Iran and Libya Comparison - Examine Similarities and Differences

Country
Iran	Libya
Leader
Supreme Leader: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei	Chairman of the General National Congress: Mohamed Magarief
Population
78,868,711	5,613,380
Life Expectancy
70.350 years	77.830 years
Capital City
Tehran	Tripoli (Tarabulus)
Largest city
Tehran (population: 7,153,310)	Tripoli (population: 1,150,990)
Human Development Index
0.777	0.84
GDP per capita
$13,200 US	$14,100 US
Literacy Rate
77%	82.6%
Corruption Perception Index
2.3	2.6
Percentage of Women in Parliament
2.8%	7.7%
Wealthiest Citizens

Unemployment Rate
15.300%	30.000%
Death Penalty
Legal	Legal

Political System
theocratic republic	Jamahiriya (a state of the masses) in theory, governed by the populace through local councils; in practice, an authoritarian state
Independence date
1 April 1979 (Islamic Republic of Iran proclaimed)	24 December 1951 (from UN trusteeship)
Religions
Muslim 98% (Shia 89%, Sunni 9%), other (includes Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian, and Baha'i) 2%	Sunni Muslim 97%, other 3%
Languages
Persian and Persian dialects 58%, Turkic and Turkic dialects 26%, Kurdish 9%, Luri 2%, Balochi 1%, Arabic 1%, Turkish 1%, other 2%	Arabic, Italian, English, all are widely understood in the major cities
Exports
petroleum 80%, chemical and petrochemical products, fruits and nuts, carpets	crude oil, refined petroleum products, natural gas, chemicals
External Debt
$17,900,000,000 $	$4,774,000,000 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	Libyan dinars (LYD) per US dollar - 1.2112 (2008 est.), 1.2604 (2007), 1.3108 (2006), 1.3084 (2005), 1.305 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
2.500%	3.900%
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	Northern Africa, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Tunisia
Area
1,648,195 km sq	1,759,540 km sq
Coastline
2,440 km	1,770 km
Climate
mostly arid or semiarid, subtropical along Caspian coast	Mediterranean along coast; dry, extreme desert interior

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Iran vs Libya