International rankings of Iran
General
Table:
Rankings

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

Countries by number of casualties from earthquakes

2

World

United Nations

Iran has the world's second highest number of casualties due to earthquakes per one million residents. More info: The natural disasters risk index.

2010

Number of major earthquakes

1

World

United Nations

Iran has the world's highest number of major earthquakes. Tremors occur daily somewhere in the country. More info: online earthquake monitoring (with GMT date & time stamp).

2010

Number of billionaires

—

—

List of Iranian people by net worth

Iran has an estimated 3 million "high net worth individuals",[62] 32,000 individuals with a net worth of $3 million,[63] 1,300 multimillionaires with net assets of $10 million or more and four billionaires (living in Iran).[64] 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: World's most charitable nations.

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 (Greenland is the largest). 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 (18,406 ft). 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

Most livable green countries

83

141

Reader's Digest

Composite measure of HDI and ESI

2008

Tea consumption per capita

5

World

World Market Research[65]

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

Wheat consumption per capita

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

With reference to the tabular data along with the supplementary paragraphs listed at the end.

Respond to the question below: For the category with the lowest ranking , what is the measurement to categorize it by the source ? Provide just your answer in a JSON object {"answer": "YOUR ANSWER"}. Base your answer solely on the given information.

This is a list of the world 's countries and their dependent territories by area , ranked by total area . Entries in this list include , but are not limited to , those in the ISO 3166-1 standard , which includes sovereign states and dependent territories . All 193 member states of the United Nations plus the Vatican City are given a rank number . Largely unrecognised states not in ISO 3166-1 are included in the list in ranked order . The areas of such largely unrecognised states are in most cases also included in the areas of the more widely recognised states that claim the same territory ; see the notes in the notes column for each country for clarification . Not included in the list are individual country claims to parts of the continent of Antarctica , entities such as the European Union [ Note 1 ] that have some degree of sovereignty but do not consider themselves to be sovereign countries or dependent territories , and unrecognised micronations such as the Principality of Sealand . This list includes three measurements of area :
The United Nations ( UN ) is an intergovernmental organization that aims to maintain international peace and security , develop friendly relations among nations , achieve international cooperation , and be a center for harmonizing the actions of nations . It is the largest , most familiar , most internationally represented and most powerful intergovernmental organization in the world . The UN is headquartered on international territory in New York City ; other main offices are in Geneva , Nairobi , Vienna and The Hague . The UN was established after World War II with the aim of preventing future wars , succeeding the ineffective League of Nations . On 25 April 1945 , 50 governments met in San Francisco for a conference and started drafting the UN Charter , which was adopted on 25 June 1945 and took effect on 24 October 1945 , when the UN began operations . Pursuant to the Charter , the organization 's objectives include maintaining international peace and security , protecting human rights , delivering humanitarian aid , promoting sustainable development , and upholding international law . At its founding , the UN had 51 member states ; this number grew to 193 in 2011 , representing the vast majority of the world 's sovereign states . The organization 's mission to preserve world peace was complicated in its early decades by the Cold War between the United States and Soviet Union and their respective allies . Its missions have consisted primarily of unarmed military observers and lightly armed troops with primarily monitoring , reporting and confidence-building roles . UN membership grew significantly following widespread decolonization beginning in the 1960s . Since then , 80 former colonies have gained independence , including 11 trust territories that had been monitored by the Trusteeship Council . By the 1970s , the UN 's budget for economic and social development programmes far outstripped its spending on peacekeeping .
A natural disaster is a sudden event that causes widespread destruction , major collateral damage or loss of life , brought about by forces other than the acts of human beings . A natural disaster might be caused by earthquakes , flooding , volcanic eruption , landslide , hurricanes etc . To be classified as a disaster , it will have profound environmental effect and/or human loss and frequently causes financial loss .
