Iran 
Facts
Population: 65,397,521 (July 2007 est.).
Age structure: 0-14 years: 23.2% (male 7,783,794/female 7,385,721)
15-64 years: 71.4% (male 23,636,883/female 23,088,934)
65 years and over: 5.4% (male 1,701,727/female 1,800,462) (2007 est.).
Population growth rate: 0.663% (2007 est.).
Birth rate: 16.57 births/1,000 population (2007 est.).
Death rate: 5.65 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.).
Net migration rate: -4.29 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.).
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.054 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.024 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.945 male(s)/female
total population: 1.026 male(s)/female (2007 est.).
Infant mortality rate: total: 38.12 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 38.29 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 37.93 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.).
Life expectancy at birth: total population: 70.56 years
male: 69.12 years
female: 72.07 years (2007 est.).
Total fertility rate: 1.71 children born/woman (2007 est.).
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: less than 0.1% (2001 est.).
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: 31,000 (2001 est.).
HIV/AIDS - deaths: 800 (2003 est.).
Nationality: noun: Iranian(s)
adjective: Iranian.
Ethnic groups: Persian 51%, Azeri 24%, Gilaki and Mazandarani 8%, Kurd 7%, Arab 3%, Lur 2%, Baloch 2%, Turkmen 2%, other 1%.
Religions: Muslim 98% (Shi'a 89%, Sunni 9%), other (includes Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian, and Baha'i) 2%.
Languages: Persian and Persian dialects 58%, Turkic and Turkic dialects 26%, Kurdish 9%, Luri 2%, Balochi 1%, Arabic 1%, Turkish 1%, other 2%.
Literacy: definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 77%
male: 83.5%
female: 70.4% (2002 est.).
GDP (purchasing power parity): $599.2 billion (2006 est.).
GDP - real growth rate: 4.3% (2006 est.).
GDP - per capita (PPP): $8,700 (2006 est.).
GDP - composition by sector: agriculture: 11.2%
industry: 41.7%
services: 47.1% (2006 est.).
Labor force: 24.36 million
note: shortage of skilled labor (2006 est.).
Labor force - by occupation: agriculture: 30%
industry: 25%
services: 45% (2001 est.).
Population below poverty line: 40% (2002 est.).
Household income or consumption by percentage share: lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%.
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 15.8% (2006 est.).
Unemployment rate: 15% according to the Iranian government (2007 est.).
Budget: revenues: $104.6 billion
expenditures: $100.6 billion; including capital expenditures of $7.6 billion (2006 est.).
Agriculture - products: wheat, rice, other grains, sugar beets, fruits, nuts, cotton; dairy products, wool; caviar.
Industries: petroleum, petrochemicals, fertilizers, caustic soda, textiles, cement and other construction materials, food processing (particularly sugar refining and vegetable oil production), ferrous and non-ferrous metal fabrication, armaments.
Industrial production growth rate: 3.2% excluding oil (2006 est.).
Electricity - production: 155.7 billion kWh (2004).
Electricity - consumption: 145.1 billion kWh (2004).
Electricity - exports: 1.837 billion kWh (2004).
Electricity - imports: 2.17 billion kWh (2004).
Exports: $63.18 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.).
Exports - commodities: petroleum 80%, chemical and petrochemical products, fruits and nuts, carpets.
Exports - partners: Japan 16.9%, China 11.2%, Italy 6%, South Korea 5.8%, Turkey 5.7%, Netherlands 4.6%, France 4.4%, South Africa 4.1%, Taiwan 4.1% (2005).
Imports: $45.48 billion f.o.b. (2006 est.).
Imports - commodities: industrial raw materials and intermediate goods, capital goods, foodstuffs and other consumer goods, technical services, military supplies.
Imports - partners: Germany 13.9%, UAE 8.4%, China 8.3%, Italy 7.1%, France 6.3%, South Korea 5.4%, Russia 4.9% (2005).
Debt - external: $14.8 billion (2006 est.).
Economic aid - recipient: $408 million (2002 est.).
Currency (code): Iranian rial (IRR).
Exchange rates: rials per US dollar - 9,227.1 (2006), 8,964 (2005), 8,614 (2004), 8,193.9 (2003), 6,907 (2002)
note: Iran has been using a managed floating exchange rate regime since unifying multiple exchange rates in March 2002.
Fiscal year: 21 March - 20 March.
Statistics: C.I.A. World Factbook. Updated: July 20, 2007.
Press
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Displaying 1 to 7 of 46 items.
Abrar
(Pro-government), Tehran
Aftab
(Reformist monthly), Tehran
Aftab-eh Yazd
(Reformist), Tehran
Aftab-e-Yazd
(Reformist), Tehran
Akhbar-eh Eghtesadi
(Reformist, economic), Tehran
Asr Ma
Tehran
Asr-e-Azadegan
(Independent), Tehran
Iran in the News
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Displaying 37 to 40 of 101 items.
The hardline Ahmedinejad government continues to clamp down on basic freedoms of expression and access to information that were among the hallmarks of the reformist Mohammad Khatami administration.
Taking a confrontational position against Iran with the implicit threat of possible military action will only further exacerbate already inflamed Muslim sentiment against the United States and embolden the hard-line elements with the Iranian polity.
Following an established pattern of suppressing protests with violence, Iranian police beat and detained workers protesting non-payment of wages.
For the second time in six weeks, a noted political prisoner has died after spending time in Iran’s prison system.
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