General & Geography
The Islamic Republic of Iran, the former Persia, is one of the 20 most populous countries in the world with around 76 million inhabitants.
The capital and economic center of the state in Western Asia is the metropolis of Tehran in the highlands of Iran. According to the latest statistics, up to 20 million people live in the Tehran metropolitan area.
According to COUNTRYAAH, Iran borders on the neighboring states of Pakistan, Afghanistan, Turkmenistan, Armenia, Turkey, Azerbaijan and Iraq, to which there is the longest border line with over 1,600 kilometers.
Almost 70 percent of the land area of Iran is taken up by the imposing highlands, which are divided into several basins. The Kuhrud and Zagros fold mountains in particular have a multitude of peaks above 3500 meters, the highest mountain in Iran is the dormant Damavand volcano at 5670 meters.
The largest cities in the state between the Strait of Hormuz (Persian Gulf) and the Caspian Sea are Tehran and the cities of Isfahan, Mashhad, Karaj, Shiraz, Tabriz, Qom and Ahvaz.
In addition to the high mountains, Iran has mainly dry, desert-like basin plains. The largest airport in the country is Tehran’s International Airport, which is served by Lufthansa, among others.
- Abbreviation Finder: Check to see national geography, brief history, society description, domestic politics, economy overview, and a list of widely used acronyms about Iran.
Climate in Iran
The state area of Iran is about four times the area of the Federal Republic of Germany. Due to the enormous height differences, climatic differences in the individual regions of the country are also clearly noticeable. The largest part of the country in the Iranian highlands has a very continental climate with only little rainfall.
The highlands have dry, hot summer months and cool down enormously in the also dry winter. The sky is often cloudy and sunny, there are only very few rain showers. The edge mountains in the desert and north have an alpine climate with sometimes very heavy precipitation in winter (snow at high altitudes).
The coastal region on the Caspian Sea is protected by the towering Elbursgebirge, on whose slopes the humid air masses from the ocean rain down all year round. The climate in this coastal lowland can be described as very humid and at the same time pleasantly mild. Ideal conditions for agriculture!
The climate in the lowlands on the Persian Gulf in Iran is different. Here the summers are extremely hot, sometimes very humid and the winter months have a very mild climate. The driest regions of Iran are the inland salt lakes.
When is the best time to travel to Iran?
Round trips through Iran usually move mainly through the central highlands with short detours to the coast. The period from the beginning of April to mid- June and the autumn months from mid- September to mid- November are particularly suitable as the absolutely best travel time in Iran.
The Iranian New Year Nou Ruz (21 ‘ March) and the following days are very impressive for European visitors, but the country traveled to this travel time by countless locals and many accommodations are booked out months in advance.
When determining the best travel time, the fasting month Ramadan must also be taken into account, which is determined according to the Islamic lunar calendar and is therefore subject to annual shifts. Midsummer is uncomfortably hot in most regions of Iran and therefore only partially suitable for a trip.
Optimal travel time for the regions
In the following overview you can see the best travel time depending on the region (Iran).
| Place | Best travel time |
| Tehran | April, May, June, September and October |
| Ramsar | April, May, June, July and September |
| Bushehr | April, May, October and November |
Temperatures, precipitation, sunshine in Tehran (Iran)
| Jan | Feb | March | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
| Daytime temperature | 7 ° C | 10 ° C | 15 ° C | 22 ° C | 28 ° C | 34 ° C | 37 ° C | 35 ° C | 32 ° C | 24 ° C | 17 ° C | 10 ° C |
| Night temperature | -1 ° C | 1 ° C | 5 ° C | 11 ° C | 16 ° C | 21 ° C | 24 ° C | 23 ° C | 19 ° C | 13 ° C | 7 ° C | 1 ° C |
| Precipitation in mm | 37 | 34 | 37 | 28 | 15 | 3 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 14 | 21st | 36 |
| Hours of sunshine | 6 | 6 | 7 | 7 | 9 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 8 | 7 | 6 |
| Sunrise | 7:15 | 6:50 | 6:15 | 6:30 | 6:00 | 5:50 | 6:00 | 6:20 | 6:45 | 6:10 | 6:40 | 7:05 |
| Sunset | 17:15 | 17:45 | 18:10 | 19:35 | 20:00 | 20:20 | 20:20 | 19:55 | 19:15 | 17:30 | 17:00 | 16:55 |
Temperatures
The annual average temperature in Tehran is 17.1 ° C. For comparison: Munich reaches an average of 8.6 ° C, in Berlin it is 9.6 ° C. The warmest month is July (30.4 ° C), coldest month of January with mean values of 3 ° C.
Precipitation
The annual precipitation is 230 mm. For comparison: In Munich, 967 mm, in Berlin 570 mm, precipitation is measured annually. There is no rainy season, i.e. months with more than 175 mm of precipitation. In the months of January, February and December snowfall is possible.
Sunshine
As our climate table shows, June is the sunniest month with an average of 11.5 hours of sunshine per day. On average over the year, the sun shines for 8.3 hours per day. For comparison: In Munich and Berlin, the sun shines an average of 4.7 hours per day throughout the year.
Cities nearby
The following larger towns are nearby and have a similar climate: Karaj, Eslamshahr, Shahrijar, Ghartschak, Malard, Varāmīn and Robat Karim.
