Iran

General Info

Location and Geography:

Iran is located at the strategic crossroads between the Western and Eastern worlds. It is bordered by Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and the Caspian Sea in the North, Afghanistan and Pakistan in the East, Iraq and Turkey in the West, and the Gulf of Oman, the Strait of Hormuz and the Persian Gulf in the South. The topography of Iran consists mainly of deserts and mountains. These areas are virtually uninhabitable. Most of the population lives in the Northern and Northwestern areas. Two mountain chains dominate the landscape: the Zagros Mountains and the Elbruz range. Iran has a small area of arable land with meadows and pastures covering about a quarter of its land. Forests and woodlands are rather limited. The climate is generally arid or semiarid, and subtropical along the Caspian coast. Due to limited annual rainfall, Iran suffers from chronic water shortages

Economic Indicators

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Industry

Main industries of country

petroleum, petrochemicals, fertilizers, caustic soda, textiles, cement and other construction materials, food processing (particularly sugar refining and vegetable oil production), ferrous and non-ferrous metal fabrication, armaments

Agriculture

wheat, rice, other grains, sugar beets, sugar cane, fruits, nuts, cotton; dairy products, wool; caviar

Iran is one of the leading producers of petroleum and has the second largest natural gas reserves in the world. In addition to crude oil and gas, the country produces petrochemicals, textiles, vegetable oil and other food products, carpets, cement, building materials and fertilisers. The principal agricultural crops are wheat, rice, barley, nuts, cotton, sugar beets, and fruits. Wool is also an important product in the Iranian economy.