Little Known Facts About Iran (Persia): World's Oldest Country

Here is a list of very interesting facts and achievements regarding Iran that I was not aware of mostly.  I think it is interesting in that it breaks many stereotypes of what people in America think of the nation of Iran...such as the 1000% Science and Technology growth rate in 9 years and the largest ratio of women to men students in school...or that Iran (Persia) is the "World's Oldest Country": 

Date	Nation	Event
3200 BC	Iran	The first state consisting all of western Iran was founded by the Proto-Elamite with their capital at Susa & Anshan which lasted from around 3200 BC to 2700 BC, they were followed by Elam (2700-550 BC) and Medes who created the first Iranian empire, which encompassed all of Iran and lasted from 728 to 550 BC. Cyrus The Great, founded the world's first superstate, stretching from Greece to India. The last reunification of Iran happened in 1501 AD by theSafavid dynasty. Iran was referred to in the West as Persia until March 21, 1935 when it was officially recognized as either Persia or Iran, where the latter has been the local name. Iran has had roughly the same geographical boundaries since its inception and has been using Persian as the official language in addition to Iranian calendar. In modern days, the media and some historians have begun to hesitate Persia's influence on history for political reasons[1].

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_statehood

1.	Iran	Largest pistachio producer, output of 230,000 tons[49]	Agriculture	2007
2.	Iran	Largest saffron producer, 93.7% of world's total production[50]	Agriculture	2009
3.	Iran	Largest caviar producer [51]	Agriculture	2009
4.	Iran	Largest producer of berries[52]	Agriculture	2007
5.	Iran	Largest producer of stone fruits[53]	Agriculture	2007
6.	Iran	Largest producer of Berberis[54]	Agriculture	2009
7.	Iran	Hottest surface temperature ever recorded, 70.7 °C (159 °F) recorded at Dasht-e Lut[55]	Climate	2005
8.	Iran	Most number of people killed in a blizzard, 4000 people died in 1972 Iran blizzard	Climate	1972
9.	Iran	Largest importer of wheat[56][57][58]	Consumption	2009
10.	Iran	Highest rate of brain drain in the world	Demographics	2003
11.	Iran	Highest ratio of female to male school enrollment[59], 1.22 female per male student	Education	2005
12.	Iran	Location with the highest natural background radiation, annual dose of 260 mSv	Geography	2010
13.	Iran	Most number of major earthquakes, 5.5+ Richter Magnitude[60]	Geology	2010
14.	Iran	Most accurate calendar in use, Iranian calendar	Geophysics	2010
15.	Iran	Highest annual prevalence of opiates use, 2.8% of population	Health	1999
16.	Iran	Largest number of former national capitals, 31 former capital cities	History	2010
17.	Iran	World's oldest country, Established ~3200 BC	History	2010
18.	Iran	Host to the world's largest population of foreign refugees, Mostly Iraqi & Afghan refugees[61][62][63][64]	Humanitarian	1999
19.	Iran	Largest producer of Turquoise[65][66]	Industry	2010
20.	Iran	Largest reserves of Zinc[67][68][69]	Industry	2010
21.	Iran	World's largest producer and exporter of handmade carpets[70][71][72]	Industry	2010
22.	Iran	World's fastest growth rate in science and technology, 1000% increase of science & technology output in nine years[73][74][75]	Science	2010

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_statistically_superlative_countries

I am proud to be an American of Iranian heritage...from the oldest country in the world, to one of the newest.