Demographics of Iran

Iran's population increased dramatically during the later half of the 20th century, reaching about 80 million by 2016.[1][2] As of 2022, Iran's population is around 86.5 million.[3] In recent years, however, Iran's birth rate has dropped significantly. Studies project that Iran's rate of population growth will continue to slow until it stabilises above 100 million by 2050.[4][5] Half of Iran's population was under 35 years old in 2012.[6]

Demographics of Iran
Population pyramid of Iran in 2020
Population87,929,883 (2023 est.)
Growth rate0.98% (2022 est.)
Birth rate15.27 births/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Death rate5.17 deaths/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Life expectancy75.25 years
 • male73.89 years
 • female76.67 years
Fertility rate1.66 children born/woman (2023 official)
Infant mortality rate14.84 deaths/1,000 live births
Net migration rate−0.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2022 est.)
Age structure
0–14 years24.11%
65 and over5.87%
Sex ratio
Total1.03 male(s)/female (2022 est.)
At birth1.05 male(s)/female
Under 151.05 male(s)/female
65 and over0.77 male(s)/female
Nationality
NationalityIranian
Language
OfficialPersian (Farsi)
Historical population of Iran
Population of Iranian provinces and counties in 2021.

In 2009, the number of households stood at 15.3 million (4.8 persons per household).[7] Families earn some 11.8 million rials (about $960) per month on average (2012).[8]

According to the OECD/World Bank statistics population growth in Iran from 1990 to 2008 was 17.6 million and 32%.[9] The literacy rate was 80% in 2002,[10][11] and 85% in 2016.[12] The fertility rate has fallen to 1.6, below the natural replacement rate of 2.1.[13]

Population

According to the 2016 population census the population of Iran was 79.9 million,[1] a fourfold increase since 1956. Between 1976 and 1986, an average annual population growth of almost 4% was reached, but due to decreasing fertility levels the growth decreased to 1.2% between 2011 and 2016.

Population census results[14]
Census date Population Average annual
growth (%)		 Population
density/km2		 Proportion
urban (%)		 Household size
1956-11-0118,954,704—1231.4
1966-11-0125,785,2103.131637.5
1976-11-0133,708,7442.712047.05.02
1986-11-2249,445,0103.913054.05.11
1996-11-0160,055,4882.03761.04.84
2006-11-0170,495,7821.624368.54.03
2011-11-0175,149,6691.294671.43.55
2016-11-0179,926,2701.244974.03.3

Vital statistics
See also: Provinces of Iran

UN estimates

(2022 estimates).[15]

