Infrastructure — Iran
Transport, communications, and energy.
Profile updated 2026-06-02
⚡ Infrastructure at a glance
Transport, communications, and energy. Key figure for Iran: 319
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Transportation
- Airports - total
319
- Airports with Paved Runways
140
- Heliports
26
- Railways
5,246 Miles 8,442 Kilometers
- Roadways- total
123,570 Miles 198,866 Kilometers
- Roadways- paved
99,647 Miles 160,366 Kilometers
- Waterways
528 Miles 850 Kilometers
- Ports and Terminals
Abadan (largely destroyed in fighting during 1980-88 war), Ahvaz, Bandar 'Abbas, Bandar-e Anzali, Bushehr, Bandar-e Emam Khomeyni, Bandar-e Lengeh, Bandar-e Mahshahr, Bandar-e Torkaman, Chabahar (Bandar Beheshti), Jazireh-ye Khark, Jazireh-ye Lavan, Jazireh-ye Sirri, Khorramshahr, Now Shahr
Communications
- Telephones
25,804,000
- Cell Phones
29,770,000
- Internet Users
23,000,000
- Internet Country Code
.ir
- Internet Hosts
119,947
- Broadcast Media
- state-run broadcast media with no private, independent broadcasters
- Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting (IRIB), the state-run TV broadcaster, operates 5 nationwide channels, a news channel, about 30 provincial channels, and several international channels
- about 20 foreign Persian-language TV stations broadcasting on satellite TV are capable of being seen in Iran
- satellite dishes are illegal and, while their use had been tolerated, authorities began confiscating satellite dishes following the unrest stemming from the 2009 presidential election
- IRIB operates 8 nationwide radio networks, a number of provincial stations, and an external service
- most major international broadcasters transmit to Iran
- Telephone System
- general assessment: currently being modernized and expanded with the goal of not only improving the efficiency and increasing the volume of the urban service but also bringing telephone service to several thousand villages,
- not presently connected domestic: the addition of new fiber cables and modern switching and exchange systems installed by Iran's state-owned telecom company have improved and expanded the fixed-line network greatly; fixed-line availability has more than doubled to more than 27 million lines since 2000; additionally, mobile-cellular service has increased dramatically serving roughly 56 million subscribers in 2011; combined fixed and mobile-cellular
- subscribership now exceeds 100 per 100 persons international: country code - 98; submarine fiber-optic cable to UAE with access to Fiber-Optic Link Around the Globe (FLAG); Trans-Asia-Europe (TAE) fiber-optic line runs from Azerbaijan through the northern portion of Iran to Turkmenistan with expansion to Georgia and Azerbaijan; HF radio and microwave radio relay to Turkey, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Syria, Kuwait, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan; satellite earth stations - 13 (9 Intelsat and 4 Inmarsat)
Energy
- Electricity Consumption- Kilowatt Hours (kWh)
206,700,000,000
- Electricity Exports- Kilowatt Hours (kWh)
6,150,000,000
- Electricity Imports- Kilowatt Hours (kWh)
2,060,000,000
- Electricity Production- Kilowatt Hours (kWh)
212,800,000,000
- Natural Gas Consumption - Kilowatt Hours (kWh)
1,446,000,000,000
- Natural Gas Exports- Cubic Meters (cu m)
9,050,000,000
- Natural Gas Imports- Cubic Meters (cu m)
10,590,000,000
- Natural Gas Production- Cubic Meters (cu m)
162,600,000,000
- Natural Gas Reserves- Cubic Meters (cu m)
33,610,000,000,000
- Oil Consumption- Barrels Per Day (bbl/day)
1,709,000
- Oil Exports- Barrels Per Day (bbl/day)
2,445,000
- Oil Imports- Barrels Per Day (bbl/day)
15,600
- Oil Production- Barrels Per Day (bbl/day)
3,979,000
- Oil Reserves- Barrels Per Day (bbl/day)
154,600,000,000