Iran is dying.
The collapse of Iran's birth rate during the past 20 years is the fastest recorded in any country, ever.
An analysis of the 2006 Iran census shows a fertility level of 1.9 for the whole country and 1.5 for the Tehran area. In 1980, the fertility rate in rural areas was 8.4 while that of urban areas was 5.6. It seems that a spiritual decay has overcome Iran, despite the best efforts of a totalitarian theocracy. Popular morale has deteriorated.
In addition, with oil at barely one-fifth of its 2008 peak price, they will run out of money some time in late 2009 or early 2010.
Prostitution has [spread] among educated Iranian women. The Austrian daily Der Standard reported on Feb. 3, "More than 90% of Tehran's prostitutes have passed the university entrance exam."
Furthermore, the UN Office of Drugs and Crime estimates that Iran has as many as 1.7 million opiate addicts, 5% of Iran's adult, non-elderly population. That is an astonishing number. The closest American equivalent found that 119,000 Americans reported using heroin within the prior month, or less than one-tenth of 1% of the non-elderly adult population.
Iran's startling rates of opium addiction and prostitution reflect popular demoralization. According to an unpublicized Iranian study, 36% of Iran's youth aged 15 to 29 years want to emigrate.
(Asia Times-Hong Kong)
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