Demographics of Iran
From Free net encyclopedia
- The statistics in this article come from the CIA World Factbook, 2005 edition.
Iran's population was estimated to be 68,017,860 in July 2005, with nearly two-fifths of its people being 15 years of age or younger.[1] [2] Iran is also ethnically and linguistically diverse, with some cities (such as Tehran) bringing various ethnic groups together.
About 70% of Iran's peoples speak Iranian languages [3]. The major groups in this category include Persians, Kurds, Gilakis, Mazandaranis, Lurs, and Baluchis. The remainder are primarily Turkic, such as the Azeri, Turkmen, and the Qashqai peoples, as well as Arabs, Armenians, and Assyrians.
Contents |
Most populous cities
The following is a list of the five most populous cities in the country.
| Rank | City (Province) | 2005 population |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | Tehran (Tehran Province) | 8,601,473 |
| 2. | Mashad (Razavi Khorasan) | 2,307,177 |
| 3. | Isfahan (Isfahan Province) | 1,547,164 |
| 4. | Tabriz (East Azarbaijan) | 1,424,641 |
| 5. | Shiraz (Fars Province) | 1,279,140 |
See also: List of cities in Iran.
Religious affiliation
Image:Iran ethnoreligious distribution 2004.jpg Most 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. Non-Muslim minorities include Zoroastrians, Jews, Bahá'ís, Mandeans and Christians.
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.
Miscellaneous statistics
Population: 68,017,860 (July 2005 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years:
27.1% (male 9,465,475; female 8,973,828)
15-64 years:
68% (male 23,556,970; female 22,701,065)
65 years and over:
4.9% (male 1,637,512; female 1,683,010) (2005 est.)
<p>Median age:
total:
24.23 years
male:
24.03 years
female:
24.44 years (2005 est.)
<p>Population growth rate:
0.86% (2005 est.)
<p>Birth rate:
16.83 births/1,000 population (2005 est.)
<p>Death rate:
5.55 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.)
<p>Net migration rate:
-2.64 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.)
<p>Sex ratio:
at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years:
1.06 male(s)/female
15-64 years:
1.04 male(s)/female
65 years and over:
0.97 male(s)/female
total population:
1.04 male(s)/female (2005 est.)
<p>Infant mortality rate:
41.58 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.)
<p>Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
69.96 years
male:
68.58 years
female:
71.4 years (2005 est.)
<p>Total fertility rate:
1.82 children born/woman (2005 est.)
<p>Nationality:
noun: Iranian(s) -- adjective: Iranian
<p>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)
<p>Religions: Shi'a Muslim 89%, Sunni Muslim 9%, Zoroastrian, Jewish, Christian, and Bahá'í 2%
<p>Languages: Persian and Persian dialects 58%, Turkic and Turkic dialects 26%, Kurdish 9%, Balochi 1%, Arabic 1%, other 2%
<p>Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population:
79.4%
male:
85.6%
female:
73.0% (2003 est.)
See also
- Iran
- Islam in Iran
- Georgians in Iran
- Religious minorities in Iran
- Christianity in Iran
- Persian Jewsfr:Démographie de l'Iran