President: Maxwell Richards Prime minister: Kamla Persad-Bissessar
Supreme Leader: Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
Population
1,226,383
78,868,711
Life Expectancy
71.670 years
70.350 years
Capital City
Port-of-Spain
Tehran
Largest city
Chaguanas (population: 72,159)
Tehran (population: 7,153,310)
Human Development Index
0.833
0.777
GDP per capita
$20,300 US
$13,200 US
Literacy Rate
98.6%
77%
Corruption Perception Index
3.6
2.3
Percentage of Women in Parliament
33.3%
2.8%
Wealthiest Citizens
Unemployment Rate
6.400%
15.300%
Death Penalty
Legal
Legal
Political System
parliamentary democracy
theocratic republic
Independence date
31 August 1962 (from UK)
1 April 1979 (Islamic Republic of Iran proclaimed)
Religions
Roman Catholic 26%, Hindu 22.5%, Anglican 7.8%, Baptist 7.2%, Pentecostal 6.8%, Muslim 5.8%, Seventh Day Adventist 4%, other Christian 5.8%, other 10.8%, unspecified 1.4%, none 1.9% (2000 census)
Muslim 98% (Shia 89%, Sunni 9%), other (includes Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian, and Baha'i) 2%
Languages
English (official), Caribbean Hindustani (a dialect of Hindi), French, Spanish, Chinese
Persian and Persian dialects 58%, Turkic and Turkic dialects 26%, Kurdish 9%, Luri 2%, Balochi 1%, Arabic 1%, Turkish 1%, other 2%
Exports
petroleum and petroleum products, liquefied natural gas (LNG), methanol, ammonia, urea, steel products, beverages, cereal and cereal products, sugar, cocoa, coffee, citrus fruit, vegetables, flowers
petroleum 80%, chemical and petrochemical products, fruits and nuts, carpets
External Debt
$4,483,000,000 $
$17,900,000,000 US
Exchange Rate
Trinidad and Tobago dollars (TTD) per US dollar - 6.3228 (2008 est.), 6.3275 (2007), 6.3107 (2006), 6.2842 (2005), 6.299 (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
0.300%
2.500%
Beijing Olympics Medal Count
2
2
Location
Caribbean, islands between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, northeast of Venezuela
Middle East, bordering the Gulf of Oman, the Persian Gulf, and the Caspian Sea, between Iraq and Pakistan
Area
5,128 km sq
1,648,195 km sq
Coastline
362 km
2,440 km
Climate
tropical; rainy season (June to December)
mostly arid or semiarid, subtropical along Caspian coast
