Iran Travel HD Videos

National name: Jomhuri-ye Eslami-ye Iran

Languages: Persian (official) 53%, Azeri Turkic and Turkic dialects 18%, Kurdish 10%, Gilaki and Mazandarani 7%, Luri 6%, Balochi 2%, Arabic 2%, other 2%

Ethnicity/race: Persian 61%, Azeri 16%, Kurd 10%, Arab 2%, Lur 6%, Baloch 2%, Turkmen 2%, other

Religions: Muslim (official) 99.4% (Shia 90-95%, Sunni 5-10%), other (includes Zoroastrian, Jewish, and Christian) 0.3%, unspecified 0.4% (2011 est.)

National Holiday: Republic Day, April 1

Literacy rate: 85% (2008 est.)

Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2013 est.): $987.1 billion; per capita $12,800. Real growth rate: -1.5%. Inflation:42.3%. Unemployment: 16%. Arable land: 10.05%. Agriculture: wheat, rice, other grains, sugar beets, fruits, nuts, cotton; dairy products, wool; caviar. Labor force: 27.72 million; note: shortage of skilled labor; agriculture 16.9%, industry 34.4%, services 48.7% (2012 est.). Industries: petroleum, petrochemicals, textiles, cement and other construction materials, food processing (particularly sugar refining and vegetable oil production), metal fabrication, armaments. Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, iron ore, lead, manganese, zinc, sulfur. Exports: $61.22 billion (2013 est.): petroleum 80%, chemical and petrochemical products, fruits and nuts, carpets. Imports: $64.42 billion (2013 est.): industrial raw materials and intermediate goods, capital goods, foodstuffs and other consumer goods, technical services, military supplies. Major trading partners: Japan, China, Italy, South Korea, Turkey, Germany, UAE, India (2012).

Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 28.76 million (2012); mobile cellular: 58.16 million (2012).Broadcast media: state-run broadcast media with no private, independent broadcasters; Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), the state-run TV broadcaster, operates 5 nationwide channels, a news channel, about 30 provincial channels, and several international channels; about 20 foreign Persian-language TV stations broadcasting on satellite TV are capable of being seen in Iran; satellite dishes are illegal and, while their use had been tolerated, authorities began confiscating satellite dishes following the unrest stemming from the 2009 presidential election; IRIB operates 8 nationwide radio networks, a number of provincial stations, and an external service; most major international broadcasters transmit to Iran (2009). Internet hosts: 197,804 (2012). Internet users: 8.214 million (2009).

Transportation: Railways: 8,442 km (2010). Roadways: total: 198,866 km; paved: 160,366 km (including 1,948 km of expressways); unpaved: 38,500 km (2010). Waterways: 850 km (on Karun River and Lake Urmia) (2012). Ports and harbors: Assaluyeh, Bushehr. Airports: 319 (2013).