| Name | Rank | Out of | Source | Notes | Year |
| E-readiness | 68 | 70 | Economist Intelligence Unit | | 2009 |
| Number of Internet Users | 15 | 195 | Internet World Stats | 70.0% of population use internet | 2017 |
| Total number of broadband internet users | 44 | 48 | International Telecommunication Union | 300,000 broadband internet users or ~0.41% of population; more info: Internet in Iran | 2008 |
| Digital Opportunity Index | 105 | 120 | International Telecommunication Union | | 2007 |
| Telephone Lines in Use | 10 | 100 | CIA World Factbook | 30,818,011 Telephone lines in use; 80% of telephony system had become digitized by 2004 94.8% of homes had telephone lines in 2010 | 2016 |
| Mobile Phones in Use | 22 | 56 | United Nations | 74,219,000 Mobile phone users | 2016 |
| 10 | 190 | World Bank | 73.68% of total revenue in telecommunication sector was reinvested for expansion of telecommunication & Cyberinfrastructure | 2005 |
| 102 | 193 | United Nations | Measure of a country's e-Government capabilities | 2010 |
| 117 | 193 | United Nations | Measure of a nation's population participation in e-Government | 2010 |
| 14 | 124 | United Nations | 112 daily newspapers & periodicals present. See also: Media of Iran. | 2000 |
| 8 | 91 | United Nations | 906 non-daily newspapers & periodicals present | 2000 |
| Number of Television Broadcast Stations | 67 | 228 | CIA World Factbook | In 1997 there were 28 TV broadcast stations plus 450 repeaters in Iran. By 2010, there were 74 high power broadcast stations, 430 medium power and 5,000 low power broadcast stations in addition to 120 TV studios, 47 TV channels & 50 radio channels. Iran switched from SECAM to PAL in 1998. By 2015 Iran planned to complete its switchover to digital TV. More info: Countries by color TV introduction & Countries by TV introduction. | 1997 |
| 9 | 165 | CIA World Factbook | 100 ISPs in operation | 2002 |
| List of countries by number of Internet hosts | 120 | 190 | CIA World Factbook | There are 2,860 Internet hosts in Iran. | 2008 |
| 58 | World | Webometrics | Iran has 310,000 websites on its national domain ; Iran ranks 32nd globally in terms of total number of websites | 2009 |
| 174 | 181 | Speedtest.net | Hamadan is the province of Iran with the fastest upload/download speed at 0.32/1.09 Mbps and is the fastest ISP in Iran with 0.76/2.87. | 2010 |
| | World | Google | Iran censors internet traffic. | 2010 |
| Name | Rank | Out of | Source | Notes | Year |
| Birth Rate | 96 | 195 | United Nations | 20.3 Births per 1000 population/Year | 2005-10 |
| Death Rate | 183 | 195 | United Nations | 5.3 Deaths per 1000 population/year. Top ten causes of death in Iran:
1. Ischaemic heart disease, 2. Road traffic accident, 3. Stroke, 4., 5. Hypertension, 6. Stomach cancer, 7. COPD, 8. Diarrhea, 9. Inflammatory heart disease, 10. Lower respiratory tract infection. More info: List of most important causes of death for humans. | 2005-10 |
| Nations with least divorce rate | 25 | World | United Nations | Crude divorce rate of 0.94 per 1,000 population; By 2009 Iran's divorce rate had reached 1.7 per 1,000 people | 2004 |
| Cities Proper by Population | 17 | 61 | United Nations | City proper of Tehran; population: 7,873,000; Area: 760 km2; Population density: 10,359 Persons/km2 | 2007 |
| Urban agglomerations by Population | 28 | 100 | United Nations | Tehran population agglomerate with a population of 7,873,000 | 2007 |
| Urbanization by country | 65 | 193 | CIA World Factbook | 74.4% of population is urban; 982 cities & 68,122 villages | 2005-10 |
| Urbanization Rate | 82 | 193 | CIA World Factbook | Urbanization rate of 1.78% | 2005-10 |
| List of countries by infant mortality rate | 119 | 195 | United Nations | Infant mortality rate of 30.6 & Under-5 mortality rate of 35.5 /1000 live births | 2006 |
| 92 | 136 | United Nations | 37/100,000 Pregnancies; By 2008 Iran's MMR became 27.8/100,000 Pregnancies | 1985-99 |
| Population | 17 | 223 | United Nations | Population of 74,196,000 or approximately 1.09% of the world's population. More info: Past and future population by country. | 2009 |
| Life Expectancy | 129 | World | CIA World Factbook | Overall life expectancy of 74 years; Male: 72.7 years; Female: 75.5 years | 2017 |
| Population Growth Rate | 96 | 230 | United Nations | Population growth rate of 1.35% | 2005-10 |
| Population Density | 160 | 239 | United Nations | Population density of 45.017 persons/km2 | 2005 |
| Net Migration Rate | 126 | 154 | CIA World Factbook | Migrants/1000 population: -2.62 | 2009 |
| Fertility Rate | 129 | 223 | United Nations | Total fertility rate of 2.04 births/woman; Iran has reduced its fertility rate of 6.6 births/woman in 1970 to the replacement level of 2 in 2005 in a revolutionary female health program & successfully stopping Iran's first baby-boom; This reduction of fertility rate is one of the fastest in history of mankind Total fertility rate declined from 7 births/woman in 1979 to 1.9 births/woman in 2006 | 2005-10 |
| 139 | 185 | World Bank | 19.14 births/1000 females aged 15–19; ranked from highest rates to lowest; more info: | 2005 |
| Immigrant population | 21 | 192 | United Nations | Immigrants in Iran: 1.05% of total world immigrant population or 1,959,000; 2.861% of Iran's national population | 2005 |
| 1 | 110 | United Nations | Host to the world's largest and longest staying foreign refugees population, mostly Iraqi and Afghan refugees. More info: . As of 2010 there were more than 3 million Afghan refugees living in Iran, and in the prior three decades Iran was host to an average refugee population of over 5 million. | 1999 |
| Median age | 122 | 230 | CIA World Factbook | Total median age: 30.3; male median age: 30; female median age: 30.5. | 2017 |
| Name | Rank | Out of | Source | Notes | Year |
| GDP | 18 | 193 | World Bank | GDP = $1.352 trillion. | 2016 |
| GDP per capita | 67 | 187 | International Monetary Fund | GDP per capita= $18,077. | 2016 |
| GDP | 27 | 182 | World Bank | GDP = $393.4 billion. | 2016 |
| GDP per capita | 96 | 187 | International Monetary Fund | GDP per capita= $4,683. | 2016 |
| GDP per person employed | 36 | 87 | CIA World Factbook | US $39,696 per person employed; 33% of the total population is employed | 2009 |
| GNI per capita | 57 | World | World Bank | Average national income of $11,490 per person/year | 2009 |
| GNI per capita | 89 | World | World Bank | GNI per capita=US $6,550. | 2015 |
| GDP growth rate | 68 | 182 | International Monetary Fund | GDP growth of 20.6% | 2009 |
| GDP growth rate | 18 | 217 | International Monetary Fund | Adjusted GDP growth rate of 6.54%; See also: 1990-2007 annualized GDP growth rate | 2016 |
| Real GDP per capita growth rate | 99 | 174 | World Bank | Iran's real GDP per capita growth rate=3.1% | 2006 |
| World's largest consumer markets | 35 | World | United Nations | Size of Iran's consumer market in 2013 = $190.776 billion | 2013 |
| Starting a Business Index | 48 | World | World Bank | The index measures the ease of starting up a new business | 2010 |
| Ease of Doing Business Index | 124 | 190 | World Bank | The survey was done indirectly &/or by estimation | 2018 |
| 77 | World | Freedom Meta-Index | Index measuring freedom for private businesses | 2011 |
| Prime lending rate | 76 | 153 | CIA World Factbook | Prime lending rate of 12% | 2007 |
| Human Development Index | 60 | 189 | United Nations / | Human development index of 0.798; Categorized among High-HDI countries; Iran ranks 3rd worldwide in terms of progress in its Human Development Index for the past three decades | 2017 |
| Human Poverty Index | 59 | 135 | United Nations / | HPI is a composite index measuring deprivations in the three basic dimensions: a long & healthy life, knowledge and a decent standard of living; Calculated using HPI-1 formula; Ranked from least poverty index to maximum poverty index; More info: | 2009 |
| 88 | World | World Bank | Iran's per capita national wealth=US $38,000 | 2000 |
| Income equality | 72 | World | United Nations | Iran had a Gini coefficient of 38.8. | 2014 |
