DEMOGRAPHICS
General Information
The country's population is approximately 89,7 mil. people (17th in the world).
The average annual population growth rate for 2024 is about 1,27%.
The age structure of the population is characterized by a significant proportion of youth: the population under 15 years old is 24,1% (approximately 21,4 mil. people), the population aged 15-65 is 70,9% (about 63 mil. people), the population over 64 years old is 5% (about 4,5 mil. people). The median age of an Iranian resident – 29,5 years.
The sex ratio indicator – 1,03 men per one woman.
Population density – 54,4 people per sq. km (with a total country area of 1,648,195 sq. km). The share of the urban population is about 70%.
Ethnic and Confessional Composition
Ethnic Composition
Iran is characterized by significant ethnic diversity. The largest ethnic groups: Persians – according to various estimates, from 36% to 61% of the population, Azerbaijanis – the second largest group (according to various estimates, from 16% to 30% of the population), Kurds – about 15-20% of the population. Lurs, Balochs, Arabs, Talysh, Gilaks, Mazanderanis and others – collectively constitute the remainder of the population.
Confessional Composition
The dominant religion – Islam (predominantly Shia), Muslims constitute 99,4% of the population. Also living in the country are Christians – 0,2% and representatives of other religions – 0,4%.
State Language
According to the Constitution of Iran, the state and common language is Persian (Farsi) – approximately 79 mil. speakers. All official documents, correspondence, and school teaching are conducted in it.
Despite the official status of the Persian language, many other languages and dialects are common in the country. The Constitution guarantees the right to use the languages of national minorities in the press, media, and for teaching national literatures in schools. Among such languages, Azerbaijani – approximately 10 mil. speakers, Kurdish – approximately 5 mil. speakers, and Luri – approximately 4 mil. speakers stand out. There are also speakers (up to 2 mil. for each separate one) of Gilaki, Balochi, Mazanderani, Bakhtiari, Pashto, and Dari.