The country
Iran is a country of 1.6 million square kilometers in the Middle East and ranking on 17th place on the list of the largest countries in the world.
The heart of the country consists of the Central Iranian Highlands, with its vast dry and often scorching hot desert areas. This plateau is surrounded by high, snow-capped mountain ranges. To the south Iran is bordered by the Persian Gulf and to the North by the Caspian Sea.

People in Iran
With its 82 million inhabitants, Iran ranks on place 18 of the most populous countries. Iran is a multi-ethnic state. The location of the country in the melting point between Indo-European, Turk and Arab ethnic groups is also reflected in its population. The Persians make up for about 61 % of the population. The second largest ethnic group, with around 16 % of the population, are the Turkic Azerbaijani. About another 10% of the population are Kurds, 6 % are Lur and Bakhtiari and about 2% are Arabs.
The national language is Farsi, an Indo-European language, though it is written with the Arabic alphabet to which a few more characters were added. Most ethnic groups also speak their own languages and dialects.

Demography
Between 1956 and 2016, Iran's population more than quadrupled from 18 million to 79 million inhabitants. Currently there are 82 million people living in Iran. The country's population is very young. About 70 percent of the people living in Iran are under 30 years old. This large number of young people leads to a high youth unemployment. This high rate of unemployment is even aggravated by the fact that the country's economy is suffering from the political situation.

Family policy
In the 1980s, Iran had one of the highest birth rates in the world. At that time, every woman had on average more than six children. This birth explosion led to major problems with the lack of infrastructure. Therefore, the government introduced a birth control program. With the slogan "Boy or girl - two are enough" they tried to promote a two-children-family. Marriageable couples had to call on a family planning center and contraceptives were given away for free. The campaign was extremely successful: the birth rate could be reduced to less than two children per woman.
However, new problems for the pension sceme are emerging now. When the high-birth-years will retire, the numerically inferior young people will no longer be able to finance the too many elderly. Therefore, the government has started to encourage couples to have more children again.

Maternity leave
Women are currently getting 9 months maternity leave and new fathers are granted 2 weeks.

Pension sceme
After 30 years of an active working life people have to retire in order to give free the jobs for the younger generation. Many of the retired people then build up a second existence by opening a shop and often employing their own unemployed adult children there, so offering them a possibility to make a living of their own.

Urbanization
In 1956, two-thirds of the Iranian population lived in rural areas. Nowadays, over 70% of the population lives in cities. Tehran alone (together with its suburbs) counts about 12 million inhabitants.
The urban-rural difference is huge, as in many other emerging countries. While in big cities like Tehran people live a modern, occidental lifestyle, one only has to move away some 50 kilometers, to find oneself suddenly in a very simple and rural environment.

Education
Iranians are a highly educated people. While in the 1950s litteracy was only about 10%, now it is around 90%. The separate schools for boys and girl encourage even conservative families to send their girls to school. Due to the huge number of pupils and the lack of school infrastructure, the children go to school in shifts, particularly in the big cities. One half of the pupils attends school classes in the morning and the other half in the afternoon.
The pressure on the universities is huge – scores of young people hope to escape the high youth unemployment by studying. The young women are also pushing to universities and now account for around 60% of the students. Therefore, a nationwide competition, the so-called "Concour", is carried out to select the best students for universities. This “Concour” is very hard and selective. Nevertheless, the students still must study in shifts. At many universities, half of the students study on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays and the other half on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays (Friday is public holiday). The rest of the studying is done by self-study.

Cheerful people
Iranians are a very cheerful people. They are very openhearted and love to receive guests at their home, or else they go and visit others. The invitations are usually very informal and the number of guests is not fixed. The women cook several dishes, the men make kebabs on the grill. Then everything is served with rice, fresh herbs, salad, cucumber yoghurt and the usual sweet drinks like cola, fanta and sprite. And of course, they are drinking tea all the time. There is chatter and laughter and everybody is having a great time.
Iranians also enjoy going out very much, preferably with the whole family, eating out in a restaurant, having fun in one of the numerous amusement parks or going shopping, of course again together with other members of the clan. And they like festivities and to celebrate. Iranian wedding receptions with hundreds of guests are famous.

Ta’arof
Ta’arof is a very Iranian way of being polite. When entering a house for example, they step aside and want to let in the other persons first. They tell each other “please, you go fist, please”, but the other one does the same and they end up telling each other to go in first for several times, before one finally passes through the door.
With non-Iranians this sometimes leads to confusions. The shopkeeper for example wants to be polite and refuses to take the money. But of course, the customer will have to pay in the end. The general rule is, that they refuse three times before they give in and accept the money.

Clan life
Social life in Iran is still strongly influenced by the clan. The clan, that's the big family. Usually one of the elders is at the top and leads the life of the clan and the firstborn son will take over the role from his father. At the same time, this "clan leader" has a huge responsibility for the well-being of all clan members. He has to use his influence to secure jobs for everyone and he will have to find suitable spouses for all. For the members of the clan it is an unwritten rule, that the general interests of the clan stand above the desires of the individual. Clan life is a big support in people's lives but it can also be very complicated and at times even exhausting.

Nose jobs
Iranian women attach great importance to their appearance and many of them are extremely fashion-conscious. When you walk through a big city sooner or later you will come across a young woman or also a young man with a white bandage on the nose. Cosmetic surgery is very popular in Iran, especially rhinoplasty. To have one’s nose “fixed” has become very trendy. With highly trained surgeons and affordable costs, Iran is even a hot destination for patients from all around the world.

Shopping
Let’s start with the fact, that money can get you everything in Iran, despite the international sanctions. But in general, shopping in Iran is subject to the laws of strict economic sanctions. Therefore, Iran is an almost closed economy. Global brands and big chain stores are practically non-existent. Most goods are produced domestically. Cars, for example, are produced according to foreign licenses in Iran. As a result, there are only a few different models, such as the very common and cheap Pride.
Bazaars still play a major role. There you can buy everything, starting from food, clothing, houseware, carpets to gold and wedding dresses. For the things of daily need people normally go to the small shop around the corner, which is usually still managed by the owner himself. The supply depends on the current availability. If you are looking for something specific, you often have to go through several shops until you will maybe find the item you are looking for.
Most everyday food is produced and distributed inside the country. The state subsidizes many staple foods such as cereals, dairy products, rice and meat, in order to keep them affordable to everyone.
Clothes come to a large extent from Turkey. Iran itself also produces textiles and dresses, often in a quality that is highly superior to international standards. Recently, however, more and more clothes are also being imported from China. For example, the domestic shoe industry, which is still largely traditional, is increasingly competing with low-cost products made in China.

Drug problem
Drugs are a big problem in Iran. With more than 900 kilometers of border with Afghanistan, the world's largest producer of opium poppy, Iran is one of the main transit countries for opium and heroin on its way to Europe. However, the Iranian market itself absorbs a considerable amount of drugs for its own consumption. Of the approximately 82 million inhabitants, between 1.5 and 3 million are regular drug consumers. According to the UN World Drug Report, there are nearly 3'000 drug-related deaths in Iran each year.
For a long time, the government acted with extremely strict court practice against drug offenses. Drug smuggling and possession were punished with fines, flogging or even the death penalty. 60 to 70 percent of all prison inmates are drug criminals. More than three quarters of the executions go back to drug offenses.
But slowly a rethinking is taking place. The view is gradually gaining ground that even such harsh measures do not really have a deterrent effect.
The government is now increasingly focusing on fighting drug smuggling right at at the Afghan border. Since 2007, Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan have joined forces in the so-called "Triangular Initiative" to take action against the drug economy in the region. It is a true war that Iran's authorities are fighting with the smuggling gangs at the Afghan border. 3'000 policemen died in the last decade fighting with smugglers, more than 10'000 were injured.
But the attitude towards the addicts too, has changed. Instead of putting them to prison and being repressive, the authorities now start to treat addicts like sick people. They have installed methadone programs and hundreds of addiction centers for the drug users to turn to.

Road traffic
Roads in Iran are generally good and especially the intercity highways are in fact excellent. But most cars are very cheaply built and have little safety equipment. The most popular "Pride" for example costs only about EUR 5000.--. But this is just one of the many reasons why Iran with its more than 20’000 road deaths per year competes for one of the last ranks on the worldwide list for road safety.
Traffic in big cities is heavy and traffic lights are rare. Therefore, every driver tries to make his way as good as he can through the chaos of cars, busses, trucks and motorcycles. They manage to drive in five lanes where there are only three lanes on the road and driving backwards on a highway is quite common. Motorcyclists with heavily loaded bikes try to fit in between the cars at high speed and seem to be completely unaware of the risks they are taking.
Driving at night too is dangerous, as slow trucks without any light are crawling along the road with no chances for the other drivers to see them.
But the authorities are trying to improve the situation. They have installed many speed monitoring radars and professional drivers have to report frequently to the highway police to have their speed log checked. Furthermore, seatbelts on the front seat have now been mandatory for quite a few years. And many highways and important roads are lit all night to minimize the risks of accidents.

Environmental issues
The early settlement in Iran and the resulting intensive use of the land already led to the first environmental damage in very early centuries. Overgrazing and deforestation have severely damaged the fragile ecosystem of the arid land. The resulting soil erosion and drifting caused the destruction of valuable pastures and the desertification of the land. This has been leading since the 13th century to the expansion of nomadism. Still in 2011 Iran ranked worst in the world for soil erosion.
In present days, Iran is also struggling with many other environmental problems. Air pollution, especially in urban areas, due to vehicle and motorcycle emissions, inefficient heating systems, refinery operations, and industrial effluents is one of the major problems.
Nevertheless, energy prices are kept artificially low in Iran through heavy state subsidies, thus resulting in highly inefficient and polluting consumption patterns. As a lack of efficient and well-developed public transport system, people still use their own car or hire a taxi. In addition, the Iranian-manufactured gasoline is of very poor quality. As a result of the international sanctions the Iranian refineries are completely outdated.
Tehran is rated as one of the world’s most polluted cities. The city is often covered by a thick layer of smog. Breathing is difficult and schools remain closed on many days, especially in winter during the heating period.
However, the authorities are trying to reduce air pollution. As early as 1979, the government has set up a "Traffic Zone" covering the city center during peak traffic hours. Entering and driving inside this zone is only allowed with a special permit.
In 2007, Iran started to impose fuel rations, but the plan has met little success in reducing the pollution levels because of the rapidly growing number of cars.
The government is also encouraging taxis and buses to convert from petrol engines to engines that run on compressed natural gas and it has also started to purchase aging cars which do not meet today's emission regulations, in order to help people replacing their old cars by more efficient ones.
And the authorities are trying to raise people's awareness about the air pollution by installing Pollution Indicator Boards in the big cities.
The huge demand for electricity on the country is primarily met by the combustion of natural gas and petrol, thus leading to even more air pollution.
Iran has also been suffering from a severe drought for years, resulting in even more soil degradation, soil erosion, desertification and a lack of potable water.
The accelerated oil production is causing heavy oil pollution in the Persian Gulf.

Earthquakes
Earthquakes in Iran represent a major danger. They are quite frequent, as Iran is one of the most seismically active countries in the world. In the past, numerous earthquakes, some of them very strong and destructive, have struck the country. Since 1900, at least 126’000 people died in earthquakes and many more were injured. The authorities are well aware of the danger. They try to enforce earthquake-proof construction, but due to the high construction activity, too many buildings have been constructed without enough earthquake readiness.
Especially Tehran with its over 12 million population is at high risk of earthquakes, as it sits on two major fault lines. Given the dense and fast construction, an earthquake in Tehran would have devastating consequences. There are even plans to relocate a great number of state firms and universities to Isfahan and other cities in order to reduce damages from a potential earthquake.