Demographics of Iran#Languages and ethnic groups

According to the 2016 population census the population of Iran was 79.9 million, 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 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.):{{cite web |url=https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic-social/products/dyb/dyb_2020/ |title=Demographic Yearbook – 2020 |publisher=United Nations Statistics Division |place=New York |access-date=18 May 2022}}

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

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)

File:Provinces of Iran by population density.svg

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.

{{See also|List of largest cities of Iran|List of cities in Iran}}

File:Iran Population-Urban vs Rural.png

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.{{cite web|url=https://www.amar.org.ir/english|title=Statistical Center of Iran|publisher=Migrationinformation.org|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151015234935/http://www.amar.org.ir/english/|archive-date=15 October 2015|url-status=dead|access-date=4 December 2012}}

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

{{see also| Provinces of Iran}}

(2022 estimates).{{cite UN WPP|2022|rows=7709:7780|cols=M,X,AE,S,AH,S,AA,AV,AI}}

;Notes

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

{{cite web|url=http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/dyb/dyb2.htm#2001|title=United Nations Statistics Division – Demographic and Social Statistics|publisher=United Nations|access-date=8 August 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161227194033/http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/dyb/dyb2.htm#2001|archive-date=27 December 2016|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.sabteahval.ir/en/default-972.aspx|title=.:: National Organization for Civil Registration-Home ::.|work=sabteahval.ir|access-date=4 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130114035336/http://www.sabteahval.ir/en/default-972.aspx|archive-date=14 January 2013|url-status=dead}}

{{cite web |title=Census 2016 |url=https://irandataportal.syr.edu/census/census-2016}}

Note that registrations may be by year of registration and not by year of occurrence. This was especially the case in the beginning of the 1980s when there were many late registrations. This explains the high number of births during 1980-1986. Before 1980, the registrations were incomplete.

{{GraphChart

| width = 450

| height = 150

| xAxisTitle=year

| yAxisTitle= million

| yAxisMin=

| yGrid= 0,1

| xGrid= 10

| legend=

| type = line

| x = 1950,1951,1952,1953,1954,1955,1956,1957,1958,1959,1960,1961,1962,1963,1964,1965,1966,1967,1968,1969,1970,1971,1972,1973,1974,1975,1976,1977,1978,1979,1980,1981,1982,1983,1984,1985,1986,1987,1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021

| y1= 16.8,17.2,17.6,18,18.4,18.9,19.3,19.8,20.3,20.8,21.4,22,22.6,23.3,23.9,24.7,25.4,26.1,26.9,27.6,28.5,29.3,30.1,31,31.9,32.9,33.8,34.9,36,37.2,38.5,40.5,

42.5,44,45.6,47.3,48.9,50.5,52.1,53.6,55.8,58,59.4,59.8,60,60.8,61.6,62.5,63.5,64.5,65.5,66.7,67.3,68,69.1,70.2,71.3,72.3,73.3,74.3,75.4,76.3,77.3,78.5,

80,81.8,83.3,84.5,85.6,86.6,87.3,87.9

| y1Title= population (million)

}}

{{GraphChart

| width = 450

| height = 150

| xAxisTitle=years

| yAxisTitle= ‰

| yAxisMin=

| yGrid= 0,1

| xGrid= 10

| hAnnotatonsLine=

| hAnnotatonsLabel=

| legend=

| type = line

| x = 1950,1951,1952,1953,1954,1955,1956,1957,1958,1959,1960,1961,1962,1963,1964,1965,1966,1967,1968,1969,1970,1971,1972,1973,1974,1975,1976,1977,1978,1979,1980,1981,1982,1983,1984,1985,1986,1987,1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021

| y1= 22.3,22.2,22.6,23.0,23.6,24.1,24.5,25.2,26.0,26.5,26.0,25.7,25.2,25.7,25.7,25.9,26.2,26.6,26.4,27.0,26.8,26.7,26.0,26.4,27.0,

27.8,29.3,30.2,30.7,33.2,33.4,32.4,33.4,33.5,33.9,33.0,31.7,29.9,28.3,27.4,25.3,24.7,22.5,20.3,17.1,14.9,13.2,12.0,11.5,11.4,11.2,11.1,11.0,10.5,11.1,11.2,11.6,

