Ethnolinguistic groups in Iran

Iran's population was declared 70,049,262 in 2006 census.^[1][2], with nearly one quarter of its people being 15 years of age or younger.^[3] Iran is also ethnically and linguistically diverse, with some cities, such as Tehran, bringing various ethnic groups together. Download high resolution version (1941x1385, 922 KB)Demographic map of Iran, produced by the CIA, displayed with Public Domain permission from The University of Texas Perry-Castañeda Library Used by permission of the University of Texas Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin. ... Download high resolution version (1941x1385, 922 KB)Demographic map of Iran, produced by the CIA, displayed with Public Domain permission from The University of Texas Perry-Castañeda Library Used by permission of the University of Texas Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin. ... For other uses, see Tehran (disambiguation). ...

Approximately 70% of Iran's peoples speak Iranian languages.^[4] The major groups in this category include Persians, Kurds, Gilakis, Mazandaranis, Lurs, and Baluchis. Turkic speakers, such as the Azeri, Turkmen, and the Qashqai peoples, comprise a substantial minority. The remainder are primarily Semitics such as Arabs and Assyrians or other Indo-Europeans such as Armenians. There are also small communities of Brahui in southeastern Iran. The Iranian languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family with an estimated 150-200 million native speakers today. ... The Persians of Iran (officially named Persia by West until 1935 while still referred to as Persia by some) are an Iranian people who speak Persian (locally named Fârsi by native speakers) and often refer to themselves as ethnic Iranians as well. ... Kurds are one of the Iranian peoples and speak Kurdish, a north-Western Iranian language related to Persian. ... Gilaki or Guilaki (گیلکی) is one of the North-western Iranian languages spoken in Irans Gilan province. ... Mazandarani or Tabari is an ancient Iranian language of the northwestern branch. ... Lurs are an ethnic group of Iranian peoples. ... When referring to central asian peoples, Baluchi is an alernative spalling of Balochi (qv). ... The Turkic languages constitute a language family of some thirty languages, spoken across a vast area from Eastern Europe to Siberia and Western China with an estimated 140 million native speakers and tens of millions of second-language speakers. ... The Azerbaijanis[15][16] are an ethnic group mainly found in northwestern Iran and the Republic of Azerbaijan. ... Qashqai (also spelled Ghashghai, Qashqay, Kashgai and Qashqai) are a Turkic-speaking tribal confederation of clans in Iran. ... In linguistics and ethnology, Semitic (from the Biblical Shem, Hebrew: שם, translated as name, Arabic: سام) was first used to refer to a language family of largely Middle Eastern origin, now called the Semitic languages. ... The Arabs of Khuzestan are one of the ethnic groups of Iran inhabiting the province of Khuzestan. ... Languages Assyrian, Chaldean, Turoyo Religions Christianity Related ethnic groups other Semitic peoples Assyrians are an ethnic group whose origins lie in what is today Iraq, Iran, Turkey and Syria, but who have migrated to the Caucasus, North America and Western Europe during the past century. ...

Population Density & Most populous cities

The following is a list of the five most populous cities in the country.

Population density by province in Iran

See also: List of cities in Iran. Image File history File links IranProvPopDen. ... Image File history File links IranProvPopDen. ... For other uses, see Tehran (disambiguation). ... Tehran province has been the seat of Irans capital, Tehran, since 1778. ... Imam Reza Shrine Tomb of Nader Shah Afshar, a popular tourist attraction in Mashad. ... Razavi Khorasan (in Persian: خراسان رضوی) is a province located in northeastern Iran. ... Part of Shah Abbas large urban project in his new capital, the Chahār Bāgh Four Gardens, is a four-kilometer avenue in the city of Isfahan. ... // Isfahan province has enjoyed the benefit of being capital of Persia for 200 years during the 17th and 18th centuries. ... Tabriz City Hall, built in 1934, by Arfaol molk, with the aid of German engineers. ... East Azarbaijan province enjoys some of Irans most favorable climatic conditions. ... Eram Garden, Shiraz most popular garden. ... // Introduction Fars is one of the 30 provinces of Iran. ... This is a list of cities in Iran. ...

