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Iran
Islamic Republic of Iran · Southern Asia
At a glance
CapitalTehran
Most common first languagePersianmother tongue
Official languagePersian
CurrencyIranian rial
Drives on theright
Highest pointDamavand5,628 m
Biggest category of goods exportedfuel56% of goods exports, 2022
Services share of exports4.6%of everything sold abroad, 2000
Internet domain.ir
Facts about Iran
Iran’s new year falls on the spring equinox, not in January.
Source: Nowruz; UNESCO intangible heritage list · checked 2026-08-08Iran produces the most saffron.
Source: fao.org · checked 2026-08-08Iran by the numbers
Rank is out of the countries with data for that measure. Every figure is the latest year the source publishes.
| Measure | Value | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| PopulationEveryone living in the country, all ages, counted mid-year. | 92.4m (2025) | 17th of 209 |
| GDPThe total value of everything the country produces in a year, at current prices. | $363bn (2025) | 44th of 203 |
| Land areaTotal land area, excluding inland water and offshore territory. | 1.62m km² (2023) | 17th of 209 |
| Military spending, totalWhat the government spends on its armed forces in a year — pay, equipment and operations. | $7.89bn (2024) | 34th of 151 |
| Exports of goods & servicesThe value of everything the country sells abroad in a year, goods and services combined. | $93.4bn (2025) | 50th of 180 |
| Mobile subscriptionsActive mobile phone subscriptions — NOT the same as people. Many people hold two, so a country can have more subscriptions than residents. | 159m (2024) | 11th of 205 |
| Forest areaLand under natural or planted trees, whether or not it is productive. | 108k km² (2023) | 52nd of 203 |
| Agricultural landCropland, land under permanent crops, and permanent pasture. | 471k km² (2023) | 18th of 206 |
| COâ‚‚ emissionsCarbon dioxide released in a year, in millions of tonnes. | 829 Mt (2024) | 6th of 198 |
| Urban populationThe number of people living in urban areas, as each country defines them. | 71.5m (2025) | 12th of 209 |
| Life expectancyHow long a baby born today would live if death rates never changed. | 77.9 years (2024) | 71st of 209 |
| GDP per personEverything the country produces in a year, divided by its population. | $3,924 (2025) | 146th of 205 |
| Internet useThe share of people who have used the internet in the last three months. | 85.3% (2024) | 81st of 191 |
| InflationHow much prices rose over the year, measured on a basket of consumer goods. | 42.2% (2025) | 5th of 182 |
| UnemploymentThe share of people who want a job and are looking for one but do not have one. | 8.3% (2025) | 53rd of 185 |
| Urban shareThe share of the population living in urban areas. | 77.4% (2025) | 64th of 209 |
| Births per womanHow many children a woman would have across her life at current birth rates. | 1.68 (2024) | 128th of 209 |
| Military spending, share of GDPWhat the country spends on its armed forces, as a share of everything it produces. | 2.01% of GDP (2024) | 60th of 155 |
| Trade opennessImports plus exports as a share of GDP. Above 100% is normal for small trading economies. | 60.2% of GDP (2025) | 126th of 183 |
| COâ‚‚ per personCarbon dioxide from fuel and industry, divided by the population. | 8.97 t (2024) | 23rd of 198 |
| Human Development IndexThe UN’s combined measure of health, education and income, on a scale from 0 to 1. | 0.799 (2023) | 75th of 193 |
Land borders
🇦🇫 Afghanistan🇦🇲 Armenia🇦🇿 Azerbaijan🇮🇶 Iraq🇵🇰 Pakistan🇹🇷 Turkey🇹🇲 Turkmenistan
Across the water
Close by sea, with no shared land border.
🇧🇠Bahrain🇰🇼 Kuwait🇴🇲 Oman🇶🇦 Qatar🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia🇦🇪 United Arab Emirates
Iran shares these with other countries
Drives on the right 149Has a coast and land neighbours 115Is a member of opec 13Mainly exports fuel 27Sells almost only goods 34Is in southern asia 9
Iran in the Daily Ceteris
Questions from the daily puzzle where the answer is Iran.
Which country produces the most saffron?
Iran produces around 90% of the world's saffron, making the planet's most expensive spice overwhelmingly a single-country product — and Spain, long famous for saffron, actually imports Iranian saffron to re-export. source
Keep going
Country data from the World Bank (CC BY 4.0) and the UNDP Human Development Report (CC BY 3.0 IGO)
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