Population
(on 1 July)		 Live births per year Deaths per year Natural change per year crude birth rate1 crude death rate1 natural change1 total fertility rate2 infant mortality rate3
1950 16,833,000 844,000 469 000 375,000 50.1 27.9 22.3 6.95 209.0
1951 17,220,000 863,000 481 000 382,000 50.1 27.9 22.2 6.95 207.3
1952 17,614,000 883,000 485 000 398,000 50.1 27.5 22.6 6.96 203.7
1953 18,018,000 904,000 490 000 414,000 50.1 27.2 23.0 6.98 200.5
1954 18,435,000 925,000 490 000 434,000 50.1 26.6 23.6 7.01 197.2
1955 18,874,000 946,000 491 000 455,000 50.1 26.0 24.1 7.04 192.9
1956 19,332,000 968,000 494 000 474,000 50.0 25.5 24.5 7.08 189.5
1957 19,806,000 996,000 497 000 499,000 50.2 25.1 25.2 7.18 185.8
1958 20,295,000 1,022,000 494 000 528,000 50.3 24.3 26.0 7.28 181.6
1959 20,822,000 1,046,000 494 000 551,000 50.2 23.7 26.5 7.38 177.8
1960 21,389,000 1,049,000 493 000 556,000 49.0 23.1 26.0 7.30 174.0
1961 21,984,000 1,053,000 489 000 564,000 48.0 22.3 25.7 7.23 170.2
1962 22,605,000 1,069,000 500 000 569,000 47.4 22.2 25.2 7.22 167.3
1963 23,259,000 1,082,000 485 000 597,000 46.6 20.9 25.7 7.18 162.8
1964 23,949,000 1,098,000 483 000 615,000 45.9 20.2 25.7 7.13 159.1
1965 24,667,000 1,120,000 482 000 637,000 45.5 19.6 25.9 7.11 155.4
1966 25,399,000 1,145,000 480 000 664,000 45.1 18.9 26.2 7.08 151.6
1967 26,133,000 1,174,000 480 000 694,000 44.9 18.4 26.6 7.05 147.6
1968 26,875,000 1,195,000 487 000 708,000 44.5 18.1 26.4 6.97 144.0
1969 27,644,000 1,220,000 474 000 746,000 44.2 17.2 27.0 6.90 138.9
1970 28,450,000 1,229,000 468 000 761,000 43.2 16.5 26.8 6.71 134.1
1971 29,274,000 1,239,000 459 000 780,000 42.4 15.7 26.7 6.51 128.9
1972 30,112,000 1,237,000 456 000 782,000 41.1 15.1 26.0 6.25 123.8
1973 30,982,000 1,258,000 440 000 818,000 40.6 14.2 26.4 6.11 118.2
1974 31,896,000 1,295,000 433 000 862,000 40.6 13.6 27.0 6.04 113.0
1975 32,857,000 1,339,000 428 000 911,000 40.8 13.0 27.8 6.01 107.7
1976 33,841,000 1,416,000 425 000 991,000 41.8 12.5 29.3 6.14 102.3
1977 34,876,000 1,474,000 421 000 1,053,000 42.3 12.1 30.2 6.20 96.6
1978 35,994,000 1,550,000 446 000 1,104,000 43.1 12.4 30.7 6.33 92.4
1979 37,205,000 1,645,000 411 000 1,234,000 44.2 11.0 33.2 6.53 85.1
1980 38,521,000 1,708,000 422 000 1,286,000 44.4 11.0 33.4 6.58 79.5
1981 40,476,000 1,756,000 463 000 1,293,000 44.1 11.6 32.4 6.56 74.3
1982 42,500,000 1,886,000 467 000 1,419,000 44.4 11.0 33.4 6.55 69.3
1983 44,028,000 1,930,000 458 000 1,472,000 43.9 10.4 33.5 6.51 65.1
1984 45,628,000 1,966,000 420 000 1,546,000 43.1 9.2 33.9 6.44 61.5
1985 47,266,000 1,974,000 415 000 1,559,000 41.8 8.8 33.0 6.26 58.2
1986 48,913,000 1,957,000 409 000 1,547,000 40.0 8.4 31.7 6.01 55.3
1987 50,541,000 1,915,000 407 000 1,507,000 37.9 8.1 29.9 5.69 52.6
1988 52,112,000 1,872,000 399 000 1,473,000 36.0 7.7 28.3 5.39 49.8
1989 53,645,000 1,828,000 358 000 1,470,000 34.1 6.7 27.4 5.11 47.4
1990 55,794,000 1,788,000 395 000 1,393,000 32.5 7.2 25.3 4.86 46.5
1991 57,991,000 1,790,000 359 000 1,431,000 30.9 6.2 24.7 4.51 43.1
1992 59,372,000 1,697,000 358 000 1,340,000 28.5 6.0 22.5 4.08 41.3
1993 59,755,000 1,579,000 352 000 1,227,000 26.1 5.8 20.3 3.68 39.8
1994 59,986,000 1,367,000 340 000 1,027,000 22.8 5.7 17.1 3.27 38.2
1995 60,795,000 1,244,000 335 000 908,000 20.4 5.5 14.9 2.89 36.8
1996 61,598,000 1,145,000 333 000 811,000 18.6 5.4 13.2 2.57 35.4
1997 62,481,000 1,081,000 334 000 747,000 17.3 5.4 12.0 2.33 34.0
1998 63,461,000 1,064,000 336 000 727,000 16.8 5.3 11.5 2.20 32.5
1999 64,475,000 1,065,000 333 000 732,000 16.6 5.2 11.4 2.10 31.0
2000 65,544,000 1,071,000 337 000 735,000 16.4 5.2 11.2 2.02 29.5
2001 66,675,000 1,082,000 344 000 738,000 16.3 5.2 11.1 1.94 28.1
2002 67,327,000 1,086,000 345 000 742,000 16.1 5.1 11.0 1.87 26.4
2003 67,955,000 1,081,000 370 000 712,000 16.0 5.5 10.5 1.82 25.6
2004 69,062,000 1,107,000 345 000 762,000 16.1 5.0 11.1 1.80 23.4
2005 70,183,000 1,134,000 348 000 786,000 16.2 5.0 11.2 1.78 21.9
2006 71,276,000 1,173,000 349 000 824,000 16.5 4.9 11.6 1.77 20.6
2007 72,319,000 1,221,000 350 000 872,000 16.9 4.8 12.1 1.77 19.4
2008 73,318,000 1,265,000 369 000 896,000 17.3 5.0 12.2 1.77 18.2
2009 74,323,000 1,304,000 381 000 923,000 17.5 5.1 12.4 1.77 17.2
2010 75,374,000 1,337,000 385 000 953,000 17.8 5.1 12.6 1.77 16.3
2011 76,343,000 1,388,000 381 000 1,008,000 18.2 5.0 13.2 1.80 15.5
2012 77,324,000 1,464,000 378 000 1,085,000 18.9 4.9 14.0 1.89 14.8
2013 78,459,000 1,526,000 385 000 1,141,000 19.4 4.9 14.5 1.96 14.2
2014 79,962,000 1,579,000 391 000 1,188,000 19.8 4.9 14.9 2.04 13.6
2015 81,791,000 1,583,000 395 000 1,188,000 19.4 4.8 14.6 2.05 13.1
2016 83,306,000 1,584,000 394 000 1,190,000 19.0 4.7 14.3 2.07 12.6
2017 84,505,000 1,572,000 396 000 1,176,000 18.6 4.7 13.9 2.07 12.2
2018 85,618,000 1,475,000 404 000 1,071,000 17.2 4.7 12.5 1.97 11.8
2019 86,564,000 1,308,000 421 000 886,000 15.1 4.9 10.2 1.77 11.4
2020 87,290,000 1,243,000 486 000 757,000 14.2 5.6 8.7 1.71 11.0
2021 87,923,000 1,204,000 566 000 638,000 13.7 6.4 7.3 1.69 10.7