The 856 Damghan earthquake or the 856 Qumis earthquake occurred on 22 December 856 ( 242 AH ) . The earthquake had an estimated magnitude of 7.9 , and a maximum intensity of X ( Extreme ) on the Mercalli intensity scale . The meizoseismal area ( area of maximum damage ) extended for about 350 kilometres ( 220 mi ) along the southern edge of the eastern Alborz mountains of present-day Iran including parts of Tabaristan and Gorgan . The earthquake 's epicenter is estimated to be close to the city of Damghan , which was then the capital of the Persian province of Qumis . It caused approximately 200,000 deaths and is listed by the USGS as the sixth deadliest earthquake in recorded history .
An earthquake ( also known as a quake , tremor or temblor ) is the shaking of the surface of the Earth resulting from a sudden release of energy in the Earth 's lithosphere that creates seismic waves . Earthquakes can range in size from those that are so weak that they can not be felt to those violent enough to propel objects ( and people ) into the air , and wreak destruction across entire cities . The seismicity , or seismic activity , of an area is the frequency , type , and size of earthquakes experienced over a period of time . The word tremor is also used for non-earthquake seismic rumbling . At the Earth 's surface , earthquakes manifest themselves by shaking and displacing or disrupting the ground . When the epicenter of a large earthquake is located offshore , the seabed may be displaced sufficiently to cause a tsunami . Earthquakes can also trigger landslides and occasionally , volcanic activity . In its most general sense , the word earthquake is used to describe any seismic event - whether natural or caused by humans - that generates seismic waves . Earthquakes are caused mostly by rupture of geological faults but also by other events such as volcanic activity , landslides , mine blasts , and nuclear tests . An earthquake 's point of initial rupture is called its focus or hypocenter . The epicenter is the point at ground level directly above the hypocenter .
Greenwich Mean Time ( GMT ) is the mean solar time at the Royal Observatory in Greenwich , London , reckoned from midnight . At different times in the past , it has been calculated in different ways , including being calculated from noon ; as a consequence , it can not be used to specify a precise time unless a context is given . English speakers often use GMT as a synonym for Coordinated Universal Time ( UTC ) . For navigation , it is considered equivalent to UT1 ( the modern form of mean solar time at 0° longitude ) ; but this meaning can differ from UTC by up to 0.9 s. The term GMT should not thus be used for certain technical purposes requiring precision . Because of Earth 's uneven angular velocity in its elliptical orbit and its axial tilt , noon ( 12:00:00 ) GMT is rarely the exact moment the Sun crosses the Greenwich meridian and reaches its highest point in the sky there . This event may occur up to 16 minutes before or after noon GMT , a discrepancy calculated by the equation of time . Noon GMT is the annual average ( i.e . mean ) moment of this event , which accounts for the word mean in Greenwich Mean Time . Originally , astronomers considered a GMT day to start at noon , while for almost everyone else it started at midnight . To avoid confusion , the name Universal Time was introduced to denote GMT as counted from midnight . Astronomers preferred the old convention to simplify their observational data , so that each night was logged under a single calendar date . Today , Universal Time usually refers to UTC or UT1 .
This is a list of countries by the number of billionaires by net worth ( USD ) based on an annual assessment of wealth and assets compiled and published by Forbes magazine . This list excludes lists compiled and published by Business Insider , Challenges , Hurun Report , The Sunday Times , UBS and other sources .
High-net-worth individual ( HNWI ) is a term used by some segments of the financial services industry to designate persons whose investible assets ( such as stocks and bonds ) exceed a given amount . Typically , these individuals are defined as holding financial assets ( excluding their primary residence ) with a value greater than US $ 1 million . Very-HNWI ( VHNWI ) can refer to someone with a net worth of at least US $ 5 million . The Capgemini and Merrill Lynch World Wealth Report 2006 defines an additional class of ultra-high-net-worth individuals ( UHNWIs ) , those with US $ 30 million in liquid financial assets or with a disposable income of more than US $ 20 million . At the end of 2018 , there were estimated to be just over 14 million HNWIs in the world . The United States had the highest number of HNWIs ( 4,900,000 ) of any country , while New York City had the most HNWIs ( 377,000 ) among cities .
Net worth is the value of all the non-financial and financial assets owned by an institutional unit or sector minus the value of all its outstanding liabilities . Since financial assets minus outstanding liabilities equal net financial assets , net worth can also be conveniently expressed as non-financial assets plus net financial assets . Net worth can apply to companies , individuals , governments or economic sectors such as the sector of financial corporations or to entire countries .
Social classes in Iran have been divided up into upper class , propertied middle class , salaried middle class , working class , independent farmers , and rural wage earners . A more recent source divides Iranian classes into upper , middle class ( about 32% of the population in 2000 ) , working class ( about 45% of the labor force ) , and lower class . Former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says 60 percent of his country 's wealth is controlled by just 300 people in Iran . The gini coefficient was 0.38 in 2010 and the Human Development Index at 0.749 in 2013 . One of the main objectives of the Iranian revolution was to have no social classes . [ citation needed ] In the post-revolutionary era , access to political power , an important basis for measuring influence and elite status in pre-revolutionary Iran , has continued to be important for ascribing status , even though the composition of the political elite has changed . For 10 years after 1979 , gaining entry to the political elite at the national or provincial level depended on having revolutionary credentials , that is , being able to provide evidence of having participated in the demonstrations and other revolutionary activities during 1978-79 , and having a reputation for being a good Muslim , that is , attending public prayers and observing Islamic codes of conduct in ones private life . Revolutionary credentials became less significant for the generation that matured after the early 1990s . Education , especially a college degree , became an informal substitute for revolutionary credentials .
Iranians abroad or Iranian diaspora are Iranian people living outside Iran and their children born abroad . According to various sources , in 2010 , there were an estimated between 2 to 4 million Iranians living abroad , mostly in North America , Europe , Persian Gulf States , Turkey , Azerbaijan , Australia and the broader Middle East . Others estimate a lower number , of around two millions or less . For the most part , they emigrated after the Iranian Revolution in 1979 .
The World Giving Index ( WGI ) is an annual report published by the Charities Aid Foundation , using data gathered by Gallup , and ranks over 140 countries in the world according to how charitable they are . The aim of the World Giving Index is to provide insight into the scope and nature of giving around the world . The first edition was released in September 2010 . The most recent edition was published in November 2016 , with Myanmar , the United States and Australia ranking as the top three . New Zealand , Sri Lanka , Canada , Indonesia , the United Kingdom , Ireland and United Arab Emirates complete the top ten .
The Charities Aid Foundation ( CAF ) is a registered UK charity . CAF provides services and assistance to UK and international charities and their donors , and promotes general donation to charities . Its head office is located in the Kings Hill business park , West Malling , Kent with a second office in London on St Bride Street , EC4A 4AD .
The practice of charity means the voluntary giving of help to those in need , as a humanitarian act . There are a number of philosophies about charity , often associated with religion . Effective altruism is the use of evidence and reasoning to determine the most effective ways to benefit others .
Volunteering is generally considered an altruistic activity where an individual or group provides services for no financial or social gain to benefit another person , group or organization . Volunteering is also renowned for skill development and is often intended to promote goodness or to improve human quality of life . Volunteering may have positive benefits for the volunteer as well as for the person or community served . It is also intended to make contacts for possible employment . Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work , such as medicine , education , or emergency rescue . Others serve on an as-needed basis , such as in response to a natural disaster . In a military context a volunteer is someone who joins an armed force of their own volition rather than being conscripted , and is usually paid .
Background radiation is a measure of the level of ionizing radiation present in the environment at a particular location which is not due to deliberate introduction of radiation sources . Background radiation originates from a variety of sources , both natural and artificial . These include both cosmic radiation and environmental radioactivity from naturally occurring radioactive materials ( such as radon and radium ) , as well as man-made medical X-rays , fallout from nuclear weapons testing and nuclear accidents .
Ramsar ( Persian : رامسر , also Romanized as Rāmsar and Rānsar ; formerly , Sakht Sar ) is the capital of Ramsar County , Mazandaran Province , Iran . In 2012 its population was 33,018 , in 9,421 families . Ramsar lies on the coast of the Caspian Sea .
