The 2003 CIA World Factbook. United States. Central Intelligence Agency
$NA
(2002 est.)
Industries:
petroleum, petrochemicals, textiles, cement and other construction
materials, food processing (particularly sugar refining and
vegetable oil production), metal fabricating, armaments
Industrial production growth rate:
5.5% excluding oil (2001 est.)
Electricity - production:
124.6 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source: fossil fuel: 97.1% hydro: 2.9% other: 0% (2001) nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption:
115.9 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2001)
Oil - production:
3.804 million bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption:
1.277 million bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports:
NA (2001)
Oil - imports:
NA (2001)
Oil - proved reserves:
94.39 billion bbl (37257)
Natural gas - production:
61.5 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:
65.59 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - exports:
110 million cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - imports:
4.2 billion cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves:
24.8 trillion cu m (37257)
Agriculture - products: wheat, rice, other grains, sugar beets, fruits, nuts, cotton; dairy products, wool; caviar
Exports:
$24.8 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Exports - commodities:
petroleum 85%, carpets, fruits and nuts, iron and steel, chemicals
Exports - partners:
Japan 17.4%, China 8.6%, UAE 7.6%, Italy 6.6%, South Korea 4.9%,
South Africa 4.4% (2002)
Imports:
$21.8 billion f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Imports - commodities:
industrial raw materials and intermediate goods, capital goods,
foodstuffs and other consumer goods, technical services, military
supplies
Imports - partners:
Germany 10.9%, Italy 9%, France 7.9%, China 7.4%, South Korea 6.5%,
UAE 4.4%, Japan 4.1%, Russia 4% (2002)
Debt - external:
$8.7 billion (2002 est.)
Economic aid - recipient:
$408 million (2002 est.)
Currency:
Iranian rial (IRR)
Currency code:
IRR
Exchange rates:
rials per US dollar 6,906.96 (2002), 1,753.56 (2001), 1,764.43
(2000), 1,752.93 (1999), 1,751.86 (1998)
note: from 1997 to 2001, Iran had a multi-exchange-rate system; one
of these rates, the official floating exchange rate, by which most
essential goods were imported, averaged 1,750 rials per US dollar;
in March 2002, the multi-exchange-rate system was converged into one
rate at about 7,900 rials per US dollar
Fiscal year:
21 March - 20 March
Communications Iran
Telephones - main lines in use:
6.313 million (1997)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
265,000 (August 1998)
Telephone system:
general assessment: inadequate but currently being modernized and
expanded with the goal of not only improving the efficiency and
increasing the volume of the urban service but also bringing
telephone service to several thousand villages, not presently
connected
domestic: as a result of heavy investing in the telephone system
since 1994, the number of long-distance channels in the microwave
radio relay trunk has grown substantially; many villages have been
brought into the net; the number of main lines in the urban systems
has approximately doubled; and thousands of mobile cellular
subscribers are being served; moreover, the technical level of the
system has been raised by the installation of thousands of digital
switches
international: HF radio and microwave radio relay to Turkey,
Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Syria, Kuwait,
Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan; submarine fiber-optic cable to UAE with
access to Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG);
Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic line runs from Azerbaijan
through the northern portion of Iran to Turkmenistan with expansion
to Georgia and Azerbaijan; satellite earth stations - 9 Intelsat and
4 Inmarsat
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 72, FM 5, shortwave 5 (1998)
Radios:
17 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations:
28 (plus 450 low-power repeaters) (1997)
Televisions:
4.61 million (1997)
Internet country code:
.ir
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
100 (2002)
Internet users:
1.326 million (2002 est.)
Transportation Iran
Railways:
total: 7,201 km
broad gauge: 94 km 1.676-m gauge
standard gauge: 7,107 km 1.435-m gauge (146 km electrified) (2002)
Highways:
total: 167,157 km
paved: 94,109 km (including 890 km of expressways)
unpaved: 73,048 km (1998)
Waterways:
904 km
note: the Shatt al Arab is usually navigable by maritime traffic for
about 130 km; channel has been dredged to 3 m and is in use
Pipelines: