Iran

Geology

Iran has one of the highest volcanoes in the world - Demavand (5610 m).

History

Main article: History of Iran

Population

Population

2022:86 million people

2020:84 million people

Over 15 years, the population has grown by 22% and by 2020 reached 84 million people.

Migration

2021: Net outflow over 4 years

Marriages and divorces

Allowed to have more than one spouse

Divorce statistics

National composition

Kurds

Main article: Kurds

Armenians

Mortality

Traffic safety

Earthquakes

Government

2024: New cabinet under President Masoud Pezeshkian's administration

In August 2024, a new cabinet was finally approved in Iran under the administration of President Masud Pezeshkian.

The new ministerial cabinet caused discontent not only among the conservatives (this was expected given the victory of the reformist Pezeschkian), but even among representatives of the liberal wing.

For the latter, the main reason for criticizing the president was the small presence of the same reformists - their number is actually not inferior to the conservatives, judging by the open data and political views of the new ministers.

The conservatives say the opposite: Pezeshkian has given too many seats to reformists, which is "extremely bad" for the country. But expecting something different from the two camps would be strange.

However, if you look at the positions, you can really note a certain balance. Reformists (some can be called such with a big stretch) have gained very important positions, for example, the Foreign Ministry, the economic and oil sectors.

Judging by his rhetoric, Abbas Arakchi will be tasked with easing sanctions pressure. His recent words about the need to build economic relations with Japan and the subsequent return of Iran to international trade are very indicative.

The economy, like the oil sector, is in a depressing position, so the emergence of specialized specialists in this area (part-time supporters of former President Hassan Rouhani) demonstrates a desire for real improvement in the country.

Similarly, we can say about Farzane Sadeg, which many call Pezeshkian's attempt to show inclusivity, worked for more than 30 years in the Ministry of Roads and Urban Planning, which indicates her understanding of the sphere in which she was appointed the main one.

The power unit, as expected, remained under the control of the military elite, or rather the IRGC. The defense minister, a former commander of Iran's air force, is a close associate of parliament speaker Mohammad Ghalibaf, who lost the election.

Particular attention in the West was paid to the Minister of the Interior Iskander Momeni. He is charged with a major role in suppressing mass protests following the death of Mahse Amini in 2022, and his appointment drew sharp criticism from Pezeshkian, who has previously criticized the authorities' methods.

Intelligence Minister Ismail Khatib, who also has close ties with the IRGC, remained in his position. The fact that he remained in office, despite criticism of him due to several terrorist attacks inside the country and the death of Ismail Haniya, also caused a violent stir on the Web.

However, in this very scrupulous question, Pezeshkian showed rationality. He did not follow the lead of the liberals, maintaining a balance between the warring parties, realizing what a demonstrative confrontation with fundamentalists could lead to.

Education

2019: Number of years of education by citizens over 25

Religion

2020: Iran in the world leaders in the share of Muslims in the total population

The Doctrine of the World Islamic Revolution

According to Iran's military doctrine, the main goal of the Iranian leadership's policy is to create under the auspices of Iran a "world Islamic community - the Ummas." The essence of this provision for 2022 is officially enshrined in the constitution in Article 11.

The possibility of achieving this goal depends on the successful solution of the most important tasks of a global nature. In the future, Iran and its leadership want to become a Muslim center of power.

According to the main Iranian clerics, a revolution like the one in Iran should take place in the world. To achieve this long-term goal, Iranians "have the right to apply various methods, up to the violent dissemination of their religious and ideological dogmas," within the framework of the concept of export and expansionism.

Armed Forces

Main article: Iranian Armed Forces

• Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)

Economy

Main article: Economy of Iran

Internet

Cybercrime and cyber conflicts: Iran

Main article: Cybercrime and cyber conflicts: Iran

2022: How Iran lives without Google Play, Facebook and Uber

In early March 2022, Vedomosti released material on how Iran lives under sanctions in terms of information technology. The country has its own Internet - National Information Network, and many Western applications have local clones. Instead of YouTube in the country - Aparat, instead of Facebook (an extremist social network banned in Russia) - Cloob, instead of Uber - Snapp, instead of Groupon - Netbarg and Takhfifan. All of these apps can be downloaded from a local Google Play counterpart called Cafe Bazaar.

Google Play is not blocked, but there are a number of problems with this store. firstly, a number of Western applications are blocked by order of the Iranian authorities. Secondly, a number of companies like the Mcafee antivirus themselves decided to boycott Iran. Thirdly, Iranian applications are periodically removed from Google Play. Finally, due to financial sanctions, Iranians cannot conduct online payments abroad. So if you can still download free applications on Google Play, then paid ones are not available.

It is noted that the local Central Bank greatly helped Iranian IT startups, which introduced and actively promoted the payment of utilities online. Thanks to this, the population got used to payments on the Internet and willingly began to order goods and services online. In 2016, according to Edoramedia, 5% of Iranians bought something online every day, 16% at least once a week, and 39% at least once a month. Most often, people purchased programs and games, as well as tickets for transport.

International sanctions to some extent turned out to be beneficial to entrepreneurs, admits The Washington Post. They do not have to compete with strong international companies, but only fight with local rivals in the equal weight category.^[1]

2019: Internet blackout after unrest as petrol prices rise

In mid-November 2019, Iran turned off the Internet amid a wave of protests that swept across the country over the government's decision to raise gasoline prices. Read more here.

Health care

Main article: Health care in Iran

Social Security

Maternity leave

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Holidays

Chakharshanbe-Suri

Chaharshanbe-Suri is the last Wednesday before the start of the New Year (Nauruz, نو روز) according to the Iranian calendar, which fell on March 20 in 2023. This is a tradition rooted in ancient Zoroastrian customs, when fire was revered as a sign of the presence of the deity Ahura Mazda.

On this night, Iranians gather in the streets, having fun and jumping over fires, as well as launching fireworks and using firecrackers. As a rule, on this day and night there are emergencies related to the careless use of pyrotechnics.

In 2023, during the celebration of Chaharshanbe-Suri, according to the Iranian news agency Tasnim, 27 people were killed, and more than 4 thousand were injured of varying severity, which is 22% more than last year. The reason for the increase in the number of victims was two major fires in Tabriz and Tehran, due to which 13 citizens died.

Tourism

2020:24 UNESCO-protected World Heritage Sites

Crime

Terrorism

• Jaish al-Adl

2024:103 dead and 211 injured in Kerman terror attack

On January 3, 2023, during a march on the anniversary of the death of Commander-in-Chief Qasem Soleimani on January 3, 2020, two explosions occurred in Kerman, where the mausoleum of the Iranian general is located.

Initially, it was reported about the explosion of gas cylinders, but later the city administration unequivocally stated that the incident was a terrorist attack, and the performer detonated explosive devices in a crowd of people.

According to the latest data, the death toll of Kerman residents was 103 people, 211 citizens were injured of varying severity.

Unfortunately, despite the measures taken, the security services in Iran still do not control the situation. Over and over again, terrorists manage to strike either in the mosque or in the bank, and now - during the mourning procession.

Prisons

2023: Executions hit eight-year high with 834

Iran At least 834 people were executed in 2023, an eight-year high. The growth in relation to 2022, when this measure was applied to 582 people, was 43%. Such figures are provided in the report of human rights organizations Human Rights in Iran (IHR) and Together Against the Death Penalty, which was published on March 5, 2024.

There are also reported 46 alleged executions in Iran in 2023, which are not included in the report due to lack of sufficient information or inability to confirm these cases. Moreover, official sources in 2023 reported 125 executions (15% of the total) compared to 12% in 2022, 16.5% in 2021 and an average of 33% in 2018-2020.

At least 834 people executed in Iran in 2023

At least 471 people (56%) were executed on drug-related charges in 2023. For comparison, in 2022 this number was 256, in 2021 - 126, and on average in 2018-2020 - 24. At least 282 executions (33.8% of all cases) were carried out in 2023 on murder charges. At least 20 people have been executed on rape charges, two people on blasphemy charges.

In 2023, at least 22 women were executed in Iran - this is the highest figure since 2013. In addition, at least two minors were among those executed, one of whom was 17 years old at the time of execution.

High Commissioner UN for Human Rights Volker Turk expressed alarm at the sharp increase in the number of cases of the death penalty in Iran and called on the authorities of this country to immediately introduce a moratorium on this type of punishment.

The death penalty does not correspond to the most important of the rights - the right to life. This practice should be stopped immediately. The right to due process and a fair trial for all defendants must be respected, says Turk.[2]

2021

2nd in the world in the number of death executions: 314 in a year

The number of prisoners - 189,000 people

2019: The minimum age for children to be jailed is 8

2018: Number of prisoners per 100 thousand citizens

Sport

2022: The most popular sport is football

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Fauna

2020: Shark attack statistics

Calendar