Frequent serious earthquakes, floods, droughts, landslides, and major storms take a heavy toll on the country’s infrastructure and rural population. Earthquakes alone have killed more than 180,000 people during the last century, and the frequency of seismic activity has sharply increased over the past few years. Of the 40 different observable types of natural disasters, 31 have been identified in Iran.
The country also shares a 1,000 kilometer border with neighboring Afghanistan, and for the last 40 years Iran has hosted one of the world’s largest populations of refugees. Some 3 million Afghan refugees fleeing war and chronic poverty in their country have migrated to Iran.