Head of state: Queen Elizabeth II, represented by a Governor-General. Prime minister : Peter O'Neill
Population
78,868,711
6,310,129
Life Expectancy
70.350 years
66.460 years
Capital City
Tehran
Port Moresby
Largest city
Tehran (population: 7,153,310)
Port Moresby (population: 283,733)
Human Development Index
0.777
0.516
GDP per capita
$13,200 US
$2,600 US
Literacy Rate
77%
57.3%
Corruption Perception Index
2.3
2
Percentage of Women in Parliament
2.8%
0.9%
Wealthiest Citizens
Unemployment Rate
15.300%
1.900%
Death Penalty
Legal
Abolished in practice
Political System
theocratic republic
constitutional parliamentary democracy
Independence date
1 April 1979 (Islamic Republic of Iran proclaimed)
16 September 1975 (from the Australian-administered UN trusteeship)
Religions
Muslim 98% (Shia 89%, Sunni 9%), other (includes Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian, and Baha'i) 2%
Roman Catholic 27%, Evangelical Lutheran 19.5%, United Church 11.5%, Seventh-Day Adventist 10%, Pentecostal 8.6%, Evangelical Alliance 5.2%, Anglican 3.2%, Baptist 2.5%, other Protestant 8.9%, Bahai 0.3%, indigenous beliefs and other 3.3% (2000 census)
Languages
Persian and Persian dialects 58%, Turkic and Turkic dialects 26%, Kurdish 9%, Luri 2%, Balochi 1%, Arabic 1%, Turkish 1%, other 2%
Melanesian Pidgin serves as the lingua franca, English spoken by 1%-2%, Motu spoken in Papua region note: 820 indigenous languages spoken (over one-tenth of the world's total)
Exports
petroleum 80%, chemical and petrochemical products, fruits and nuts, carpets
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
kina (PGK) per US dollar - 2.6956 (2008 est.), 3.03 (2007), 3.0643 (2006), 3.08 (2005), 3.2225 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
2.500%
1.400%
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
Oceania, group of islands including the eastern half of the island of New Guinea between the Coral Sea and the South Pacific Ocean, east of Indonesia
Area
1,648,195 km sq
462,840 km sq
Coastline
2,440 km
5,152 km
Climate
mostly arid or semiarid, subtropical along Caspian coast
tropical; northwest monsoon (December to March), southeast monsoon (May to October); slight seasonal temperature variation