12.1,12.2,12.4,12.6,13.2,14.0,14.5,14.9,14.6,14.3,13.9,12.5,10.2,8.7,7.3

| y1Title=Natural change (per 1000)

}}

{{GraphChart

| width = 450

| height = 150

| xAxisTitle=years

| yAxisTitle= ‰

| yAxisMin=

| yGrid= 0,1

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| hAnnotatonsLine=

| hAnnotatonsLabel=

| legend=

| type = line

| x = 1950,1951,1952,1953,1954,1955,1956,1957,1958,1959,1960,1961,1962,1963,1964,1965,1966,1967,1968,1969,1970,1971,1972,1973,1974,1975,1976,1977,1978,1979,1980,1981,1982,1983,1984,1985,1986,1987,1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021

| y1= 209.0,207.3,203.7,200.5,197.2,192.9,189.5,185.8,181.6,177.8,174.0,170.2,167.3,162.8,159.1,155.4,151.6,147.6,144.0,138.9,134.1,128.9,123.8,118.2,113.0,107.7,

102.3,96.6,92.4,85.1,79.5,74.3,69.3,65.1,61.5,58.2,55.3,52.6,49.8,47.4,46.5,43.1,41.3,39.8,38.2,36.8,35.4,34.0,32.5,31.0,29.5,28.1,26.4,25.6,23.4,21.9,

20.6,19.4,18.2,17.2,16.3,15.5,14.8,14.2,13.6,13.1,12.6,12.2,11.8,11.4,11.0,10.7

| y1Title=Infant Mortality (per 1000 live births)

}}

{{GraphChart

| width = 450

| height = 150

| xAxisTitle=years

| yAxisTitle= TFR

| yAxisMin=

| yGrid= 0,1

| xGrid= 10

| hAnnotatonsLine=2.1

| hAnnotatonsLabel=

| legend=

| type = line

| x = 1950,1951,1952,1953,1954,1955,1956,1957,1958,1959,1960,1961,1962,1963,1964,1965,1966,1967,1968,1969,1970,1971,1972,1973,1974,1975,1976,1977,1978,1979,1980,1981,1982,1983,1984,1985,1986,1987,1988,1989,1990,1991,1992,1993,1994,1995,1996,1997,1998,1999,2000,2001,2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021

| y1= 6.95,6.95,6.96,6.98,7.01,7.04,7.08,7.18,7.28,7.38,7.30,7.23,7.22,7.18,7.13,7.11,7.08,7.05,6.97,6.90,6.71,6.51,6.25,6.11,6.04,6.01,6.14,6.20,6.33,6.53,6.58,

6.56,6.55,6.51,6.44,6.26,6.01,5.69,5.39,5.11,4.86,4.51,4.08,3.68,3.27,2.89,2.57,2.33,2.20,2.10,2.02,1.94,1.87,1.82,1.80,1.78,1.77,1.77,1.77,1.77,1.77,1.80,1.89,1.96,2.04,2.05,2.07,2.07,1.97,1.77,1.71,1.69

| y1Title=Total Fertility Rate

}}

{{Cite web |title=Second-born children account for over one-third of live births |date=14 December 2024 |url=https://www.tehrantimes.com/news/507470/Second-born-children-account-for-over-one-third-of-live-births}}

