Middle East & North Africa
A life that begins in Iran, Islamic Rep.
One in every 115 babies in the world is born here: about 1,161,783 a year, 2.2 a minute.
- Population
- 92,417,681
- Births a year
- 1,161,783
- Life expectancy
- 77.9
- Children who die before 5 (per 1,000)
- 11.3
Health and survival
Life expectancy, women (years)
79.8
World: 75.9
Life expectancy, men (years)
76
World: 71
Babies who die before 1 (per 1,000)
10.3
World: 27.8
Children who die before 5 (per 1,000)
11.3
World: 37.6
Mothers who die in childbirth (per 100,000 births)
16
World: 189
Adults living with HIV (%)
≈ 0.1
World: 0.7
Adults who smoke (%)
12
World: 20
Alcohol per adult (litres a year)
0.51
World: 4.6
Road deaths (per 100,000)
21.5
World: 17
Homicides (per 100,000)
2.4
World: 4.7
Family and school
Children per woman
1.68
World: 2.85
Women married before 18 (%)
17
World: 18
Children in primary school (%)
100
World: 89
Secondary school enrolment (%)
85
World: 81
Higher education enrolment (%)
59
World: 48
Children aged 7–14 who work (%)
≈ 6.6
World: 11.9
Money and work
Income per person (PPP)
$16,834
World: $21,797
Income inequality (Gini, 0–100)
36
World: 34
Living on under $3 a day (%)
2.5
World: 9.9
Unemployment (%)
8.3
World: 5.1
Jobs in farming (%)
14
World: 27
Women in the workforce (%)
14
World: 48
Health costs paid out of pocket (%)
43
World: 37
Home and connection
Living in cities (%)
77
World: 58
Access to electricity (%)
100
World: 92
Safe drinking water (%)
98
World: 91
Internet users (%)
85
World: 72
Peace and wellbeing
Life satisfaction (0–10)
5.15
World: 5.4
Deaths in armed conflict (per 100,000 a year)
1.14
World: 2.43
Refugees abroad (% of population)
0.17
World: 0.34
≈ Estimated from the region
From 1960 to 2050
How life here has changed, and where UN projections expect it to go. The dashed part is a projection.
1960: 43.3 → 2026: 77.1 → 2050: 82.8
World
1960: 377 → 2026: 10 → 2050: 3
World
1960: 7.5 → 2026: 1.7 → 2050: 1.6
World
1960: 34 → 2026: 78 → 2050: 87
World
Nobody chooses where they are born
In the game, the country is drawn by the real share of births: Iran, Islamic Rep. comes up about once in every 115 lives.
Be born nowOther countries in Middle East & North Africa
All 178 countries →Sources: World Bank (WDI), UN World Population Prospects, Our World in Data, World Happiness Report, UCDP and PRIO. Updated 2026-10-18.