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| Iran
General Info |
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Area
1,648,043 square kilometres (636,313 square miles).
Population
66,479,838 people (the official estimate for 2003).
Population
Density
40.3 people per square kilometre.
Capital
Tehran.
Population of Tehran
7,038,000 (the United Nations estimate for 2001, including
suburbs).
Geography
Some key geographical facts:
Iran is situated in the Middle East.
It
is bordered by Turkmenistan and the Caspian Sea to the north.
To the east Iran is bordered by Afghanistan and
Pakistan.
The
south is bordered by the Persian Gulf and the Gulf
of Oman, the west by Iraq and Turkey.
The
centre and east of Iran are largely barren undulating
desert, punctured by qanats (irrigation canals) and green oases.
Mountainous areas are in the west of the country
along the Iraqi and Turkish borders and in the north
where the Elburz Mountains rise steeply from a fertile belt around
the Caspian Sea.
Government
Iran has been Islamic Republic since 1979.
The Head of State is Supreme Leader (Rahbar-e Moazam)
Seyyed Ali Khameni since 1989.
The Head of Government is President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
since June 2005.
Language
The most broadly spoken language is Persian (Farsi). Arabic is spoken in Khuzestan in the south west, and Turkish
in the north west around Tabriz. English, French and (to a lesser
extent) German are spoken by several business people and officials.
Religion
The religion is mainly Islamic, mostly Shi’ite,
with a minority of Sunnis. The 1976 census recorded 30,000 Zoroastrians,
80,000 Jews and 300,000 Christians.
Time Zone
Greenich Mean Time (GMT) + 3.5 (GMT + 4.5 from March 20 to September
21).
Electricity
230 volts AC, 50 Hz. Plugs are of the round 2 pin type. |
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