Other large cities are Esfahan, Tabriz, and Shiraz. Persian is the country 's official language and the principal language of most of the country's citizens. The Kurds speak a variety of closely related dialects, which in Iran are collectively called Kirmanji. Also spoken are Turkic languages, Arabic and Assyrian. Ninety percent of Iranians are Muslim, but most belong to the minority Shia Islam sect rather than the Sunni Islam faith that a majority of the world's Muslims follow.
Citizens get only minimally adequate health care and the infant mortality rate is high.
Most of the country's 12,000 physicians and 1,700 dentists are based in the cities and 70 percent of the specialists are in Tehran. Oil production is the main industry. Copyright MMI Viacom Internet Services Inc. All Rights Reserved.