Polity · 1979 CE – present
Islamic Republic of Iran
ایران · Jomhuri-ye Eslami-ye Iran
Also recorded as Iran, Persia
- Peak recorded area
- 1,626,460 km²
- 1987 CE
- Rulers on record
- 12
- from 1979 CE
- Data series
- 468
- 1979 CE–2025 CE
Overview
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the northeast, Afghanistan to the east, Pakistan to the southeast, and the Gulf of Oman and the Persian Gulf to the south. With a population of over 92 million, Iran ranks 17th globally in both geographic size and population and is the sixth-largest country in Asia.
Lead section from Wikipedia, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0. Read the article.
Territory
8 dated territorial extents on record from Cliopatria. Areas are measured off the recorded polygons; the line steps because each extent holds until the next one is recorded — nothing is interpolated.
The record
The best-attested series in each category; where several projects publish the same quantity, the one with the most observations is shown. Each row is the most recent value the record holds at or before the last complete year, shown with the year that value belongs to. Some statistical series also publish forward projections — the year column is the honest guide. Nothing on this page is interpolated or estimated by us.
People
6 of 57 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Population195 obs · 1 CE–2025 CE | 92.4Mpersons2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy136 obs · 1960 CE–2025 CE | 78.05years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Population Growth112 obs · 1961 CE–2025 CE | 0.859% annual2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Net Migration93 obs · 1979 CE–2025 CE | 116.8Kpersons2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy Female92 obs · 1979 CE–2025 CE | 79.99years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
| Life Expectancy Male92 obs · 1979 CE–2025 CE | 76.22years2025 CE · UN World Population Prospects 2024 |
Economy
6 of 161 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| GDP Current Usd112 obs · 1960 CE–2025 CE | 362.7Bcurrent US$2025 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| GDP per capita77 obs · 1 CE–2022 CE | 18.5K2011 int'l $2022 CE · Maddison Project Database 2023 |
| Agriculture % GDP66 obs · 1960 CE–2025 CE | 10.59% of GDP2025 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Industry % GDP66 obs · 1960 CE–2025 CE | 39.64% of GDP2025 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Inflation66 obs · 1960 CE–2025 CE | 42.17% annual2025 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Services % GDP66 obs · 1960 CE–2025 CE | 47.09% of GDP2025 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
Military
6 of 73 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Military Expenditure % GDP66 obs · 1960 CE–2024 CE | 2.01% of GDP2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Military Expenditure Usd65 obs · 1960 CE–2024 CE | 7.9Bcurrent US$2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| CINC Score38 obs · 1979 CE–2016 CE | 0.0153CINC (share of world capability)2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Energy Consumption38 obs · 1979 CE–2016 CE | 442.6Mcoal-ton equivalents2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Iron Steel Production38 obs · 1979 CE–2016 CE | 17.9Mtons2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
| Military Personnel38 obs · 1979 CE–2016 CE | 523Kpersons2016 CE · Correlates of War NMC v6.0 |
Territory & resources
6 of 91 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Arable Land %108 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 9.68% of land area2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Forest Area %68 obs · 1990 CE–2023 CE | 6.65% of land area2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Surface Area63 obs · 1961 CE–2023 CE | 1.7Msq. km2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Water Stress Level %48 obs · 1975 CE–2022 CE | 81.29%2022 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Co2 Emissions Mt Co2e46 obs · 1979 CE–2024 CE | 828.99mt_co2_equivalent2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators (Climate & Environment) |
| Co2 Emissions per capita46 obs · 1979 CE–2024 CE | 9.05t_co2e_per_capita2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators (Climate & Environment) |
Governance
6 of 27 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Electoral Democracy Index46 obs · 1979 CE–2024 CE | 0.167index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Liberal Democracy Index46 obs · 1979 CE–2024 CE | 0.092index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Participatory Democracy Index46 obs · 1979 CE–2024 CE | 0.041index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Regime Type46 obs · 1979 CE–2024 CE | 1RoW index (0-3)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Rule Of Law Index46 obs · 1979 CE–2024 CE | 0.214index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Checks And Balances45 obs · 1979 CE–2023 CE | 2count2023 CE · Database of Political Institutions (DPI) 2023 |
Development
6 of 59 series| Series | Value · year · source |
|---|---|
| Freedom Of Expression Index46 obs · 1979 CE–2024 CE | 0.228index (0-1)2024 CE · V-Dem v15 |
| Dpt Immunization %45 obs · 1980 CE–2024 CE | 98%2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Education Expenditure % GDP45 obs · 1971 CE–2023 CE | 2.82% of GDP2023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Measles Immunization %45 obs · 1980 CE–2024 CE | 99%2024 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Mobile Subscriptions Per 10045 obs · 1979 CE–2023 CE | 166.28per_1002023 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
| Primary Enrollment Gross %41 obs · 1979 CE–2020 CE | 104.68%2020 CE · World Bank World Development Indicators |
Rulers
12 on record with dated reigns. Reign years follow the house convention: BCE years are negative.
