Demographics of Iran

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.

Ethnicities and religions 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. There are small groups using other Indo-European languages such as Armenian, Russian, Georgian (a member of the Kartvelian language family), 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 but keep a Georgian conscience. 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.[16][17]

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 about 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.[18]

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.).[19]

Other sources, such as the Library of Congress, and the Encyclopedia of Islam (Leiden)[20] 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, Basseri ) less than 1%.[21] For sources prior to and after 2000, see Languages and ethnicities 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 percent of Iran's population lives in urban areas, up from 27 percent in 1950.[22] Changes in urbanization law and regulations eased the urbanization process of rural areas, which created more than 400 cities only in the period of 1996-2005.[23]

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

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.

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 neighboring Muslim countries.[10] Less than 1% non-Muslim minorities include Christians, Zoroastrians, Jews, Baháʼís, Mandeans, and Yarsan. By far the largest group of Christians in Iran are Armenians under the Armenian Apostolic Church which has between 110,000,[27] 250,000,[28] and 300,000,[29] adherents. There are hundreds of Christian churches in Iran.[30] The Baháʼí Faith, Iran's largest non-Muslim religious minority with a population around 300,000, is not officially recognized (and therefore not included in the census results), and has been persecuted since in 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.[31][32] Unofficial estimates for the Assyrian Christian population range between 20,000,[33][34] and 70,000.[35][36] The number of Iranian Mandaeans is a matter of dispute. In 2009, there were an estimated 5,000 and 10,000 Mandaeans in Iran, according to the Associated Press.[37] Whereas Alarabiya has put the number of Iranian Mandaeans as high as 60,000 in 2011.[38]

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.[39]

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.[22][40][41] 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.[42] 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.[43]

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.

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.[44][45] 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.[45] As of 2016, some 300,000 work permits have been issued for foreign nationals in Iran.[46]

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.[47]

Age structure

0-14 years: 23.69% (male 9,937,715/female 9,449,716)

15-24 years: 17.58% (male 7,386,826/female 6,998,188)

25-54 years: 46.87% (male 19,534,794/female 18,817,480)

55-64 years: 6.58% (male 2,650,049/female 2,731,997)

65 years and over: 5.28% (male 1,990,961/female 2,326,544) (2015 est.)

Median age

total: 28.8 years

male: 28.6 years

female: 29.1 years (2015 est.)

Population growth rate

1.2% (2015 est.)

Birth rate

17.99 births/1,000 population (2015 est.)

Death rate

5.94 deaths/1,000 population (2015 est.)

Urbanization

urban population: 73.4% of total population (2015)

rate of urbanization: 2.07% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)

Sex ratio

at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female

15-24 years: 1.06 male(s)/female

25-54 years: 1.04 male(s)/female

55-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female

total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2015 est.)

Life expectancy at birth

total population: 71.15 years

male: 69.56 years

female: 72.82 years (2015 est.)

Total fertility rate

1.83 children born/woman (2015 est.)

Youth literacy

definition: age 15-24 can read and write

total population: above 90%[48]

male youth: 98%

female youth: 98.0% (2008 est.)

• Culture of Iran
• Economy of Iran
• Education in Iran
• Ethnic groups in West Asia
• Health care in Iran
  • Family planning in Iran
• Human rights in Iran
• Human capital flight from Iran
• Iranian names
• Social class in Iran
• Women in Iran
• List of Iranians

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Demographics of Iran.

• Statistical Center of Iran
• BBC - Iran in Maps - Map of Iranian ethnic groups & population density
• Iran: A Vast Diaspora Abroad and Millions of Refugees at Home - Migration Information Institute (2006)
• Human Development Report - 2009 (UNDP Iran's entry)

Videos

• Iran population decline alarms observers - PressTV (2014)
• Iran's population and the future plans - PressTV (2013)