lso borders the Caspian Sea (740 km)

Maritime claims:

territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm
exclusive economic zone: bilateral agreements or median lines in the
Persian Gulf
continental shelf: natural prolongation

Climate:

mostly arid or semiarid, subtropical along Caspian coast

Terrain:

rugged, mountainous rim; high, central basin with deserts,
mountains; small, discontinuous plains along both coasts

Elevation extremes:

lowest point: Caspian Sea -28 m
highest point: Kuh-e Damavand 5,671 m

Natural resources:

petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, iron ore, lead,
manganese, zinc, sulfur

Land use:

arable land: 9.78%
permanent crops: 1.29%
other: 88.93% (2005)

Irrigated land:

76,500 sq km (2003)

Total renewable water resources:

137.5 cu km (1997)

Freshwater withdrawal (domestic/industrial/agricultural):

total: 72.88 cu km/yr (7%/2%/91%)
per capita: 1,048 cu m/yr (2000)

Natural hazards:

periodic droughts, floods; dust storms, sandstorms; earthquakes

Environment - current issues:

air pollution, especially in urban areas, from vehicle emissions,
refinery operations, and industrial effluents; deforestation;
overgrazing; desertification; oil pollution in the Persian Gulf;
wetland losses from drought; soil degradation (salination);
inadequate supplies of potable water; water pollution from raw
sewage and industrial waste; urbanization

Environment - international agreements:

party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto
Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes,
Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification, Law of the
Sea, Marine Life Conservation

Geography - note:

strategic location on the Persian Gulf and Strait of Hormuz, which
are vital maritime pathways for crude oil transport

People
Iran

Population:

65,875,224 (July 2008 est.)

Age structure:

0-14 years: 22.3% (male 7,548,116/female 7,164,921)
15-64 years: 72.3% (male 24,090,976/female 23,522,861)
65 years and over: 5.4% (male 1,713,533/female 1,834,816) (2008 est.)

Median age:

total: 26.4 years
male: 26.2 years
female: 26.7 years (2008 est.)

Population growth rate:

0.792% (2008 est.)

Birth rate:

16.89 births/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Death rate:

5.69 deaths/1,000 population (2008 est.)

Net migrati