The remaining 2% are non-muslim religious minorities, including Bahá'ís, Mandeans, Hindus, Yezidis, Yarsanis, Zoroastrians, Jews, and Christians. Baha'is suffer from persecution due to their religious affiliation.

Administrative divisions

Iran is divided into thirty one provinces (ostān), each governed by an appointed governor. The provinces are divided into counties (shahrestān), and subdivided into districts (bakhsh) and sub-districts

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