Natural gas - exports:
110 million cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - imports:
4.2 billion cu m (2001 est.)

Natural gas - proved reserves:
24.8 trillion cu m (1 January 2002)

Current account balance:
$3.935 billion (2003)

Exports:
$29.88 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Exports - commodities:
petroleum 80%, chemical and petrochemical products, fruits and
nuts, carpets

Exports - partners:
Japan 21.8%, China 9.7%, Italy 6.3%, Taiwan 5.5%, Turkey 5.4%,
South Korea 5.4% (2003)

Imports:
$25.26 billion f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Imports - commodities:
industrial raw materials and intermediate goods, capital goods,
foodstuffs and other consumer goods, technical services, military
supplies

Imports - partners:
Germany 11%, France 8.6%, China 8.4%, Italy 8.1%, UAE 7.9%, South
Korea 6.5%, Russia 4.8%, Japan 4.1% (2003)

Reserves of foreign exchange & gold:
$25.13 billion (2003)

Debt - external:
$10.96 billion (2003 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
$408 million (2002 est.)

Currency:
Iranian rial (IRR)

Currency code:
IRR

Exchange rates:
rials per US dollar - 8,193.89 (2003), 6,906.96 (2002), 1,753.56
(2001), 1,764.43 (2000), 1,752.93 (1999)
note: Iran has been using a managed floating exchange rate regime
since unifying multiple exchange rates in March 2002.

Fiscal year:
21 March - 20 March

Communications Iran

Telephones - main lines in use:
14,571,100 (2003)

Telephones - mobile cellular:
3,376,500 (2003)

Telephone system:
general assessment: inadequate but currently being modernized and
expanded with the goal of not only improving the efficiency and
increasing the volume of the urban service but also bringing
telephone service to several thousand villages, not presently
connected
domestic: as a result of heavy investing in the telephone system
since 1994, the number of long-distance channels in the microwave
radio relay trunk has grown substantially; many villages have been
brought into the net; the number of main lines in the urban systems
has approximately doubled; and thousands of mobile cellular
subscribers are being served; moreover, the technical level of the
system has been raised by the installation of thousands of digital
switches
international: country code - 98; HF radio and microwave radio relay
to Turkey, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Syria,
Kuwait, Tajikistan, and Uz