The sievert ( symbol : Sv [ note 1 ] ) is a derived unit of ionizing radiation dose in the International System of Units ( SI ) and is a measure of the health effect of low levels of ionizing radiation on the human body . The sievert is important in dosimetry and radiation protection , and is named after Rolf Maximilian Sievert , a Swedish medical physicist renowned for work on radiation dose measurement and research into the biological effects of radiation . The sievert is used for radiation dose quantities such as equivalent dose and effective dose , which represent the risk of external radiation from sources outside the body , and committed dose which represents the risk of internal irradiation due to inhaled or ingested radioactive substances . The sievert is intended to represent the stochastic health risk , which for radiation dose assessment is defined as the probability of radiation-induced cancer and genetic damage . One sievert carries with it a 5.5% chance of eventually developing cancer based on the linear no-threshold model . To enable consideration of stochastic health risk , calculations are performed to convert the physical quantity absorbed dose into equivalent dose and effective dose , the details of which depend on the radiation type and biological context . For applications in radiation protection and dosimetry assessment the International Commission on Radiological Protection ( ICRP ) and International Commission on Radiation Units and Measurements ( ICRU ) have published recommendations and data which are used to calculate these . These are under continual review , and changes are advised in the formal Reports of those bodies . Conventionally , the sievert is not used for high dose rates of radiation that produce deterministic effects , which is the severity of acute tissue damage that is certain to happen , such as acute radiation syndrome ; these effects are compared to the physical quantity absorbed dose measured by the unit gray ( Gy ) . One sievert equals 100 rem . The rem is an older , non-SI unit of measurement .
Acute radiation syndrome ( ARS ) , also known as radiation sickness or radiation poisoning , is a collection of health effects due to exposure to high amounts of ionizing radiation over a short period of time . Symptoms can begin within an hour and may last for several months . Symptoms within the first few days typically include nausea , vomiting , and loss of appetite . This is followed by a few hours or weeks with little symptoms which later develops into additional symptoms followed by either recovery or death . Acute radiation syndrome involves a total dose of greater than 0.7 Gy ( 70 rads ) , that generally occurs from a source outside the body within minutes . Sources of such radiation can occur accidentally or intentionally . They may involve nuclear reactors , cyclotrons , and certain devices used in cancer therapy . It is generally divided into three types ; bone marrow , gastrointestinal , and neurovascular syndrome , with bone marrow syndrome occurring at 0.7 to 10 Gy , and neurovascular syndrome occurring at doses that exceed 50 Gy . The cells that are most affected are generally those that are rapidly dividing . At high doses , this causes DNA damage that may be irreparable . Diagnosis is based on a history of exposure and symptoms . Repeated complete blood counts ( CBCs ) can indicate the severity of exposure .
Ionizing radiation ( ionising radiation ) is radiation , traveling as a particle or electromagnetic wave , that carries sufficient energy to detach electrons from atoms or molecules , thereby ionizing them . Ionizing radiation is made up of energetic subatomic particles , ions or atoms moving at high speeds ( usually greater than 1% of the speed of light ) , and electromagnetic waves on the high-energy end of the electromagnetic spectrum . [ citation needed ] Gamma rays , X-rays , and the higher ultraviolet part of the electromagnetic spectrum are ionizing , whereas the lower ultraviolet part of the electromagnetic spectrum and all the spectrum below UV , including visible light ( including nearly all types of laser light ) , infrared , microwaves , and radio waves are considered non-ionizing radiation . The boundary between ionizing and non-ionizing electromagnetic radiation that occurs in the ultraviolet is not sharply defined , since different molecules and atoms ionize at different energies . Conventional definition places the boundary at a photon energy between 10 eV and 33 eV in the ultraviolet ( see definition boundary section below ) . Typical ionizing subatomic particles found in radioactive decay include alpha particles , beta particles and neutrons . Almost all products of radioactive decay are ionizing because the energy of radioactive decay is typically far higher than that required to ionize . Other subatomic ionizing particles which occur naturally are muons , mesons , positrons , and other particles that constitute the secondary cosmic particles that are produced after primary cosmic rays interact with Earth 's atmosphere . Cosmic rays are generated by stars and certain celestial events such as supernova explosions . Cosmic rays may also produce radioisotopes on Earth ( for example , carbon-14 ) , which in turn decay and produce ionizing radiation . Cosmic rays and the decay of radioactive isotopes are the primary sources of natural ionizing radiation on Earth referred to as background radiation . Ionizing radiation can also be generated artificially by X-ray tubes , particle accelerators , and any of the various methods that produce radioisotopes artificially .