In 1960, Iran's fertility rate was 7.3 children per woman. In 2021, the rate had fallen to 1.7 children per woman.{{cite web | url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.DYN.TFRT.IN?locations=IR | title=World Bank Open Data }} According to a study through the Australian National University, there are both micro and macro factors affecting the fertility rate in Iran, including education, economics, and culture.https://demography.cass.anu.edu.au/sites/default/files/sod/publications/working-papers/88.pdf Micro-factors can include family income levels and individual choices, while macro-factors can include the country's economy, education, and shifting cultural values. The cross-sectional cohort study examined four provinces in Iran (Gilan, Sistan & Baluchistan, West Azerbaijan, and Yazd) and found that trends show that women in all four provinces are choosing to have fewer children compared to the women born in the earlier cohorts. The majority of women agreed with statements such as "having many children is an obstacle for the parents' interests" and "having many children creates financial pressure for the family" (among others). Other sources also suggest that delayed marriage and a tendency to limit fertility are factors affecting the decline of TFR.{{cite journal |last1=Karamouzian |first1=Mohammad |last2=Sharifi |first2=Hamid |last3=Haghdoost |first3=Ali Akbar |title=Iran's shift in family planning policies: concerns and challenges |journal=International Journal of Health Policy and Management |date=2 September 2014 |volume=3 |issue=5 |pages=231–233 |doi=10.15171/ijhpm.2014.81 |pmid=25337596 |pmc=4204741 }} A decline in TFR can lead to population decrease, and an ageing population, which can negatively impact the country's economy.{{cite web | url=https://www.investopedia.com/articles/investing/011216/4-global-economic-issues-aging-population.asp | title=4 Global Economic Issues of an Aging Population }} In response, Iranian policymakers have attempted to limit these factors by restricting access to contraceptives and surgeries that reduce fertility.{{cite news | url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/15/iran-bans-vasectomies-and-contraceptives-to-improve-birth-rate | title=Iran ends provision by state of contraceptives and vasectomies | newspaper=The Guardian | date=15 June 2020 | last1=Safi | first1=Michael }}

File:Life expectancy in Iran.svg in Iran since 1950]]

File:Life expectancy by WBG -Iran -diff.png

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.)

{{See also|Ethnicities in Iran}}{{Expand section|the table which can be expanded with the source provided|date=December 2024}}

Iran is a mosaic of diverse ethnic groups, contrary to popular belief that all Iranians are "just Persian".{{Cite web |last=Saleh |first=Alam |date=2016-03-01 |title=Iran's cynical pandering to its ethnic minorities will do it no good |url=https://theconversation.com/irans-cynical-pandering-to-its-ethnic-minorities-will-do-it-no-good-55089 |access-date=2024-12-11 |website=The Conversation |language=en-US}}{{Cite web |last=Shams |first=Alex |date=2012-05-18 |title=A "Persian" Iran?: Challenging the Aryan Myth and Persian Ethnocentrism |url=https://ajammc.com/2012/05/18/a-persian-iran-challenging-the-aryan-myth-and-persian-ethnocentrism/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20240914152615/https://ajammc.com/2012/05/18/a-persian-iran-challenging-the-aryan-myth-and-persian-ethnocentrism/ |archive-date=2024-09-14 |access-date=2024-11-29 |website=Ajam Media Collective |language=en-US}}

According to a 1939 survey and Anthropological study of the people of Iran,{{cite web |date=1939 |title=The Peoples of Iran |url=https://archive.org/details/contributionstoa291fiel/page/209/mode/1up |page=}} in {{cite journal |last1=Field |first1=Henry |date=1939 |title=Contributions to the anthropology of Iran |journal=Publications of the Field Museum of Natural History. Anthropological Series |series=Publication. Field Museum of Natural History |volume=29 |issue=1 |pages= |doi=10.5962/bhl.title.3355 |jstor=29782234}}{{Rp|page=209}} these were the ethnic groups that resided in the following areas of Iran:

{{see also|Genetic history of the Middle East}}

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.{{cite journal |last1=Regueiro |first1=M. |last2=Cadenas |first2=A.M. |last3=Gayden |first3=T. |last4=Underhill |first4=P.A. |last5=Herrera |first5=R.J. |title=Iran: Tricontinental Nexus for Y-Chromosome Driven Migration |journal=Human Heredity |date=2006 |volume=61 |issue=3 |pages=132–143 |doi=10.1159/000093774 |pmid=16770078 }}{{cite journal |last1=Nasidze |first1=I. |last2=Quinque |first2=D. |last3=Rahmani |first3=M. |last4=Alemohamad |first4=S. A. |last5=Stoneking |first5=M. |title=Close Genetic Relationship Between Semitic-speaking and Indo-European-speaking Groups in Iran |journal=Annals of Human Genetics |date=March 2008 |volume=72 |issue=2 |pages=241–252 |doi=10.1111/j.1469-1809.2007.00413.x |pmid=18205892 }}

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) represents the female lineage. West Eurasian mtDNA makes up over 90% of the Iranian population on average. (2013).{{cite journal |last1=Derenko |first1=Miroslava |last2=Malyarchuk |first2=Boris |last3=Bahmanimehr |first3=Ardeshir |last4=Denisova |first4=Galina |last5=Perkova |first5=Maria |last6=Farjadian |first6=Shirin |last7=Yepiskoposyan |first7=Levon |title=Complete Mitochondrial DNA Diversity in Iranians |journal=PLOS ONE |date=14 November 2013 |volume=8 |issue=11 |pages=e80673 |doi=10.1371/journal.pone.0080673 |pmid=24244704 |pmc=3828245 |bibcode=2013PLoSO...880673D |doi-access=free }}

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.