1per 1000; 2 TFR = number of children per woman; 3per 1000 births

Registered births and deaths

(2001 statistics)[16][17] [18]

Average population Live births Deaths Natural change Crude birth rate (per 1000) Crude death rate (per 1000) Natural change (per 1000) Total Fertility Rate
1959 864,846176,268688,578
1960 876,206171,040705,166
1961 902,260159,371742,889
1962 957,500165,488792,012
1963 920,967135,912785,055
1964 1,118,911145,174973,737
1965 1,139,663171,940967,723
1966 1,101,606178,991922,615
1967 1,019,373179,159840,214
1968 1,037,022174,201862,821
1969 1,091,513167,660923,853
1970 1,189,203163,4301,025,773
1971 1,231,227149,3251,081,902
1972 1,138,843153,568985,275
1973 1,199,777155,0811,044,696
1974 1,248,256149,7851,098,471
1975 1,339,267148,5431,190,724
1976 1,401,426155,9811,245,445
1977 1,399,977146,3691,253,608
1978 1,369,597127,5871,242,010
1979 1,689,908142,4021,547,506
1980 2,450,308162,1762,288,132
1981 2,421,611178,0992,243,512
1982 2,101,894200,6141,901,280
1983 2,203,448207,2281,996,220
1984 2,067,803186,4401,881,363
1985 2,033,285190,0611,843,224
1986 2,259,055199,5112,059,544
1987 1,832,089204,2301,627,859
1988 1,944,149238,3901,705,759
1989 1,784,811199,6451,585,166
1990 1,722,977217,5971,505,380
1991 1,582,931217,6371,365,294
1992 1,433,243188,6471,244,596
1993 1,388,017208,1611,179,856
1994 1,426,784 3.50
1995 1,205,372 3.22
1996 1,187,903 2.95
1997 1,179,260 2.73
1998 1,185,639 551,345634,294 2.53
1999 62,738,000 1,177,557374,838802,719 18.86.012.82.36
2000 63,658,000 1,095,165382,674712,491 17.26.011.22.19
2001 64,592,000 1,110,836421,525689,311 17.26.510.72.09
2002 65,540,000 1,122,104337,237784,867 17.15.112.02.01
2003 66,480,000 1,171,573368,518803,055 17.65.512.11.92
2004 67,477,000 1,154,368355,213799,155 17.15.311.81.87
2005 69,672,000 1,239,408363,723875,685 18.15.312.81.82
2006 70,554,000 1,253,912408,566845,346 17.85.812.01.79
2007 71,336,000 1,286,716412,736873,980 18.05.812.21.81
2008 72,120,000 1,300,166417,798882,368 17.95.812.21.80
2009 72,924,000 1,348,546393,514955,032 18.35.313.01.78
2010 73,762,000 1,363,542441,042922,500 18.35.912.41.77
2011 74,634,000 1,382,229422,133960,096 18.35.612.71.74
2012 75,539,000 1,421,689367,5121,054,177 18.74.813.91.73
2013 76,481,000 1,471,834372,2791,099,555 19.14.814.31.70
2014 77,465,000 1,534,362446,3331,088,029 19.85.814.01.68
2015 78,492,000 1,570,219374,8271,195,392 20.04.815.22.16
2016 79,926,000 1,528,054388,7921,139,262 19.24.914.32.11
2017 80,960,000 1,540,570374,6301,165,940 19.04.614.42.07
2018 81,865,000 1,388,249376,8391,011,410 16.94.612.31.97
2019 82,585,000 1,196,132395,392800,743 14.44.89.61.77
2020 83,220,000 1,110,374493,735616,639 13.35.97.51.71
2021 83,935,000 1,106,072536,109569,963 13.26.46.81.74
2022 1,075,381

