Amazing Facts About Iran

Located in the Middle East and Central Eurasia, Iran was the heart of flourishing culture, arts, and science that not only remained in the confines of the land but spread to influence countries beyond the seven seas. The country that played a vital role in bringing the Islamic Golden Age has a culture that is emulated by many countries today. Geographically, most of the country is mountainous, dotted with ample oil reserves that have propelled the country to be among the major league of energy superpowers. Declared as an Islamic Republic after the Iranian Revolution in 1979, the country’s majority is of the Shi’a sect. Lately, due to the political aspirations of its leaders, Iran has met reservation and resentment in the international community. But on the contrary, Iran is one of the most embracing and warm nations that will leave you humbled. Jaunts to the wonderful deserts of Kerman, or exploring the mystic mountains of Zagros, or checking out the sights and sounds of Esfahan, or Tabriz are just the initial steps that will remove the cloak that hides the real Iran.  Know some more interesting and amazing facts about Iran in the following lines.

Fast Facts

Capital: Tehran
Largest City: Tehran
Official Language: Persian
Demonym: Iranian
Religion: Islam
Republic: 24 October 1979
Area: 1,648,195 sq. km
Population: 78,868,711 (2012 census)
Currency: Rial (IRR)

Interesting And Fun Facts About Iran

• The word Iran has been derived from the Proto-Iranian term Aryānā, which means “Land of the Aryans”.
• The official name of Iran is ‘Islamic Republic of Iran’.
• The capital of Iran is Tehran which is the 19th largest city in the world.
• Iran is also the founding member of UN, NAM, OIC, and OPEC.
• Mt. Damavand, the highest peak of Iran, is located on the Alborz Mountains which stands at 4,667 m.
• Carpets from Iran contribute as the second largest export commodity. These carpets are renowned all over the world for fine design and quality.
• Iran also has some of the world’s best caviar, the luxury delicacy that consists of non-fertilized, salted, and processed fish eggs.
• Iran has many animals that are surprisingly native to the country; few of them are crocodiles, Asiatic Cheetah, and Caspian Horse. There were even Iranian tigers but they were hunted to extinction 50 years ago.
• Persian language is still spoken in countries like Afghanistan and Tajikistan. The language also remained the official court language of India for 200 years.
• Alexander’s wife Roxanne was an Iranian; she was called as Roshanak in Persian.
• Until 1935, Iran was known as Persia but today both the names are used interchangeably.
• Iran ranks seventh among countries in the world, in terms of the number of World Heritage Sites recognized by UNESCO.
• Iran ranks second in the world for its natural gas reserves and for oil reserves, it has been ranked third.
• Iran has borders with ten countries, namely, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Iraq, and Turkey.
• The majority of the population of Iran is Shiite Muslim.
• Pistachios are called as ‘smiling nuts’ in Iran because of their semi-opening.
• Pomegranate fruit is native to Persia (Iran).
• Although associated mostly with the Islam, Iran was the birthplace of Siyyid Ali-Muhammad, one of the founders of the Baha’i faith.
• Ralph Waldo Emerson and Wolfgang Von Goethe are among the famous Western poets influenced by Persian poets.
• With a history and urban settlement that dates back to as early as 4000 BC, Iran is one of the oldest continuous major civilizations in the world.
• Iran was pioneer in harnessing wind energy and the first windmill was created here in the 9th century. Iran built the earliest known windmills which resemble large paddle wheels.
• The Islamic Golden Age reached its peak in the 10th and 11th centuries, during which Persia was the major hub of scientific activity.
• The internet among the youth of Iran has become incredibly popular as today Iran is the world’s fourth largest country in terms of bloggers. With more than 700,000 Persian blogs, mostly based in Iran, the Persian language is ranked as the second-most-popular language in the entire blogosphere.
• Iran is OPEC’s 2nd largest oil exporter.
• With large natural gas and oil reserves, Iran stands at the third position for developing Gas-to-Liquid technology.
• In terms of Purchasing Power Parity, the economy of Iran is the 18th largest in the world.
• More than two-thirds of the Iranian population is under the age of 30.
• With more people joining the university courses, the literacy rate of Iran stands at 82%.
• The global competitiveness report ranks Iran 69th out of 139 nations.
• Almost nine out of 10 Iranians belong to the Twelver Shi’a branch of Islam, which is also the official state religion.
• According to the 2010 estimates, the unemployment rate in Iran is about 13.2%.
• There is an acute problem of air pollution, deforestation, overgrazing, soil degradation, and water pollution in Iran. These issues along with oil pollution in the Persian Gulf are currently choking many cities of Iran.
• Iran has 331 airports, out of which six are international.
• There are three major English dailies in Iran, namely, Tehran Times, Iran Daily, and Iran News.
• Being the site of Imam Reza shrine, Mashhad, the second-largest city in Iran, is one of the holiest Shi’a cities in the world.
• Every year around 15 to 20 million pilgrims visit the shrine of Imam Reza.
• The largest desert of Iran is the Dast-e-Kavir located in the north-central part of the country. Iran’s deserts are classified as ‘rain shadow’ or orographic desserts because the mountain ranges to the west of the country are too high for rain to reach these regions.
• Northern part of Iran is covered by forests known as Shomal or ‘the jungles of Iran’. Shomal are the subtropical and temperate rainforest that have a cover of almost 55,000 sq. km along the southern shores of the Caspian Sea in Iran and Azerbaijan.
• Muhammad ibn Zakariyā Rāzī, the famous scholar, alchemist, physicist, and scholar, discovered ethanol.
• Muhammad ibn Mūsā al-Khwārizmī, the Persian mathematician, geographer, and astronomer, is considered as the original father of algebra, one of the branches of mathematics.
• Sina-1, the first reconnaissance satellite, was launched by the Iranian Space Agency in 2006.
• Some of the discoveries done by Iranian scientists who stay outside Iran are: fuzzy theory by Lotfi Zadeh; artificial cardiac pump by Tofy Mussivand, gas laser co-invented by Ali Javan, and many more.