Chapter 86
Iran's economy is marked by an inefficient state sector, reliance on the oil sector (which provides 85% of government revenues), and statist policies that create major distortions throughout. Most economic activity is controlled by the state. Private sector activity is typically small-scale workshops, farming, and services. President Mahmud AHMADI-NEJAD failed to make any notable progress in fulfilling the goals of the nation's latest five-year plan. A combination of price controls and subsidies, particularly on food and energy, continue to weigh down the economy, and administrative controls, widespread corruption, and other rigidities undermine the potential for private-sector-led growth. As a result of these inefficiencies, significant informal market activity flourishes and shortages are common. High oil prices in recent years have enabled Iran to amass nearly $70 billion in foreign exchange reserves. Yet this increased revenue has not eased economic hardships, which include double-digit unemployment and inflation - inflation climbed to 26% as of June 2008. The economy has seen only moderate growth. Iran's educated population, economic inefficiency and insufficient investment - both foreign and domestic - have prompted an increasing number of Iranians to seek employment overseas, resulting in significant "brain drain."
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$762.9 billion (2007 est.)
GDP (official exchange rate):
$294.1 billion (2007 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
6.2% (2007 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
$11,700 (2007 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 10.7% industry: 42.9% services: 46.5% (2007 est.)
Labor force:
28.7 million note: shortage of skilled labor (2006 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 25% industry: 31% services: 45% (June 2007)
Unemployment rate:
12% according to the Iranian government (2007 est.)
Population below poverty line:
18% (2007 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 2% highest 10%: 33.7% (1998)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
44.5 (2006)
Investment (gross fixed):
27.6% of GDP (2007 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $104 billion expenditures: $101 billion (2008 est.)
Fiscal year:
21 March - 20 March
Public debt:
17.2% of GDP (2007 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
17.1% (2007 est.)
Commercial bank prime lending rate:
12% (31 December 2007)
Stock of money:
$46.13 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of quasi money:
$68.71 billion (31 December 2007)
Stock of domestic credit:
$109.7 billion (31 December 2007)
Agriculture - products:
wheat, rice, other grains, sugar beets, sugar cane, 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:
4.8% excluding oil (2007 est.)
Electricity - production:
189.9 billion kWh (2006 est.)
Electricity - consumption:
149.4 billion kWh (2006 est.)
Electricity - exports:
2.775 billion kWh (2006 est.)
Electricity - imports:
2.54 billion kWh (2006 est.)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 97.1% hydro: 2.9% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001)
Oil - production:
4.033 million bbl/day (2007 est.)
Oil - consumption:
1.679 million bbl/day (2006 est.)
Oil - exports:
2.52 million bbl/day (2006 est.)
Oil - imports:
167,800 bbl/day (2005)
Oil - proved reserves:
138.4 billion bbl based on Iranian claims (1 January 2008 est.)
Natural gas - production:
111.9 billion cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:
111.8 billion cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - exports:
6.2 billion cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - imports:
6.1 billion cu m (2007 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves:
26.85 trillion cu m (1 January 2008 est.)
Current account balance:
$28.95 billion (2007 est.)
Exports:
$88.26 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Exports - commodities:
petroleum 80%, chemical and petrochemical products, fruits and nuts, carpets
Exports - partners:
China 15%, Japan 14.3%, Turkey 7.4%, South Korea 7.3%, Italy 6.4% (2007)
Imports:
$53.88 billion f.o.b. (2007 est.)
Imports - commodities:
industrial raw materials and intermediate goods, capital goods, foodstuffs and other consumer goods, technical services
Imports - partners:
China 14.2%, Germany 9.6%, UAE 9.1%, South Korea 6.3%, Russia 5.7%, Italy 5% (2007)
Economic aid - recipient:
$104 million (2005 est.)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$69.2 billion (2007 est.)
Debt - external:
$20.68 billion (31 December 2007 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
$6.026 billion (2007 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
$903 million (2007 est.)