Current vital statistics

[19]

Period Live births Deaths Natural increase
March 21 2021 – December 21 2021 844,723 428,549 +416,174
March 21 2022 – December 21 2022 810,877 313,545 +497,332
Difference Decrease -33,846 (-4.0%) Positive decrease -115,004 (-26.8%) Increase +81,158
Age group Number(2006) Percentage(2006) Number(2011) Percentage(2011)
Total 70,495,782 100 75,149,669 100
0–4 5,463,978 7.75 6,232,552 8.29
5–9 5,509,057 7.81 5,657,791 7.53
10–14 6,708,591 9.52 5,671,435 7.55
15–19 8,726,761 12.38 6,607,043 8.79
20–24 9,011,422 12.78 8,414,497 11.20
25–29 7,224,952 10.25 8,672,654 11.54
30–34 5,553,531 7.88 6,971,924 9.28
35–39 4,921,124 6.98 5,571,018 7.41
40–44 4,089,158 5.80 4,906,749 6.53
45–49 3,522,761 5.00 4,030,481 5.36
50–54 2,755,420 3.91 3,527,408 4.69
55–59 1,887,981 2.68 2,680,119 3.57
60–64 1,464,452 2.08 1,862,907 2.48
65–69 1,197,550 1.70 1,343,731 1.79
70–74 1,119,318 1.59 1,119,968 1.49
75–79 694,122 0.98 913,531 1.22
80+ 645,601 0.92 919,539 1.22
Unclear – – 46,322 0.06
Number of children 0–14 Number of people 15–49 Proportion Number of women 15–49 Proportion
17,681,629 (2006) 43,049,709 (2006) 0.4107 (2006) ~21,524,855 (2006) 0.8215 (2006)
17,561,778 (2011) 45,174,366 (2011) 0.3888 (2011) ~22,587,183 (2011) 0.7775 (2011)

Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.VII.2020) (Data refer to the Iranian Year which begins on 21 March and ends on 20 March of the following year.):[20]

Age Group Male Female Total %
Total 42,484,186 41,553,414 84,037,600 100
0–4 3,751,160 3,584,640 7,335,800 8.73
5–9 3,644,823 3,453,109 7,097,932 8.45
10–14 3,195,837 3,043,160 6,238,997 7.42
15–19 2,850,201 2,723,069 5,573,270 6.63
20–24 2,817,236 2,715,743 5,532,979 6.58
25–29 3,398,106 3,322,934 6,721,040 8.00
30–34 4,246,233 4,166,179 8,412,412 10.01
35–39 4,226,366 4,147,771 8,374,137 9.96
40–44 3,375,662 3,271,031 6,646,693 7.91
45–49 2,687,892 2,591,386 5,279,278 6.28
50–54 2,321,552 2,270,429 4,591,981 5.46
55–59 1,841,337 1,847,872 3,689,209 4.39
60–64 1,510,299 1,557,919 3,068,218 3.65
65–69 1,058,091 1,138,129 2,196,220 2.61
70–74 640 098 748 890 1,388,988 1.65
75–79 415 623 459 393 875 016 1.04
80+ 503 670 511 760 1,015,430 1.21
Age group Male Female Total Percent
0–14 10,591,820 10,080,909 20,672,729 24.60
15–64 29,274,884 28,614,333 57,889,217 68.88
65+ 2,617,482 2,858,172 5,475,654 6.52
Year 0–14 15–64 65+
1976 44.5 52 3.5
1985 45.5 51.5 3
1996 39.5 56.1 4.3
2006 25.1 (17,681,629) 69.7 (49,157,562) 5.2 (3,656,591)
2011 23.4 (17,561,778) 70.9 (53,297,122) 5.7 (4,290,769)
2016 24.0 (19,192,665) 69.9 (55,862,087) 6.1 (4,871,518)

