Political leadership

Supreme Leader Ali Hosseini Khamenei (since 4 June 1989)

President Hassan Rouhani (since 3 August 2013)

First Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri (since 5 August 2013)

Land

total: 1,648,195 sq km

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)

Population

81,824,270 (2015 est.) (country comparison to the world: 17)

Age structure

0-14 years: 23.7% 15-64 years: 71% 65+ 5.3% (2015 est.)

Population growth rate

1.2 % (2015 est.)

Urbanisation

Urban population: 73.4% of total population (2015) rate of urbanisation: 2.07% annual rate of change (2010-2015 est.)

Major cities

Tehran (capital) 8.4 million; Mashhad 3 million; Esfahan 1.8 million; Karaj 1.8 million; Shiraz 1.7 million; Tabriz 1.6 million (2015)

Ethnic groups

Persian 61%, Azeri 16%, Kurd 10%, Lur 6%, Baloch 2%, Arab 2%, Turkmen and Turkic tribes 2 %, other 1%

Religions

Muslim (state religion) 99.4% (Shia 90-95%, Sunni 5-10%), other (incl. Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian, Baha'i) 0.3% (2011 est.)

Languages

Persian (official), Azeri Turkic and Turkic dialects, Kurdish, Gilaki and Mazandarani, Luri , Balochi, Arabic, other 2%

Literacy

(Age 15+ Can Read and Write) total population: 86.8% male: 91.2 % female: 82.5 % (2015 est.)

GDP

$1.382 trillion (2015 est.) $1.37 trillion (2014 est.)

GDP Real growth rate

0.8% (2015 est.) 4.3% (2014 est.)

GDP per capita (PPP)

$17,800 (2015 est.) $17,600 (2014 est.)

Unemployment rate

total 10.5% (2015 est.), youth (15-24) 28.7% (2010 est.)

Population below poverty line

18.7 % (2007 est.)

Public debt

13.2% of GDP (2015 est.) 10.7% of GDP (2014 est.)

Inflation rate

15.3% (2015 est.)