| Least Inflation Rates | 83 | World | IMF | Inflation rate of ~8% More info: | 2010 |
| Government Budget | 32 | 188 | CIA World Factbook | Government revenue of $97.7 billion in 2009; 2010-2011 Total Government Budget of $347 billion More info: Government of Iran | 2009 |
| Highest government budget surplus | 4 | World | CIA World Factbook | Government budget surplus of 3.9 billion US dollars | 2009 |
| List of countries by received FDI | 60 | World | CIA World Factbook | $44.640 billion of Foreign Direct Investment in Iran by foreign entities. | 2015 |
| List of countries by FDI abroad | 65 | World | CIA World Factbook | 993 million dollars invested by Iranian entities outside of Iran | 2008 |
| Size of Sovereign Wealth Funds | 20 | 36 | Sovereign Wealth Funds Institute | Sovereign wealth fund of 23 billion dollars in oil stabilization fund ; see also: National Development Fund | 2009 |
| Investment as % of GDP | 36 | 145 | CIA World Factbook | Share of gross fixed investment as % of GDP: 27.7% | 2008 |
| Exports per capita | 73 | 157 | CIA World Factbook | $1,211 of exports per capita/year | 2014 |
| Tax revenue as % of GDP | 163 | World | Heritage Foundation | Government tax revenue as % of GDP=7.3%. More info: Taxation in Iran | 2008 |
| Current account balance | 4 | 191 | International Monetary Fund | Annual account balance of +70.797 billion dollars in surplus | 2010 |
| current account balance as % of GDP | 38 | World | International Monetary Fund | Current account balance as % of GDP= +4.05%; Iran has the world's 38th largest trade surplus as % of GDP | 2008 |
| 38 | 145 | World Bank | General government final consumption is the total government expenditure excluding capital investments; Iran: 15,826,440,000 constant 2000 US$ | 2005 |
| Gold reserve of government | 8 | World | International Monetary Fund | 907 tonnes of Gold reserves; More info: Gold reserves of Iran, Iranian Crown Jewels | 2012 |
| Foreign exchange reserves | 20 | World | World Bank | $120 billion of forex reserves, More info: Central Bank of Iran | 2012 |
| List of countries by imports | 44 | 222 | CIA World Factbook | Annual import bill of $76.39 billion | 2017 |
| List of countries by exports | 37 | 222 | CIA World Factbook | Total annual exports of $101,4 billion | 2017 |
| Unemployment rate | 75 | World | United Nations | Unemployment rate of 11.3%; Ranked from highest unemployment rate to lowest. | 2009 |
| 10 | 154 | Doing Business & World Bank | Measures the difficulty to hire workers; Index of Iran: 78 | 2004 |
| 118 | 154 | Doing Business & World Bank | Measures the difficulty to fire workers; Index of Iran: 10 | 2004 |
| 9 | 117 | World Bank | Primary export is 93% of total manufactured exports, mostly oil | 2000 |
| 14 | 135 | World Bank | 47.14% of business expense is employee compensation | 2005 |
| GDP sector composition | 35 | 197 | CIA World Factbook | Agriculture=11.2%; Industry= 41.7% ; Service= 47.1%; Share of oil related activity in total GDP is less than 10% | 2005 |
| 73 | World | World Bank | The average annual growth rate of the total exports and imports in goods and services at constant 2000 U.S. dollars; This indicator reflects the trade expansion of a country over the period | 2008 |
| Public debt as % of GDP | 114 | World | CIA World Factbook | Total public debt stands at 16.2% of GDP; Ranked from highest total government debt to lowest. | 2010 |
| Total external debt | 122 | World | CIA World Factbook | Ranked from the highest debt to lowest; Total external debt of 7.995 billion dollars; Or 1.85% of GDP; Or $96 per person; 4th least indebted country in the world by external debt to GDP ratio | 2017 |
| 33 | 135 | World Bank | Approximately $2.52 billion paid/year to foreign creditors in interest and principal repayment | 2005 |
| 174 | 186 | CIA World Factbook | $61.60/$1000 of GDP | 2006 |
| Labour force | 22 | 185 | CIA World Factbook | Total labour force of 24.35 million people, more info: Labor and tax laws in Iran | 2008 |
| 15 | 139 | World Bank | 30.4% of labour force work in industry | 2005 |
| 47 | 139 | World Bank | 24.9% of labour force work in agriculture | 2005 |
| 5 | 130 | World Bank | 28.4% of all industrial labour force is female | 2005 |
| 29 | 130 | World Bank | 34.2% of all agricultural labour force is female | 2005 |
| 6 | 156 | International Labour Organization | 34% growth of female participation in economic activities | 1990–2000 |
| 56 | 58 | United Nations/IMF | Iran spends 1.1% of its GDP on national pensions; 5% of Iran's population is 65 yrs old & above; In 2009 for every retiree there were fifteen active workers & by 2050 this ratio is going to fall to three workers per retiree | 2009 |
| Index of Economic Freedom | 171 | 179 | 2008 Heritage Foundation Index of economic freedom | | 2011 |
| World's highest central bank interest rates | 75 | World | CIA World Factbook | Annualized interest rate set by the central bank to charge commercial banks for short term loans; More info: Banking and Insurance in Iran | 2011 |
| World's highest commercial bank interest rates | 76 | World | CIA World Factbook | Averaged annualized interest rate charged by the commercial banks on new loans to their most trustworthy customers; More info: Bank Melli Iran | 2007 |
| 6 | 172 | World Bank | Gross savings of 41.57% of GNI | 2005 |
| 6 | 109 | World Bank | 6th highest marginal tax rate for individual income exceeding $114,101.4; More info: Labour and tax laws in Iran | 2006 |
| 11 | 137 | World Bank | Ratio: 58.84% | 2005 |
| 21 | 115 | World Bank | 1,255,382 Enterprises | 1997 |
| 68 | 113 | World Bank | 20.62 Enterprises/1000 people | 1997 |
| 120 | 129 | OECD | International aid received is less than 0.1% of GDP; ~$100 million; The only international aid received is as part of international fight against drug trafficking and Illegal drug trade, chiefly opiates smuggling | 2002 |
| Largest Islamic Banking Sector | 1 | World | The Banker | Iran has the world's largest Islamic banking sector valued at 235.5 billion US dollars | 2009 |
| Least valued currency units | 4 | World | International Monetary Fund | Iranian rial is the world's 4th least valued currency unit; More info: Iranian rial | 2009 |
| 19 | World | Havocscope Black Markets Database | Size of Iran's black market is over US$10.64 billion; Largest black markets in Iran are that of alcohol smuggling, Drug smuggling, Petroleum smuggling, Cigarette smuggling, Prostitution, Arms trafficking, Corruption, unlicensed movies and unlicensed software copies. More info: Smuggling in Iran | 2009 |
| 69 | World | Freedom Meta-Index | Index measuring tax free status of different countries | 2011 |
| 67 | 177 | Global Entrepreneurship and Development Index | See also: Venture capital in Iran and Technology start-ups in Iran | 2012 |
| Name | Rank | Out of | Source | Notes | Year |
| Adult literacy rate | 47 | World | United Nations | 91% of adult population is literate; Total illiteracy rate of 6.2% of population in 2002 improving from 52.5% in 1976 Total literacy rate : 92.7% in 2002; More info: Functional illiteracy & Aliteracy, Scientific literacy & School leaving age | 2011 |
| Education Index | 74 | 176 | United Nations | Iran's educational index= 0.683; More info: Technological literacy & Scientific literacy & Information literacy & Cognitive science | 2015 |
| Book titles published per year | 9 | World | Book titles published per country per year | 72,871 Book titles published annually; More info: | 2014 |
| 16 | 99 | United Nations | 2,426 Book titles in applied sciences published | 1999 |
| 18 | 93 | United Nations | 733 Book titles in arts & recreation published | 1999 |
| 13 | 83 | United Nations | 706 Book titles in psychology & philosophy published | 1999 |
| 2 | 96 | United Nations | 4,504 Book titles in theology published | 1999 |
| 54 | 98 | United Nations | 247 Book titles in literature published | 1999 |
| 12 | 88 | United Nations | 612 Book titles in generalities published | 1999 |
| 3 | 91 | United Nations | 1,486 Book titles in linguistics published | 1999 |