Table 9 – Population and Average Annual Growth by Provinces: 2006 and 2011

Province 2006 2011 Average annual growth
Alborz 2,076,991 2,412,513 3.04
Ardabil 1,228,155 1,248,488 0.33
Bushehr 886,267 1,032,949 3.11
Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari 857,910 895,263 0.86
East Azerbaijan 3,603,456 3,724,620 0.66
Fars 4,336,878 4,596,658 1.17
Gilan 2,404,861 2,480,874 0.62
Golestan 1,617,087 1,777,014 1.90
Hamadan 1,703,267 1,758,268 0.64
Hormozgan 1,403,674 1,578,183 2.37
Ilam 545,787 557,599 0.43
Isfahan 4,559,256 4,879,312 1.37
Kerman 2,652,413 2,938,988 2.07
Kermanshah 1,879,385 1,945,227 0.69
Khuzestan 4,274,979 4,531,720 1.17
Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad 634,299 658,629 0.76
Kurdistan 1,440,156 1,493,645 0.73
Lorestan 1,716,527 1,754,243 0.44
Markazi 1,351,257 1,413,959 0.91
Mazandaran 2,922,432 3,073,943 1.02
North Khorasan 811,572 867,727 1.35
Qazvin 1,143,200 1,201,565 1.00
Qom 1,046,737 1,151,672 1.93
Razavi Khorasan 5,593,079 5,994,402 1.40
Semnan 589,742 631,218 1.37
Sistan and Baluchestan 2,405,742 2,534,327 1.05
South Khorasan 636,420 662,534 0.81
Tehran 11,345,375 12,183,391 1.44
West Azerbaijan 2,873,459 3,080,576 1.40
Yazd 990,818 1,074,428 1.63
Zanjan 964,601 1,015,734 1.04
Total 70,495,782 75,149,669 1.29

1 The population of the provinces of Alborz and Tehran for 2006 and their average annual growth have been calculated based on the data of 2011.

Unofficial Translation 17

Table 10 – Population Percentages by Province: 2006 and 2011 (Percentage)

Province 2006 2011
Alborz 2.95 3.21
Ardabil 1.74 1.66
Bushehr 1.26 1.37
Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari 1.22 1.19
East Azerbaijan 5.11 4.96
Fars 6.15 6.12
Gilan 3.41 3.30
Golestan 2.29 2.36
Hamadan 2.42 2.34
Hormozgan 1.99 2.10
Ilam 0.77 0.74
Isfahan 6.47 6.49
Kerman 3.76 3.91
Kermanshah 2.67 2.59
Khuzestan 6.06 6.03
Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad 0.90 0.88
Kurdistan 2.04 1.99
Lorestan 2.43 2.33
Markazi 1.92 1.88
Mazandaran 4.15 4.09
North Khorasan 1.15 1.15
Qazvin 1.62 1.60
Qom 1.48 1.53
Razavi Khorasan 7.93 7.98
Semnan 0.84 0.84
Sistan and Baluchestan 3.41 3.37
South Khorasan 0.90 0.88
Tehran 16.09 16.21
West Azerbaijan 4.08 4.10
Yazd 1.41 1.43
Zanjan 1.37 1.35
Total 100 100

1 The population of the provinces of Alborz and Tehran for 2006 and their average annual growth have been calculated based on the data of 2011.

Languages and ethnic groups
Colour-coded map of Iran's ethnic groups. The centre of the country is mostly Persians; Azerbaijanis, Gilaks, Kurds, and Talysh are in the northwest; Lurs, Qashqai and Arabs in the southwest; Turkmens and more Kurds in the northeast; Balochis in the southeast.
Main articles: Iranian peoples, Turkic people, Ethnic minorities in Iran, Languages of Iran, and Ethnicities in Iran

The largest linguistic group comprises speakers of Iranian languages, like modern Persian, Kurdish, Gilaki, Mazandarani, Luri, Talysh, and Balochi. Speakers of Turkic languages, most notably Azerbaijanis, which is by far the second-most spoken language in the country, but also the Turkmen, and the Qashqai peoples, comprise a substantial minority. The remainder are primarily speakers of Semitic languages such as Arabic and Assyrian. A small number of Mandaeans in Khuzestan speak Mandaic. There are small groups using other Indo-European languages such as Armenian and Russian; also, Georgian (a member of the Kartvelian language family) is spoken in a large pocket only by those Iranian Georgians that live in Fereydan, Fereydunshahr. Most of those Georgians who live in the north Iranian provinces of Gilan, Mazandaran, Isfahan, Tehran Province and the rest of Iran no longer speak the language. The Circassians in Iran, a very large minority in the past and speakers of the Circassian language, have been strongly assimilated and absorbed within the population in the past few centuries. However, significant pockets do exist spread over the country, and they are the second-largest Caucasus-derived group in the nation after the Georgians.[21][22]

Jews have had a continuous presence in Iran since the time of Cyrus the Great of the Achaemenid Empire. In 1948, there were approximately 140,000–150,000 Jews living in Iran. According to the Tehran Jewish Committee, the Jewish population of Iran was (more recently) estimated at 25,000 to 35,000, of which approximately 15,000 are in Tehran with the rest residing in Hamadan, Shiraz, Isfahan, Kermanshah, Yazd, Kerman, Rafsanjan, Borujerd, Sanandaj, Tabriz and Urmia. However, the official 2011 state census recorded only 8,756 Jews in Iran.[23]