Religious affiliation

Most Iranians are Muslims; 89% belong to the Shi'a branch of Islam, the official state religion, and about 9% belong to the Sunni branch, which predominates in neighboring Muslim countries. Non-Muslim minorities include Zoroastrians, Jews, Bahá'ís, Mandeans, Christians and Yarsan. Shia Islam ( Arabic شيعى follower; English has traditionally used Shiite or Shiite) is the second largest Islamic denomination; some 20-25% of all Muslims are said to follow a Shia tradition. ... Sunni Islam (Arabic سنّة) is the largest denomination of Islam. ... Zoroastrianism was adapted from an earlier, polytheistic faith by Zarathushtra (Zoroaster) in Persia very roughly around 1000 BC (although, in the absence of written records, some scholars estimates are as late as 600 BC). ... Seat of the Universal House of Justice in Haifa, Israel, governing body of the Baháís The Baháí Faith is a religion founded by Baháulláh in 19th century Persia. ... Mandaeanism is a pre-Christian religion which has been classified by scholars as Gnostic. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Christianity. ...

Non-Muslim minorities have been shrinking in the past few decades. Only 11,000 to 40,000 Jews remain in Iran today, of a community that stood at about 100,000 before the Islamic Revolution. Zoroastrian, Bahá'í, and Christian communities are seeing similar contraction.

Today, there are about 8,000 Assyrian Christians in Iran, who belong to the Chaldean Catholic Church. For other uses, see Assyria (disambiguation). ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ...

See also: Roman Catholicism in Iran

The Roman Catholic Church in Iran is part of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope and curia in Rome. ...

Miscellaneous statistics

Ethnic and religious distribution in Iran.

Nationality:
noun: Iranian(s) -- adjective: Iranian
Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (980x970, 307 KB) (portion of Iran Country Profile) Source: Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection at The University of Texas at Austin [1] License: Above a list of maps available for download, the web site has the text: The following maps... Image File history File linksMetadata Download high resolution version (980x970, 307 KB) (portion of Iran Country Profile) Source: Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection at The University of Texas at Austin [1] License: Above a list of maps available for download, the web site has the text: The following maps...

Population: 68,688,433 (July 2006 est.)

Iranian diaspora: Over 4 million people (est.) mostly in North America, Europe and Australia [1]

Ethnic groups: Persians 51%, Azeris 24%, Gilaki-Mazandarani 8%, Kurds 7%, Arabs 3%, Baloch 2%, Turkmen 2%, Lurs 2%, other 1% (based on CIA data)
The Persians of Iran (officially named Persia by West until 1935 while still referred to as Persia by some) are an Iranian people who speak Persian (locally named Fârsi by native speakers) and often refer to themselves as ethnic Iranians as well. ... Azerbaijanis or Azerbaijani Turks, are a Muslim people who number more than 25 million worldwide. ... Gilaki or Guilaki (گیلکی) is one of the North-western Iranian languages spoken in Irans Gilan province. ... Mazandarani or Tabari is an ancient Iranian language of the northwestern branch. ... Kurds are one of the Iranian peoples and speak Kurdish, a north-Western Iranian language related to Persian. ... The Arabs (Arabic: عرب ) are an ethnic group found throughout the Middle East and North Africa. ... The Baloch (Persian: بلوچ alternative transliterations Baluch, Balouch, Balooch, Balush, Balosh, Baloosh, Baloush et al. ... Falak-ol-aflak, built by the Sassanids, is almost 1800 years old. ...

