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Arab Culture & Civilization
Explore this exemplary library of articles and resources on Arab societies and culture. This site was originally created by the National Institute for Technology in Liberal Education (NITLE).
Iran has a complicated, and in the options of some, a dangerous relationship with the United States, other Western nations and even its neighbors in the Arab World. The US claims that Iran is using its nuclear program to hide its intention to build weapons of mass destruction, Israel see Iran as a purely existential threat, and its neighbors see a powerful Shiite nation that wishes to use its oil wealth to become the region's dominate player.
Iran (the second-largest country in the Middle East), for its part, continues to say it has no plans to develop WMD, and that it only wants to assume its rightfully role in the region as one of the Persian Gulf most powerful and strategically located countries.
Although President Ahmadinejad draws significant attention and often ire from the rest of the world, the top power in Iran is not the president – it's actually the Supreme Leader who, according to the constitution, is accountable only to the Assembly of Experts. Iran has regular elections, but they are closely ruled over by the top clergy. But moderates have often won powerful positions in Iran, which shows that Iran's do want a choice in their political affairs.
Iran is a young country – a quarter of the country is 14 and under. But many of those young people are unemployed. Iranian biggest problem my not be its political ambitions, but it's inefficient economy that is largely controlled by the state. High oil prices have enabled Iran to amass nearly $70 billion in reserves. But this wealth has not eased the economic situation. Iran suffers from double-digit unemployment and inflation, which climbed to 26% as of June 2008.
Population: The population of Iran in 2003 was estimated by the United Nations at 68,920,000, which placed it as number 18 in population among the 193 nations of the world. In that year approximately 5% of the population was over 65 years of age, with another 33% of the population under 15 years of age. There were 103 males for every 100 females in the country in 2003. According to the UN, the annual population growth rate for 2000–2005 is 1.24%, with the projected population for the year 2015 at 81,422,000. The population density in 2002 was 40 per sq km (104 per sq mi).
It was estimated by the Population Reference Bureau that 62% of the population lived in urban areas in 2001. The capital city, Tehran, had a population of 7,158,000 in that year. The populations of other major metropolitan areas were Mashad, 2,378,000; Esfahan, 2,644,000; Tabriz, 1,624,000; Shiraz, 1,113,000; Ahvaz, 1,018,000; and Kermanshan, 949,000. According to the United Nations, the urban population growth rate for 2000–2005 was 1.8%.
Almost two-thirds of Iran's people are of Aryan origin— their ancestors migrated from Central Asia. The major groups in this category include Persians, Kurds, Lurs, and Baluchi. The remainder are primarily Turkic but also include Arabs, Armenians, Jews, and Assyrians.
Ethnic Groups: According to 1999 estimates, Persians account for 51% of the population, Azeri 24%, Gilaki and Mazandarani 8%, Kurd 7%, Arab 3%, Lur 2%, Balochi 2%, and Turkmen 2%.
Religion: The overwhelming majority of Iranians--at least 90 percent of the total population--are Muslims who adhere to Shia Islam. In contrast, the majority of Muslims throughout the world follow Sunni Islam. Of the several Shia sects, the Twelve Imam (see Glossary) or Twelver (ithna- ashari), is dominant in Iran; most Shias in Bahrain, Iraq, and Lebanon also follow this sect. All the Shia sects originated among early Muslim dissenters in the first three centuries following the death of the Prophet Muhammad in A.D. 632
The principal belief of Twelvers, but not of other Shias, is that the spiritual and temporal leadership of the Muslim community passed from Muhammad to Ali and then sequentially to eleven of Ali's direct male descendants, a tenet rejected by Sunnis. Over the centuries various other theological differences have developed between Twelver Shias and Sunnis. http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field%28DOCID+ir0073%29
Health: The Islamic republic has continued to provide health care programs to rural areas. Many physicians left the country after the 1979 revolution and health conditions were reportedly deteriorating; however, by the mid-1980s, many doctors who had been in exile during the shah's reign had returned. Average life expectancy in 2000 was estimated at 69 years for both women and men. In 2000, 95% of the population had access to safe drinking water and 81% had adequate sanitation. Some form of contraceptive was used by 73% of married women ages 15–49 as of 2000. AIDS was documented in only seven cases. As of 1999, the prevalence of HIV was less than 0.01 per 100 adults. http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Asia-and-Oceania/Iran-HEALTH.html
Education: Education is virtually free in Iran at all levels, from elementary school through university. At university level, however, every student is required to commit to serve the government for a number of years equivalent to those spent at the university. During the early 1970s, efforts were made to improve the educational system by updating school curricula, introducing modern textbooks, and training more efficient teachers.
This website provides information on the Iranian culture. Topics include history, urbanism, food, economy, social structure, gender roles, government, marriage, arts, medicine, and religion.
This website provides pages on the history, culture, art, celebrations, religion, codes of behavior, and gender relations of Iran. Each article includes photographs and background information.