The CIA World Factbook (which is based on 2013 statistics) gives the following numbers for the languages spoken in Iran today: Persian, Luri, Gilaki and Mazandarani 66%; Azerbaijani and other Turkic languages 18%; Kurdish 10%; Arabic 2%; Balochi 2%; others 2% (Armenian, Georgian, Circassian, Assyrian, etc.).[24]

According to anthropologist Brian Spooner, around half of Iran's population uses a language other than Persian at home and in informal public situations.[25]

Other sources, such as the Library of Congress, and the Encyclopedia of Islam (Leiden)[26] give Iran's ethnic groups as following: Persians 65%, Azerbaijanis 16%, Kurds 7%, Lurs 6%, Arabs 2%, Baloch 2%, Turkmens 1%, Turkic tribal groups (e.g. Qashqai) 1%, and non-Persian, non-Turkic groups (e.g. Armenians, Georgians, Assyrians, Circassians) less than 1%.[27] For sources prior to and after 2000, see Languages and ethnicities in Iran.

Urban population
See also: List of largest cities of Iran and List of cities in Iran
Evolution of Iran population divided into urban and rural population
Provinces of Iran by population density in 2013

In addition to its international migration pattern, Iran also exhibits one of the steepest urban growth rates in the world according to the UN humanitarian information unit. According to 2015 population estimates, approximately 73.4 per cent of Iran's population lives in urban areas, up from 27 per cent in 1950.[28]

The following is a list of the eight most populous cities in the country:

Rank City Province population
City[29] Metro[30]
1 Tehran Tehran 8,693,706 14,700,000
2 Mashhad Razavi Khorasan 3,001,184 3,100,000
3 Isfahan Isfahan 1,961,260 3,100,000
4 Karaj Alborz 1,592,492 2,500,000
5 Shiraz Fars 1,565,572 1,700,000
6 Tabriz East Azarbaijan 1,588,693 1,760,000
7 Qom Qom 1,201,158 1,240,000
8 Ahvaz Khuzestan 1,184,788 1,320,000

Religious affiliations

Religion in Iran by CIA

  Shia Islam (94.1%)
  Sunni Islam (5.3%)
  Other/Unspecifed (0.6%)
Main articles: Religion in Iran, Islam in Iran, Christianity in Iran, and Irreligion in Iran
See also: Roman Catholicism in Iran, Persian Jews, Baháʼí Faith in Iran, and Mandaeans
The entrance to Shah Mosque (aka Imam Mosque or Shah Jame' Mosque) in Isfahan. This mosque is a prominent example of Persian architecture during the Safavid dynasty.
Population of Iran according to religion 1956–2011 per the UN[14][16]
Religion census 1956 census 1966 census 1976 census 2006 census 2011
Number  % Number  % Number  % Number  % Number  %
Muslims18,654,12798.424,771,92298.833,396,90899.170,097,74199.474,682,93899.4
Christians114,5280.6149,4270.6168,5930.5109,4150.2117,7040.2
Zoroastrians15,7230.119,8160.121,4000.119,8230.025,2710.0
Jews65,2320.360,6830.262,2580.29,2520.08,7560.0
Other59,2560.377,0750.354,2340.149,1010.1
Unknown45,8380.259,5830.2205,3170.3265,8990.4

About 99% of the Iranians are Muslims; 90% belong to the Shi'a branch of Islam, the official state religion, and about 9% belong to the Sunni branch, which predominates in neighbouring Muslim countries.[11] Less than 1% non-Muslim minorities include Christians, Zoroastrians, Jews, Baháʼís, Mandaeans, and Yarsan. By far the largest group of Christians in Iran are Armenians under the Armenian Apostolic Church which has between 110,000,[31] 250,000,[32] and 300,000,[33] adherents. There are hundreds of Christian churches in Iran. The Baháʼí Faith, Iran's largest non-Muslim religious minority with a population around 300,000, is not officially recognised (and therefore not included in the census results), and has been persecuted since its inception in Iran. Since the 1979 revolution the persecution of Baháʼís has increased with executions, the denial of civil rights and liberties, and the denial of access to higher education and employment.[34][35] Unofficial estimates for the Assyrian Christian population range between 20,000,[36][37] and 70,000.[38][39] The number of Iranian Mandaeans is a matter of dispute. In 2009, there were an estimated 5,000 to 10,000 Mandaeans in Iran, according to the Associated Press.[40] Whereas Alarabiya has put the number of Iranian Mandaeans as high as 60,000 in 2011.[41]

