Iran and Portugal Alex James Iran

Iran and Portugal Alex James

Iran

Location Middle East between Iraq and Palestine n Capital city is Tehran n

Culture n Language- 53% Persian, Azen and Turkic dialect 18%, Kurdish 10%, 19% Other n Population- 78, 868, 711 n Religion- 98% Muslim n Subcultures- Shia, Sunni

Flag and National Symbols National Symbol. Representation of Allah in the shape of a tulip n Green- growth n White- honesty and peace n Red- bravery and martyrdom n

Values, Norms, Beliefs n Fundamentalist Islam n Restricted role of women n Individualism- because of geographic conditions and the despotic nature of the political regimes it leads people to fend for themselves

Economy n Uses a private sector type economy n This is inefficient because of informal market activity and corruption n Government regulation stifles the economy n Biggest sector of industry is oil n Unemployement rate: 15. 3%

History n Known as Persia until 1935 n Formally became recognized as Islamic republic in 1979 n Bloody war with Iraq from 1980 -88 n Conflict with Ottoman empire during its reign

Conflicts n Nuclear Weapons- Speculation that Iran is developing nuclear weapons n Mahmound Ahmidinejad n Israel n Closing of the Strait of Hormuz

Likes and Dislikes Like- Persian Art and architecture n Dislike-many international conflicts, a lot of human trafficking, drug problems n

Would I live here? n. I would not like to live in Iran. For one, the culture is dominated by Islam, and I am not Muslim. There also many foreign conflicts with Iran and the Iranian government openly speaks out against American so as an American I don’t think I would be very welcomed. They are also very backward in some aspects of their culture.

Portugal

Location Iberian Peninsula, Southwest Europe next to Spain n Capital City- Lisbon (though it has never been officially recognized) n

Culture n Language- Portuguese and Mirandese n Population- 10, 781, 459 n Religion- 84. 5% Roman Catholic n Subcultures- Socialist Party and Social Democratic party.

Flag and National Symbolcoat of arms on the flag n Green- hope n Red- blood of those defending the nation n

Economy n Portugal has a service-based economy n In recent years, Portugal has been privatizing many government firms n Not a very strong economy because of a poor educational system as well as a rigid labor market n Unemployement rate: 12. 4%

History n Global maritime power in the 15 th and 16 th centuries n Lost much of its international power with the 1755 earthquake in Lisbon, occupation during the Napoleonic wars, and the independence of Brazil

Conflicts n In the past the Portuguese have had conflicts with many of the European powers and the Ottoman Empire, as well as a colonial conflict with Angola in the 1970’s. n There are many street protests because of the government’s strict measures in their 2012 -2013 budget.

Values, Beliefs, and Norms n Traditional and Conservative n Very family oriented, extended families are often close n Place a lot of value on social appearance

Likes and Dislikes Like-no conflicts, nice part of the world, very soccer oriented n Dislikes-the population is very homogenous, not the best educational system. n

Would I live here? n. I would actually like to live in Portugal. It is a very peaceful country, where everyone seems to get along very well, as well as it is in a very nice part of the world in terms of climate and geography.

U. S. Or anywhere else? n. I would prefer to live in the U. S. Over any other country in the world. I would like to visit many places in the world but as far as perminant residence goes I would rather live in the U. S. Because though we have our problems, I still feel it is the best country in the world.

Works Cited https: //www. cia. gov/library/publications/theworld-factbook/geos/ir. html n https: //www. cia. gov/library/publications/theworld-factbook/geos/po. html n http: //www. kwintessential. co. uk/resources/glo bal-etiquette/portugal. html n http: //www. herzliyaconference. org/_Uploads/ 2614 Iranianself. pdf n