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.

A large-scale genetic analyses on various ethnic groups of Iran, published in 2019, found that genetically speaking different Iranian ethnic groups, such as Persians, Kurds, Azerbaijanis, Lurs, Mazanderanis, Gilaks and Arabs, cluster tightly together, forming a single cluster known as the "CIC" (Central Iranian cluster). Compared with worldwide populations, Iranians (CIC) cluster in the center of the wider West Eurasian cluster, close to Europeans, Middle Easterners, and South-Central Asians. Iranian Arabs and Turkic-speaking Azeris genetically overlap with Iranian-speaking peoples such as Persians. The genetic substructure of Iranians was found to be low, compared with other "1000G" populations. Iranians display their highest genetic affinity with other Southwest and West Asian populations, followed by Europeans and Central Asian groups. Certain South Asians (specifically the Parsi minority) showed the highest affinity with Iranians, inline with their ethnic history. Overall, the study results suggest that the genetic makeup of the Iranian gene pool formed already about 5,000 years ago and shows high continuity since then, suggesting that they were largely unaffected by migration events from outside groups. On a global scale, Iranians display their highest affinity with other "West Eurasian" populations (such as Europeans or South Asians, but also Latin Americans), while Sub-Saharan Africans and East Asians showed large degrees of differentiation with Iranians.{{Cite journal |last1=Mehrjoo |first1=Zohreh |last2=Fattahi |first2=Zohreh |last3=Beheshtian |first3=Maryam |last4=Mohseni |first4=Marzieh |last5=Poustchi |first5=Hossein |last6=Ardalani |first6=Fariba |last7=Jalalvand |first7=Khadijeh |last8=Arzhangi |first8=Sanaz |last9=Mohammadi |first9=Zahra |last10=Khoshbakht |first10=Shahrouz |last11=Najafi |first11=Farid |date=24 September 2019 |title=Distinct genetic variation and heterogeneity of the Iranian population |journal=PLOS Genetics |volume=15 |issue=9 |pages=e1008385 |doi=10.1371/journal.pgen.1008385 |pmc=6759149 |pmid=31550250 |quote=Seven groups (Iranian Arabs, Azeris, Gilaks, Kurds, Mazanderanis, Lurs and Persians) strongly overlapped in their overall autosomal diversity in an MDS analysis (Fig 1B), suggesting the existence of a Central Iranian Cluster (CIC), notably also including Iranian Arabs and Azeris. On a global scale (Fig 2 including 'Old World' populations only; see S2 Fig for all 1000G populations), CIC Iranians closely clustered with Europeans, while Iranian Turkmen showed similar yet distinct degrees of admixture compared to other South Asians. A local comparison corroborated the distinct genetic diversity of CIC Iranians relative to other geographically close populations [2, 6, 44] (Fig 3 and S3 Fig). Still, genetic substructure was much smaller among Iranian groups than in relation to any of the 1000G populations, supporting the view that the CIC groups form a distinct genetic entity, despite internal heterogeneity. European (FST~0.0105–0.0294), South Asians (FST~0.0141–0.0338), but also some Latin American populations (Puerto Ricans: FST~0.0153–0.0228; Colombians: FST~0.0170–0.0261) were closest to Iranians, whereas Sub-Saharan Africans and admixed Afro-Americans (FST~0.0764–0.1424) as well as East Asians (FST ~ 0.0645–0.1055) showed large degrees of differentiation with Iranians. |doi-access=free}}