| 7 | 94 | United Nations | 1,844 Book titles in pure sciences published | 1999 |
| 30 | 99 | United Nations | 1,319 Book titles in social sciences published | 1999 |
| 72 | 81 | United Nations | ~6 library books per 1,000 people | 2004 |
| 54 | 155 | United Nations | 98.1% of male population 15-24 yrs old are literate | 2005 |
| 1 | 197 | United Nations | 1.223 females per one male student | 2005 |
| 8 | 185 | World Bank | 9,942,201 students in secondary schools | 2005 |
| 87 | 155 | United Nations | Female/male ratio of literate 15–24 years old population: 0.99. Total female literacy rate of 76.2% in 2002, improving from 25.5% in 1976. | 2005 |
| 17 | 193 | World Bank | 7,307,056 students in primary level schools | 2005 |
| 22 | 200 | United Nations | 1,714,433 students at tertiary level of education; 64% of university students are female | 2002 |
| 68 | 188 | United Nations | 26.159 tertiary level students per 1,000 people | 2002 |
| 58 | 132 | United Nations | 4.9% of GDP is spent on education | 2003 |
| 19 | 161 | World Bank | Education budget is 22.85% of total government budget | 2005 |
| 58 | 110 | United Nations | Citizens on average attend 11.3 years of schooling | 1999 |
| 52 | 138 | United Nations | 20.9% of population over 15 years old are illiterate | 2003 |
| School Success Index Rank | 29 | 158 | Save the Children: State of the World's Mothers report | The index is a calculated composite measure of indicators for early childhood growth & development, Under-5 survival rate, nutrition, adult female literacy rate, total fertility rate, grade 1 repetition rate, % of children out of school & children proficiency at mathematics, reading & fine motor skills; Ranking is among 43 developed & 115 developing countries, totaling 158; More info: Study skills | 2009 |
| 55 | World | Webometrics | Iran has one university among the list of world's top 1000 universities & 30 among the top 5,000 universities; More info: ; | 2009 |
| World's largest universities by enrollment | 3 | World | List of largest universities by enrollment | Islamic Azad University is the world's third largest university with more than 1.3 million students enrolled, it is also the world's largest private university | 2010 |
| 184 | World | Quacquarelli Symonds | University of Tehran stands at 184th and Sharif University of Technology stands at 244th place among the world's top engineering universities | 2007 |
| 401 | 500 | ARWU | University of Tehran is ranked at 401st among the world top 500 universities. More info: . | 2010 |
| 34 | World | Ministry of Education | Ranking based on overall world universities ranking equalized against size of national economy to control for the fact that more wealthy nations can support their higher education systems to a greater degree due to higher funding availability, thus measuring the quality of higher education adjusted for money spent on it. | 2009 |
| 35 | World | World Economic Forum | Measure of math and science education quality | 2011 |
| Name | Rank | Out of | Source | Notes | Year |
| Energy consumption per capita | 57 | World | World Resources Institute | 23,748 kW·h/year/person. In 2010, per capita energy intensity in Iran was 15 times higher than in Japan and 10 times higher than the European Union. | 2003 |
| Primary energy consumption | 13 | World | International Energy Agency | Energy, production of about per year. By 2009 Iran stood at 11th worldwide, annually consuming 204.8 million TOE. | 2006 |
| Primary energy production | 6 | World | International Energy Agency | Energy, consumption of per year | 2006 |
| Energy intensity | 1 | World | International Energy Agency | 2.5 times the Middle Eastern average in 2010; 14,120 tonnes of oil equivalent/$1 million of GDP in 2006. More info: Fuel smuggling in Iran. | 2010 |
| 12 | 59 | United Nations | 11,143 million tonnes of reserves | 2005 |
| 32 | 73 | United Nations | 1,330,000 tonnes per year | 2005 |
| 6 | 34 | United Nations | Ranked among exporting countries; Iran: 10,000 tonnes/year | 2005 |
| 4 | 131 | United Nations | 95,000 tonnes of aviation gasoline available per year inside country | 2005 |
| Proven natural gas reserves | 1 | 209 | CIA World Factbook | Total proven reserves of 33.1 trillion cubic meters or 15.8% of the world's total reserves. More info: :Category:Natural gas fields in Iran|Natural gas fields of Iran & Natural gas reserves in Iran. Market value of Iran's total natural gas reserves at comparative international energy price of $75 per barrel of oil stands at ~US $4 trillion. | 2012 |
| 5 | 71 | CIA World Factbook | 364,609 cubic meters per person | 2005 |
| Natural gas production | 4 | 183 | CIA World Factbook | Annual production of 131.2 billion cubic meters. Annual production of ~220 billion cubic meters in 2010. | 2007 |
| Natural gas consumption | 3 | 183 | CIA World Factbook | Total annual natural gas consumption of 131.7 billion m3. Iran has the world's fastest growth rate in natural gas consumption. Iran by 2011 had 80 years' worth of gas reserves based on 2010 production levels. More info: Peak gas, Natural gas by country. | 2009 |
| Natural gas exports | 25 | 182 | CIA World Factbook | Annual exports of 6.2 billion cubic meters | 2007 |
| Natural gas imports | 27 | 182 | CIA World Factbook | Annual imports of 6.1 billion cubic meters | 2007 |
| 5 | 67 | United Nations | Annual household natural gas usage of 1,243,256 Tera-joules | 2005 |
| Proven oil reserves | 3 | 97 | CIA World Factbook | Total proven reserves of, or ~ of oil per Iranian citizen. Market value of Iran's total oil reserves at international crude price of $75 per barrel stands at ~US $10 trillion. | 2007 |
| Oil production | 4 | 210 | CIA World Factbook | Daily production of ~ | 2008 |
| 1 | World | Statistical Review of World Energy | Iran has the world's highest R/P ratio of 89.4 years for oil. | 2010 |
| Oil consumption | 15 | 208 | CIA World Factbook | Daily consumption of | 2006 |
| Oil exports | 8 | 205 | CIA World Factbook | Daily exports of. More info: Iranian oil bourse, ; . | 2009 |
| 20 | 84 | United Nations | 1.94 tonnes exported annually per person | 2005 |
| Oil imports | 52 | 206 | CIA World Factbook | Iran imports of oil per day | 2004 |
| 2 | World | Oil & Gas Journal | Total hydrocarbon reserves of Iran including both oil and natural gas measured in barrel of oil equivalent stands at 301.7 billion, just after Saudi Arabia's 302.5 billion BOE and ahead of Russia's 198.3 billion BOE. Alternatively, Iranian government puts the total reserve at 324 billion BOE. Iran is the only country with large reserves of both gas and oil. It is also the only country with large hydrocarbon reserves, which has the potential to massively increase its production due to its current low production levels. | 2010 |
| Nuclear power rankings of nations | 27 | World | IAEA | Current Iranian nuclear generated electricity capacity is: 915 Mwh. Iran plans to produce 23,000 MWh of nuclear generated electricity in the future using 19 nuclear power plants. More info: Iranian nuclear program and Nuclear facilities in Iran. | 2012 |
| Uranium reserves / Uranium by country | | World | World Nuclear Association | As of 2009 Iran had an estimated total uranium reserves of 20,300 tonnes recoverable at a cost of less than $260/kg. As per WNA, Iran's 2012 uranium requirement for power generation was 170 tonnes. | 2009 |
| Electricity production | 19 | 210 | CIA World Factbook | ~193.3 terawatt-hours/year. More info: and List of power stations in Iran. | 2007 |
| Electricity consumption | 20 | 190 | CIA World Factbook | Consumption of 136.2 terawatt-hours/year, or 224 watt-hours per person. All settlements with 20 or more families are electrified. | 2005 |
| Electricity exports | 39 | 186 | CIA World Factbook | Annual exports of ~2.8 terawatt-hours. Iran's electricity exports rose to 5.5 TWh in 2009. | 2006 |
| Electricity imports | 46 | 188 | CIA World Factbook | Electricity imports of 2.54 TWh/year | 2006 |
| 86 | 214 | CIA World Factbook | ~2,747 kWh per capita/year | 2006 |
| 30 | 131 | World Bank | Electrical transmission loss: 16.88% of output | 2004 |
