an

Geographic coordinates:
32 00 N, 53 00 E

Map references:
Middle East

Area:
total: 1.648 million sq km
land: 1.636 million sq km
water: 12,000 sq km

Area - comparative:
slightly larger than Alaska

Land boundaries:
total: 5,440 km
border countries: Afghanistan 936 km, Armenia 35 km,
Azerbaijan-proper 432 km, Azerbaijan-Naxcivan exclave 179 km, Iraq
1,458 km, Pakistan 909 km, Turkey 499 km, Turkmenistan 992 km

Coastline:
2,440 km; note - Iran also borders the Caspian Sea (740 km)

Maritime claims:
territorial sea: 12 nm
continental shelf: natural prolongation
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: bilateral agreements or median lines in the
Persian Gulf

Climate:
mostly arid or semiarid, subtropical along Caspian coast

Terrain:
rugged, mountainous rim; high, central basin with deserts,
mountains; small, discontinuous plains along both coasts

Elevation extremes:
lowest point: Caspian Sea -28 m
highest point: Kuh-e Damavand 5,671 m

Natural resources:
petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, iron ore, lead,
manganese, zinc, sulfur

Land use:
arable land: 8.72%
permanent crops: 1.39%
other: 89.89% (2001)

Irrigated land:
75,620 sq km (1998 est.)

Natural hazards:
periodic droughts, floods; dust storms, sandstorms; earthquakes

Environment - current issues:
air pollution, especially in urban areas, from vehicle emissions,
refinery operations, and industrial effluents; deforestation;
overgrazing; desertification; oil pollution in the Persian Gulf;
wetland losses from drought; soil degradation (salination);
inadequate supplies of potable water; water pollution from raw
sewage and industrial waste; urbanization

Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection,
Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Law of the
Sea, Marine Life Conservation

Geography - note:
strategic location on the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz, which
are vital maritime pathways for crude oil transport

People Iran

Population:
69,018,924 (July 2004 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 28% (male 9,935,527; female 9,411,647)
15-64 years: 67.2% (male 23,608,621; female 22,744,128)
65 years and over: 4.8% (male 1,645,246; female 1,673,755) (2004
est.