File:Iran ethnoreligious distribution 2004.jpg; 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 article|Iranian peoples|Turkic people|Ethnic minorities in Iran|Languages of Iran|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.[https://books.google.com/books?id=stl97FdyRswC&dq=number+of+circassians+in+iran&pg=PA141 Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Africa and the Middle East] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150614155901/https://books.google.nl/books?id=stl97FdyRswC&pg=PA141&lpg=PA141&dq=number+of+circassians+in+iran&source=bl&ots=u_SmExfuC8&sig=2lK8k9IsUQZyjCtdKqIAIr6Rc5M&hl=nl&sa=X&ved=0CDwQ6AEwBDgKahUKEwins7Whz4vGAhVRCNsKHb9pAME#v=onepage&q=number%20of%20circassians%20in%20iran&f=false |date=14 June 2015 }} Facts on File, Incorporated {{ISBN|143812676X}} p 141{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/118238/Circassian|title=Circassian (people)|access-date=28 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140407230314/https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/118238/Circassian|archive-date=7 April 2014|url-status=live}}

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.{{cite news|url=http://www.timesofisrael.com/jewish-woman-brutally-murdered-in-iran-over-property-dispute/|title=Jewish woman brutally murdered in Iran over property dispute|newspaper=The Times of Israel|date=28 November 2012|access-date=16 August 2014|quote="A government census published earlier this year indicated there were a mere 8,756 Jews left in Iran"|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140819102713/http://www.timesofisrael.com/jewish-woman-brutally-murdered-in-iran-over-property-dispute/#ixzz3Ac6duaqw|archive-date=19 August 2014|url-status=live}}

File:Percentage of ethnic groups in the general population of Iran (1982-1989).png

File:Percentage of ethnic groups in the general population of Iran (1990-1993).png

File:Percentage of ethnic groups in the general population of Iran (1994-2011).png

File:Percentage of ethnic groups in the general population of Iran (2012-2014).png

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%; Turkish and other Turkic languages 18%; Kurdish 10%; Arabic 2%; Balochi 2%; others 2% (Armenian, Georgian, Circassian, Assyrian, etc.).{{cite web|url=https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/iran/ |title=The World Factbook – Iran |access-date=13 May 2013 }}

According to anthropologist Brian Spooner, around half of Iran's population uses a language other than Persian at home and in informal public situations.{{cite book |doi=10.1163/9789004217652_005 |chapter=Persian, Farsi, Dari, Tajiki: Language Names and Language Policies |title=Language Policy and Language Conflict in Afghanistan and Its Neighbors |date=2012 |last1=Spooner |first1=Brian |pages=89–117 |isbn=978-90-04-21765-2 |author1-link=Brian Spooner (anthropologist) }}

Other sources, such as the Library of Congress, and the Encyclopedia of Islam (Leiden)See Iran in Encyclopedia of Islam, Leiden. C.E. Bosworth (editor) give Iran's ethnic groups as following: Persians 65%, Azerbaijani Turks 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%.{{cite web |url=https://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/cs/profiles/Iran.pdf |title=Country Profile: Iran |last1=Curtis |first1=Glenn E. |last2=Hooglund |first2=Eric |date=May 2008 |website=Library of Congress – Federal Research Division |page=5 |access-date=2 December 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150927105102/http://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/cs/profiles/Iran.pdf |archive-date=27 September 2015 |url-status=live }} For sources prior to and after 2000, see Languages and ethnicities in Iran.

{{Pie chart

|thumb = left

|caption = Religion in Iran by CIA

|label1 = Shia Islam

|value1 = 94.1

|color1 = DarkGreen

|label2 = Sunni Islam

|value2 = 5.3

|color2 = Green

|label3 = Other/Unspecifed

|value3 = 0.6

|color3 = Blue

}}

{{Main article|Religion in Iran|Islam in Iran|Christianity in Iran|Irreligion in Iran}}

{{See also|Roman Catholicism in Iran|Persian Jews|Baháʼí Faith in Iran|Mandaeans}}