| 5 | 97 | United Nations | Annual usage of 1,379,527 tera-joules by power stations | 2005 |
| Installed wind power capacity | 35 | 76 | World Wind Energy Association | Current installed capacity of 82 MWh. Iran's installed Wind power capacity growth rate= 49.4%. More info: :Category:Wind farms in Iran|Wind farms of Iran. | 2008 |
| Largest hydroelectric power stations | 44 | 48 | List of largest hydroelectric power stations | Power stations with 2000 MW capacity or more. Iran operates three such dams out of 48 in the world. Total number of dams: 186 operational, 91 under construction. Ranked 3rd worldwide in terms of dams under construction. More info: Energy in Iran and List of reservoirs and dams in Iran. | 2010 |
| 6 | 171 | United Nations | 2,708,000 tonnes of diesel used by thermal power plants | 2005 |
| 13 | 124 | United Nations | Annual production of 24,443,000 tonnes of diesel | 2005 |
| 6 | 96 | World Bank | 125,393 GWh produced from natural gas | 2004 |
| 11 | 191 | United Nations | 21,976,000 tonnes of diesel available per year | 2005 |
| 8 | 149 | United Nations | 6,374,000 tonnes/year | 2005 |
| 13 | 93 | World Bank | $650,000,000/year | 2004 |
| 4 | 174 | United Nations | 6,043,000 tonnes/year | 2005 |
| 3 | 166 | United Nations | 1,105,000 tonnes imported/year | 1997 |
| 50 | 110 | United Nations | 520,000 tonnes imported/year | 2005 |
| 12 | 93 | United Nations | 1,791,000 tonnes exported/year | 2005 |
| 16 | 121 | United Nations | Annual gasoline production of 11,154,000 tonnes | 2005 |
| 2 | 205 | United Nations | Energy balance requirement of 6,677,000 tonnes of gasoline. Energy balance requirement is the amount of energy a country needs to import for its needs due to its local non-availability because of production shortage. | 2005 |
| 5 | 200 | United Nations | 6,677,000 tonnes imported/year | 2005 |
| 4 | 21 | United Nations | 1,855,000 tonnes produced | 2005 |
| 3 | 116 | United Nations | 1,619,000 tonnes/year consumed by households | 2005 |
| 64 | 166 | United Nations | Annual importation of 80,000 tonnes of jet fuel | 1990 |
| 37 | 108 | United Nations | Annual production of 850,000 tonnes jet fuel | 2005 |
| 2 | World | German government | Diesel fuel prices in Iran are the second cheapest in the world. One liter of diesel costs in commodity barter comparison: ~0.3 of a hen egg. | 2005 |
| 8 | World | German government | Gasoline fuel prices are the 8th cheapest in the world. Iran spends 8% of its total state revenue, subsidizing fuel for the domestic market. | 2005 |
| 2 | 64 | International Energy Agency | Index measures a country's per capita energy consumption, use of modern fuels and population's access to electricity. | 2011 |
| Name | Rank | Out of | Source | Notes | Year |
| Environmental Sustainability Index | 132 | 146 | Yale University | Survey was done indirectly and/or by estimation. | 2005 |
| Greenhouse emissions per capita | 74 | World | World Resources Institute | Based on data for carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, perfluorocarbon, hydrofluorocarbon, sulfur hexafluoride emissions as well as effects of land use change. Iran = 7.6 tonnes of Carbon dioxide equivalent per person/year. | 2000 |
| 37 | 158 | United Nations | 54 species under threat of extinction | 1999 |
| Happy Planet Index | 81 | 178 | New Economics Foundation | The Happy Planet Index is a measure of the environmental efficiency of supporting citizens' well-being. Iran's index: 47.23 | 2009 |
| Environmental Performance Index | 78 | 153 | Yale University/Columbia University | Iran's index=60.0. More info: Over-consumption and Dashboard of Sustainability. | 2010 |
| Total renewable water resources | 58 | 151 | CIA World Factbook | Iran has total renewable water resources of 137.5 cubic kilometers. More info: Water security, Water resources, and Peak water | 2008 |
| 116 | 141 | United Nations | Annual fresh water availability of 630 cubic meters per person. Measure of internal renewable water. | 2001 |
| 13 | 53 | World Conservation Monitoring Centre | Biodiversity Richness Index: 2 | 1994 |
| 28 | 141 | Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center | 2.36 tonnes of CO2 emissions/$ of GDP | 2005 |
| 19 | 28 | United Nations | 700 km2 of coral reefs | 2005 |
| 71 | 141 | CITES | 69.6% of CITES requirement met | 2000 |
| Land use statistics by country | 16 | 176 | CIA World Factbook | Total cultivated land area of 221,400 square kilometers | 2005 |
| Carbon dioxide emissions per capita | 70 | 210 | United Nations | 5.8 tonnes of CO2 emissions per person. More info: :File:CO2 per capita per country.png|CO2 emissions per person map | 2003 |
| Total carbon dioxide emissions | 11 | 210 | United Nations | 466,976,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions or ~ 1.6% of the world's total emissions | 2006 |
| Total forest area | 47 | 220 | United Nations | 110,750 square kilometers of forests | 2007 |
| Fresh water withdrawal | 11 | 168 | CIA World Factbook | Total annual water withdrawal of 72.88 km3. Annual per capita withdrawal of 1,048 m3. Rank of 19th by per capita withdrawal; 91% agriculture, 7% domestic, 2% industrial share of withdrawal. | 2000 |
| 14 | 129 | World Bank | Metal industry contribution to total biochemical oxygen demand emissions: 15.55% | 2003 |
| Name | Rank | Out of | Source | Notes | Year |
| Total area | 18 | 233 | United Nations | Area of 1,628,750 km2; or ~1.1% of World's total area | 2010 |
| Deadliest earthquakes in history | 8 | World | List of natural disasters by death toll | 856 Damghan earthquake killed more than 200,000 people in Iran on December 22, 856. | 856 |
| 2 | World | United Nations | Iran has the world's second highest number of casualties due to earthquakes per one million residents. More info: . | 2010 |
| 1 | World | United Nations | Iran has the world's highest number of major earthquakes. Tremors occur daily somewhere in the country. More info: . | 2010 |
| Number of billionaires | | | List of Iranian people by net worth | Iran has an estimated 3 million "high net worth individuals", 32,000 individuals with a net worth of $3 million, 1,300 multimillionaires with net assets of $10 million or more and four billionaires. See also: Social class in Iran and List of high net worth Iranians abroad. | 2016 |
| World Giving Index | 86 | World | Charities Aid Foundation | Iran ranked 86th charitable nation worldwide with 35% of population having given money to charities, 38% of population having helped a stranger and only 12% having volunteered time. More info: . | 2010 |
| Intensity of natural background radiation | 1 | World | Natural background radiation at Ramsar | Highest natural radioactivity level in the world. Annual dose of 260 mSv. More info: Acute radiation syndrome and Ionizing radiation. | 2010 |
| % of water area | 102 | 139 | List of countries by percentage of water area | 12,000 km2 of sovereign water area or ~0.73% of total sovereign area | 2010 |
| Length of coastline | 50 | 196 | List of countries by length of coastline | 2,440 km of total coastline length, excluding 740 km of coastline with the Caspian Sea, which is landlocked. | 2010 |
| Land Area | 18 | World | List of countries and outlying territories by land area | 1,636,000 km2 of land area | 2010 |
| World's largest islands | 272 | World | List of islands by area | Qeshm with an area of 1,336 km2 is the world's 272nd largest island. More info: List of islands by highest point. | 2010 |
| World's highest points by country | 22 | World | List of countries by highest point | Damavand with a height of 5,610 m. Damavand is also one of the Volcanic Seven Summits. More info: List of mountains in Iran and Extreme points of Earth. | 2010 |
| World's lowest points | 17 | World | List of countries by lowest point | Caspian Sea with a depth of 28 m below sea level is the world's 17th deepest natural point. | 2010 |
| World's largest deserts | 23 | World | List of deserts by area | Dasht-e Kavir is the 23rd and Dasht-e Lut is the 25th largest desert in the world. | 2010 |
| 83 | 141 | Reader's Digest | Composite measure of HDI and ESI | 2008 |
