Iran

1. Iran By: Belal Qureshi

2. Introduction • Iran (ēränˈ, ĭrănˈ) officially Islamic Republic of Iran, republic (2005 est. pop. 68,018,000), 636,290 sq mi (1,648,000 sq km), SW Asia. The country's name was changed from Persia to Iran in 1935.Iran is bordered on the north by Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, and the Caspian Sea; on the east by Afghanistan and Pakistan; on the south by the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman; and on the west by Turkey and Iraq. The Shatt al Arab forms part of the Iran-Iraq border. Tehran is the capital, largest city and the political, cultural, commercial, and industrial center of the nation.Read more:

3. Map of Iran

5. Language ethnicity • In Iran, 51 percent speak persian,24 percent speak azeri & 8 percent speak gilaki. Iran's central position has made it a crossroads of migration; the population is not homogeneous, although it has a Persian core that includes over half of the people. Azerbaijanis constitute almost a quarter of the population. The migrant ethnic groups of the mountains and highlands, including the Kurds, Lurs, Qashqai, and Bakhtiari, are of the least mixed descent of the ancient inhabitants. In the northern provinces, Turkic and Tatar influences are evident; Arab strains predominate in the southeast. Iran has a large rural populationRead more: Iran: People — Infoplease.comhttp://www.infoplease.com/encyclopedia/world/iran-people.html#ixzz2BHvXfneN

6. Religion belief systems • Shiamuslims ,sunnimuslims , zorastani, jews& christianslive in Iran. But there are mostly shiamuslims in Iran.

7. Customs traditions Taaroof When your invited to a party,anything you are offered to eat or drink you must except. EID Nowrooz march 31st new year. Dress is modern but modest.

8. Economic activity • Iran has the 17th largest economy. In 20th century, iran’s economy changed due to discovery of oil. • About 10% of the land in Iran is arable; agriculture contributes just over 11% to the GDP and employs a third of the labor force. The main food-producing areas are in the Caspian region and in the valleys of the northwest. Wheat, the most important crop, is grown mainly in the west and northwest; rice is the major crop in the Caspian region. Traditional handicrafts such as carpet weaving and the manufacture of ceramics, silk, and jewelry are important to the economy as well.Read more:

9. Political systems • Democratic theocracy president elected for 4 years. No prime minister & it’s a islamic republic Iran is a theocratic Islamic republic governed under the constitution of 1979 as amended. Appointed, rather than elected, offices and bodies hold the real power in the government. The supreme leader, who effectively serves as the head of state, is appointed for life by an Islamic religious advisory board (the Assembly of Experts).

10. Technology in iran • Persia was a cradle of science in earlier times. Persia contributed to the current understanding of nature, medicine, mathematics, and philosophy. Persians made important contributions to algebra and chemistry, invented the wind-power machine, and the first distillation of alcohol. Trying to revive the golden time of Persian science, Iran's scientists cautiously reach out to the world. Many individual Iranian scientists, along with the Iranian Academy of Medical Sciences and Academy of Sciences of Iran, are involved in this revival. • Iran is an example of a country that has made considerable advances through education and training, despite international sanctions in almost all aspects of research during the past 30 years. Iran's university population swelled from 100,000 in 1979 to 2 million in 2006. 70% of its science and engineering students are women.[1] Iran's scientific progress is reported to be the fastest in the world.[2] Iran has made great strides in different sectors, including aerospace, nuclear science, medical development, as well as stem cell and cloning research.[3]

11. Educational values • Education in Iran is highly centralized and is divided to K-12 education and higher education. K-12 education is supervised by the Ministry of Education and higher education is under supervision of Ministry of Science and Technology. 82% of the Iranian adult population is now literate, well ahead of the regional average of 62%. This rate increases to 97% among young adults (aged between 15 and 24) without any gender discrepancy.[1] By 2007, Iran had a student to workforce population ratio of 10.2%, standing among the countries with highest ratio in the world.[2] • The requirement to enter into higher education is to have a High school diploma, and finally pass the national university entrance examination, Iranian University Entrance Exam (Konkur), which is the equivalent of the US SAT exams. • Education in Iran is highly centralized and is divided to K-12 education and higher education. K-12 education is supervised by the Ministry of Education and higher education is under supervision of Ministry of Science and Technology. 82% of the Iranian adult population is now literate, well ahead of the regional average of 62%.

12. Art Persian arts, or Iranian arts is one of the richest art heritages in world history and encompasses many disciplines including architecture, painting, weaving, pottery, calligraphy, metalworking and stonemasonry. There is also a very vibrant Iranian modern and contemporary art scene.

13. Music • The music of Iran has thousands of years of history, as seen in the archeological documents of Elam, the earliest cultures, which was located in southwestern Iran. • There is some modern music culture. • Religiously music is not encouraged.

14. Recreation Many sports are practiced in Iran, both traditional and modern. Tehran, for example, was the second city in South Asia (first in West Asia) to host the Asian Games in 1974, and continues to host and participate in major international sporting events to this day. Freestyle wrestling has been traditionally regarded as Iran's national sport, however today, football is the most popular sport in Iran.