Iranian citizens abroad
Main article: Iranian citizens abroad

The term "Iranian citizens abroad" or " Iranian/Persian diaspora" refers to the Iranian people and their children born in Iran but living outside of Iran. Migrant Iranian workers abroad remitted less than two billion dollars home in 2006.[42]

As of 2010, there are about four to five million Iranians living abroad, mostly in the United States, Canada, Europe, Persian Gulf States, Turkey, Australia and the broader Middle East.[28][43] According to the 2000 Census and other independent surveys, there are an estimated 1 million Iranian-Americans living in the U.S., in particular, the Los Angeles area is estimated to be host to approximately 72,000 Iranians, earning the Westwood area of LA the nickname Tehrangeles.[44] Other metropolises that have large Iranian populations include Dubai with 300,000 Iranians, Vancouver, London, Toronto, San Francisco Bay Area, Washington D.C., Buenos Aires, Mexico City, Stockholm, Berlin, Hamburg and Frankfurt. Their combined net worth is estimated to be $1.3 trillion.[45]

Note that this differs from the other Iranian peoples living in other areas of Greater Iran, who are of related ethnolinguistical family, speaking languages belonging to the Iranian languages which is a branch of Indo-European languages.

Refugee population
See also: Foreign relations of Iran

Iran hosts one of the largest refugee population in the world, with more than one million refugees, mostly from Afghanistan (80%) and Iraq (10%). Since 2006, Iranian officials have been working with the UNHCR and Afghan officials for their repatriation.[46][47] Between 1979 and 1997, UNHCR spent more than US$1 billion on Afghan refugees in Pakistan but only $150 million on those in Iran. In 1999, the Iranian government estimated the cost of maintaining its refugee population at US$10 million per day, compared with the US$18 million UNHCR allocated for all of its operations in Iran in 1999.[47] As of 2016, some 300,000 work permits have been issued for foreign nationals in Iran.[48]

CIA World Factbook demographic statistics
Net Iranian migration (1979–2008). A positive value represents more people entering Iran than leaving it

The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.[49]

Age structure[50]

0–14 years: 24.11% (male 10,472,844/female 10,000,028)
15–24 years: 13.36% (male 5,806,034/female 5,537,561)
25–54 years: 48.94% (male 21,235,038/female 20,327,384)
55–64 years: 7.72% (male 3,220,074/female 3,337,420)
65 years and over: 5.87% (male 2,316,677/female 2,670,254) (2020 est.)

Median age

total: 31.7 years
male: 31.5 years
female: 32 years (2020 est.)

Population growth rate

1.03% (2021 est.)

Birth rate

15.78 births/1,000 population (2021 est.)

Death rate

5.14 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 76.3% of total population (2021)
rate of urbanisation: 1.32% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Life expectancy in Iran since 1950
Life expectancy in Iran since 1960 by gender

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 0.96 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.87 male(s)/female
total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2020 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 75.06 years
male: 73.71 years
female: 76.48 years (2021 est.)

Total fertility rate

1.93 children born/woman (2021 est.)

Literacy

definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 85.5%
male: 90.4%
female: 80.8% (2016)

Genetics
See also: Genetic history of the Middle East

Y-chromosome DNA

Y-Chromosome DNA Y-DNA represents the male lineage, the Iranian Y-chromosome pool is as follows where haplogroups, R1 (25%), J2 (23%) G (14%), J1 (8%) E1b1b (5%), L (4%), Q (4%), comprise more than 85% of the total chromosomes.[51]

Haplogroup[52] n B C E1b1a E1b1b1a2 E1b1b1a3 E1b1b1c F G H I J1 J2 K L N O P,R Q R1a R1b R1b1a R1b1b R2 T
MarkerM2V13V22M34M343V88M269M70
Iran5660.530.181.411.771.80.880.3514.002.650.88.1323.860.714.002.121.410.714.0117.491.240.356.181.412.12

Mitochondrial DNA

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) represents the female lineage. West Eurasian mtDNA makes up over 90% of the Iranian population on average. (2013).[53]

Among them, U3b3 lineages appear to be restricted to populations of Iran and the Caucasus, while the sub-cluster U3b1a is common in the whole Near East region.[53]

In Iran outliers in the Y-chromosomes and Mitochondrial DNA gene pool are consisted of the north Iranian ethnicities, such as the Gilaks and Mazandarani's, whose genetic build up including chromosomal DNA are nearly identical to the major South Caucasian ethnicities, namely the Georgians, Armenians and Azerbaijani's. Other outliers are made by the Baloch people, representing a mere 1–2% of the total Iranian population, who have more patrilinial and mitochondrial DNA lines leaning towards northwest South Asian ethnic groups.

