Iran and Burma Comparison - Examine Similarities and Differences

Country
Iran	Burma
Leader
Supreme Leader: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei	President: Thein Sein
Population
79,853,900	55,167,330
Life Expectancy
70.620 years	65.600 years
Capital City
Tehran	Rangoon (Yangon)
Largest city
Tehran (population: 7,153,310)	Rangoon (population: 4,477,640)
Human Development Index
0.777	NA
GDP per capita
$13,100 US	$1,400 US
Literacy Rate
77%	89.9%
Corruption Perception Index
2.3	NA
Percentage of Women in Parliament
2.8%	NA
Wealthiest Citizens

Unemployment Rate
15.500%	5.400%
Death Penalty
Legal	NA

Political System
theocratic republic	military junta
Independence date
1 April 1979 (Islamic Republic of Iran proclaimed)	4 January 1948 (from UK)
Religions
Muslim 98% (Shia 89%, Sunni 9%), other (includes Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian, and Baha'i) 2%	Buddhist 89%, Christian 4% (Baptist 3%, Roman Catholic 1%), Muslim 4%, animist 1%, other 2%
Languages
Persian and Persian dialects 58%, Turkic and Turkic dialects 26%, Kurdish 9%, Luri 2%, Balochi 1%, Arabic 1%, Turkish 1%, other 2%	Burmese, minority ethnic groups have their own languages
Exports
petroleum 80%, chemical and petrochemical products, fruits and nuts, carpets	natural gas, wood products, pulses, beans, fish, rice, clothing, jade and gems
External Debt
$9,452,000,000 $	$5,448,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
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	kyats (MMK) per US dollar - 1,205 (2008 est.), 1,296 (2007), 1,280 (2006), 5.761 (2005), 5.7459 (2004) note: unofficial exchange rates ranged in 2004 from 815 kyat/US dollar to nearly 970 kyat/US dollar, and by yearend 2005, the unofficial exchange rate was 1,075 kyat/US dollar; data shown for 2003-05 are official exchange rates
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
2.500%	4.800%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
2	0
Location
Middle East, bordering the Gulf of Oman, the Persian Gulf, and the Caspian Sea, between Iraq and Pakistan	Southeastern Asia, bordering the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal, between Bangladesh and Thailand
Area
1,648,195 km sq	676,578 km sq
Coastline
2,440 km	1,930 km
Climate
mostly arid or semiarid, subtropical along Caspian coast	tropical monsoon; cloudy, rainy, hot, humid summers (southwest monsoon, June to September); less cloudy, scant rainfall, mild temperatures, lower humidity during winter (northeast monsoon, December to April)

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Iran vs Burma