33 Amazing Facts About Iran

Iran, formerly Persia, is located at the crossroads of Central Asia, South Asia, and Middle Eastern Arab states. It is the Middle East’s second-largest nation and Asia’s third-largest.
It has significant fossil fuel reserves, the second-largest natural gas supply, and the fourth-largest proven oil reserves in the world. The 22 UNESCO World Heritage Sites in the country represent the country’s rich cultural heritage. So, take a look at these amazing 33 Iran Facts.

1. In 2007, a company of Iran produced the world’s largest handmade carpet for a mosque in the United Arab emirates. It measured 5630 m² (60,600.81 ft²), which is equivalent to a football field.
2. Polo was first played in Iran as early as the 6th century B.C., mainly as training for the cavalry. However, some other countries like China and India also claim that polo originated on their land.
3. Poetry has a special significance in Iranian culture. Almost all Iranians can recite lines from famous Persian poems. One of the most famous poems is Shahnameh or The epic kings.
4. The constitution of Iran dictates women as homemakers and mothers. If women have the urge to work outside of the home, it is mandatory to take permission from the male head of the family.
5. The government of Iran also segregates schools by gender, and at the university level, there are some subjects women are not allowed to study.
6. On city transport buses, men and women sit apart, and a woman may not appear in public with a man unless it is her husband or family member. However, unlike women in Saudi Arabia, Iranian women can drive and right to vote.
7. Iranian people celebrate the first day of the spring season with great joy and rituals. On this day, the Iranian mothers prepare hard-boiled eggs for themselves and their children. They also set the eating table with seven dishes, each starting with letter s in the Farsi language apples (sib), green grass (sabze), vinegar (serkey), a gold coin (sekke), berries (senjed), ground wheat (samanoo) and garlic (sir).
8. The country has special dress codes for women called hijabs and which should be followed. The punishment for not following the hijab is lashing. However, it is not always enforced strictly.
9. Polygamy is legal in Iran, and men can have four wives at a time. Once the girl is married, she can no longer go to high school for education. The legal marriageable age of women is 13 years, while the legal marriageable age of men is 15, which is also the legal age for the right to vote.
10. The word paradise in the English language comes from a Persian word meaning “enclosed garden.”
11. The most popular sport in Iran is soccer which is also their national sport. The country’s national team has won the Asian Cup three times and played in three World Cup Final competitions.
12. Over 61% of people in Iran are Persians, 16% are Azeri, Kurd 10%, lur 6%, Baloch 2%, Arab 2%, Turkmen and Turkic tribes are 2%, and others are 1%.
13. Islam is the main religion in the country, with over 98% of people following Islam. Out of which, 89% are Shia, and 9 % are Sunni Muslims. Rest 2% comprise Zoroastrianism, Judaism, Christianity.
14. The official name of the country is the Islamic Republic of Iran.
15. Persia changed its name to Iran in 1935. In the Persian language, the word Iran means “Land of the Aryans.’
16. In 2012, Iran’s police chief announced that Google as a tool of spying.
17. In Iran, couples that want a marriage license should take mandatory lectures on contraception.
18. Iran first participated in the Olympics in 1948 and has sent athletes to every Summer Olympic since then.
19. Approximately 14.2% of Iranians are obese, making it the 41st most obese country in the world. American Samoa is the largest, with 75% of its population obese. The United States is 6th in the world, with 33.9% of the population obese.
20. Nearly half of Iran has an arid desert climate. It receives less than 4 inches of rain each year.
21. The country has the 4th spot in terms of oil reserves in the whole planet. Iran has around 157,530,000,000 barrels of oil reserves which stands to be 9.5% of the total oil reserves of the planet earth.
22. Iran is one of the world’s ancient continuous civilizations, with settlements dating back to 4000 B.C.
23. About 60 percent or 80 million people in the country are less than 30 years old.
24. When the Shah of Iran was defeated in 1979, Iran reverted from a civil structure to Islamic rule. Women under this law are not considered mentally or morally the equivalent to males. Additionally, children are seen as substance of male, and In the case of divorce, women lose all custody of children.
25. If a girl in Iran is sexually abused or harassed, blame typically falls on the girl’s mother for not protecting her daughter, much more than on the offender.
26. If a male rapes a woman in the country, the police can force the man to marry that woman.
27. The country has no law in marital rape as a woman is considered her husband’s property.
28. About 11,075,000 hectares or 6.8% or of the land of Iran is forest area.
29. The Asiatic lion and Persian leopard is the national animal of Iran.
30. 9.0173% of the total land of the country is arable.
31. The top 5 exports of Iran are:
    • Crude Petroleum ($43 Billion).
    • Ethylene Polymers ($2.66 Billion).
    • Semi-Finished Iron ($1.65 Billion).
    • Acyclic Alcohols ($1.65 Billion).
    • Refined Petroleum ($1.42 Billion).
32. The top 5 imports of Iran are Cars ($3.47 Billion), Corn ($1.67 Billion), Rice ($1.4 Billion), Vehicle Parts ($1.34 Billion), and Soybeans ($951 Million).
33. Iran is the most diverse country in the middle east.