| Tea consumption per capita | 5 | World | World Market Research | Annual per capita tea consumption of 1.2 kg | 2004 |
| Coffee consumption per capita | 132 | World | World Resources Institute | Annual per capita coffee consumption of 0.1 kg | 2006 |
| 7 | World | US government | Yearly consumption of ~195 kg per person | 2004 |
| Southernmost point by country | 127 | World | List of countries by southernmost point | South east of Sistan va Baluchestan at 25°03'35"N | 2010 |
| Northernmost point by country | 60 | World | List of countries by northernmost point | West Azarbaijan region at 39°46'38"N | 2010 |
| Easternmost point by country | 44 | World | List of countries by easternmost point | Sistan va Baluchestan region at 63°18'03"E | 2010 |
| Westernmost point by country | 146 | World | List of countries by westernmost point | West Azarbaijan region at 44°02'50"E | 2010 |
| 1 | World | NASA | Gandom-Beriyan in Dasht-e Lut is the world's hottest place with a recorded temperature of 70.7 °C. More info: , List of weather records, and . | 2005 |
| Least expensive capital cities | 1 | World | CNN | Tehran is the world's least expensive capital city based on the cost-of-living index and is overall the second cheapest city after Karachi in the world. | 2007 |
| World's tallest towers | 5 | World | List of tallest buildings and structures in the world | Milad Tower is the world's fifth tallest tower and 14th tallest freestanding structure. More info: List of tallest structures in Iran and List of tallest freestanding structures in the world. | 2010 |
| Largest oil gushers in history | 1 | World | Oil gusher | Qum wildcat oil gusher blew on August 26, 1956, and had an uncontrollable gusher of for three months before it was contained. | 2010 |
| World's oldest trees | 3 | World | Earth Watchers Center | Sarv-e-Abarkooh, at over 4,000 years of age, is the world's third oldest tree. | 2010 |
| World's largest sports stadiums | 11 | World | List of stadiums by capacity | Azadi Stadium with a seating capacity of 100,000 people is the world's 11th largest sports stadium as well as being the world's fourth largest football stadium and world's 44th largest sporting venue. | 2010 |
| Name | Rank | Out of | Source | Notes | Year |
| Suicide Rate | 164 | 183 | WHO | Total suicide rate = 3.6/100,000 people | 2015 |
| Tobacco Consumption per capita | 71 | 182 | WHO | 835.51 Cigarettes smoked per adult per year. | 2014 |
| Alcohol consumption per capita | 168 | World | WHO | Per capita alcohol consumption of 1.00 liters per year; More info: Alcohol and cancer & Alcoholic liver disease | 2010 |
| 54 | 163 | World Health Organization | Categorized in medium access level of 80%; Number of factories producing medicine: 122 | 2000 |
| 107 | 112 | World Bank | 16.67% of over-15 years old HIV+ population is female | 2005 |
| 144 | 200 | World Bank | 23.48 per 100,000 People; 100% of all patients are under proper medical treatment as per WHO guidelines | 2005 |
| 138 | 202 | World Bank | 0.45 physicians/1000 people; Alternative WHO 2005 indicators: Total Physicians=61,870, Pharmaceutical personnel density=0.2/1000 People, Nursing and midwifery personnel density=1.6/1000 People, Dentistry personnel density=0.2/1000 People | 2004 |
| Prevalence of opiate addiction | 1 | 132 | United Nations | Prevalence rate of 2.8% of population; Almost all opiates smuggled into Iran from Afghanistan; Initiation age for most Iranian addicts is their 20s; More info: | 1999 |
| Annual cannabis use by country | 31 | 67 | United Nations | Annual prevalence rate of 4.2% of population | 1999 |
| HIV/AIDS prevalence rate | 153 | 171 | CIA World Factbook | HIV/AIDS Prevalence Rate of 0.1% of Population; Recent WHO report puts the number of HIV+ people at 110,000 people or ~0.16% of population in 2007 & accelerating; In past the primary mode of transmission was by syringe sharing among drug addicts but it is now being replaced by high risk sexual contacts; Iran in 2003 had over 700,000 cases of sexually transmitted infections | 2001 |
| Deaths due to HIV/AIDS | 47 | 153 | CIA World Factbook | 4,300 people die annually because of AIDS/HIV infection; Recent WHO report puts the number of deaths at 6,000 in 2007 WHO report puts the coverage of antiretroviral therapy at 6% | 2007 |
| 104 | 148 | World Bank | Listed from highest rate to lowest; Iran: 0.15% of 15- to 49-year-olds are HIV+; Recent WHO report puts the % of HIV+ 15- to 49-year-olds at 0.3% in 2007 | 2005 |
| 22 | 129 | CIA World Factbook | 99% of population have access to proper sanitation | 2003 |
| % of Population undernourished | 76 | 76 | United Nations | Listed from highest malnourishment rates to lowest; Iran: less than 5% of population is malnourished; More info: & & :File:Percentage population undernourished world map.PNG|United Nations map of the world showing % of national population suffering from undernourishment | 2009 |
| 25 | 176 | World Bank | 74% of women aged 15–49 use contraceptives; alternately ranked by UN at 12th/89 with 73% prevalence; Most widely used method is "contraceptive pill"; More info: Contraceptive security | 2000 |
| 133 | 191 | World Bank | Hospital beds/1000 population: 1.6/1000; 758 hospitals, 225,000 hospital beds, 438 emergency centers | 2001 |
| 63 | 95 | United Nations | Ranking is from highest rate to lowest; Iran: ~2% of children are underweight | 2005 |
| Dietary caloric intake | 40 | World | FAO | Iranians on average consume 3040 kcal/person/day; More info: Nutrition | 2007 |
| 72 | 94 | United Nations/ | Ranking is from highest rate to lowest; Malaria cases in Iran: 27/100,000 of population | 2001 |
| 93 | 190 | WHO | Ranked from best overall health care systems to worst; More info: Health literacy | 2000 |
| 58 | 191 | WHO | Ranking is based on composites of overall health care system, health level & distribution, responsiveness level & distribution, fairness in financial contribution, overall health goals attainment and per capita health expenditure | 1997 |
| Total health expenditure per capita | 69 | World | WHO | US $678 spent on health per person; Total health expenditure is 6.8% of GDP | 2006 |
| 3 | 80 | United Nations | 93% of children with Acute Respiratory Infection taken to health provider | 2002 |
| 35 | 158 | Save the Children | 97% of all births attended by skilled health staff; Ranked among 43 developed & 115 developing countries, totaling 158 | 2009 |
| 75 | 188 | World Bank | 6.6% of GDP is spent on health | 2004 |
| 30 | 125 | United Nations | 44% of babies exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life; More info: | 1995–2002 |
| 15 | 112 | United Nations | 94% of households consume iodized salt | 1997–2002 |
| 64 | 187 | World Bank | 94.8% of private health expenditure is out of pocket; More info: Health care system and Publicly funded health care | 2004 |
| 75 | 187 | WHO | Prepaid plans constitute 2.9% of private health funding; More info: Universal health care | 2002 |
| 84 | 185 | WHO | Government spends $206 per person/Year | 2002 |
| 69 | 185 | WHO | Total health expenditure by government & private sectors: $432 Per capita/Year | 2002 |
| 92 | 103 | Countries by undernourishment rate | Listed from highest rate to lowest; Iran: 4% of population is undernourished | 2006 |
| 73 | 111 | United Nations | Listed from highest probability to lowest; Iran: 9.3% | 2001 |
| 62 | 159 | United Nations | Listed from highest probability to lowest; Iran: 68.9% | 2000 |
| 91 | 159 | United Nations | Listed from highest probability to lowest; Iran: 74.3% | 2000 |
| 20 | 47 | Worldwide Transplant Center Directory | 228 kidneys transplanted in 2002; Iran ranked 4th worldwide in 2007 with more than 2000 transplants performed annually | 2002 |
| 35 | 47 | Worldwide Transplant Center Directory | 3.35205 kidney transplants per 1 million people/Year | 2002 |
| 110 | 194 | WHO | Iran has total DALY rate of 175.2 years per 1000 of population; Ranked from highest DALY rate to lowest; More information: & & | 2004 |
| 118 | 194 | WHO | DALY rate of 0.78 year/1000 people for TB; Ranked from highest DALY rate to lowest | 2004 |
