What Level of Globalization is Iran At Today?
Improving technological advancements helps Iran stay connected, but a few key indicators are preventing the country from moving to a level of 3.0 from what I believe they are at now, somewhere between the globalization levels of 1.0 and 2.0. According to the CIA World Factbook, the number of internet users is 8.214 million as of the year 2009. Although this number is substantial, the government has censorship in place to limit what users can see and upload, which is the vehicle for a far-reaching level of globalization 3.0. Iran’s economy has many restrictions such as price controls, subsidies, and control on the market, preventing small businesses to grow across the globe as easily as a country that is completely in the level of globalization 2.0. Because of Iran’s influence in the oil trade across the world, that does put them in the global market, which creates an interaction between nation states and companies, placing them around levels 1.0 and 2.0. |
HDI Score: Human Development Index
The Human Development Index is a way to compare countries based on three things: health, education, and living standards. This index helps us compare different countries to see how they are doing and to see how they can improve. Iran has a score of 0.742, ranked at 72/187 in the world compared with other countries. At the 40th percentile, Iran has room for improvement, but they aren’t the worst off, either. This index can help Iran look at what higher ranked countries are doing to get ideas to improve their current situations. |
TOP 10 EVENTS IN IRAN IN THE PAST YEAR
1. President Hasan Fereidun Ruhani, a more conservative leader than the previous, entered office on August 3, 2013
2. Ruhani took a different approach than his predecessors as he announced that Iran will not seek after weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons.
3. Iran gets in trouble with the UN over human rights issues in 2012 dealing with inhumane prison situations and persecution of minorities.
4. Their economy is at an all-time low with one U.S. dollar being worth 36,000; now worth half as much as it had last year at this same time.
5. In August of 2012, their national birth control budget was eliminated because they want women to have children again to maintain their population. Currently only about 20% of their population is below the age of 14.
6. Iran was ranked 1st in scientific growth last year.
7. Iranians found that many sites online that their government had previously blocked are alowly becoming available and accessible.
8. Voting for leaders is becoming more integrated as mayors of cities are now based on popular vote for the first time in 2013.
9. Over half of the world’s known oil reserves can be found in the Middle East, the majority in Iran, however, their oil exports have dropped by 40% as they are required to follow strict trade regulations.
10. The government has been trying to hide their debt thru their trading of oil, but a new law was implemented to stop this practice of lying about their nation’s debt.
Sources:
CIA World Factbook (https://www.cia.gov/index.html)
New York Times (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/iran/index.html)
Press TV (http://presstv.com/detail/218692.html)
Encyclopedia Britanica (http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/454269/petroleum/50717/World-distribution-of-oil)
Lobe Log – Foreign News (http://www.lobelog.com/iran-in-2012-a-year-in-review/)
1. President Hasan Fereidun Ruhani, a more conservative leader than the previous, entered office on August 3, 2013
2. Ruhani took a different approach than his predecessors as he announced that Iran will not seek after weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons.
3. Iran gets in trouble with the UN over human rights issues in 2012 dealing with inhumane prison situations and persecution of minorities.
4. Their economy is at an all-time low with one U.S. dollar being worth 36,000; now worth half as much as it had last year at this same time.
5. In August of 2012, their national birth control budget was eliminated because they want women to have children again to maintain their population. Currently only about 20% of their population is below the age of 14.
6. Iran was ranked 1st in scientific growth last year.
7. Iranians found that many sites online that their government had previously blocked are alowly becoming available and accessible.
8. Voting for leaders is becoming more integrated as mayors of cities are now based on popular vote for the first time in 2013.
9. Over half of the world’s known oil reserves can be found in the Middle East, the majority in Iran, however, their oil exports have dropped by 40% as they are required to follow strict trade regulations.
10. The government has been trying to hide their debt thru their trading of oil, but a new law was implemented to stop this practice of lying about their nation’s debt.
Sources:
CIA World Factbook (https://www.cia.gov/index.html)
New York Times (http://topics.nytimes.com/top/news/international/countriesandterritories/iran/index.html)
Press TV (http://presstv.com/detail/218692.html)
Encyclopedia Britanica (http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/454269/petroleum/50717/World-distribution-of-oil)
Lobe Log – Foreign News (http://www.lobelog.com/iran-in-2012-a-year-in-review/)
How does Iran compare with Sri Lanka? Click the link below for a slideshow comparing these two countries:
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/16Ioy2lEqP2m78zaLkm6US6WCvMDZ5LRWsmC4sx7FxDA/edit#slide=id.p13
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/16Ioy2lEqP2m78zaLkm6US6WCvMDZ5LRWsmC4sx7FxDA/edit#slide=id.p13