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Iran's population increased dramatically during the later half of the 20th century, reaching about 75 million by 2011.[1][2] In recent years, however, Iran's birth rate has dropped significantly. Studies project that Iran's rate of population growth will continue to slow until it stabilizes above 100 million by 2050.[3][4] More than half of Iran's population is under 35 years old (2012).[5]
In 2009, the number of households stood at 15.3 million (4.8 person/household).[6] According to the Central Bank of Iran in 2012, in 22.5 per cent of Iranian families, all family members were unemployed.[7] Families earn some 11.8 million rials (some $960) ) per month on the average (2012).[8]
According to the OECD/World Bank statistics [10][11][12] and 85% in 2008[13]
According to the 2011 population census the population of Iran was 75 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 1.3% between 2006 and 2011.
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)
The largest linguistic group comprises speakers of Iranian languages, like modern Circassians, a very large minority in the past and speakers of the Circassian language, have almost all been fully assimilated and absorbed in the past few centuries. However, small sockets do exist spread over the country.[18]
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.[5][6] However, the official 2011 state census recorded only 8,756 Jews in Iran.[19]
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%; Azeri and other Turkic languages 18%; Kurdish 10%; Arabic 2%; Baloch 2%; others 1%.[20]
Other sources, such as the Assyrians, Pashtuns,) less than 1%.[22] For sources prior to 2000, see Languages and ethnicities in Iran.
More than 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.[11] Less than 1% non-Muslim minorities include Christians, Zoroastrians, Jews, Bahá'ís, Mandeans, and Yarsan. The Bahá'í 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 during its existence in Iran. Since the 1979 revolution the persecution of Bahá'ís has increased with executions, the denial of civil rights and liberties, and the denial of access to higher education and employment.[25][26] Today, there are an estimated 8,000 Assyrian Christians in Iran, who belong to the Chaldean Catholic Church.
The term "Iranian citizens abroad" or " Iranian/Persian diaspora" refers to the Iranian people born in Iran and their children but living outside of Iran. Migrant Iranian workers abroad remitted less than two billion dollars home in 2006.[27]
As of 2010, there are about four to five million [23][28][29] 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.[30] 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.[31] 43.3% of Iranian youth say they would like to emigrate to another country.[32]
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.[33][34] 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.[34]
The following demographic statistics are from the CIA World Factbook, unless otherwise indicated.[11]
Age structure
Median age
Urbanization
Sex ratio
Life expectancy at birth
Youth literacy
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.[36]
Mitochondrial DNA mtDNA represents the female lineage. The Iranian mitochondrial DNA shows more Western Eurasian lineages than the Y-DNA lineages.[38]
In Iran outliers in the Y-chromosomes and Mitochondrial DNA gene pool are consisted by the north Iranian ethnicities, such as the 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 resembling South Asian ethnic groups.
It is estimated that some 200 million people around the world have Iranian ancestry from the various Iranian peoples.[39]
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 (Eliade, 1991:254).
In Pakistan and India, the term "Irani" has come to denote Iranian Zoroastrians who have immigrated 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 immigrated 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.[40] Some, such as Ardeshir Irani, have also become very famous in cinema.
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, who are Sunnis and some of them have Arab origin.
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.
Huwala are the descendants of Persians and Persian Arabs who belong to the Sunni sect of Islam.[41] Huwala migrated from Ahwaz in Iran to the Persian Gulf in the seventeenth and eighteenth century.[41][42]
The House of Bunnag was a powerful Siamese noble family of Persian descent of the early Rattanakosin Kingdom of Siam.
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