| 100 | 194 | WHO | DALY rate of 1.1 years/1000 people for STDs excluding HIV/AIDS; Ranked from highest DALY rate to lowest | 2004 |
| 102 | 194 | WHO | DALY rate of 0.83 year/1000 people for AIDS/HIV; Ranked from highest DALY rate to lowest | 2004 |
| 89 | 194 | WHO | DALY rate of 4.4 years/1000 people for diarrhea; Ranked from highest DALY rate to lowest | 2004 |
| 122 | 194 | WHO | DALY rate of 0.50 year/1000 people for meningitis; Ranked from highest DALY rate to lowest | 2004 |
| 88 | 194 | WHO | DALY rate of 0.14 year/1000 people for hepatitis B; Ranked from highest DALY rate to lowest; Higher DALYs in risk groups e.g. truck drivers | 2004 |
| 89 | 194 | WHO | DALY rate of 0.07 year/1000 people for hepatitis C; Ranked from highest DALY rate to lowest | 2004 |
| 105 | 194 | WHO | DALY rate of 4.62 years/1000 people for Respiratory infections; Ranked from highest DALY rate to lowest | 2004 |
| 76 | 194 | WHO | DALY rate of 5.49 years/1000 people for Maternal conditions; Ranked from highest DALY rate to lowest | 2004 |
| 77 | 194 | WHO | DALY rate of 15.97 years/1000 people for ; Ranked from highest DALY rate to lowest | 2004 |
| 93 | 194 | WHO | DALY rate of 4.24 years/1000 people for Malnutrition; Ranked from highest DALY rate to lowest; More info: & & & | 2004 |
| 148 | 194 | WHO | DALY rate of 7.63 years/1000 people for Cancers; Ranked from highest DALY rate to lowest; More info: | 2004 |
| 121 | 194 | WHO | DALY rate of 2.77 years/1000 people for Diabetes; Ranked from highest DALY rate to lowest | 2004 |
| 46 | 194 | WHO | DALY rate of 34.41 years/1000 people for Neuro-Psychiatric diseases: + conditions; Ranked from highest DALY rate to lowest | 2004 |
| 49 | 194 | WHO | DALY rate of 12.84 years/1000 people for diseases of Sensory organs: + ; Ranked from highest DALY rate to lowest | 2004 |
| 80 | 194 | WHO | DALY rate of 21.63 years/1000 people for Cardiovascular diseases; Ranked from highest DALY rate to lowest; More info: & & | 2004 |
| 134 | 194 | WHO | DALY rate of 6.18 years/1000 people for Respiratory diseases; Ranked from highest DALY rate to lowest | 2004 |
| 169 | 194 | WHO | DALY rate of 3.44 years/1000 people for Digestive diseases; Ranked from highest DALY rate to lowest | 2004 |
| 123 | 194 | WHO | DALY rate of 1.86 years/1000 people for s; Ranked from highest DALY rate to lowest; More info: Prevalence of circumcision | 2004 |
| 145 | 194 | WHO | DALY rate of 0.42 years/1000 people for Skin diseases; Ranked from highest DALY rate to lowest | 2004 |
| 130 | 194 | WHO | DALY rate of 3.83 years/1000 people for ; Ranked from highest DALY rate to lowest; Example: | 2004 |
| 82 | 194 | WHO | DALY rate of 4.41 years/1000 people for Congenital anomalies; Ranked from highest DALY rate to lowest | 2004 |
| 37 | 194 | WHO | DALY rate of 2.13 years/1000 people for s; Ranked from highest DALY rate to lowest | 2004 |
| 29 | 194 | WHO | DALY rate of 29.7 years/1000 people for Un-intentional Injuries; Ranked from highest DALY rate to lowest; More info: | 2004 |
| 138 | 194 | WHO | DALY rate of 3.2 years/1000 people for Intentional Injuries; Ranked from highest DALY rate to lowest; Economic loss of 0.49% of GDP/Year due to violence & intentional injuries | 2004 |
| 119 | 192 | WHO | Total Healthy life expectancy of 57.6 years on average at birth; Ranked from highest healthy life expectancy to lowest | 2004 |
| 117 | 192 | WHO | Male Healthy life expectancy of 56.1 years on average at birth; Ranked from highest healthy life expectancy to lowest | 2004 |
| 132 | 192 | WHO | Male Healthy life expectancy of 10.4 years on average at 60 years of age; Ranked from highest healthy life expectancy to lowest | 2004 |
| 118 | 192 | WHO | Female Healthy life expectancy of 59.1 years on average at birth; Ranked from highest healthy life expectancy to lowest | 2004 |
| 121 | 192 | WHO | Female Healthy life expectancy of 11.9 years on average at 60 years of age; Ranked from highest healthy life expectancy to lowest | 2004 |
| 2 | 192 | WHO | Expectation of lost healthy years of 10.4 years on average at birth; Ranked from highest loss of healthy years to lowest; Iran is 2nd after Yemen in the world & followed by Iraq | 2004 |
| 1 | 192 | WHO | Expectation of lost healthy years of 12.5 years on average at birth; Ranked from highest loss of healthy years to lowest; Iran has the highest loss of healthy years for females in the world | 2004 |
| 1 | 141 | World Health Organization | City SO2 concentration: 209 micrograms/m3; More info: | 1995 |
| 21 | World | Webometrics | Iran has one hospital among world's top 200 hospitals, 2 in top 500 and 4 in top 1000 | 2009 |
| Name | Rank | Out of | Source | Notes | Year |
| 2 | World | Energy Intelligence | The Iranian government-owned corporation of NIOC after Aramco is the world's second-largest petroleum company. | 2008 |
| 23 | World | World Bank | Iran's national mining corporation is the world's 23rd largest mining company with 0.6% of the world's total mining production | 2007 |
| World's Largest State Owned Corporations | 7 | World | Financial Times | National Iranian Oil Company with a market capitalization of US$220 billion in 2006 ranked 7th worldwide. | 2006 |
| Industrial production growth rate | 28 | 161 | CIA World Factbook | Industrial growth rate of 4.0% annually; Alternatively put at 7.4% by Iranian government | 2009 |
| List of countries by motor vehicle production | 12 | 52 | International Organization of Automobile Manufacturers | 1,395,421 automobiles manufactured in 2009; During period 2000-2010 Iran after China had the highest growth in automobile manufacturing; Over 1.6 million vehicles & 1 million motorcycles were produced in 2010; More info: Automotive industry in Iran | 2009 |
| 114 | 167 | World Bank | High-technology exports are products with high R&D intensity, such as in nuclear, aerospace, computers, pharmaceuticals, scientific instruments and electrical machinery; Iran: ~1,461 $ per 1,000 people/Year | 2004 |
| Petrochemical production | 45 | World | Chemical & Engineering News | Iran is the world's 45th largest chemical producer with an annual production sale value of 7.8 billion dollars; NIOC of Iran with ~ ranks 11th globally in terms of total oil refining capacity; NIPC of Iran plans to become world's second largest producer of chemicals by 2015, Iran also plans to become world's second largest exporter of Polymers | 2008 |
| 6 | 130 | United Nations | Annual use of 3,496,000 tonnes of asphalt | 2005 |
| 33 | 142 | World Bank | Trademarks are distinctive signs that identify/protect goods or services as those produced by an enterprise or individual; Iran: ~153 per 1 million people. More info: Intellectual property in Iran | 2001 |
| 9 | 147 | United Nations | 770,000 tonnes of lubricants used annually | 2005 |
| 13 | 45 | United Nations | Annual use of 2,492,000 tonnes of naphtha | 2005 |
| 73 | 171 | United Nations | ~692 kWh per capita/Year | 2005 |
| 5 | 142 | United Nations | 6,869,000 tonnes used/Year of residual oil | 2005 |
| 29 | 155 | World Bank | 21.22 billion constant year 2000 US$/Year of value added manufacturing | 2005 |
| 27 | 80 | United Nations | 1,206,000 tonnes of Bagasse consumed by industry annually | 2005 |
| 15 | 128 | United Nations | 1,798,000 tonnes/Year | 2005 |
| 10 | 86 | United Nations | Annual lubricants production of 955,000 tonnes | 2005 |
| 9 | 66 | United Nations | Annual usage of 138,966 Tera-joules | 2005 |
| 19 | 47 | United Nations | 10,102 Tera-joules of blast furnace gas consumed/Year | 2005 |
| 42 | 89 | United Nations | 330,000 tonnes/Year | 2005 |
| Steel production by country | 16 | World | World Steel Association/ | More than 10.9 million tonnes/Year in 2009; Iran's production capacity reached 20 million tonnes/year in 2010; Iran plans to increase its steel production to more than 35 million tonnes/year by 2015 | 2009 |
| Copper mine production | 12 | World | British Geological Survey | Annual production of 249,100 tonnes | 2006 |
| Aluminium production | 17 | World | List of countries by aluminium production | Annual production of 457,000 tonnes | 2006 |
