_#_Flag: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), white, and red;
the national emblem (a stylized representation of the word Allah) in red
is
centered
in the white band; Allah Akbar (God is Great) in white Arabic
script is repeated 11 times along the bottom edge of the green band and
11 times along the top edge of the red band
_*_Economy
_#_Overview: Since the 1979 revolution, the banks, petroleum industry,
transportation, utilities, and mining have been nationalized, but the
new five-year plan--the first since the revolution--passed in January
1990, calls for the transfer of many government-controlled enterprises
to the private sector. Disruptions from the bitter war with Iraq,
massive corruption, mismanagement, demographic pressures, and ideological
rigidities have kept economic growth at depressed levels. Oil accounts
for over 90% of export revenues. A combination of war damage and low oil
prices brought a 2% drop in GNP in 1988. GNP probably rose slightly in
1989, considerably short of the 3.2% population growth rate in 1989.
Heating oil and gasoline are rationed. Agriculture has suffered from the
war, land reform, and shortages of equipment and materials. The five-year
plan seeks to reinvigorate the economy by increasing the role of the
private sector, boosting nonoil income, and securing foreign loans. The
plan is overly ambitious but probably will generate some short-term
relief.
_#_GNP: $80.0 billion, per capita $1,400; real growth rate 0.5%
(1990 est.)
_#_Inflation rate (consumer prices): 30-50% (1989 est.)
_#_Unemployment rate: 30% (1989)
_#_Budget: revenues $63 billion; expenditures $80 billion, including
capital expenditures of $23 billion (FY90 est.)
_#_Exports: $12.3 billion (f.o.b., 1989);
commodities--petroleum 90%, carpets, fruits, nuts, hides;
partners--Japan, Turkey, Italy, Netherlands, Spain, France, FRG
_#_Imports: $11.6 billion (c.i.f., 1989);
commodities--machinery, military supplies, metal works, foodstuffs,
pharmaceuticals, technical services, refined oil products;
partners--FRG, Japan, Turkey, UK, Italy
_#_External debt: $4-5 billion (1989)
_#_Industrial production: growth rate NA%
_#_Electricity: 14,579,000 kW capacity; 40,000 million kWh produced,
740 kWh per capita (1989)
_#_Industries: petroleum, petrochemicals, textiles, cement and other
building materials, food processing (particularly sugar refining and
vegetable oil production), metal fabricating (steel and copper)
_#_Agriculture: principal products--wheat, rice, other grains, sugar
beets, fruits, nuts, cotton, dairy products, wool, caviar; not
self-sufficient in food
_#_Illicit drugs: illicit producer of opium poppy for the domestic and
international drug trade
_#_Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-80), $1.0
billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments
(1970-88), $1.6 billion; Communist countries (1970-89), $976 million;
note--aid fell sharply following the 1979 revolution
_#_Currency: Iranian rial (plural--rials); 1 Iranian rial (IR) =
100 dinars; note--domestic figures are generally referred to in terms of
the toman (plural--tomans), which equals 10 rials
_#_Exchange rates: Iranian rials (IR) per US$1--64.941 (January 1991),
68.096 (1990), 72.015 (1989), 68.683 (1988), 71.460 (1987), 78.760
(1986), 91.052 (1985) at the official rate; black market rate 1,400
(January 1991)
_#_Fiscal year: 21 March-20 March
_*_Communications
_#_Railroads: 4,601 km total; 4,509 km 1.432-meter gauge, 92 km
1.676-meter gauge; 730 km under construction from Bafq to Bandar Abbas
_#_Highways: 140,072 km total; 46,866 km gravel and crushed stone;
49,440 km improved earth; 42,566 km bituminous and bituminous-treated
surfaces; 1,200 km (est.) rural road network
_#_Inland waterways: 904 km; the Shatt al Arab is usually navigable by
maritime traffic for about 130 km, but closed since September 1980
because of Iran-Iraq war
_#_Pipelines: crude oil, 5,900 km; refined products, 3,900 km; natural
gas, 3,300 km
_#_Ports: Abadan (largely destroyed in fighting during 1980-88 war),
Bandar Beheshti, Bandar-e Abbas, Bandar-e Bushehr, Bandar-e
Khomeyni, Bandar-e Shahid Rajai, Khorramshahr (largely
destroyed in fighting during 1980-88 war)
_#_Merchant marine: 133 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,634,204
GRT/8,671,769 DWT; includes 36 cargo, 6 roll-on/roll-off cargo, 33
petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) tanker, 4 chemical tanker, 3
refrigerated cargo, 49 bulk, 2 combination bulk
_#_Civil air: 42 major transport aircraft
_#_Airports: 214 total, 186 usable; 80 with permanent-surface runways;
17 with runways over 3,659 m; 16 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 70 with
runways 1,220-2,439 m
_#_Telecommunications: radio relay extends throughout country; system
centered in Tehran; 2,143,000 telephones; stations--62 AM, 30 FM, 250
TV; satellite earth stations--2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT and 1 Indian
Ocean INTELSAT; HF and microwave to Turkey, Pakistan, Syria, Kuwait, and
USSR
_*_Defense Forces
_#_Branches: Islamic Republic of Iran Ground Forces, Navy, Air
Force, Air Defense, and Revolutionary Guard Corps (includes Basij
militia and own ground, air, and naval forces);
a merger of the Komiteh, Police, and Gendarmerie has produced a new
Security Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran
_#_Manpower availability: males 15-49, 12,750,593; 7,588,711 fit for
military service; 576,321 reach military age (21) annually
_#_Defense expenditures: $13 billion, 13.3% of GNP (1991 est.)
_%_
_@_Iraq
_*_Geography
_#_Total area: 434,920 km2; land area: 433,970 km2
_#_Comparative area: slightly more than twice the size of Idaho
_#_Land boundaries: 3,454 km total; Iran 1,458 km, Iraq - Saudi Arabia
Neutral Zone 191 km, Jordan 134 km, Kuwait 240 km, Saudi Arabia 495 km,
Syria 605 km, Turkey 331 km
_#_Coastline: 58 km
_#_Maritime claims:
Continental shelf: not specific;