This is a list of the world 's countries and their dependent territories by area , ranked by total area . Entries in this list include , but are not limited to , those in the ISO 3166-1 standard , which includes sovereign states and dependent territories . All 193 member states of the United Nations plus the Vatican City are given a rank number . Largely unrecognised states not in ISO 3166-1 are included in the list in ranked order . The areas of such largely unrecognised states are in most cases also included in the areas of the more widely recognised states that claim the same territory ; see the notes in the notes column for each country for clarification . Not included in the list are individual country claims to parts of the continent of Antarctica , entities such as the European Union [ Note 1 ] that have some degree of sovereignty but do not consider themselves to be sovereign countries or dependent territories , and unrecognised micronations such as the Principality of Sealand . This list includes three measurements of area :
This article contains a list of countries by length of coastline , in kilometers . A coastline of zero indicates that the country is landlocked .
This is a list of the world 's countries and their dependent territories by area , ranked by total area . Entries in this list include , but are not limited to , those in the ISO 3166-1 standard , which includes sovereign states and dependent territories . All 193 member states of the United Nations plus the Vatican City are given a rank number . Largely unrecognised states not in ISO 3166-1 are included in the list in ranked order . The areas of such largely unrecognised states are in most cases also included in the areas of the more widely recognised states that claim the same territory ; see the notes in the notes column for each country for clarification . Not included in the list are individual country claims to parts of the continent of Antarctica , entities such as the European Union [ Note 1 ] that have some degree of sovereignty but do not consider themselves to be sovereign countries or dependent territories , and unrecognised micronations such as the Principality of Sealand . This list includes three measurements of area :
This list of islands by area includes all islands in the world greater than 2,500 km2 ( 970 sq mi ) and several other islands over 1,000 km2 ( 390 sq mi ) , sorted in descending order by area . For comparison , continents are also shown .
Qeshm ( Persian : قشم , Persian pronunciation : [ ɢeʃm ] ) , formerly also known as Kishm , is an Iranian island in the Strait of Hormuz , separated from the mainland by the Clarence Strait/Khuran in the Persian Gulf ( 26°50′N 56°0′E / 26.833°N 56.000°E / 26.833 ; 56.000 ) . It is the largest island in Iran .
Greenland ( Greenlandic : Kalaallit Nunaat , pronounced [ kalaːɬit nunaːt ] ; Danish : Grønland , pronounced [ ˈkʁɶnˌlænˀ ] ) is the world 's largest island , [ d ] located between the Arctic and Atlantic oceans , east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago . It is an autonomous territory within the Kingdom of Denmark . Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America , Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe ( specifically Norway and Denmark , the colonial powers , as well as the nearby island of Iceland ) for more than a millennium . The majority of its residents are Inuit , whose ancestors migrated from Alaska through Northern Canada , gradually settling across the island by the 13th century . Nowadays , the population is largely concentrated on the southwest coast , while the rest of the island is sparsely populated . Greenland is divided into five municipalities - Sermersooq , Kujalleq , Qeqertalik , Qeqqata , and Avannaata . It has two unincorporated areas - the Northeast Greenland National Park and the Thule Air Base . The last one , even if under Danish control , is administered by the United States Air Force . Three-quarters of Greenland is covered by the only permanent ice sheet outside Antarctica . With a population of about 56,480 ( 2013 ) , it is the least densely populated territory in the world . About a third of the population lives in Nuuk , the capital and largest city . The Arctic Umiaq Line ferry acts as a lifeline for western Greenland , connecting the various cities and settlements .
This is a list of islands in the world ordered by their highest point . It includes all islands with peaks higher than 2,000 m. At the end of this article continental landmasses are also included for comparison . Countries and territories listed are those containing the highest point ; other countries and territories on the same landmass are listed separately .
The following sortable table lists land surface elevation extremes by country or dependent territory . Topographic elevation is the vertical distance above the reference geoid , a mathematical model of the Earth 's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface .
Mount Damavand ( Persian : دماوند [ dæmɒːvænd ] ( listen ) ) , a potentially active volcano , is a stratovolcano which is the highest peak in Iran and the highest volcano in Asia . [ a ] Damāvand has a special place in Persian mythology and folklore . It is in the middle of the Alborz range , adjacent to Varārū , Sesang , Gol-e Zard , and Mīānrūd . It is near the southern coast of the Caspian Sea , in Amol County , Mazandaran Province , 66 kilometres ( 41 miles ) northeast of the city of Tehran . Mount Damāvand is the 12th most prominent peak in the world , and the second most prominent in Asia after Mount Everest . It is part of the Volcanic Seven Summits mountaineering challenge .