Image:Moschee-isfahan.jpg (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 neighbouring Muslim countries. 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,{{Cite news | title = In Iran, 'crackdown' on Christians worsens | newspaper = Christian Examiner | location = Washington D.C. | date = April 2009 | url = http://www.christianexaminer.com/Articles/Articles%20Apr09/Art_Apr09_23.html | access-date = 1 December 2009 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131231000642/http://www.christianexaminer.com/Articles/Articles%20Apr09/Art_Apr09_23.html | archive-date = 31 December 2013 }} 250,000,{{Cite web | last = Price | first = Massoume | title = History of Christians and Christianity in Iran | work = Christianity in Iran | publisher = FarsiNet Inc. | date = December 2002 | url = http://www.farsinet.com/iranbibl/christians_in_iran_history.html | access-date = 1 December 2009 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100322220007/http://www.farsinet.com/iranbibl/christians_in_iran_history.html | archive-date = 22 March 2010 | url-status = dead }} and 300,000,{{Cite news | title = In Iran, 'crackdown' on Christians worsens | newspaper = Christian Examiner | location = Washington D.C. | date = April 2009 | url = http://www.christianexaminer.com/Articles/Articles%20Apr09/Art_Apr09_23.html | access-date = 19 March 2015 | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20131231000642/http://www.christianexaminer.com/Articles/Articles%20Apr09/Art_Apr09_23.html | archive-date = 31 December 2013 }} adherents. There are hundreds of Christian churches in Iran.{{citation needed|date=July 2021}} 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.{{cite web |date=1 August 2003 |title=Discrimination against religious minorities in Iran |author=International Federation for Human Rights |publisher=fdih.org |access-date=19 March 2007 |url=http://www.fidh.org/IMG/pdf/ir0108a.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061031221624/http://www.fidh.org/IMG/pdf/ir0108a.pdf |archive-date=31 October 2006 |url-status=live }}{{cite web | author= Iran Human Rights Documentation Center | publisher= Iran Human Rights Documentation Center | title= A Faith Denied: The Persecution of the Baháʼís of Iran | year= 2007 | access-date= 19 March 2007 | url= http://www.iranhrdc.org/english/pdfs/Reports/bahai_report.pdf | url-status= dead | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20070611140854/http://www.iranhrdc.org/english/pdfs/Reports/bahai_report.pdf | archive-date= 11 June 2007 }} Unofficial estimates for the Assyrian Christian population range between 20,000,{{cite web|url=http://www1.jamejamonline.ir/newstext.aspx?newsnum=100951754043|title=انتقال مقر جهاني آشوريان به ايران|work=jamejamonline.ir|access-date=2 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141223030525/http://www1.jamejamonline.ir/newstext.aspx?newsnum=100951754043|archive-date=23 December 2014|url-status=dead}}{{cite web|url=http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/assyrians-in-iran|title=ASSYRIANS IN IRAN|work=iranicaonline.org|access-date=2 January 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150204215842/http://www.iranicaonline.org/articles/assyrians-in-iran|archive-date=4 February 2015|url-status=live}} and 70,000.{{cite book |last=Hooglund |first=Eric |author-link=Eric Hooglund |editor1-first=Glenn E. |editor1-last=Curtis |editor2-first=Eric |editor2-last=Hooglund |editor2-link=Eric Hooglund |others=United States Library of Congress, Federal Research Division |title=Iran: A Country Study |chapter-url=https://archive.org/details/irancountrystudy00curt_2/page/81 |chapter-format=PDF |access-date=13 October 2013 |edition=5th |series=Area Handbook Series |year=2008 |publisher=United States Government Printing Office |location=Washington, D.C. |isbn=978-0-8444-1187-3 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/irancountrystudy00curt_2/page/81 81–142] |chapter=The Society and Its Environment |chapter-url-access=registration }}{{cite web |url=http://www.aina.org/brief.html |title=Brief History of Assyrians |last=BetBasoo |first=Peter |date=1 April 2007 |publisher=Assyrian International News Agency |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131017014421/http://www.aina.org/brief.html |archive-date=17 October 2013 |access-date=12 October 2013 |url-status=dead }} 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.{{cite web|last=Contrera |first=Russell |url=http://www.hollandsentinel.com/lifestyle/x1558731033/Saving-the-people-killing-the-faith |title=Saving the people, killing the faith – Holland, MI |publisher=The Holland Sentinel |access-date=17 December 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120306012853/http://www.hollandsentinel.com/lifestyle/x1558731033/Saving-the-people-killing-the-faith |archive-date=6 March 2012 }} Whereas Alarabiya has put the number of Iranian Mandaeans as high as 60,000 in 2011.{{cite web |author= |url=http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/12/06/181123.html |title=Iran Mandaeans in exile following persecution |publisher=Al Arabiya |date=6 December 2011 |access-date=17 December 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160731033510/http://www.alarabiya.net/articles/2011/12/06/181123.html |archive-date=31 July 2016 |url-status=dead }}