Market value of publicly traded shares:
$45.2 billion (December 2007)
Currency (code):
Iranian rial (IRR)
Currency code:
IRR
Exchange rates:
Iranian rials (IRR) per US dollar - 9,407.5 (2007), 9,227.1 (2006), 8,964 (2005), 8,614 (2004), 8,193.9 (2003) note: Iran has been using a managed floating exchange rate regime since unifying multiple exchange rates in March 2002
Communications Iran
Telephones - main lines in use:
23.835 million (2007)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
29.77 million (2007)
Telephone system:
general assessment: currently being modernized and expanded with the goal of not only improving the efficiency and increasing the volume of the urban service but also bringing telephone service to several thousand villages, not presently connected domestic: the addition of new fiber cables and modern switching and exchange systems installed by Iran's state-owned telecom company have improved and expanded the main line network greatly; main line availability has more than doubled to nearly 24 million lines since 2000; additionally, mobile service has increased dramatically serving nearly 30 million subscribers in 2007 international: country code - 98; submarine fiber-optic cable to UAE with access to Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG); Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic line runs from Azerbaijan through the northern portion of Iran to Turkmenistan with expansion to Georgia and Azerbaijan; HF radio and microwave radio relay to Turkey, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Syria, Kuwait, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan; satellite earth stations - 13 (9 Intelsat and 4 Inmarsat) (2007)
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 72, FM 5, shortwave 5 (1998)
Radios:
17 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations:
28 (plus 450 repeaters) (1997)
Televisions:
4.61 million (1997)
Internet country code:
.ir
Internet hosts:
2,860 (2008)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
100 (2002)
Internet users:
23 million (2007)
Transportation Iran
Airports:
331 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 129 over 3,047 m: 40 2,438 to 3,047 m: 28 1,524 to 2,437 m: 24 914 to 1,523 m: 32 under 914 m: 5 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 202 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 10 914 to 1,523 m: 145 under 914 m: 46 (2007)
Heliports:
14 (2007)
Pipelines:
condensate 7 km; condensate/gas 397 km; gas 19,161 km; liquid petroleum gas 570 km; oil 8,438 km; refined products 7,936 km (2007)
Railways:
total: 8,367 km broad gauge: 94 km 1.676-m gauge standard gauge: 8,273 km 1.435-m gauge (146 km electrified) (2006)
Roadways:
total: 172,927 km paved: 125,908 km (includes 1,429 km of expressways) unpaved: 47,019 km (2006)
Waterways:
850 km (on Karun River; additional service on Lake Urmia) (2006)
Merchant marine:
total: 74 by type: bulk carrier 18, cargo 34, chemical tanker 4, container 6, liquefied gas 1, passenger/cargo 4, petroleum tanker 2, refrigerated cargo 2, roll on/roll off 3 foreign-owned: 1 (UAE 1) registered in other countries: 115 (Barbados 2, Bolivia 1, Cyprus 10, Hong Kong 15, Malta 79, Panama 7, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 1) (2008)
Ports and terminals:
Assaluyeh, Bandar Abbas, Bandar-e-Eman Khomeyni
Military Iran
Military branches:
Islamic Republic of Iran Regular Forces (Artesh): Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force of the Military of the Islamic Republic of Iran (Niru-ye Hava'i-ye Artesh-e Jomhuri-ye Eslami-ye Iran; includes air defense); Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (Sepah-e Pasdaran-e Enqelab-e Eslami, IRGC): Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force, Qods Force (special operations), and Basij Force (Popular Mobilization Army); Law Enforcement Forces (2008)
Military service age and obligation:
19 years of age for compulsory military service; 16 years of age for volunteers; 17 years of age for Law Enforcement Forces; 15 years of age for Basij Forces (Popular Mobilization Army); conscript military service obligation - 18 months; women exempt from military service (2008)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 16-49: 20,212,275 females age 16-49: 19,638,751 (2008 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16-49: 17,416,126 females age 16-49: 16,928,226 (2008 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
male: 766,668 female: 727,654 (2008 est.)