Levels of genetic variation in Iranian populations are comparable to the other groups from the Caucasus, Anatolia and Europe.[53]

People of Iranian ancestry
See also: Greater Iran

Tats (Caucasus)
Main article: Tats (Caucasus)

The "Tats" are an Iranian people, presently living within Azerbaijan and Russia (mainly Southern Dagestan). The Tats are part of the indigenous peoples of Iranian origin in the Caucasus.[54][55][56]

Tats use the Tat language, a southwestern Iranian language and a variety of Persian[57][58][59][60][61] Azerbaijani and Russian are also spoken. Tats are mainly Shia Muslims, with a significant Sunni Muslim minority. Likely the ancestors of modern Tats settled in South Caucasus when the Sassanid Empire from the 3rd to 7th centuries built cities and founded military garrisons to strengthen their positions in this region.[62]

Parsis
Main article: Parsis

The Parsis are the close-knit Zoroastrian community based primarily in India but also found in Pakistan. Parsis are descended from Persian Zoroastrians who emigrated to the Indian subcontinent over 1,000 years ago. Indian census data (2001) records 69,601 Parsis in India, with a concentration in and around the city of Mumbai (previously known as Bombay). There are approximately 8,000 Parsis elsewhere on the subcontinent, with an estimated 2,500 Parsis in the city of Karachi and approximately 50 Parsi families in Sri Lanka. The number of Parsis worldwide is estimated to be fewer than 100,000 (Eliade, 1991:254).

Iranis
Main article: Iranian peoples

In Pakistan and India, the term "Irani" has come to denote Iranian Zoroastrians who have migrated to Pakistan and India within the last two centuries, as opposed to most Parsis who arrived in India over 1000 years ago. Many of them moved during the Qajar era, when persecution of Iranian Zoroastrians was rampant. They are culturally and linguistically closer to the Zoroastrians of Iran. Unlike the Parsis, they speak a Dari dialect, the language spoken by the Iranian Zoroastrians in Yazd and Kerman. Their last names often resemble modern Iranian names, however Irani is a common surname among them. In India they are mostly located in modern-day Mumbai while in Pakistan they are mostly located in modern-day Karachi. In both Pakistan and India, they are famous for their restaurants and tea-houses.[63] Some, such as Ardeshir Irani, have also become very famous in cinema.

Ajam (Bahrain)
Main article: Ajam (Bahrain)

The "Ajam" are an ethnic community of Bahrain, of Iranian origin. They have traditionally been merchants living in specific quarters of Manama and Muharraq. The Iranians who adhere to Shiite sect of Islam are Ajam, and they are different from the Huwala. Ajams are also a large percentage of the populace in UAE, Kuwait, Qatar and Oman.

In addition to this, many names of ancient villages in Bahrain are of Persian origin. It is believed that these names were given during the Safavid rule of Bahrain (1501–1722). i.e. Karbabad, Salmabad, Karzakan, Duraz, Barbar, which indicates that the history of Ajams is much older.

Huwala
Main article: Huwala

Huwala are the descendants of Persians and Arab-Persians who belong to the Sunni sect of Islam.[64] Huwala migrated from Ahvaz in Iran to the Persian Gulf in the seventeenth and eighteenth century.[64][65]

Recent immigration

Most of the large Circassian migrational waves towards mainland Iran stem from the Safavid and Qajar era, however a certain amount also stem from the relatively recent arrivals that migrated as the Circassians were displaced from the Caucasus in the 19th century. A Black African population exists due to historical slavery. A substantial number of Russians arrived in the early 20th century as refugees from the Russian Revolution, but their number has dwindled following the Iran crisis of 1946 and the Iranian Revolution. In the 20th to 21st centuries, there has been limited immigration to Iran from Turkey, Iraq (especially huge numbers during the 1970s known as Moaveds), Afghanistan (mostly arriving as refugees in 1978), Lebanon (especially in Qom, though a Lebanese community has been present in the nation for centuries), India (mostly arriving temporarily during the 1950s to 1970s, typically working as doctors, engineers, and teachers), Korea (mostly in the 1970s as labour migrants), China (mostly since the 2000s working in engineering or business projects), and Pakistan, partly due to labour migrants and partly to Balochi ties across the Iranian-Pakistani border. About 200,000 Iraqis arrived as refugees in 2003, mostly living in refugee camps near the border; an unknown number of these has since returned to Iraq.

Over the same period, there has also been substantial emigration from Iran, especially since the Iranian revolution (see Iranian diaspora, Human capital flight from Iran, Jewish exodus from Iran), especially to the United States, Canada, Germany, Israel, and Sweden.

See also

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