The following sortable table lists land surface elevation extremes by country or dependent territory . Topographic elevation is the vertical distance above the reference geoid , a mathematical model of the Earth 's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface .
The Volcanic Seven Summits are the highest volcanoes on each of the seven continents , just as the Seven Summits are the highest peaks on each of the seven continents . Summiting all seven is regarded as a mountaineering challenge , first postulated as such in 1999 . Two of the Volcanic Seven Summits are also in the Seven Summits list . Mount Kilimanjaro and Mount Elbrus , which were formed volcanically , are the highest peaks of their respective continents .
This is a list of mountains in the country of Iran .
This is a list of extreme points of Earth , the geographical locations that are farther north or south than , higher or lower in elevation than , or farthest inland or out to sea from , any other locations on the landmasses , continents or countries . For other lists of extreme points on Earth , including places that hold temperature and weather records , see Extremes on Earth , Lists of extreme points , and List of weather records .
The following sortable table lists land surface elevation extremes by country or dependent territory . Topographic elevation is the vertical distance above the reference geoid , a mathematical model of the Earth 's sea level as an equipotential gravitational surface .
The Caspian Sea is the world 's largest inland body of water , variously classed as the world 's largest lake or a full-fledged sea . It is an endorheic basin ( a basin without outflows ) located between Europe and Asia , to the east of the Caucasus Mountains and to the west of the broad steppe of Central Asia . The sea has a surface area of 371,000 km2 ( 143,200 sq mi ) ( excluding the detached lagoon of Garabogazköl ) and a volume of 78,200 km3 ( 18,800 cu mi ) . It has a salinity of approximately 1.2% ( 12 g/l ) , about a third of the salinity of most seawater . It is bounded by Kazakhstan to the northeast , Russia to the northwest , Azerbaijan to the west , Iran to the south , and Turkmenistan to the southeast . The Caspian Sea is home to a wide range of species and may be best known for its caviar and oil industries . Pollution from the oil industry and dams on rivers draining into the Caspian Sea have had negative effects on the organisms living in the sea . The wide and endorheic Caspian Sea has a north-south orientation and its main freshwater inflow , the Volga River , enters at the shallow north end . Two deep basins occupy its central and southern areas . These lead to horizontal differences in temperature , salinity , and ecology . The Caspian Sea spreads out over nearly 1,200 kilometres ( 750 mi ) from north to south , with an average width of 320 km ( 200 mi ) . It covers a region of around 386,400 km2 ( 149,200 sq mi ) and its surface is about 27 m ( 89 ft ) below sea level .
This is the list of the largest deserts in the world by area . It includes all deserts above 50,000 square kilometres ( 19,300 sq mi ) .
Dasht-e Kavir ( Persian : دشت كوير , lit . 'Low Plains ' in classical Persian , from khwar ( low ) , and dasht ( plain , flatland ) , also known as Kavir-e Namak ( lit . 'salty lowlands ' ) and the Great Salt Desert , is a large desert lying in the middle of the Iranian plateau . It is about 800-kilometre-long ( 500 mi ) by 320-kilometre-wide ( 200 mi ) with a total surface area of about 77,600 km2 ( 30,000 sq mi ) , making it the Earth 's 24th largest desert . The area of this desert stretches from the Alborz mountain range in the north-west to the Dasht-e Lut in the south-east . It is partitioned among the Iranian provinces of Khorasan , Semnan , Tehran , Isfahan and Yazd
The Lut Desert , widely referred to as Dasht-e Lut ( Persian : دشت لوت , Emptiness Plain ) , is a large salt desert located in the provinces of Kerman and Sistan and Baluchestan , Iran . It is the world 's 25th-largest desert , and was included on UNESCO 's World Heritage List on July 17 , 2016 . The surface of its sand has been measured at temperatures as high as 70 °C ( 159 °F ) , making it one of the world 's driest and hottest places .
Reader 's Digest is an American general-interest family magazine , published ten times a year . Formerly based in Pleasantville , New York , it is now headquartered in Midtown Manhattan . The magazine was founded in 1922 , by DeWitt Wallace and Lila Bell Wallace . For many years , Reader 's Digest was the best-selling consumer magazine in the United States ; it lost the distinction in 2009 to Better Homes and Gardens . According to Mediamark Research ( 2006 ) , Reader 's Digest reaches more readers with household incomes of $ 100,000+ than Fortune , The Wall Street Journal , Business Week , and Inc. combined . Global editions of Reader 's Digest reach an additional 40 million people in more than 70 countries , via 49 editions in 21 languages . The periodical has a global circulation of 10.5 million , making it the largest paid circulation magazine in the world . It is also published in Braille , digital , audio , and in a large type called Reader 's Digest Large Print . The magazine is compact , with its pages roughly half the size of most American magazines . Hence , in the summer of 2005 , the U.S. edition adopted the slogan America in your pocket . In January 2008 , it was changed to Life well shared .
