9: 808,044 (2005 est.)

Military expenditures - dollar figure:
$4.3 billion (2003 est.)

Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
3.3% (2003 est.)

Transnational Issues Iran

Disputes - international:
Iran protests Afghanistan's limiting flow of dammed tributaries to
the Helmand River in periods of drought; Iraq's lack of a maritime
boundary with Iran prompts jurisdiction disputes beyond the mouth of
the Shatt al Arab in the Persian Gulf; Iran and UAE dispute Tunb
Islands and Abu Musa Island, which are occupied by Iran; Iran stands
alone among littoral states in insisting upon a division of the
Caspian Sea into five equal sectors

Refugees and internally displaced persons:
refugees (country of origin): 662,355 (Afghanistan), 54,000 (Iraq)
(2006)

Trafficking in persons:
current situation: Iran is a source, transit, and destination
country for women and girls trafficked for the purposes of sexual
exploitation and involuntary servitude; according to foreign
observers, women and girls are trafficked to Pakistan, Turkey, the
Persian Gulf, and Europe for sexual exploitation, while boys from
Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan are trafficked through Iran en
route to Persian Gulf states where they are ultimately forced to
work as camel jockeys, beggars, or laborers; Afghan women and girls
are trafficked to the country for forced marriages and sexual
exploitation; women and children are also trafficked internally for
the purposes of forced marriage, sexual exploitation, and
involuntary servitude
tier rating: Tier 3 - Iran is downgraded to Tier 3 after persistent,
credible reports of Iranian authorities punishing victims of
trafficking with beatings, imprisonment, and execution

Illicit drugs:
despite substantial interdiction efforts, Iran remains a key
transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin to Europe; domestic
narcotics consumption remains a persistent problem and according to
official Iranian statistics there are at least 2 million drug users
in the country; lacks anti-money-laundering laws

This page was last updated on 8 February, 2007

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@Iraq

Introduction Iraq

Background:
Formerly part of the Ottoman Empire, Iraq was occupied by Britain
during the course of World War I; in 1920, it was declared a League
of Nations mandate under UK admin