Languages: Persian and Persian dialects 58%, Turkic languages 26%, Kurdish 9%, Balochi 1%, Arabic 1%, other 2%
Persian (local name: Fārsī or Pārsī ) is an Indo-European language spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and by minorities in Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Pakistan, India, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Southern Russia, neighboring countries, and elsewhere. ... The Turkic languages constitute a language family of some thirty languages, spoken across a vast area from Eastern Europe to Siberia and Western China with an estimated 140 million native speakers and tens of millions of second-language speakers. ... The Kurdish language is an Iranian language spoken in the region called Kurdistan, including Kurdish populations in parts of Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey. ... Balochi (also Baluchi, Baloci or Baluci) is a Southeastern Iranian language. ... Arabic ( or just ), is the largest member of the family of Semitic branch of the Afro-Asiatic language family (classification: South Central Semitic) and is closely related to Hebrew, Amharic, and Aramaic. ...

Religions: Shi'a Muslim 89%, Sunni Muslim 9%, Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian, and Bahá'í 2%
Shia Islam, also Shi`ite Islam or Shi`ism (Arabic: ‎ transliterated: Persian: ‎ ) is the second largest denomination of the religion of Islam. ... Sunni Islam (Arabic سنّة) is the largest denomination of Islam. ... Zoroastrianism was adapted from an earlier, polytheistic faith by Zarathushtra (Zoroaster) in Persia very roughly around 1000 BC (although, in the absence of written records, some scholars estimates are as late as 600 BC). ... Judaism is the religion of the Jewish people. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Christianity. ... Seat of the Universal House of Justice in Haifa, Israel, governing body of the Baháís The Baháí Faith is a religion founded by Baháulláh in 19th century Persia. ...

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 80%
male: 86%
female: 73.0% (2003 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 26% (male 9,204,785; female 8,731,429)
15-64 years: 69% (male 24,133,919; female 23,245,255)
65 years and over: 5% (male 1,653,827; female 1,719,218) (2006 est.)

Median age:
total: 25 years
male: 25 years
female: 25 years (2006 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.1% (2006 est.)

Birth rate: 17 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Death rate: 5.55 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.48 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.96 male(s)/female
total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2006 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 40.3 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 70 years
male: 69 years
female: 72 years (2006 est.)

Total fertility rate: 1.8 children born/woman (2006 est.)

See also

• Iran#Demographics
• Iranian peoples
• Islam in Iran
• Religious minorities in Iran
• Christianity in Iran
• Armenians in Iran
• Georgians in Iran
• Persian Jews
• Ethnic minorities of Iran
• Greater Iran
• Iranian languages
• Persian language
• Family planning in Iran
• Iranian Names

Motto: de facto: Esteqlāl, āzādÄ«, jomhÅ«rÄ«-ye eslāmÄ«[1]   (Persian for Independence, freedom, (the) Islamic Republicde jure: Allaho Akbar (Arabic for God is Great)[2] Anthem: SorÅ«d-e MellÄ«-e Īrān Capital (and largest city) Tehran Official languages Persian Government Islamic Republic  - Supreme... Faravahar is a prominent guardian spirit in Zoroastrianism and Iranian culture that is believed to be a depiction of a Fravashi. ... Imam Square in Isfahan was the symbolic center of the Safavid Empire. ... Map showing ethnic and religious diversity among the population of Iran. ... St. ... Armenian-Iranians (Armenian: Ô»Ö€Õ¡Õ¶Õ¡Õ°Õ¡Õµ translit. ... Prince Muhammad-Beik of Georgia, 1620. ... A modern-day synogogue in Iran. ... Ethnic groups in Iran This article focuses on ethnic minorities in Iran and their related political issues and current realities. ... Greater Iran (in Persian: ایران بزرگ pron: Iran-e Bozorg, also ایران‌زمین pron: Iran-zameen) is a term for the Iranian plateau in addition to the entire region where Iranian languages are today spoken as a first language, or as a second language by a significant minority. ... The Iranian languages are a branch of the Indo-European language family with an estimated 150-200 million native speakers today. ... Persian (local name: FārsÄ« or PārsÄ« ) is an Indo-European language spoken in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and by minorities in Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Pakistan, India, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Georgia, Southern Russia, neighboring countries, and elsewhere. ... During the Iran-Iraq war between 1980 and 1988, a large population was viewed as a comparative advantage for Iran. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with List of Persian given names. ...

Notes