President: Francois Hollande Prime minister: Jean-Marc Ayrault
Supreme Leader: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
Population
65,630,692
78,868,711
Life Expectancy
81.460 years
70.350 years
Capital City
Paris
Tehran
Largest city
Paris (population: 2,138,550)
Tehran (population: 7,153,310)
Human Development Index
0.955
0.777
GDP per capita
$35,600 US
$13,200 US
Literacy Rate
99%
77%
Corruption Perception Index
6.9
2.3
Percentage of Women in Parliament
19.6%
2.8%
Wealthiest Citizens
Bernard Arnault ($16.5bn US)
NA
Unemployment Rate
9.300%
15.300%
Death Penalty
Abolished
Legal
Political System
republic
theocratic republic
Independence date
486 (Frankish tribes unified); 843 (Western Francia established from the division of the Carolingian Empire)
1 April 1979 (Islamic Republic of Iran proclaimed)
Religions
Roman Catholic 83%-88%, Protestant 2%, Jewish 1%, Muslim 5%-10%, unaffiliated 4% overseas departments: Roman Catholic, Protestant, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, pagan
Muslim 98% (Shia 89%, Sunni 9%), other (includes Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian, and Baha'i) 2%
Languages
French 100%, rapidly declining regional dialects and languages (Provencal, Breton, Alsatian, Corsican, Catalan, Basque, Flemish) overseas departments: French, Creole patois
Persian and Persian dialects 58%, Turkic and Turkic dialects 26%, Kurdish 9%, Luri 2%, Balochi 1%, Arabic 1%, Turkish 1%, other 2%
Exports
machinery and transportation equipment, aircraft, plastics, chemicals, pharmaceutical products, iron and steel, beverages
petroleum 80%, chemical and petrochemical products, fruits and nuts, carpets
External Debt
$5,633,000,000,000 $
$17,900,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
euros (EUR) per US dollar - 0.6799 (2008 est.), 0.7345 (2007), 0.7964 (2006), 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004)
Iranian rials (IRR) per US dollar - 9,142.8 (2008 est.), 9,407.5 (2007), 9,227.1 (2006), 8,964 (2005), 8,614 (2004) note: Iran has been using a managed floating exchange rate regime since unifying multiple exchange rates in March 2002
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
2.600%
2.500%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
40
2
Location
Western Europe, bordering the Bay of Biscay and English Channel, between Belgium and Spain, southeast of the UK; bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Italy and Spain
Middle East, bordering the Gulf of Oman, the Persian Gulf, and the Caspian Sea, between Iraq and Pakistan
Area
643,801 km sq
1,648,195 km sq
Coastline
0 km
2,440 km
Climate
mostly arid or semiarid, subtropical along Caspian coast
