Population of Iran
Iran, along with Afghanistan, is one of the most multinational states in South-West Asia. More than 30 large and small nations live here, and if we also take into account individual tribes and ethnic groups that have, to one degree or another, retained their cultural and everyday identity, their number is even greater.
The vast majority of the peoples of Iran belong to the Iranian group of the Indo-European language family and to the Turkic group of the Altaic language family (over 20%). The first of them includes the Persians, Gilyans, Mazandrans, Kurds, Lurs, Bakhtiars, Baluchis, Talysh, Tats, Hazaras, Dzhemshids, Afghans and Tajiks. The second group includes Azerbaijanis, Turkmens, Kash-Kays, Qajars, Afshars, Shahsevens, Karapapakhs, Baharlu, Eynalu, Nafars, Khorasanis, etc. Of the other peoples living in the country, Arabs and Assyrians speak the languages of the Semitic group of the Semitic-Hamitic language family, Armenians - on standing apart the language of the Indo-European family, Georgians in the language of the Kartvelian group of the Caucasian family.
The multinationality of Iran is largely a legacy of the aggressive policies of its ancient and medieval rulers, who united many multilingual tribes and peoples under their rule, as well as the conquests to which Iran itself was subjected. Subsequently, the feudal backwardness of the country and the tribal system of the nomadic part of the population contributed to the preservation of ethnic fragmentation.
The main ethnic community - the Persians - is concentrated mainly in the central and southern regions of the country. In other regions, except Iranian Azerbaijan, they make up the majority of the urban population. To the north of the main area of settlement of the Persians live ethnically close to them, but preserving a number of dialect and cultural features, the Gilyans, Mazanderans and Talysh, to the west - the Kurds, Lurs and Bakhtiaris, to the east - the Afghans, Baluchis, Hazaras, Tajiks. The second largest ethnic community, the Azerbaijanis, inhabits the northwestern part of the country, bordering Azerbaijan. Neighboring them are related semi-nomadic and sedentary tribes of the Afshars, Shahsevens and Karapapakhs. The south of the country is inhabited by the Qashqais and some other Turkic nomadic tribes, as well as Arabs.
At present, the Persians and Iranian Azerbaijanis are mature bourgeois nations, others
the peoples stand at different stages of ethnosocial development, being partly tribes, partly nationalities. Some of them gradually assimilate with the Persians, which to a certain extent is the result of the Iranianization policy pursued in the country. It is officially believed that all the peoples of the country professing Islam, together with the Persians, form a single Iranian nation. Only representatives of other religions are considered as national minorities: Christians - Armenians and Assyrians; Zoroastrians - Parsis, or Hebrians; Judaists are Jews. During the 1956 population census, the number of speakers of the so-called local languages, but during the next census in 1966 such registration was not carried out.
IN Lately Assimilation processes in Iran are also facilitated by the development of capitalist relations, leading to mixing and cultural and linguistic interaction of different nationalities in cities, oil fields, large construction projects etc. The Iranianization of the Gilyans and Mazanderans is especially noticeable. At the same time, the small Turkic peoples of Northern Iran, and partly the Iranian-speaking Talysh, are being assimilated by the Azerbaijanis.
The only official language of Iran is mainly developed by the 9th century. the so-called New Persian language, or Farsi. It conducts all official office work, teaching in schools and higher education. educational institutions. Writing is based on Arabic alphabet, but the writing of the letters is somewhat unique.
According to the anthropological type, the peoples inhabiting Iran belong to the southern groups of the Caucasian race, distributed from Gibraltar to Northern India and from Central Europe to the Sahara. At the same time, the Persians, Azerbaijanis, Kurds and most of the small peoples of Iran mainly belong to the Indo-Pamir anthropological group, the Armenians and Assyrians - to the Armenoid group, the Arabs - partly to the Armenoid, partly to the Mediterranean. All southern Caucasian groups are distinguished by dark pigmentation of hair and eyes.
The vast majority of Iran's population (over 96%) professes Islam, with more than 90% being Shiite Muslims and only about 6% being Sunni. Shiism was proclaimed the state religion of the country in 1502 by the founder of the Safavid state, Ismail I. In Iran, Shiism is practiced by Persians, Azerbaijanis, Gilans,
Mazanderans, Lurs, Bakhtiars, Qashqais, Shahsevens, Talysh, part of the Kurds, Arabs, etc. The Sunnis are Afghans, Baluchis, part of the Kurds and Arabs, Turkmen, Dzhemshid. There are adherents of some more specific movements of Islam: Bahais, Ismailis, Sheikhites, etc. As noted, representatives of other religions also live in Iran. Some Kurds belong to the Yazidi sect.
