Land use: arable land: 10.17% permanent crops: 1.16% other: 88.67% (1998 est.)
Irrigated land:
75,620 sq km (1998 est.)
Natural hazards:
periodic droughts, floods; dust storms, sandstorms; earthquakes
along western border and in the northeast
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, Desertification, Endangered
Species, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Dumping, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone
Layer Protection, 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:
68,278,826 (July 2003 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 29.3% (male 10,279,588; female 9,727,668)
15-64 years: 65.9% (male 22,916,431; female 22,095,124)
65 years and over: 4.8% (male 1,625,113; female 1,634,902) (2003
est.)
Median age: total: 22.9 years male: 22.7 years female: 23.2 years (2002)