| Cement production | 5 | World | List of countries by cement production / | 2009: Annual production of 45 million tonnes, or ~1.6% of the world's total output & total production capacity of 55 million tonnes annually; Iran ranks 10th globally in terms of cement export See also: Construction in Iran | 2010 |
| Iron production | 8 | World | US Geological Survey | Annual production of 33 million tonnes | 2009 |
| Gypsum production | 2 | World | British Geological Survey | Iran is the world's 2nd largest producer after China | 2006 |
| Iron ore production | 8 | World | US Geological Survey | Annual production of 33 million tonnes | 2009 |
| 9 | World | US Geological Survey | Annual production of 2,600 tonnes | 2006 |
| 21 | World | US Geological Survey | Annual ammonia production of 1.02 million tonnes | 2006 |
| Reserves of Zinc | 1 | World | British Geological Survey | Iran has the world's largest zinc reserves, in addition to 2nd largest reserves of copper, ninth largest reserves of iron and eleventh largest reserves of lead | 2010 |
| 28 | World | World Trade Organization | Iran ranks 28th globally in terms of importation of industrial machinery | 2004 |
| Name | Rank | Out of | Source | Notes | Year |
| Composite Index of National Capability | 15 | World | Correlates of War | CINC is a statistical measure of national hard power as opposed to soft power representing demographic, economic and military strength of a nation; Index of Iran=0.013450, Index of World's total capability=1. | 2007 |
| Military expenditures | 24 | 154 | SIPRI | Total annual military budget of 9.17 billion dollars. In 2010 the Iranian government put the total security and defence budget including that of army, IRGC, police, military R&D, intelligence agencies, etc. at $17.14 billion. | 2009 |
| 62 | World | CIA World Factbook | Iranian military per capita expenditure of US$64.77 | 2008 |
| Military expenditure as % of GDP | 37 | 154 | SIPRI | Iran spends 2.7% of its GDP on its military defense; More info: | 2008 |
| Total number of troops | 7 | World | CSIS | Total troops numbering 3,833,000; More info: Rank insignia of the Iranian military | 2009 |
| 15 | 234 | CIA World Factbook | 17.67 million males fit for military service | 2009 |
| 15 | 234 | CIA World Factbook | 700,213 males reach military service age annually | 2009 |
| List of countries by size of police forces | 30 | 60 | CSIS | Police force size of 40,000 personnel | 2006 |
| Private gun & firearms ownership | 79 | 178 | Small Arms Survey | 7.3 guns owned privately per 100 civilian residents; There were 3.5 million small arms owned by Iranian residents | 2007 |
| 37 | 40 | SIPRI | Iran's arms exports in 2005: US $1 million; Iran is prohibited from exporting its locally manufactured military equipment by United Nations Security Council; Iran is currently facing the longest sanction in modern history; More info: Sanctions against Iran & Iran and Libya Sanctions Act & CASMII; Iran's weapons exports were US$2 million in 2008 | 2005 |
| 17 | 169 | World Bank | Iran's arms imports in 2005: US $403 million; More info: Iran's weapons's imports in 2008 were US$91 million, Iran is banned from importing weapons by United Nations Security Council sanctions of 2010; by CSIS | 2005 |
| 60 | 169 | World Bank | Approximately 6 dollars per Person per Year | 2005 |
| Deadliest wars and armed conflicts | 18 | World | List of wars and disasters by death toll | The defensive war which Iran fought when Iraq tried to invade Iran is the 18th most bloody war in history of mankind; Iran has not been engaged in an offensive war since the Battle of Karnal in 1739. | 2010 |
| List of countries by number of UN peacekeepers | 107 | World | United Nations | Iran had two military personnel working as UN peacekeepers at conflict zones around the world | 2010 |
| Most heavily mined countries | 2 | World | WHO | 16 million mines | 2003 |
| Name | Rank | Out of | Source | Notes | Year |
| Scientific output | 16 | 233 | SCImago Journal & Country Rank | In 2018 Iran produced 60268 documents in all fields. Iran is ranked 8th in the field of pharmacology, toxicology and pharmaceutics. 9th in the field of chemical engineering.10th in the field of material science. 12th in the field of mathematics. 12th in the field of chemistry. 12th in the field of engineering. 14th in the field of agriculture and biological science. 14th in the field of physics and astronomy. 16th in the field of medicine. 17th in the field of biochemistry, genetics and monocular biology. 17th in the field of computer science. 12th in the field of energy. | 2018 |
| Global Innovation Index | 61 | 143 | World Intellectual Property Organization | Index measures enabling environment for innovation; More info: Ingenuity & Creativity | 2019 |
| Science & Technology Growth Rate | 1 | World | / / | Highest science & technology growth rate in the world, 1000% increase in 9 years ; Iran has increased its academic publishing output from 0.0003% of world's total output in 1970 to 0.29% by 2004, by 2008 Iran's share had reached 1.02% of the world's total output ; Iran's 2009 growth rate in science & technology was highest globally being 11 times faster than the world's average rate; Iran has been doubling its scientific output every 3 years; In 2009 ranked at 22nd by total scientific output; 19th in mathematics output, 17th in computer science applications output, 15th in nuclear technology output; 28th in physics output; 16th in aerospace technology output; 17th in medicine output, 13th in chemistry output & 15th in nanotechnology output More info: Science in newly industrialized countries; | 2010 |
| Total Research & Development spending in PPP US dollars | 27 | World | United Nations | Iran spends 6.2 billion US dollars in PPP terms equaling to ~0.7% of its GDP, Iran has 500 scientists & tech personnel working in R&D sector for every one million of population; More info: & Science of science policy & Science policy & Technology Life Cycle & | 2010 |
| 43 | 69 | World Bank | About 0.5% of GDP was spent on research and development in year 2000; Iran's spending on R&D is to reach 3% of GDP by 2015; Government funds 75% of all Research in Iran | 2000 |
| 58 | 69 | World Bank | 0.007351% of national GDP per 1 million people; More info: Emerging technologies | 2000 |
| 45 | 68 | United Nations | Technology Achievement Index measures creation of technology, diffusion of recent innovations, diffusion of old innovations & human skills; Iran's score: 0.26 out of 1; Iran ranks 1st in the region, 4th in Asia and 12th in the world in producing biological drugs. More info: Human capital | 2001 |
| 56 | 60 | World Intellectual Property Organization | 0.014702 Patents per one million people; More info: Intellectual property in Iran & Technological determinism | 1998 |
| 90 | World | World Intellectual Property Organization | More info: Patent & Business incubator | 2013 |
| 100 | World | World Intellectual Property Organization | More info: Invention & Seed accelerator | 2013 |
| 82 | World | World Intellectual Property Organization | More info: Science park & Trademark | 2013 |
| Highest budget national space agencies | 9 | World | List of space agencies | ISA with $500 million/Year has the 9th highest budget of a national space organization in the world | 2010 |
| First orbital launches by country | 9 | World | Timeline of first orbital launches by country | Iran is the 9th country to reach space; More info: Outer Space Treaty | 2010 |
| Biological space launch capability | 6 | World | Animals in space | Iran is the sixth country to have launched animals into space & recover them alive | 2010 |
| Total human spaceflight time by country | 21 | World | List of spaceflight records | Iran stands 21st in terms of total time spent by its nationals in space; Only one Iranian has spent ~11 person-days in space as a space tourist; More info: Timeline of space travel by nationality | 2007 |
| Name | Rank | Out of | Source | Notes | Year |