Military expenditures:
2.5% of GDP (2006)
Transnational Issues Iran
Disputes - international:
Iran protests Afghanistan's limiting flow of dammed tributaries to the Helmand River in periods of drought; Iraq's lack of a maritime boundary with Iran prompts jurisdiction disputes beyond the mouth of the Shatt al Arab in the Persian Gulf; Iran and UAE dispute Tunb Islands and Abu Musa Island, which are occupied by Iran; Iran stands alone among littoral states in insisting upon a division of the Caspian Sea into five equal sectors
Refugees and internally displaced persons:
refugees (country of origin): 914,268 (Afghanistan); 54,024 (Iraq) (2007)
Trafficking in persons:
current situation: Iran is a source, transit, and destination country for women trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation and involuntary servitude; Iranian women are trafficked internally for the purpose of forced prostitution and for forced marriages to settle debts; Iranian children are trafficked internally and Afghan children are trafficked into Iran for the purpose of forced marriages, commercial sexual exploitation, and involuntary servitude as beggars or laborers tier rating: Tier 3 - Iran did not provide evidence of law enforcement activities against trafficking, and credible reports indicate that Iranian authorities punish victims of trafficking with beatings, imprisonment, and execution; Iran has not ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol (2008)
Illicit drugs:
despite substantial interdiction efforts and considerable control measures along the border with Afghanistan, Iran remains one of the primary transshipment routes for Southwest Asian heroin to Europe; suffers one of the highest opiate addiction rates in the world, and has an increasing problem with synthetic drugs; lacks anti-money laundering laws; has reached out to neighboring countries to share counter-drug intelligence
This page was last updated on 18 December, 2008
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@Iraq
Introduction Iraq
Background:
Formerly part of the Ottoman Empire, Iraq was occupied by Britain during the course of World War I; in 1920, it was declared a League of Nations mandate under UK administration. In stages over the next dozen years, Iraq attained its independence as a kingdom in 1932. A "republic" was proclaimed in 1958, but in actuality a series of military strongmen ruled the country until 2003. The last was SADDAM Husayn. Territorial disputes with Iran led to an inconclusive and costly eight-year war (1980-88). In August 1990, Iraq seized Kuwait but was expelled by US-led, UN coalition forces during the Gulf War of January-February 1991. Following Kuwait's liberation, the UN Security Council (UNSC) required Iraq to scrap all weapons of mass destruction and long-range missiles and to allow UN verification inspections. Continued Iraqi noncompliance with UNSC resolutions over a period of 12 years led to the US-led invasion of Iraq in March 2003 and the ouster of the SADDAM Husayn regime. Coalition forces remain in Iraq under a UNSC mandate, helping to provide security and to support the freely elected government. The Coalition Provisional Authority, which temporarily administered Iraq after the invasion, transferred full governmental authority on 28 June 2004 to the Iraqi Interim Government, which governed under the Transitional Administrative Law for Iraq (TAL). Under the TAL, elections for a 275-member Transitional National Assembly (TNA) were held in Iraq on 30 January 2005. Following these elections, the Iraqi Transitional Government (ITG) assumed office. The TNA was charged with drafting Iraq's permanent constitution, which was approved in a 15 October 2005 constitutional referendum. An election under the constitution for a 275-member Council of Representatives (CoR) was held on 15 December 2005. The CoR approval in the selection of most of the cabinet ministers on 20 May 2006 marked the transition from the ITG to Iraq's first constitutional government in nearly a half-century.
