Where is Iran?
About Iran
The Land
The People
Life and Death
Health, Energy and the Environment
Education and Work
Travel, Communication and the Media
Back to the Flags of Asia page
Iran is a vast country in the south west of Asia.
Iran has a border on the Gulf of Oman, the Persian Gulf and the Caspian Sea.
The land is a mixture of mountains and deserts
The geographical coordinates for the centre of Iran, also known as lines of latitude and longtitude, are:-
Latitude - 32 00N
Longitude - 53 00E
Back to the top
Check the weather in Tehran now.
This is the time in Tehran now
The Iranian flag is 3 equal horizontal
stripes of green, at the top, white and red. The national emblem in red is in the centre of the white stripe. The words Allah Akbar in Arabic script is repeated 11 times along
the bottom of the green stripe and also across the top edge of the red stripe. Allah Akbar means God is Great.
The capital of Iran is Tehran.
Iran is a theocratic republic with a supreme leader as head of state and a president as head of the government.
In elections everyone over the age of 18 can vote.
The currency in Iran is the rial.
Persian is the official language.
Hear the National Anthem
These are the anthem words
Iran is a theocratic republic with a supreme leader as head of state and a president as head of the government.
In elections everyone over the age of 18 can vote.
The currency in Iran is the rial.
Persian is the official language.
Hear the National Anthem
These are the anthem words
We have already written our own history of England but are asking schools in Iran to provide us with a detailed history of
their own country. Check how here.
Back to the top
The total land area of Iran is 1,531,5958 sq kms which is the 8th largest in Asia.
Iran has lakes, rivers and canals which total 116,600 sq kms.
Iran has boundaries with 7 countries
- Iraq 1,599 683 kms
- Turkmenistan 1,148 kms
- Pakistan 959 kms
- Afghanistan 921 kms
- Azerbaijan 689 kms
- Turkey 534 kms
- Armenia 44 kms
Iran has a coastline of 2,440 kms which is the 14th longest in Asia.
The highest point in Iran is Kuh-e Damavand at 5,625 metres.
The pie chart below shows how the land is split between agricultural land (crops and pastures), forests and other, which can be towns, villages, desert or frozen waste called tundra.
Back to the top
The total population of Iran is 82.04 million people, making it the 10th largest country in Asia by population.
Of this number 40.51 million are females and 41.53 million are males.
A person from Iran is called an Iranian.
To be a citizen of Iran, your father must be a citizen of Iran. It is not sufficient to be born in Iran. You have to live in Iran for
5 years before you can begin to apply for citizenship.
The largest five cities in Iran, by population are:-
- Tehran 7,153,309 people
- Mashhad 2.307,177
- Isfahan 1,547,164
- Karaj 1,448,075
- Tabriz 1,424,641
For each country we will give you a diagram showing the population density. This is the average number of people for each square kilometre.
Each little Owlbut is 1 person and
the big yellow rectangle is 1 sq km. After a while you can compare countries and see which ones are the most crowded. Remember it is only an average as
more people live closer together in towns and cities than in villages out in the country.
73.4% of the people live in cities or towns.
Each little Owlbut is 1 person and
the big yellow rectangle is 1 sq km. After a while you can compare countries and see which ones are the most crowded. Remember it is only an average as
more people live closer together in towns and cities than in villages out in the country.
73.4% of the people live in cities or towns.
Back to the top
The birth rate in Iran is 17.8 births per 1,000 of population
The death rate in Iran is 5.9 deaths per 1,000 people.
Check this against the birth rate. If the death rate is higher than the birth rate then
the population will decrease unless immigrants arrive in the country.
There are 36.5 deaths of girls under 1 year per 1,000 of births and 37.6 deaths of boys.
The median age for females is 30.5 and for males is 30.0. The median age is that age which divides the population exactly in half so there are the same number
of people above the median age as below it.
We have no figures for the average age of a woman when she has her first child.
The elderly dependency ratio is 7.1. This is the number of elderly people (ages 65+) per 100 people of working age (ages 15-64).
The potential support ratio is 14.2. This is the number of working-age people (ages 15-64) per one elderly person (ages 65+). As a population ages, the potential support ratio tends to fall, meaning there are fewer potential workers to support the elderly.
Back to the top
Iran spends 6.9% of its total income on health care.
There are 0.89 doctors per 1,000 people.
There are 0.1 hospital beds per 1,000 people.
25.8% of the population are estimated as obese.
97.7% of the urban population and 92.1% of the rural population have drinking water that is either piped into their home or they have access to a public tap, a protected borehole, well, spring or
protected rainwater collection facility.
92.8% of the urban population and 82.3% of the rural population have access to a flushing toilet that is connected to a sewer. a pit latrine (that is a
permanent hole in the ground that is looked after) or a composting toilet.
Iran releases 650.4 million metric tons of carbon dioxide by burning fossil fuels in the process of producing and consuming energy. This puts it as the 6th highest in Asia.
Back to the top
Iran spends 2.9% of its total income on education.
Children usually start school at age 6 in Iran. Primary education is for five years until age 11 and secondary education must continue till 14 but can
go on to 17. This may be followed
by further education at a university or college.
Generally the school year consists of 3 terms and starts in the first week of September and finishes at the end of July. There is usually a 2 week
break at Christmas and Easter, and a one week break in the middle of each of the three terms.
80.8% of females and 90.4% of males are able to read and write by the age of 15.
29.2% of all people aged between 16 and 24 are not in work. Among females 44.2% are unemployed while with males 25.4% can't find work.
The total number of people available for work in Iran is 30.50 million.
They work in the following sectors.
- Agriculture includes farming, fishing and forestry work
- Industry includes mining, manufacturing, construction and energy workers
- Services is everything else
Back to the top
There are 140 paved airports in Iran, which is the 6th highest number in Asia.
There are 8,483 kilometres of railways in Iran, the 8th longest in Asia.
There are 160,366 kilometres of roads in Iran, which means Iran is in 9th place for the most kilometres of roads in Asia.
There are 8 major national newspapers in Iran.
There are 80.52 million mobile phone users.
37% of the people have a fixed landline.
36.07 million people have access to the internet at home via any device (computer or mobile).
Back to the top
