Facts and Figures
Full name: Islamic Republic of Iran
Nationality
noun: Iranian(s) adjective: Iranian
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Area total: 1.648 million sq km land: 1.636 million sq km water: 12,000 sq km
Population: 68,017,860 (July 2005 est.)
Ethnic groups
Persian 51%
Azeri 24% Gilaki and Mazandarani 8% Kurd 7% Arab 3% Lur 2% Baloch 2% Turkmen 2% other 1%
Capital: Tehran, population – 6,760,000
Largest Cities
Meshhad – 1,900,000
Esfahan – 1,270,000 Tabriz – 1,200,000
Official Language
Persian and Persian dialects 58%
Turkic and Turkic dialects 26% Kurdish 9% Luri 2% Balochi 1% Arabic 1% Turkish 1% other 2%
Religion
Shi’a Muslim 89%
Sunni Muslim 9% Zoroastrian 2% Jewish 2% Christian 2% Baha’i 2%
Political system: theocratic republic
GDP: purchasing power parity – $516.7 billion (2004 est.)
GDP per head: purchasing power parity – $7,700 (2004 est.)
Annual growth: 6.3% (2004 est.)
GDP – composition by sector
agriculture: 11.2%
industry: 40.9% services: 48.7% (2004 est.)
Inflation: 15.5% (2004 est.)