Iran is a vast, ethnically diverse Muslim-majority country rich in resources that has been ruled by a clerical system since the 1979 revolution ousted the monarchy.
Here are five things to know about the Islamic Republic of Iran:
– Ethnically diverse –
More than 85 million people live in Iran, with three-quarters of them in urban areas.
The capital Tehran is home to around 10 million people, while other major cities include Mashhad and Isfahan.
Iran is ethnically diverse. Persians are the majority, but large minorities include Azerbaijanis, Lurs, Kurds, Arabs, Baloch and Turkmen.
Iran is also linguistically diverse.
Persian is the official language and lingua franca of the administration and media and education sectors.
However, Azeri, Luri, Kurdish, Gilaki, Balochi and Arabic are widely spoken.
– Muslim majority –
Iran is overwhelmingly Muslim, with more than 90 percent of its people adhering to Shiite Islam, making it the largest Shiite-majority country in the world.
Sunnis form most of the remaining Muslim population, concentrated in border provinces.
Recognised religious minorities include Christians, Jews and Zoroastrians, while the Bahai community is not officially recognised.
– Oil and gas –
Iran has some of the world’s largest hydrocarbon reserves. It holds around 10 percent of proven global oil reserves and around 15 percent of global natural gas reserves, placing it among the world’s top energy powers.
The oil and gas sector is the main pillar of the economy, accounting for up to 30 percent of GDP directly and indirectly, and a much larger share of export revenue and state income.
Energy exports are central to the OPEC member’s economy, but it also has a diversified industrial base including petrochemicals, steel, cement, automotive manufacturing, mining, agriculture and food processing.
The services sector constitutes a growing share of GDP.
However, sanctions, currency volatility and structural inefficiencies have hampered economic growth in recent years.
– Strategic –
Iran occupies a strategic position linking the Middle East, Central Asia and south Asia.
It is the second-largest country in the Middle East by area and shares land borders with Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Pakistan, Turkey and Turkmenistan.
Iran controls the northern shore of the strategic Strait of Hormuz, a key passageway for global shipments of oil and liquefied natural gas. This makes Iran a central actor in global energy security calculations.
Iran also borders the Caspian Sea, the world’s largest inland body of water, shared with Russia and several Central Asian states.
The Caspian region is important for fisheries, trade routes and offshore energy resources.
Iran’s geographical position has historically made it a crossroads of trade and empire, but more recently many countries have avoided trade routes passing through Iran because of international sanctions.
– Islamic republic –
Following the 1979 revolution that overthrew the last shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Iran became an Islamic republic combining republican institutions with clerical oversight.
Supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei is commander-in-chief of the armed forces and has ultimate authority over the judiciary, state broadcasting, key military bodies and major state policies.
The president is elected by popular vote every four years and heads the executive branch, overseeing the cabinet and day-to-day administration.
Presidential candidates must be approved by the Guardian Council, a powerful unelected body composed of clerics and jurists. The Council also reviews legislation passed by parliament.
The post From oil to religion: Five things to know about Iran appeared first on Vanguard News.
