Total Area:
1,648,000 sq. km

Population:
65,875,223 (July 2008 est.)

Ethnicity:
Persian 51%, Azeri 24%, Gilaki and Mazandarani 8%, Kurd 7%, Arab 3%, Lur 2%, Baloch 2%, Turkmen 2%, other 1%

Language:
Persian and Persian dialects 58%, Turkic and Turkic dialects 26%, Kurdish 9%, Luri 2%, Balochi 1%, Arabic 1%, Turkish 1%, Other 2%

Religion:
Muslim 98% (Shi'a 89%, Sunni 9%), other (includes Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian, and Baha'i) 2%

Government Type:
Theocratic Republic

Capital:
Tehran

Population Below Poverty Line:
18% (2007)