What country has the most unused potential?

10/7/2018

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by Kewan Shirazi via QUORA.COM

Geography Story: What country has the most unused potential?

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What about the country that has:

The world’s largest reserves of zinc
The world’s 2nd largest reserves of copper
The world’s 9th largest reserves of iron ores

The world’s 2nd largest reserves of natural gas
The worlds 4th largest reserves of oil
The world’s 2nd largest petroleum company

The world’s fastest scientific growth, more than 11x the world’s average
The world’s 5th highest university students in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics)

Have you guessed it yet?

That country is no other than Iran.

Iran is, in my opinion, the country with the highest unused potential, and I will explain why:

Yes, Iran has some of the world’s largest reserves of minerals, but its mining infrastructure is lacking, and Iran has very little resources to fund or invest in its mining industry, and because of the sanctions foreign investment is not an option.

Yes, Iran has the world’s largest combined oil and natural gas reserves, but it’s also lacking investments in its oil and gas sector, that needs to be developed further to unleash its full potential. 40 years ago, Iran used to produce almost 10 million barrels of oil daily, but now the number has been lowered to a mere 4 million, because of an aging oil infrastructure, that needs to be modernized and bad politics.

Yes, Iranian student's doing extremely well, but Iran also has the world’s largest brain drain, which means that all the smart, innovative and bright people are packing their bags to leave Iran as soon as possible.

Yes, Iran is the 4th richest country in the world based on the worth of natural resources, which is worth more than $35.000.000.000.000 (35 trillion USD).

But this is a curse in disguise.

It has made Iran lazy, hence its economy is now dependent on natural resources, instead of human capital, as Iran’s economy is oil based.

Each time new sanctions strike against Iran’s oil industry, I hope that it will force the Iranian government to realize, that we shouldn’t make our economy so dependent on our oil, but rather on our human capital.

Instead of investing immensely in the oil and gas sector, we need to focus on our educational facilities, make Iran’s education world class, which will produce the brightest minds in the world, and make it attractive for them to stay, and make Iran a country based on knowledge, rather than petroleum.

Then, we can focus on getting rich on our natural resources.

This information was taken from Quora. Click here to view the original post.

Were you surprised to learn that Iran is that underrated?

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What are your thoughts on this subject?

48 Comments

alborzi

Richard Perkins, I suppose we shall soon rank countries on the basis of how "evil" they might be. Let's see, would dropping two atomic bombs on Japan and killing 250,000 Japanese civilians qualify a country as being "evil?" Or perhaps killing one million Iraqi civilians who didn't have "weapons of mass destruction" qualify a government as "evil?" Maybe 17 years of bombing Afghanistan would come a little closer to deserving that title? Not to mention destruction of Lybia and murder of its ruler and creation of total chaos in North Africa brings one closer to the definition of a perfect "Evil Empire?" Why does this type of militarism engaged by countless administrations is not an example of personification of evil on earth? Is it because some people prefer to remain ignorant of their own country and to judge when it comes to other cultures?! Is it not an un-christian act to allow so many of your countrymen live under bridges in abject poverty while the rest pretends they don't exist? Why is it that the military budget of one country equals the combined budget of the next ten countries combined? "Judge not, lest you be judged!" As you can see, it is not hard to accuse others of evil doings! "Let those free of sin cast the first stone!" We should try to help those in need of help. Criticism and name calling is not befitting a nation that claims to "exceptional." By your fruits we know thee!"

Wendy Petty

I didn't realise this was a soap box question

Rafi Manory

Alborzi, democracies are better than a religious dictatorship with a Morals Police that funds and supports terrorism around the Middle East and beyond. All the story was showing is that Iran could be better off without sanctities but it prefers beligerence to the well being of its people.

Vimala Padmaraj

alborzi, IRAN'S BIGGEST BLUNDER - THE WAY THEY TREAT WOMEN.

Jim Mascair

I enjoyed reading the comments to the answer. I did not realize Iran had so many natural resources.

kgb

Yousuf Mirza, yes

kgb

alborzi, you are 110% right in everything you said. Americans like to think this is the greatest country on earth. Wonder what the native American people think. SMH

Nicholas Miernicki

alborzi, "Performance 0.0%" Now there is a surprise. "By your fruits we know thee!" 0.0 'fruits' but yet, we know thee well. It seems that the Iranians pay by the word, so you should have gotten a nice deposit that month.

Jim Adams

deborahpmercer, The nuclear deal was a joke from day one and it wasn’t even a legal deal. All it was is an agreement between President Obama and the president of Iran and everything about it was in Iran’s favor he!!, they even got to police their own side of the deal? Yes the President of the United States has the authority to negotiate a treaty with anyone he wants, however that treaty must be approved by the Senate, Barack Obama warmed his way around that little fact of law with this so-called handshake deal he made with Iran. Fact that it was illegal didn’t phase the Democrats won little bit I mean after all they have become as corrupt as corruption is possible. The Democrat party has devolved into a mass of thugs who believe that means will always justify the end regardless of how illegal it is.

Jim Adams

I would’ve said all of them, I don’t consider untapped potential to be minerals, oil anything else to me potential is the potential of the people and no country on this planet is allowing their people to achieve their full potential.

renegarjim

Which country has the moral high ground to preach?? I did think the information interesting.

deborahpmercer

Fascinating! May I also say yes, there is much to dislike in Iran, but none of it has been helped by ending the nuclear deal which is just sabre rattling and point scoring. I also think that any suggestion of getting income other than by gas, oil, etc, is to be welcomed. And may I point out (and yes I am UK resident but have many American friends and admire much about the country) that a country with the death penalty shouldn't pass judgement on ANY other country by claiming the moral high ground!

Rafi Manory

Rafi Manory, not sanctities but sanctions, sorry

kgb

I love this country a great deal but it does have a lot to answer for. We have backed some governments in the past who were nothing but tyrants. Some people don't want to remember or acknowledge this fact

gossmer

If you do not like this country then leave and go town evil country which there are many and almost all socialist. And by the Japan started the war on bombing Pearl Harbor or are you to ignorant to remember and both side agreed that continuing the war would have killed millions more and the people were warned a least a month ahead of the bombing learn history, and the rest you got up there is also garbage and by the way I am a Christian and judgement is for the LORD JESUS

kpkennedy

alborzi, If you dislike our country so much you are welcome to leave and perhaps go to Iran or North Korea. I will admit the U.S. is not without problems....just remember we did not start the problems, the other people did. We just ended them. As far as murdering a countries leader...I would counter that we administered the death penalty on him (remember Berlin and Lockerbie). His country was found guilty on both.

Paul Bison

alborzi, is that why tens of thousands from the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and South America are trying to enter this evil regime of USA, by any means possible, but you don't see much traffic heading the other way. Why is that alborzi?

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