File:Net Migration Iran.png (1979–2008). A positive value represents more people entering Iran than leaving it]]

{{anchor|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,{{Citation needed|date=November 2016}} 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|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.{{cite web |url=http://www.unhcr.org/news/NEWS/452b78394.html |title=Tripartite meeting on returns to Afghanistan |publisher=United Nations High Commission for Refugees |access-date=14 April 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181003213837/http://www.unhcr.org/news/NEWS/452b78394.html |archive-date=3 October 2018 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |url=http://www.migrationinformation.org/Profiles/display.cfm?ID=424#top |title=Migration Information Source – Iran: A Vast Diaspora Abroad and Millions of Refugees at Home |publisher=Migrationinformation.org |access-date=4 December 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140215052030/http://migrationinformation.org/Profiles/display.cfm?ID=424#top |archive-date=15 February 2014 |url-status=live }} 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. As of 2016, some 300,000 work permits have been issued for foreign nationals in Iran.{{cite web|url=https://financialtribune.com/articles/economy-domestic-economy/56277/300k-foreigners-have-work-permits|title=300K Foreigners Have Work Permits|date=26 December 2016|access-date=4 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170105083313/https://financialtribune.com/articles/economy-domestic-economy/56277/300k-foreigners-have-work-permits|archive-date=5 January 2017|url-status=dead}}

{{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.[http://www.iran-daily.com/1386/2971/html/economy.htm Iran Daily – Domestic Economy – 10/22/07] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071025021531/http://www.iran-daily.com/1386/2971/html/economy.htm |date=25 October 2007 }}

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.{{cite web|url=http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2004/3/C65survey405A-8FE9-AAD51173BD66.html|title=Iran: Coping with the World's Highest Rate of Brain Drain|work=RadioFreeEurope/RadioLiberty}}{{Dead link|date=November 2019 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} 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.{{cite news | url=http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/06/12/iran.elections.voting/ | publisher=CNN| title=Iranian-Americans cast ballots on Iran's future | access-date=1 May 2010 | date=16 June 2009 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090817071324/http://www.cnn.com/2009/US/06/12/iran.elections.voting/ | archive-date=17 August 2009 | url-status=live }} 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.[http://www.iran-daily.com/1385/2781/html/economy.htm Iran Daily – Domestic Economy – 02/14/07] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070306024755/http://www.iran-daily.com/1385/2781/html/economy.htm |date=6 March 2007 }}

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.

{{See also|Greater Iran}}

{{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.{{cite book |doi=10.4324/9780203217696 |title=Islam in Post-Soviet Russia |date=2003 |isbn=978-1-134-43187-8 |editor-last1=Pilkington |editor-last2=Yemelianova |editor-first1=Hilary |editor-first2=Galina |page=27 }}{{cite book |last1=Khanam |first1=R. |title=Encyclopaedic Ethnography of Middle-East and Central Asia |date=2005 |publisher=Global Vision Publishing House |isbn=978-81-8220-065-4 |page=746 |quote=The contemporary Tats are the descendants of an Iranian-speaking population sent out of Persia by the dynasty of the Sasanids in the fifth to sixth centuries. }}{{cite book |last1=Masti︠u︡gina |first1=T. M. |last2=Perepelkin |first2=Lev |title=An Ethnic History of Russia: Pre-Revolutionary Times to the Present |date=1996 |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic |isbn=978-0-313-29315-3 |page=80 }}

