Location: Middle East, bordering the Gulf of Oman, the Persian Gulf, and the Caspian Sea, between Iraq and Pakistan Area: total: 1.648 million sq km land: 1.636 million sq km water: 12,000 sq km Climate: mostly arid or semiarid, subtropical along Caspian coast Terrain: rugged, mountainous rim; high, central basin with desert Capital: Tehran Administrative divisions: 30 provinces (ostanha, singular - ostan); Ardabil, Azarbayjan-e Gharbi, Azarbayjan-e Sharqi, Bushehr, Chahar Mahall va Bakhtiari, Esfahan, Fars, Gilan, Golestan, Hamadan, Hormozgan, Ilam, Kerman, Kermanshah, Khorasan-e Janubi, Khorasan-e Razavi, Khorasan-e Shemali, Khuzestan, Kohgiluyeh va Buyer Ahmad, Kordestan, Lorestan, Markazi, Mazandaran, Qazvin, Qom, Semnan, Sistan va Baluchestan, Tehran, Yazd, Zanjan Population: 68,017,860 (2005 est.) Ethnic groups: Persian 51%, Azeri 24%, Gilaki and Mazandarani 8%, Kurd 7%, Arab 3%, Lur 2%, Baloch 2%, Turkmen 2%, other 1% Nationality: noun: Iranian(s) adjective: Iranian Languages: Persian and Persian dialects 58%, Turkic and Turkic dialects 26%, Kurdish 9%, Luri 2%, Balochi 1%, Arabic 1%, Turkish 1%, other 2% Religions: Shi'a Muslim 89%,Sunni Muslim 9%, Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian,and Baha'i 2% Literacy: 79.4%

Currency (Code): Iranian rial (IRR) GDP: $551.6 billion (2005 est.) GDP per capita: $8,100 (2005 est.) Exports - commodities: petroleum , chemical and petrochemical products, fruits and nuts, carpets Exports - partners: Japan , China , Italy , South Africa , South Korea , Taiwan, Turkey, Netherlands Imports - commodities: industrial raw materials and intermediate goods, capital goods, oodstuffs and other consumer goods, technical services, military supplies Imports - partners: Germany, France, Italy , China , UAE , South Korea , Russia Agriculture - products: wheat, rice, other grains, sugar beets, fruit, nuts, cotton; dairy products wool; caviar Industries: petroleum, petrochemicals, textiles, cement and other construxtion materials, food processing (particularly sugar refining and vegetable oil production, metal

Government type: theocratic republic Executive branch: � chief of state: Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Hoseini-KHAMENEI (since 4 June 1989) � head of government: President Mahmud AHMADI-NEJAD (since 3 August 2005) First Vice President Dr. Mohammad Reza AREF-Yazdi (since 26 August 2001) � cabinet: Council of Ministers selected by the president with legislative approval � elections: leader of the Islamic Revolution appointed for life by the Assembly of Experts; president elected by popular vote for a four-year term National Holiday: Republic Day, 1 April (1979), Revolution Day, 11 Febuary (1979), Noruz (New Year�s Day), 2 August (1925) and various Islamic observances which change in accordance with the lunar-based heijira calendar ACD Member: ACD Member since 2004 Prime Mover (PM) on Working Group: None Co-Prime Mover on Working Group: None Iran government official web site : www.president.ir Source: The World Fact Book 2005 (www.cia.gov)