- Ruhollah KhomeiniHead of State1979 CE – 1989 CE
- Abolhassan BanisadrHead of Government1980 CE – 1981 CE
- Ali KhameneiHead of Government1981 CE – 1989 CE
- Mohammad-Ali RajaiHead of Government1981 CE
- Akbar Hashemi RafsanjaniHead of Government1989 CE – 1997 CE
- Ali KhameneiHead of State1989 CE – 2026 CE
- Mohammad KhatamiHead of Government1997 CE – 2005 CE
- Mahmoud AhmadinejadHead of Government2005 CE – 2013 CE
- Hassan RouhaniHead of Government2013 CE – 2021 CE
- Ebrahim RaisiHead of Government2021 CE – 2024 CE
- Masoud PezeshkianHead of Government2024 CE –
- Mojtaba KhameneiHead of State2026 CE –
Country profile
From the CIA World Factbook 2024. Long entries are trimmed at a sentence boundary.
- Location
- Middle East, bordering the Gulf of Oman, the Persian Gulf, and the Caspian Sea, between Iraq and Pakistan
- Government type
- theocratic republic
- Executive branch
- chief of state: Supreme Leader Ali Hoseini-KHAMENEI (since 4 June 1989); head of government: President Masoud PEZESHKIAN (since 30 July 2024); cabinet: Council of Ministers selected by the president with legislative approval; the supreme leader has some control over appointments to several ministries;
- Ethnic groups
- Persian, Azeri, Kurd, Lur, Baloch, Arab, Turkmen, and Turkic tribes
- Natural resources
- petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, iron ore, lead, manganese, zinc, sulfur
- Economy
- traditionally state-controlled economy but reforming state-owned financial entities; strong oil/gas, agricultural, and service sectors; recent massive inflation due to exchange rate depreciation, international sanctions, and investor uncertainty; increasing poverty
Language & currency
- Official & national languages
- Persian Farsi 
- Currency
- Iranian rials (IRR)
Memberships
- United NationsUNInternational organisation · founding member1945 CE –
- CENTOCENTOMilitary alliance · founding member1955 CE – 1979 CE
- OPECOPECEconomic bloc · founding member1960 CE –
- Organisation of Islamic CooperationOICInternational organisation · founding member1969 CE –
- 7-member Non-Aggression Pact (2002)Historical alliance · member2002 CE –
- Azerbaijan–Iran Non-Aggression Pact (2005)Historical alliance · member2005 CE –
- Iran–Syria Entente (2006)Historical alliance · member2006 CE –
- BRICSBRICSEconomic bloc · member2024 CE –
Sources
Every figure above comes from one of these. Nothing on this page is estimated, interpolated or model-generated.
CIA World Factbook 2024
Seshat Global History Databank. Cliopatria: a historical basemap of polity borders (cliopatria.geojson).
Correlates of War NMC v6.0v6.0
Singer, J.D. (1987). National Material Capabilities Data (NMC), v6.0. Correlates of War Project.
Free academic use, citation
Database of Political Institutions (DPI) 2023DPI 2023
Cruz, C., Keefer, P. & Scartascini, C. (2023). Database of Political Institutions 2023. Inter-American Development Bank.
IDB open data, attribution
Maddison Project Database 20232023
Bolt, J. & van Zanden, J.L. (2024). Maddison Project Database 2023. University of Groningen GGDC.
CC BY 4.0
UN World Population Prospects 20242024
United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2024). World Population Prospects 2024.
CC BY 3.0 IGO
V-Dem v15v15
Coppedge, M. et al. (2025). V-Dem Country-Year Dataset v15. Varieties of Democracy Project.
Free academic/non-commercial use, attribution
Wikipedia contributors. Article lead sections, reused under CC BY-SA 4.0.
CC BY-SA 4.0
World Bank World Development Indicators2024 release
World Bank (2024). World Development Indicators. Washington, DC.
CC BY 4.0
World Bank World Development Indicators (Climate & Environment)2024 release
World Bank (2024). World Development Indicators (Climate & Environment series). Washington, DC.
CC BY 4.0
Islamic Republic of Iran is one of the polities with a sourced record deep enough to publish.