Iran officially the Islamic Republic of Iran and formerly known internationally as Persia until 1935, is a country in Central Eurasia, located on the northeastern shore of the Persian Gulf and the southern shore of the Caspian Sea.

Both “Persia” and “Iran” are used interchangeably in cultural context, however Iran is the name used officially in political context. The name Iran is a cognate of Aryan, and means “Land of the Aryans”.
The 18th largest country in the world in terms of area at 1,648,195 km², Iran has a population of over seventy million. It is a country of special geostrategic significance due to its central location in Eurasia. Iran is bordered on the north by Armenia, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan. As Iran is a littoral state of the Caspian Sea, which is an inland sea and condominium, Kazakhstan and Russia are also Iran’s direct neighbors to the north. Iran is bordered on the east by Afghanistan and Pakistan, on the south by the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman, and on the west by Turkey and Iraq. Tehran is the capital, the country’s largest city and the political, cultural, commercial, and industrial center of the nation. Iran is a regional power, and holds an important position in international energy security and world economy as a result of its large reserves of petroleum and natural gas.
Iran is home to one of the world’s oldest continuous major civilizations, with historical and urban settlements dating back to 7000 BC.The first Iranian dynasty formed during the Elamite kingdom in 2800 BC. The Iranian Medes unified Iran into an empire in 625 BC.[2] They were succeeded by three Iranian Empires, the Achaemenids, Parthians and Sassanids, which governed Iran for more than 1000 years. Iranian post-Islamic dynasties and empires expanded the Persian language and culture throughout the Iranian plateau. Early Iranian dynasties which re-asserted Iranian independence included the Tahirids, Saffarids, Samanids and Buyids. The blossoming of Persian literature, philosophy, medicine, astronomy, mathematics and art became major elements of Muslim civilization and started with the Saffarids and Samanids. Iran was once again reunified as an independent state in 1501 by the Safavid dynasty—who promoted Twelver Shi’a Islam as the official religion of their empire, marking one of the most important turning points in the history of Islam.”Persia’s Constitutional Revolution” established the nation’s first parliament in 1906, within a constitutional monarchy. Iran officially became an Islamic republic on 1 April 1979, following the Iranian Revolution.
Iran is a founding member of the UN, NAM, OIC and OPEC. The political system of Iran, based on the 1979 Constitution, comprises several intricately connected governing bodies. The highest state authority is the Supreme Leader. Shia Islam is the official religion and Persian is the official language.
Islamic Republic of Iran
جمهوری اسلامی ايران
Jomhuri-ye Islāmi-ye Irān
 
Capital
(and largest city) Tehran
35°41′N 51°25′E / 35.683°N 51.417°E / 35.683; 51.417
Official languages Persian
Recognised regional languages constitutional recognition of the regional languages such as Azeri, Kurdish, Mazandarani, and Gilaki[1]
Demonym Iranian
Government Islamic Republic
 -  Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
 -  President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
 -  First Vice President Parviz Davoodi
 -  Chairman of the Assembly of Experts and Expediency Discernment Council
Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani
 -  Speaker of the Majlis Ali Larijani
Unification[2]
 -  Median kingdom 625 BC 
 -  Safavid dynasty
(reestablishment) 1501 
 -  Islamic Republic declared 1 April 1979 
Area
 -  Total 1,648,195 km2 (18th)
636,372 sq mi 
 -  Water (%) 0.7
Population
 -  2007 (1385 AP) census 70,472,846³ (17th)
 -  Density 42/km2 (163th)
109/sq mi
GDP (PPP) 2008 estimate
 -  Total $819.799 billion< 
 -  Per capita $11,250[4] 
GDP (nominal) 2008 estimate
 -  Total $344.820 billion 
 -  Per capita $4,732 
Gini (2006) 44.5 (medium) 
HDI (2008) ▲ 0.777 (medium) (84th)
Currency Iranian rial (ريال) (IRR)
Time zone IRST (UTC+3:30)
 -  Summer (DST) Iran Daylight Time (IRDT) (UTC+4:30)
Drives on the right
Internet TLD .ir
Calling code 98
Economy
Communications in Iran, Construction in Iran, Privatization in Iran, Foreign Direct Investment in Iran, Tourism in Iran, and Economic Cooperation Organization
Tehran is the largest city in the Middle East and is the most populated city in Southwest Asia Iran’s economy is a mixture of central planning, state ownership of oil and other large enterprises, village agriculture, and small-scale private trading and service ventures. Its economic infrastructure has been improving steadily over the past two decades but continues to be affected by inflation and unemployment.In the early 21st century the service sector contributed the largest percentage of the GDP, followed by industry (mining and manufacturing) and agriculture. In 2006, about 45% of the government’s budget came from oil and natural gas revenues, and 31% came from taxes and fees. Government spending contributed to an average annual inflation rate of 14% in the period 2000–2004. Iran has earned $70 billion in foreign exchange reserves mostly from crude oil exports (80% as of 2007). In 2007, the GDP was estimated at $206 billion ($852 billion at PPP), or $3,160 per capita ($12,300 at PPP). Iran’s official annual growth rate was at 6% (2008). Because of these figures and the country’s diversified but small industrial base, the United Nations classifies Iran’s economy as semi-developed.
Close to 1.8% of national employment is generated in the tourism sector which is slated to increase to 10% in the next five years.About 1,659,000 foreign tourists visited Iran in 2004; most came from Asian countries, including the republics of Central Asia, while a small share came from the countries of the European Union and North America. Iran currently ranks 89th in tourist income, but is rated among the 10 most touristic countries in the world. Weak advertising, unstable regional conditions, a poor public image in some parts of the world, and absence of efficient planning schemes in the tourism sector have all hindered the growth of tourism.
The administration continues to follow the market reform plans of the previous one and indicated that it will diversify Iran’s oil-reliant economy. Iran has also developed a biotechnology, nanotechnology, and pharmaceuticals industry.The strong oil market since 1996 helped ease financial pressures on Iran and allowed for Tehran’s timely debt service payments. Iranian budget deficits have been a chronic problem, mostly due to large-scale state subsidies, that include foodstuffs and especially gasoline, totaling more than $84 billion in 2008 for the energy sector alone.
The authorities so as the private sector have put in the past 15 years an emphasis on the local production of domestic-consumption oriented goods such as home appliances, cars, agricultural products, pharmaceutical, etc. Today, Iran possesses a good manufacturing industry, despite restrictions imposed by foreign countries. However, nationalized industries such as the bonyads have often been managed badly, making them ineffective and uncompetitive with years. Currently, the government is trying to privatize these industries, and, despite successes, there are still several problems to be overcome, such as the lagging corruption in the public sector (and, therefore, nationalized industries) and lack of competitiveness.
Globally, Iran has leading manufacture industry in the fields of car-manufacture and transportations, construction materials, home appliances, food and agricultural goods, armaments, pharmaceuticals, information technology, power and petrochemicals.
Energy
Iran holds 10% of the world’s proven oil reserves and 15% of its gas. It is OPEC’s second largest exporter and the world’s fourth oil producer.Iran ranks second in the world in natural gas reserves and also second in oil reserves. It is OPEC’s 2nd largest oil exporter. In 2005, Iran spent $4 billion on fuel imports, because of contraband and inefficient domestic use.Oil industry output averaged 4 million barrels per day (640,000 m³/d) in 2005, compared with the peak of six million barrels per day reached in 1974. In the early 2000s, industry infrastructure was increasingly inefficient because of technological lags. Few exploratory wells were drilled in 2005.
In 2004, a large share of Iran’s natural gas reserves were untapped. The addition of new hydroelectric stations and the streamlining of conventional coal and oil-fired stations increased installed capacity to 33,000 megawatts. Of that amount, about 75% was based on natural gas, 18% on oil, and 7% on hydroelectric power. In 2004, Iran opened its first wind-powered and geothermal plants, and the first solar thermal plant is to come online in 2009. Demographic trends and intensified industrialization have caused electric power demand to grow by 8% per year. The government’s goal of 53,000 megawatts of installed capacity by 2010 is to be reached by bringing on line new gas-fired plants and by adding hydroelectric, and nuclear power generating capacity. Iran’s first nuclear power plant at Bushehr is set to go online by mid-2009.