Geography Iraq
Location:
Middle East, bordering the Persian Gulf, between Iran and Kuwait
Geographic coordinates:
33 00 N, 44 00 E
Map references:
Middle East
Area:
total: 437,072 sq km land: 432,162 sq km water: 4,910 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly more than twice the size of Idaho
Land boundaries:
total: 3,650 km border countries: Iran 1,458 km, Jordan 181 km, Kuwait 240 km, Saudi Arabia 814 km, Syria 605 km, Turkey 352 km
Coastline:
58 km
Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm continental shelf: not specified
Climate:
mostly desert; mild to cool winters with dry, hot, cloudless summers; northern mountainous regions along Iranian and Turkish borders experience cold winters with occasionally heavy snows that melt in early spring, sometimes causing extensive flooding in central and southern Iraq
Terrain:
mostly broad plains; reedy marshes along Iranian border in south with large flooded areas; mountains along borders with Iran and Turkey
Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Persian Gulf 0 m highest point: unnamed peak; 3,611 m; note - this peak is neither Gundah Zhur 3,607 m nor Kuh-e Hajji-Ebrahim 3,595 m
Natural resources:
petroleum, natural gas, phosphates, sulfur
Land use:
arable land: 13.12% permanent crops: 0.61% other: 86.27% (2005)
Irrigated land:
35,250 sq km (2003)
Total renewable water resources:
96.4 cu km (1997)
Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):
total: 42.7 cu km/yr (3%/5%/92%) per capita: 1,482 cu m/yr (2000)
Natural hazards:
dust storms, sandstorms, floods
Environment - current issues:
government water control projects have drained most of the inhabited marsh areas east of An Nasiriyah by drying up or diverting the feeder streams and rivers; a once sizable population of Marsh Arabs, who inhabited these areas for thousands of years, has been displaced; furthermore, the destruction of the natural habitat poses serious threats to the area's wildlife populations; inadequate supplies of potable water; development of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers system contingent upon agreements with upstream riparian Turkey; air and water pollution; soil degradation (salination) and erosion; desertification
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Law of the Sea signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification
Geography - note:
strategic location on Shatt al Arab waterway and at the head of the Persian Gulf
People Iraq
Population:
28,221,180 (July 2008 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 39.2% (male 5,613,420/female 5,438,770) 15-64 years: 57.9% (male 8,270,573/female 8,057,423) 65 years and over: 3% (male 396,751/female 444,244) (2008 est.)
Median age:
total: 20.2 years male: 20.1 years female: 20.2 years (2008 est.)
Population growth rate:
2.562% (2008 est.)
Birth rate:
30.77 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Death rate:
5.14 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)
Net migration rate:
NA (2008 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2008 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 45.43 deaths/1,000 live births male: 51.06 deaths/1,000 live births female: 39.53 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 69.62 years male: 68.32 years female: 70.99 years (2008 est.)
Total fertility rate:
3.97 children born/woman (2008 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
less than 0.1% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
fewer than 500 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
NA
Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk: intermediate food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever note: highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has been identified in this country; it poses a negligible risk with extremely rare cases possible among US citizens who have close contact with birds (2008)
Nationality:
noun: Iraqi(s) adjective: Iraqi
Ethnic groups:
Arab 75%-80%, Kurdish 15%-20%, Turkoman, Assyrian, or other 5%
Religions:
Muslim 97% (Shia 60%-65%, Sunni 32%-37%), Christian or other 3%
Languages:
Arabic, Kurdish (official in Kurdish regions), Turkoman (a Turkish dialect), Assyrian (Neo-Aramaic), Armenian
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 74.1% male: 84.1% female: 64.2% (2000 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 10 years male: 11 years female: 8 years (2005)
Education expenditures:
NA
Government Iraq
Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Iraq conventional short form: Iraq local long form: Al Jumhuriyah al-Iraqiyah local short form: Al Iraq
Government type:
parliamentary democracy
Capital:
name: Baghdad geographic coordinates: 33 20 N, 44 23 E time difference: UTC+3 (8 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins 1 April; ends 1 October
Administrative divisions:
