1986 Edition

Agriculture

wheat, barley, rice, sugar beets, cotton, dates, raisins, tea, tobacco, sheep, goats; an illegal producer of opium poppy for the international drug trade

based on subsistence farming (fruits, dates, cereals, cattle, camels), fishing

Airfields

165 total, 139 usable; 77 with permanent-surface runways; 14 with runways over 3,659 m, 16 with runways 2,440-3,659 m, 67 with runways 1,2202,439 m Defense Forces

125 total, 1 19 usable; 6 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with runways over 3,659 m, 4 with runways 2,4403,659 m, 58 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Area

1,648,000 km2; smaller than Alaska and Washington combined; 51% desert, waste, or urban; 30% arable (16% cultivable with adequate irrigation; 14% agricultural; 11.5% cultivated); 11% forest; 8% migratory grazing and other

About 212,380 km2; about the size of New Mexico; negligible amount forested; remainder desert, waste, or urban

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

Islamic Ground Forces, Navy, Air Force, and Revolutionary Guard (includes Basij militia), Gendarmerie

executive — Sultan, who appoints 45-member State Consultative Assembly to advise him; legislative — none; judicial — traditional Islamic judges and a nascent civil court system

Budget

(FY85) proposed expenditures of $42 billion; projected deficit of $4 billion — actual deficit likely to be higher

(1984) revenues, $5.1 billion; expenditures, $6. 1 billion

Capital

Tehran

Muscat

Civil air

59 major transport aircraft

26 major transport aircraft, including multinationally owned Gulf Air Fleet

Coastline

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

2,092 km People

Communists

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

Elections

elections to select a president held in August 1985; those to select an Assembly of Experts to name Khomeini's successor held in December 1982; parliamentary elections held in 1984; next presidential election to be held during the summer of 1989; next parliamentary elections to be held in 1988 Political parties and leaders: Islamic Republic Party (IRP), Ali Khamenei

Electric power

1 1,907,600 kW capacity (1985); 41.724 billion kWh produced (1985), 923 kWh per capita

950,900 kW capacity (1985); 2.082 billion kWh produced (1985), 1,695 kWh per capita

Ethnic divisions

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

almost entirely Arab, with small Baluchi, Zanzibar!, and Indian groups

Exports

$16.2 billion (est., 1985); 98% petroleum; also carpets, fruits, nuts

$4.5 billion (f.o.b., 1984), mostly petroleum; nonoil consist mostly of re-exports, processed copper, and some agricultural goods

Fiscal year

21 March-20 March Communications

calendar year Communications

GNP

$80.4 billion (1984)

$7.7 billion (1984), $6,300 per capita (est.)

Government leader

Q ABOOS bin Said, Sultan (since July 1970)

Government leaders

Ayatollah ol-Ozma Ruhollah KHOMEINI, "Guardian Jurisprudent" (since February 1979); Ali KHAMENEI (cleric), President (since October 1981); Mir Hosein MUSAVIKHAMENEI, Prime Minister (since October 1981); Ali Akbar HASHEMI RAFSANJANI (cleric), Speaker of Islamic Consultative Assembly (since July 1980); Ayatollah Hosein Ali MONTAZERI, Designated Successor to Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini (22 November 1985)

Highways

85,000 km total; 36,000 km gravel and crushed stone, 15,000 km improved earth, 19,000 km bitujninous and bituminous-treated surfaces, 15,000 km unimproved earth

16,900 km total; 2,200 km bituminous surface, 14,700 km motorable track

Imports

$16.5 billion (est., 1984); machinery, military supplies, foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals, technical services

$2.7 billion ( c.i.f., 1984), machinery, transportation equipment, manufactured goods, food, livestock, lubricants

Infant mortality rate

100/1,000(1983)

121/1,000(1983) Life expectancy, men 51, women 54

Inland waterways

904 km, excluding the Caspian Sea, 104 km on the Shatt al Arab (closed since September 1980 because of Iran-Iraq conflict); 3 inland coastal ports on Caspian Sea

Labor force

12.0 million, est. (1979); 33% agriculture, 21% manufacturing; shortage of skilled labor; unemployment may be as high as 35% Government

500,000; 50% are non-Omani; est. 60% agriculture Government

Land boundaries

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

1,384 km Water

Language

Farsi, Turki, Kurdish, Arabic, English, French

Arabic (official); English, Baluchi, Urdu, Indian dialects

Legal system

the new constitution codifies Islamic principles of government

based on English common law and Islamic law; no constitution; ultimate appeal to the Sultan; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction

Life expectancy

54 Literacy. 48%

Limits of territorial waters (claimed)

12 nm (fishing 50 nm or median line)

12 nm (200 nm exclusive economic zone)

Literacy

20%

Major industries

crude oil production (2.4 million b/d in 1985) and refining, textiles, cement and other building materials, food processing (particularly sugar refining and vegetable oil production), metal fabricating (steel and copper)

crude petroleum production in 1984, 415,000 b/d

Major trade partners

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

exports — 52% Japan, 30% Europe, 8% US (1983); imports— 21.3% Japan, 16.6% UK, 17.8% UAE, 7.6% US (1984)

Member of

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

Arab League, FAO, G-77, GCC, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IDE— Islamic Development Bank, IFAD, IFC, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, ITU, NAM, OIC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO Economy

Military manpower

males 15-49, 10,789,000; 6,629,000 fit for military service; about 462,000 reach military age (21) annually

Monetary conversion rate

93 rials=US$l (official rate)

.3454 rial=US$l (October 1985)

National holiday

Shi'a Islam religious holidays observed nationwide

National Day, 18-19 November X

Nationality

noun — Omani(s); adjective — Omani

Natural resources

petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, iron, lead, manganese, zinc, barite, sulfur, coal, emeralds, turquoise

oil, copper, asbestos, some marble, limestone, chromium, gypsum

Official name

Islamic Republic of Iran

Sultanate of Oman

Other political or pressure groups

People's Strugglers (Mujahedin), 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

outlawed Popular Front for the Liberation of Oman (PFLO), based in South Yemen

Pipelines

crude oil, 5,900 km; refined products, 3,900 km; natural gas, 3,300 km

crude oil 1,300 km; natural gas 1,030km

Political parties

none

Political subdivisions

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

1 province (Dhofar), 2 governorates (Musandam and Muscat), and numerous districts (wilayats)

Population

46,604,000 (July 1986), 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

1,27 1,000 (July 1986), average annual growth rate 3.4%

Ports

5 major (Abadan [closed], Bandar-e 'Abbas, Bandar-e Khomeynl, Bandar Beheshtl, and Bandar-e Bshehr), 12 minor (Khorramshahr closed)

2 major (Mlna' Qabus, Mma' Raysut), 5 minor

Railroads

4,601 km total; 4,509 km 1.435meter gauge, 92 km 1.676-meter gauge

none

Religion

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

75% Ibadhi Muslim; remainder Sunni Muslim, Shi'a Muslim, some Hindu

Suffrage

universal over age 15 Iran (continued)

Telecommunications

fair system of openwire, radio-relay, and radio communications stations; 23,000 telephones (2.2 per 100 popl.); 3 AM, 3 FM, 11 TV stations; 1 Indian Ocean satellite station, 8 domestic satellite stations, 1 Arab satellite station

Type

theocratic republic

absolute monarchy; independent, with strong residual UK influence

Voting strength

reliable figures not available; supporters of the Islamic Republic dominate the parliament