1984 Edition

Agriculture

wheat, barley, rice, sugar beets, cotton, dates, raisins, tea, tobacco, sheep, and goats

Area

;%ATAR,/1

1,647,240 km2; 51% desert, waste, or urban; 30% arable (16% cultivable with adequate irrigation; 11.5% cultivated; 14% agricultural); 11% forest; 8% migratory grazing and other

Branches

Ayatollah ol-Ozma Ruhollah Khomeini, the leader of the revolution, provides general guidance for the government, which is divided into executive, unicameral legislature (Islamic Consultative Assembly), and judicial branches

Capital

Tehran

Coastline

3,180 km, including islands, with 676km People

Communists

1,000 to 2,000 est. hardcore; 15,000 to 20,000 est. sympathizers; crackdown in 1983 destroyed the party; trials of captured leaders began in late 1983

Elections

elections to select a president held in November 1981; those to select an Assembly of Experts to name Khomeini's successor held in December 1982; parliamentary elections held in 1980; next parliamentary elections scheduled to be held 15 April 1984 Political parties and leaders: Islamic Republic Party (IRP), Ali Khamenei; Hojjatiya, ostensibly led by Ayatollah Halabi

Electric power

11,127,100 kW capacity (1983); 27.242 billion kWh produced (1983), 688 kWh per capita

Ethnic divisions

63% ethnic Persian, 18% Turkic, 13% other Iranian, 3% Kurdish, 3% Arab and other Semitic, 1% other

Exports

$19.6 billion (est., 1983); 98% petroleum; also carpets, fruits, and nuts

GNP

$66.5 billion (1982), $1,621 per capita

Government leaders

Ayatollah ol-Ozma Ruhollah KHOMEINI, "Guardian Jurisprudent"; Ali KHAMENEI (cleric), President; Mir Hosein MUSAVI-KHAMENEI, Prime Minister; Ali Akbar HASHEMIRAFSANJANI (cleric), Speaker of Islamic Consultative Assembly

Imports

$15.5 billion (est., 1983); machinery, military supplies, foodstuffs, Pharmaceuticals

Labor force

12.0 million, est. (1979); 33% agriculture, 21% manufacturing; shortage of skilled labor substantial Government

Land boundaries

5,318 km (including areas belonging to Iran and now occupied by Iraq during continuing border war) Water

Language

Farsi, Turki, Kurdish, Arabic, English, French

Legal system

the new constitution codifies Islamic principles of government

Limits of territorial waters (claimed)

12 nm (fishing 200 nm)

Literacy

48%

Major industries

crude oil production (2.4 million b/d in 1983) and refining, textiles, cement and other building materials, food processing (particularly sugar refining and vegetable oil production), metal fabricating (steel and copper)

Major trade partners

exports — Japan, FRG, Netherlands, Italy, UK, Spain, France; imports—Japan, FRG, Italy, UK

Member of

Colombo Plan, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAC, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IPU, IRC, ITU, NAM, OIC, OPEC, Regional Cooperation for Development, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WSG, WTO; continued participation in some of these organizations doubtful under the new Islamic constitution Economy

National holiday

Shi'a Islam religious holidays observed nationwide

Official name

Islamic Republic of Iran

Other political or pressure groups

People's Strugglers (Mojahedin), People's Fedayeen, and Kurdish Democratic Party are armed political groups that have been harshly but not completely repressed by the government; other ethnic minorities, local leaders, and Islamic Committees enforce their political views through armed militia

Political subdivisions

23 provinces, subdivided into districts, subdistricts, counties, and villages

Population

43,820,000 (July 19834, average annual growth rate 3.1%; figures do not take into account the impact of the Iran-Iraq war Nationality, noun — Iranian(s); adjective — Iranian

Religion

93% Shi'a Muslim; 5% Sunni Muslim; 2% Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian, and Baha'i

Suffrage

universal over age 15

Type

republic

Voting strength

reliable figures not available; IRP, Hojjatiya, and other supporters of the Islamic Republic dominate the parliament