18 governorates (muhafazat, singular - muhafazah) and 1 region*; Al Anbar, Al Basrah, Al Muthanna, Al Qadisiyah, An Najaf, Arbil, As Sulaymaniyah, At Ta'mim, Babil, Baghdad, Dahuk, Dhi Qar, Diyala, Karbala', Kurdistan Regional Government*, Maysan, Ninawa, Salah ad Din, Wasit
Independence:
3 October 1932 (from League of Nations mandate under British administration); note - on 28 June 2004 the Coalition Provisional Authority transferred sovereignty to the Iraqi-controlled Government
National holiday:
Revolution Day, 17 July (1968); note - this holiday was celebrated under the SADDAM Husayn regime; the Government of Iraq has yet to declare a new national holiday
Constitution:
ratified on 15 October 2005 (subject to review by the Constitutional Review Committee and a possible public referendum )
Legal system:
based on European civil and Islamic law under the framework outlined in the Iraqi Constitution; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Jalal TALABANI (since 6 April 2005); Vice Presidents Adil ABD AL-MAHDI and Tariq al-HASHIMI (since 22 April 2006); note - the president and vice presidents comprise the Presidency Council) head of government: Prime Minister Nuri al-MALIKI (since 20 May 2006); Deputy Prime Ministers Barham SALIH (since 20 May 2006)and Rafi al-ISSAWI (since 19 July 2008) cabinet: 34 ministers appointed by the Presidency Council, plus Prime Minister Nuri al-MALIKI and Deputy Prime Ministers Barham SALIH and Rafi al-ISSAWI elections: held 15 December 2005 to elect a 275-member Council of Representatives
Legislative branch:
Council of Representatives (consisting of 275 members elected by a closed-list, proportional representation system) elections: last held 15 December 2005 to elect a 275-member Council of Representatives (next to be held January 2009); the Council of Representatives elected the Presidency Council and approved the prime minister and two deputy prime ministers election results: Council of Representatives - percent of vote by party - Unified Iraqi Alliance 41%, Kurdistan Alliance 22%, Tawafuq Coalition 15%, Iraqi National List 8%, Iraqi Front for National Dialogue 4%, other 10%; number of seats by party (as of November 2007) - Unified Iraqi Alliance (including the Sadrist bloc with 30 and Fadilah with 15) 130, Kurdistan Alliance 53, Tawafuq Front 44, Iraqi National List 25, Fadilah 15, Iraqi Front for National Dialogue 11, other 12
Judicial branch:
the Iraq Constitution calls for the federal judicial power to be comprised of the Higher Juridical Council, Federal Supreme Court, Federal Court of Cassation, Public Prosecution Department, Judiciary Oversight Commission and other federal courts that are regulated in accordance with the law
Political parties and leaders:
Assyrian Democratic Movement [Yunadim KANNA]; Badr Organization [Hadi al-AMIRI]; Constitutional Monarchy Movement or CMM [Sharif Ali Bin al-HUSAYN]; Da'wa al-Islamiya Party [Ibrahim al-JA'FARI]; General Conference of Iraqi People [Adnan al-DULAYMI]; Independent Iraqi Alliance or IIA [Falah al-NAQIB]; Iraqi Communist Party [Hamid MAJEED]; Iraqi Front for National Dialogue [Salih al-MUTLAQ]; Iraqi Hizballah [Karim Mahmud al-MUHAMMADAWI]; Iraqi Independent Democrats or IID [Adnan PACHACHI, Mahdi al-HAFIZ]; Iraqi Islamic Party or IIP [Tariq al-HASHIMI]; Iraqi National Accord or INA [Ayad ALLAWI]; Iraqi National Congress or INC [Ahmad CHALABI]; Iraqi National Council for Dialogue or INCD [Khalaf Ulayan al-Khalifawi al-DULAYMI]; Iraqi National Unity Movement or INUM [Ahmad al-KUBAYSI]; Islamic Action Organization or IAO [Ayatollah Muhammad al-MUDARRISI]; Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq or ISCI [Abd al-Aziz al-HAKIM]; Jama'at al Fadilah or JAF [Muhammad Ali al-YAQUBI]; Kurdistan Democratic Party or KDP [Masud BARZANI]; Kurdistan Islamic Union [Salah ad-Din Muhammad BAHA al-DIN]; National Reconciliation and Liberation Party [Mishan al-JABBURI]; Patriotic Union of Kurdistan or PUK [Jalal TALABANI]; Sadrist Trend [Muqtada al-SADR] (not an organized political party, but it fields independent candidates affiliated with Muqtada al-SADR); Sahawa al-Iraq [Ahmed al-RISHAWI] note: the Kurdistan Alliance, Iraqi National List, Tawafuq Front, Iraqi Front for National Dialogue, and Unified Iraqi Alliance were only electoral slates consisting of the representatives from the various Iraqi political parties
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Sunni militias; Shia militias, some associated with political parties
International organization participation:
ABEDA, AFESD (suspended), AMF, CAEU, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, ISO, ITSO, ITU, LAS, MIGA, NAM, OAPEC, OIC, OPEC, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO (observer)
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Samir Shakir al-SUMAYDI chancery: 3421 Massachusetts Ave, NW, Washington, DC 20007 telephone: [1] (202) 742-1600 FAX: [1] (202) 333-1129
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Ryan C. CROCKER embassy: Baghdad mailing address: APO AE 09316 telephone: 1-240-553-0589 ext. 5340 or 5635; note - Consular Section FAX: NA
Flag description: