Iran
Islamic Republic of Iran
U.S. sanctions — Iran sanctions. Comprehensive prohibitions on most trade, financial services, and investment.
As of August 2026 — verify with OFAC and screen counterparties with the xin.bz OFAC search.
- Region
- Asia · Southern Asia
- Capital
- Tehran
- Population
- 92,417,681 (2025)
- Government
- theocratic republic
- Currency
- Iranian rial (IRR)
- Official languages
- Persian (Farsi)
- Spoken languages
- Persian Farsi (official), Azeri and other Turkic dialects, Kurdish, Gilaki and Mazandarani, Luri, Balochi, Arabic
- Written scripts
- Perso-Arabic
- Area
- 1,648,195 km²
- Coastline
- Coastal
- UN member
- Yes
- Affiliations
- BRICS, IMF, OIC, OPEC, SCO (observer), WCO, WTO (observer)
- Borders
- Afghanistan , Armenia , Azerbaijan , Iraq , Pakistan , Türkiye , Turkmenistan
Political stability
39 / 100
Economic stability
24 / 100
Population stability
82 / 100
0–100, higher is more stable. Political: World Bank governance score. Economic: government effectiveness, regulatory quality, and inflation proximity to 2% (World Bank). Population: stability of growth and net migration rates (World Bank).
Trade profile
- Key exports
- plastics, iron ore, alcohols, natural gas, refined copper (2023)
- Key imports
- broadcasting equipment, vehicle parts/accessories, corn, soybeans, vehicle bodies (2023)
- Natural resources
- petroleum, natural gas, coal, chromium, copper, iron ore, lead, manganese, zinc, sulfur
- Luxury goods
- caviar, saffron, hand-knotted carpets
- Primary route
- Indian Ocean services to Asia, the Gulf, and Europe via Suez
- Secondary route
- Bay of Bengal and Arabian Sea feeder networks
The xin.bz view
- Iran’s crop outlook improved and wheat needs are smaller, but it may need ~11M t of imported corn for feed — and the UAE trade halt closed the Dubai gateway, so its food security now depends on payment channels, insurance, and re-export routes as much as supply.
xin.bz coverage
El Niño Is Raising the Middle East's Food and Water Needs — While War Is Rewriting How Supply Gets In and Energy Gets Out
Gulf desalination and grain buying, Egypt's Nile and Suez loops, Hormuz fertilizer constraints, and $280B+ in reconstruction demand — the Middle East sits on both sides of the El Niño shock.
El Niño Is Splitting Africa's Water Map — Just as the World Turns to the Continent for Food, Fertilizer, Fuel and Critical Minerals
A wetter Horn and a drier south, Southern Africa's grain and Kariba buffers, cocoa's port squeeze, Moroccan phosphate and Nigerian fuel as global substitutes, and the corridors that turn African resources into accessible supply.
Vessel-Days Are Becoming the Scarce Asset in Global Shipping
The merchant fleet is growing while effective capacity tightens — Hormuz detours, Panama slot cuts, war-risk insurance, officer shortages and drydocking are consuming the ship-days that move cargo.
The Fuel Dock Becomes the Next Shipping Chokepoint
Large-vessel bunker constraints are moving from refinery systems into global freight economics — a 218,000 b/d fuel-oil deficit, 12–15-day Singapore lead times, and the routes, industries and carriers that pay first.
Future Insight ·
Rearming the World Is Becoming a Race for Explosives, Factories, Critical Minerals, and Trusted Supply Chains
Future Insights deep dive — the 2026–2032 global rearmament cycle: a ~2.6 million tonne military replacement obligation, and the industrial race in explosives, propellant, rare-earth magnets, and trusted supply chains.
Trade research
- WTO trade profile — tariffs, trade in goods and services, top partners
- World Bank country data — GDP, trade share of GDP, logistics indicators
- OEC trade profile — export/import composition and partners, visualized
- ITC Trade Map — detailed trade statistics by product (ITC/UN Comtrade)
- CIA World Factbook — geography, economy, transportation infrastructure
xin.bz can watch Iran for you — email alerts when new disruptions hit. Start free
Sources: mledoze/countries (ODbL), CIA World Factbook (public domain), World Bank Open Data (CC BY-4.0), flag-icons (MIT). Stability scores are xin.bz composites of the cited World Bank indicators; routes and commodity notes are xin.bz assessments. Informational only — verify with official sources.