Science and Technology
Ancient Iranians built Qanats and Yakhchal to provide and keep water. The first windmill appeared in Iran in the 9th century. Iranians contributed significantly to the current understanding of astronomy, natural science, medicine, mathematics, and philosophy. Muhammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī is widely hailed as the father of algebra. Ethanol (alcohol) was first identified by Persian alchemists such as Muhammad ibn Zakarīya Rāzi. Throughout the Middle Ages, the natural philosophy and mathematics of the Ancient Greeks and Persians were furthered and preserved within Persia. The Academy of Gundishapur was a renowned centre of learning in the city of Gundeshapur during late antiquity and was the most important medical centre of the ancient world during the sixth and seventh centuries. During this period, Persia became a centre for the manufacture of scientific instruments, retaining its reputation for quality well into the 19th century.
Iran’s first domestically made satellite (Omid) was placed into orbit in presence of President Ahmadinejad in 2009Iran strives to revive the golden age of Persian science. The country has increased its publication output nearly tenfold from 1996 through 2004, and has been ranked first in terms of output growth rate followed by China. Despite the limitations in funds, facilities, and international collaborations, Iranian scientists remain highly productive in several experimental fields as pharmacology, pharmaceutical chemistry, organic chemistry, and polymer chemistry. Iranian scientists are also helping construct the Compact Muon Solenoid, a detector for CERN’s Large Hadron Collider.
In the biomedical sciences, Iran’s Institute of Biochemistry and Biophysics is a UNESCO chair in biology. in late 2006, Iranian scientists successfully cloned a sheep by somatic cell nuclear transfer, at the Rouyan research centre in Tehran.
The Iranian nuclear program was launched in the 1950s. Iran’s current facilities includes several research reactors, a uranium mine, an almost complete commercial nuclear reactor, and uranium processing facilities that include a uranium enrichment plant. The Iranian Space Agency launched its first reconnaissance satellite named Sina-1 in 2006, and a space rocket in 2007, which aimed at improving science and research for university students.
Iran placed its domestically-built satellite, Omid into the orbit on its 30th anniversary of Iranian Revolution, on February 2, 2009, through Safir rocket, becoming the ninth country in the world capable of both producing a satellite and sending it into space from a domestically-made launcher.
Iranian scientists outside of Iran have also made some major contributions to science. In 1960, Ali Javan co-invented the first gas laser and fuzzy set theory was introduced by Lotfi Zadeh.Iranian cardiologist, Tofy Mussivand invented and developed the first artificial cardiac pump, the precursor of the artificial heart. Furthering research and treatment of diabetes, HbA1c was discovered by Samuel Rahbar. Iranian physics is especially strong in string theory, with many papers being published in Iran. Iranian-American string theorist Cumrun Vafa proposed the Vafa-Witten theorem together with Edward Witten.
Sports
Dizin skiing resort, IranWith two thirds of Iran’s population under the age of 25, sports constitutes a highly active portion of Iran’s society, both traditional and modern. Iran hence was the birthplace of sports such as polo,and Varzesh-e Pahlavani. Freestyle wrestling has been traditionally referred to as Iran’s national sport, but today, the most popular sport in Iran is football (soccer), with the national team having reached the World Cup Final Tournament three times, and having won the Asian Cup on three occasions. Iran was the first country in the Middle East to host the Asian Games. It is home to several unique skiing resorts, with the Tochal resort being the world’s fifth-highest ski resort (3,730 m/12,238 ft at its highest station) situated only fifteen minutes away from Tehran. Being a mountainous country, Iran offers enthusiasts abundant challenges for hiking, rock climbing, and mountain climbing. Iranian women are also active in sports.

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