Iran
Iran (officially Islamic Republic of Iran) is a country in Southern Asia, with its capital at Tehran, and is home to roughly 91.6M people.
Persian (Farsi) is the official language; the currency in circulation is Iranian rial (﷼); people from here are called Iranian.
- »Persian gardens, qanat irrigation tunnels and windcatcher towers are all ancient Iranian engineering still in use.
Iran touches seven neighbours: Afghanistan to the east, Armenia to the northwest, Azerbaijan to the northwest, Iraq to the west, Pakistan to the east, Turkey to the northwest and Turkmenistan to the northeast. Directions run from one centre to the other.
Tehran became capital in 1786 and sits against the Alborz mountains, with Mount Damavand, the highest peak in the Middle East, visible on clear days.
1,622,865 km² (626,591 sq mi), 17th largest of 198 countries and territories on file, almost exactly the size of Libya.
Population 91,567,738, 17th of 198 on file. That averages 56 per km² (146 per sq mi).
The central emblem is a stylised word 'Allah' shaped as a tulip, the flower associated with martyrdom. Along the inner edges of the green and red bands, 'Allahu Akbar' is repeated 22 times, marking the 22nd day of the month the revolution succeeded.