Persian and Persian dialects 58%, Turkic and Turkic dialects 26%, Kurdish 9%, Luri 2%, Balochi 1%, Arabic 1%, Turkish 1%, other 2%
Ukrainian (official) 67%, Russian 24%, other 9% (includes small Romanian-, Polish-, and Hungarian-speaking minorities)
Exports
petroleum 80%, chemical and petrochemical products, fruits and nuts, carpets
ferrous and nonferrous metals, fuel and petroleum products, chemicals, machinery and transport equipment, food products
External Debt
$17,900,000,000 $
$123,700,000,000 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
hryvnia (UAH) per US dollar - 4.9523 (2008 est.), 5.05 (2007), 5.05 (2006), 5.1247 (2005), 5.3192 (2004)
Military Budget as percentage of GDP
2.500%
1.400%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
2
27
Location
Middle East, bordering the Gulf of Oman, the Persian Gulf, and the Caspian Sea, between Iraq and Pakistan
Eastern Europe, bordering the Black Sea, between Poland, Romania, and Moldova in the west and Russia in the east
Area
1,648,195 km sq
603,550 km sq
Coastline
2,440 km
2,782 km
Climate
mostly arid or semiarid, subtropical along Caspian coast
temperate continental; Mediterranean only on the southern Crimean coast; precipitation disproportionately distributed, highest in west and north, lesser in east and southeast; winters vary from cool along the Black Sea to cold farther inland; summers are warm across the greater part of the country, hot in the south