| Quality-of-life index | 58 | 80 | Economist Intelligence Unit | Survey was done indirectly &/or by estimations | 2013 |
| Legatum Prosperity Index | 92 | 110 | Legatum Institute | Survey was done indirectly &/or by estimations | 2010 |
| Satisfaction with Life Index | 96 | 178 | Measure of subjective life satisfaction | Measurement of wealth, health and access to basic education; Score of Iran=200; More info: Sociocultural evolution & Happiness economics | 2006 |
| Incarceration Rate | 57 | 217 | International Centre for Prison Studies | 222 Prisoners per 100,000 People | 2009 |
| 81 | 134 | International Centre for Prison Studies | Females comprise 3.5% of prison population | 2003 |
| 89 | 143 | International Centre for Prison Studies | Pre-trial detainees comprise 24.8% of total prison population | 2003 |
| Homicide Rate | 66 | 144 | United Nations | Homicide rate of 2.93 intentional murders per 100,000 people | 2009 |
| Global Gender Gap Report | 123 | 134 | World Economic Forum | Survey was done indirectly &/or by estimation | 2010 |
| Mother's Index Rank | 49 | 158 | Save the Children: State of the World's Mothers report | The index is a calculated composite measure of indicators for health, education, equality, economic freedom, nutrition & political status related to the well being of mothers; Ranking is among 43 developed & 115 developing countries, totaling 158 | 2009 |
| Women's Index Rank | 45 | 158 | Save the Children: State of the World's Mothers report | The index is a calculated composite measure of indicators for health, education, equality, economic freedom, nutrition & political status related to the well being of women; Ranking is among 43 developed & 115 developing countries, totaling 158 | 2009 |
| Children's Index Rank | 45 | 158 | Save the Children: State of the World's Mothers report | The index is a calculated composite measure of indicators for health, education, equality, economic freedom, nutrition & political status related to the well being of children; Ranking is among 43 developed & 115 developing countries, totaling 158 | 2009 |
| Child Development Index | 68 | 143 | Save the Children: | Index measures education, health & nutrition of children | 2000–2006 |
| Sen Social Welfare Function | 49 | World | List of countries by Sen social welfare function | Iran is 49th in the world in terms of best social welfare function | 2009 |
| Gender-related Development Index | 76 | 155 | United Nations / | Index shows the inequalities between men and women in these areas: long and healthy life, knowledge & a decent standard of living | 2009 |
| Gender Empowerment Measure | 103 | 109 | United Nations / | Index measures inequalities between men's and women's opportunities in a country | 2009 |
| Sustainable Society Index | 97 | World | | Sustainable Society Index measures three dimensions of human, environmental and economical well being; More info: | 2010 |
| 79 | World | Newsweek | Ranking of the world's best countries based on categories of education, health, quality of life, economic dynamism and political environment | 2010 |
| Drug Freedom Index | 64 | World | Freedom Meta-Index | Index measuring access to recreational drugs; In Iran: Illegal drug trade can have punishments ranging from fines to lashings, imprisonment & death penalty; Personal drug consumption is generally overlooked by law | 2011 |
| 65 | World | World Economic Forum | The extent of judicial independence | 2010 |
| Name | Rank | Out of | Source | Notes | Year |
| Merchant marine capacity | 31 | 148 | CIA World Factbook | Iran owns a total of 188 ships of which 73 are Iranian flagged ships & 115 ships sail with foreign flags plus one additional foreign owned ship sailing with Iranian flag; More info: Iran Shipping Lines; Iran also has a fleet of 46 marine tankers consisting of 28 VLCC, 9 Suezmax, 5 Aframax, 3 chemical vessels and a single LPG tanker; The total number of tankers is to be increased to 74 by 2013 and to more than 80 by 2015.; National Iranian Tanker Company was the world's fifth largest tanker operator with 43 ships in 2010 & is expected to become the world's third largest tanker company with 74 ships in 2013 | 2008 |
| Rail transport network size | 21 | 151 | International Union of Railways | Total rail network length of 11,106 km; More info: Iran railways | 2008 |
| Road network size | 29 | 191 | CIA World Factbook | Total road network length of 172,927 km | 2006 |
| Total length of pipelines | 8 | 120 | CIA World Factbook | Total pipeline length of 36,509 km; condensate 7 km; condensate/gas 397 km; gas 19,161 km; liquid petroleum gas 570 km; oil 8,438 km; refined products 7,936 km; Iran ranks 4th worldwide by natural gas pipeline length having 32,000 km of gas pipelines in 2010 Iran plans to have 70,000 km of natural gas pipelines by 2025 | 2007 |
| 6 | 17 | CIA World Factbook | 570 km of LPG pipelines | 2006 |
| 6 | 97 | CIA World Factbook | 8,256 km of oil pipelines | 2006 |
| Rapid transit systems | 20 | 53 | Total rapid transit systems statistics by country | 120.1 km of rapid transit network length with 64 stations | 2002 |
| Vehicles per capita | 56 | 144 | List of countries by vehicles per capita | 175 automobiles per 1000 people in addition to 110 motorbikes per 1000 people; More info: Automotive industry in Iran & List of international vehicle registration codes | 2010 |
| Waterways length | 70 | 109 | CIA World Factbook | 850 km of waterways | 2008 |
| 59 | 176 | World Bank | 98.22 million tonnes-km/Year airlifted | 2005 |
| 26 | 177 | World Bank | 12,708,350 Air passengers/Year; More info: | 2005 |
| 26 | 251 | CIA World Factbook | 331 Operational airports | 2007 |
| Number of heliports | 14 | World | CIA World Factbook | 19 Operational heliports | 2010 |
| Rail usage by Annual Passenger-Km Per Capita | 26 | 32 | International Union of Railways | Ranked among countries with more than 5 billion passenger-km/year; Iran: 180 passenger-km Per Capita/Year | 2006 |
| Rail usage by annual Billion Tonne-Kilometers/Year | 20 | 32 | International Union of Railways | Ranked among countries with more than 10 billion tonne-kilometers; Iran: 20.5 billion tonne-kilometers | 2006 |
| Metro systems by annual passenger rides | 18 | 145 | Tehran Metro | 622.2 million passenger rides in 2010; Tehran Metro is the largest and busiest metro system in South Asia and the second largest and busiest in Middle East | 2010 |
| 20 | 227 | CIA World Factbook | 129 Operational airports with paved runways | 2007 |
| 4 | 161 | CIA World Factbook | 40 Airport runways with length of over 3047 m | 2007 |
| 10 | 194 | United Nations | Annual gasoline consumption of 17,854,000 tonnes by vehicles | 2005 |
| 21 | 158 | United Nations | National jet fuel bunker capacity of 850,000 tonnes | 2005 |
| Traffic related deaths per capita | 11 | World | List of countries by traffic-related death rate / Smeed's law / Epidemiology of motor vehicle collisions / | 35.8 people per 100,000 of population die in traffic accidents yearly; Total annual deaths of 22,918 and 685,000 injured according to WHO report 2009; Leading cause of premature death & disability in Iran; 1.3 million potential life-years lost annually; Male to female death ratio of 5 to 1; Most common causes: not wearing seat belt, taligating, over-speeding, wrong overtakes, not wearing helmets, rapid changing of lanes, not signalling; Property damages worth more than $18 billion per year due to vehicle collisions; More info: Car accidents in Iran, & & Statistical comparison of travel safety | 2000 |
| Number of Natural Gas Vehicles by Country | 1 | World | Worldwide NGV Statistics | Iran has the world's largest fleet of vehicles running on CNG at 2.86 million NGVs and 1,800 fueling stations by the end of 2011; Iran is also the world's fastest growing NGV market By end of 2011, Iran's refueling stations had a total of 10,656 gas dispensers with installed cumulative capacity of 1.93 million cubic meters per hour & supplying more than 17 million cubic meters of gas per day to NGV's; The number of fueling stations is to increase to 2,500 by the end of 2012 and to more than 3,000 in 2013 | 2011 |