The Human Development Index ( HDI ) is a statistic composite index of life expectancy , education , and per capita income indicators , which are used to rank countries into four tiers of human development . A country scores a higher HDI when the lifespan is higher , the education level is higher , and the gross national income GNI ( PPP ) per capita is higher . It was developed by Pakistani economist Mahbub ul Haq and Indian Economist Amartya Sen and was further used to measure a country 's development by the United Nations Development Programme ( UNDP ) 's Human Development Report Office . The 2010 Human Development Report introduced an Inequality-adjusted Human Development Index ( IHDI ) . While the simple HDI remains useful , it stated that the IHDI is the actual level of human development ( accounting for inequality ) , and the HDI can be viewed as an index of 'potential ' human development ( or the maximum IHDI that could be achieved if there were no inequality ) . The index does not take into account several factors , such as the net wealth per capita or the relative quality of goods in a country . This situation tends to lower the ranking for some of the most advanced countries , such as the G7 members and others . The index is based on the human development approach , developed by ul Haq , often framed in terms of whether people are able to be and do desirable things in life . Examples include - Being : well fed , sheltered , healthy ; Doing : work , education , voting , participating in community life . The freedom of choice is central - someone choosing to be hungry ( as during a religious fast ) is quite different from someone who is hungry because they can not afford to buy food , or because the country is in a famine .
The Environmental Performance Index ( EPI ) is a method of quantifying and numerically marking the environmental performance of a state 's policies . This index was developed from the Pilot Environmental Performance Index , first published in 2002 , and designed to supplement the environmental targets set forth in the United Nations Millennium Development Goals . The EPI was preceded by the Environmental Sustainability Index ( ESI ) , published between 1999 and 2005 . Both indices were developed by Yale University ( Yale Center for Environmental Law and Policy ) and Columbia University ( Center for International Earth Science Information Network ) in collaboration with the World Economic Forum and the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission . The ESI was developed to evaluate environmental sustainability relative to the paths of other countries . Due to a shift in focus by the teams developing the ESI , the EPI uses outcome-oriented indicators , then working as a benchmark index that can be more easily used by policy makers , environmental scientists , advocates and the general public . Other leading indices like the Global Green Economy Index ( GGEI ) provide an integrated measure of the environmental , social and economic dynamics of national economies . The GGEI utilizes EPI data for the environmental dimension of the index while also providing a performance assessment of efficiency sectors ( e.g . transport , buildings , energy ) , investment , green innovation and national leadership around climate change . In January 2012 four EPI reports have been released - the Pilot 2006 Environmental Performance Index , and the 2008 , 2010 , and 2012 Environmental Performance Index . For the 2012 report , a new Pilot Trend EPI was developed to rank countries based on the environmental performance changes occurred during the last decade , allowing to establish which countries are improving and which are declining . In the 2014 EPI ranking , the top five countries were Switzerland , Luxembourg , Australia , Singapore , and the Czech Republic .
This is a list of countries ordered by annual per capita consumption of tea , as of 2016 [ update ] .
Tea is an aromatic beverage commonly prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured leaves of the Camellia sinensis , an evergreen shrub ( bush ) native to East Asia . After water , it is the most widely consumed drink in the world . There are many different types of tea ; some , like Darjeeling and Chinese greens , have a cooling , slightly bitter , and astringent flavour , while others have vastly different profiles that include sweet , nutty , floral or grassy notes . Tea has a stimulating effect in humans primarily due to its caffeine content . Tea originated in Southwest China during the Shang dynasty , where it was used as a medicinal drink . An early credible record of tea drinking dates to the 3rd century AD , in a medical text written by Hua Tuo . It was popularised as a recreational drink during the Chinese Tang dynasty , and tea drinking spread to other East Asian countries . Portuguese priests and merchants introduced it to Europe during the 16th century . During the 17th century , drinking tea became fashionable among Britons , who started large-scale production and commercialisation of the plant in India . Combined , China and India supplied 62% of the world 's tea in 2016 . The term herbal tea refers to drinks not made from Camellia sinensis : infusions of fruit , leaves , or other parts of the plant , such as steeps of rosehip , chamomile , or rooibos . These are sometimes called tisanes or herbal infusions to prevent confusion with tea made from the tea plant .