Tats use the Tat language, a southwestern Iranian language and a variety of Persian{{cite book |doi=10.1515/9783110800425 |title=Persian Grammar |date=1979 |last1=Windfuhr |first1=Gernot L. |isbn=978-90-279-7774-8 |page=4 |quote=Tat- Persian spoken in the East Caucasus }}V. Minorsky, "Tat" in M. Th. Houtsma et al., eds., The Encyclopædia of Islam: A Dictionary of the Geography, Ethnography and Biography of the Muhammadan Peoples, 4 vols. and Suppl., Leiden: Late E.J. Brill and London: Luzac, 1913–38.V. Minorsky, "Tat" in M. Th. Houtsma et al., eds., The Encyclopædia of Islam: A Dictionary of the Geography, Ethnography and Biography of the Muhammadan Peoples, 4 vols. and Suppl., Leiden: Late E.J. Brill and London: Luzac, 1913–38. Excerpt: Like most Persian dialects, Tati is not very regular in its characteristic features"{{cite journal |last1=Kerslake |first1=C. |title=Turkic-Iranian Contact Areas: Historical and Linguistic Aspects * Edited by LARS JOHANSON and CHRISTIANE BULUT |journal=Journal of Islamic Studies |date=January 2010 |volume=21 |issue=1 |pages=147–151 |doi=10.1093/jis/etp078 |quote=It is a comparison of the verbal systems of three varieties of Persian—standard Persian, tat, tajik }}{{cite journal |last1=Borjian |first1=Habib |title=Tabari Language Materials from Il'ya Berezin's Recherches sur les dialectes persans |journal=Iran and the Caucasus |date=2006 |volume=10 |issue=2 |pages=243–258 |doi=10.1163/157338406780346005 |quote=It embraces Gilani, Ta- lysh, Tabari, Kurdish, Gabri, and the Tati Persian of the Caucasus, all but the last belonging to the north-western group of Iranian language. }} 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.{{cite book |last1=Minorsky |first1=Vladimir |authorlink1=V. Minorsky |title=فصول من تأريخ الباب وشروان |trans-title=A history of Sharvān and Darband in the 10th-11th centuries |language=ar |date=1958 |publisher=Heffer |oclc=583581811 }}{{page needed|date=November 2024}}

{{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.{{cite book |last1=Eliade |first1=Mircea |title=Images and Symbols: Studies in Religious Symbolism |date=1991 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0-691-02068-6 |page=254 }}

{{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.{{Cite web |url=http://www.iranian.ws/cgi-bin/iran_news/exec/view.cgi/5/12134 |title=What sets Zoroastrian Iranis apart – Persian Journal Culture Archaeological History Art Archaeology cultural history news & Iranian culture newspaper |access-date=27 March 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071219092207/http://www.iranian.ws/cgi-bin/iran_news/exec/view.cgi/5/12134 |archive-date=19 December 2007 |url-status=dead }} Some, such as Ardeshir Irani, have also become very famous in cinema.

{{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.

{{Main article|Huwala}}

Huwala are the descendants of Persians and Arab-Persians who belong to the Sunni sect of Islam.{{cite web |url=https://theses.ncl.ac.uk/dspace/bitstream/10443/730/1/Taqi10.pdf |title=Two ethnicities, three generations: Phonological variation and change in Kuwait |work=Newcastle University |year=2010 |page=11 |access-date=12 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131019130212/https://theses.ncl.ac.uk/dspace/bitstream/10443/730/1/Taqi10.pdf |archive-date=19 October 2013 |url-status=dead }} Huwala migrated from Ahvaz in Iran to the Persian Gulf in the seventeenth and eighteenth century.{{cite book | last = Farmanfarmaian | first = Roxane | title = War and Peace in Qajar Persia | publisher = Routledge | year = 2008 | pages = 128 |isbn = 978-0415421195 }}

{{Immigration to Iran}}

{{Portal|Iran|Society}}

• 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
• Immigration to Iran
• Iranian names
• Social class in Iran
• Women in Iran
• List of Iranians
• Ethnic-based discrimination in Iran

{{Reflist}}

{{commons category}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20141226020501/http://www.amar.org.ir/Default.aspx?tabid=133 Statistical Center of Iran]
• [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/middle_east/06/iran_maps/html/default.stm BBC – Iran in Maps] – Map of Iranian ethnic groups & population density
• [http://www.migrationinformation.org/Profiles/display.cfm?ID=424 Iran: A Vast Diaspora Abroad and Millions of Refugees at Home] – Migration Information Institute (2006)
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20100529152454/http://hdrstats.undp.org/en/countries/country_fact_sheets/cty_fs_IRN.html Human Development Report – 2009] (UNDP Iran's entry)

{{Ethnic groups in Iran}}

{{Immigration to Iran}}

{{Asia in topic|Demographics of}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Demographics of Iran}}