An ancient land and the cradle of one of the richest cultures and civilization of the world, Iran is located in the Middle East region, in South-Western Asia. Iran of today occupies an area of 1629918 square kilometers between Caspian Sea in the North and waters of Persian Gulf and Oman Sea in the South. Such a strategically important geographical position, as well as possession of vast amount of natural resources, a young working force and an important role in the cultural life of Islamic countries, guarantee Iran's high strategic importance on international scenes. Iran is a mountainous land -- mountains and highlands cover about half of its territory -- a quarter of its soil is deserts and the remaining is agriculturally useful. Its weather is extremely diverse, with an average annual temperature of 18 degrees centigrade.
About 98.8% of its population of 65.5 million are Muslims and more than 90% of them are Shias. The main minorities are Sunnite Muslims, Armenians, Zoroastrians and Jews, all free in practicing their faith.
Iran is an Islamic Republic, its official language is Farsi, that is spoken in various dialects in different parts of the country. Territorially it is divided into 28 administrative units or provinces, all working under the supervision of central government in Tehran, the capital city. The country is governed by Legislative, Executive and Judiciary powers and the supreme Leader of the revolution, as the highest authority of the country, supervises the activities of all government institutions. Iran has been a member of United Nations since October 1945 and is one of the first members of that international organization.
In addition to Tehran, Mashhad, Isfahan, Shiraz, Hamedan, Tabriz, Ahwaz, Rasht, Yazd, Kerman, Bandar Abbas, Sari and Zahedan are the main cities of Iran.
Currency of the country is Rial.