The World Resources Institute ( WRI ) is a global research non-profit organization that was established in 1982 with funding from the MacArthur Foundation under the leadership of James Gustave Speth .
Coffee is a brewed drink prepared from roasted coffee beans , the seeds of berries from certain Coffea species . The genus Coffea is native to tropical Africa ( specifically having its origin in Ethiopia and Sudan ) and Madagascar , the Comoros , Mauritius , and Réunion in the Indian Ocean . Coffee plants are now cultivated in over 70 countries , primarily in the equatorial regions of the Americas , Southeast Asia , Indian subcontinent , and Africa . The two most commonly grown are C. arabica and C. robusta . Once ripe , coffee berries are picked , processed , and dried . Dried coffee seeds ( referred to as beans ) are roasted to varying degrees , depending on the desired flavor . Roasted beans are ground and then brewed with near-boiling water to produce the beverage known as coffee . Coffee is darkly colored , bitter , slightly acidic and has a stimulating effect in humans , primarily due to its caffeine content . It is one of the most popular drinks in the world , and it can be prepared and presented in a variety of ways ( e.g. , espresso , French press , caffè latte ) . It is usually served hot , although iced coffee is a popular alternative . Clinical studies indicate that moderate coffee consumption is benign or mildly beneficial in healthy adults , with continuing research on whether long-term consumption reduces the risk of some diseases , although those long-term studies are generally of poor quality . While coffee is native to Ethiopia and Sudan , the earliest credible evidence of coffee-drinking as the modern beverage appears in modern-day Yemen in southern Arabia in the middle of the 15th century in Sufi shrines .
The federal government of the United States ( U.S. federal government ) [ a ] is the national government of the United States , a federal republic in North America , composed of 50 states , a federal district , five major self-governing territories and several island possessions . The federal government is composed of three distinct branches : legislative , executive and judicial , whose powers are vested by the U.S. Constitution in the Congress , the president and the federal courts , respectively . The powers and duties of these branches are further defined by acts of Congress , including the creation of executive departments and courts inferior to the Supreme Court .
This is a list of countries by southernmost point on land . Where borders are contested , the southernmost point under the control of a nation is listed , excluding points within Antarctica and its outlying islands south of 60°S . A selection of dependent territories is listed , but not ranked .
Sistan and Baluchestan Province ( Persian : استان سيستان و بلوچستان , romanized : Ostân-e Sistân va Balučestân ; Balochi : سیستان و بلوچستان , romanized : Sistân o Balučestân ) , after Kerman Province , is the second largest province of the 31 provinces of Iran . It is in the southeast of the country , bordering Pakistan and Afghanistan and its capital is Zahedan . The province is the second largest province in Iran with an area of 180,726 km² and a population of 2.5 million . The counties of the province are Chabahar County , Qasr-e Qand County , Dalgan County , Hirmand County , Iranshahr County , Khash County , Konarak County , Nik Shahr County , Saravan County , Sarbaz County , Sib and Suran County , Zabol County , Mehrestan County , Zahedan County , Zehak County , Hamun County , Nimruz County , Bampur County , Mirjaveh County & Fanuj County . The population comprises the Baloch who form a majority in the province , followed by the relatively large minority , the Sistani Persians . Smaller communities of Kurds ( in the eastern highlands and near Iranshahr ) , the expatriate Brahui ( on the borders between Iran and Pakistan ) , and other resident and itinerant ethnic groups such as the Gypsies are also found in the province .
This is a list of countries by northernmost point on land . Where borders are contested , the northernmost point under the control of a nation is listed . A selection of dependent territories are listed in italics and are not ranked .
West Azerbaijan Province is one of the 31 provinces of Iran . It is in the northwest of the country , bordering Turkey , Iraq and Azerbaijan 's Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic , as well as the provinces of East Azerbaijan , Zanjan and Kurdistan . The province is part of Region 3 . It is separated from Armenia by Turkey 's short border with the Azerbaijan Republic . The province of West Azerbaijan covers an area of 39,487 km² , or 43,660 km² including Lake Urmia . In 2012 the province had a population of about 3 million ( estimate ) . The capital city and largest city of the province is Urmia .