Freedom of religion is officially proclaimed in the country, but there is historical hostility between adherents of the two main religious movements in Islam - Shiites and Sunnis. This is the result of previous enmity and mutual extermination of Arabs, Turks and Persians in the struggle for power that was waged Arab caliphs, Turkish sultans and Iranian Shahs. Recently, with the development of the country's economy and culture, there has been a weakening of religiosity, especially among the urban population; In the advanced strata of Iranian society, the ideas of atheism are becoming increasingly widespread.
Iran's population has been growing very rapidly in recent years. This is noticeable not only from statistical data. Even half a century ago, the Iranian press constantly talked about the half-starved existence of the broad masses, epidemics and diseases, which led to high mortality and low annual population growth (no more than 0.75 - 1%), despite the high birth rate. Now there are increasing calls for limiting natural population growth, or so-called family planning and birth control, as Iran has become one of the countries with the highest annual population growth, reaching about 3%. This has become typical not only for cities where medical care is better provided, but also for rural areas. Currently, 52% of the population is under 20 years of age.
Here are some official figures on population growth: in 1933 there were 15 million people in Iran, in 1956 there were 18.9 million, and in 1977 there were 34 million people. The population growth rate, as we see, is extremely high. If over a period of 23 years (from 1933 to 1956) the population of Iran increased by only 3.9 million people, then over the next 20 years it increased by 15.1 million. At such a pace, the country's population reached approximately 60 by 1992 million, and by 2006 - 71 million people.
Isfahan is growing at the same rapid pace, the number of residents of which has doubled in 10 years (from 1966 to 1976). New satellite cities are emerging, for example, near Isfahan, in the area of the built metallurgical plant, the city of Aria-Shahr was built.
The cities of Tehran, Isfahan, Tabriz, Mashhad, Shiraz, and Abadan are growing rapidly. According to the latest census, 22% lived in 14 cities with a population of more than 100 thousand, and in total 42% of the country’s population lived in cities. Meanwhile, just recently urban population Iran accounted for approximately 25%. It is assumed that this ratio will change radically in 25-30 years: 75% of the country’s residents will be in cities, and 25% in villages. The population of the capital has increased 7 times over the past half century.
The population increase occurs due to natural increase. Emigration and immigration do not have any significant impact on its growth. It is characteristic that in Iran the number of men far exceeds the number of women.
As the socio-economic situation in Iran changes, the class structure of society also changes. In the economy and socio-political life of the country, the influence of the national bourgeoisie is increasing, the number of the working class is growing rapidly and the share of the amateur population employed in agriculture.
The growth of women's activity in social and political life began in the 60s. In February 1963, they were given the right to choose and be elected to the Majlis and the Senate. Since then, several women have become deputies of the Majlis and members of the Senate. The number of women among teaching staff in higher education institutions has increased. However, the women's movement for emancipation is still limited, affecting mainly the upper strata of society, the intelligentsia.
In May 1967, the Majlis adopted a law on expanding women's rights in the field of family relations. This law basically abolished polygamy (the right of men to have four wives and any number of concubines) and the right of men to divorce their wives for any reason without trial. Now a man can take a second wife only with the consent of the first or if he proves to the court that the first wife is sick. Women were also given the right to initiate divorce proceedings. The question of who to leave the children with is decided by the court.
Iran's population is distributed unevenly in the country. Although average density it over the past 15 years and has increased from 11.5 to 18 people per 1 sq. km, in Iran there are deserted places, especially in deserts. Fluctuations in population density are very large: from 0 to 60 people per 1 sq. km. The most densely populated areas are the central province, the new industrial region around Isfahan, and the northern, northwestern and western parts of Iran. The largest cities in the country: Tehran with its suburbs - 12.2 million people (2005), Isfahan - 4.6 million, Mashhad -2.5 million, Ahvaz - 841 thousand, Tabriz - 1.4 million, Bandar Abbas - 352 thousand, Shiraz - 1.2 million, Abadan - 415 thousand, Kermanshah - 1.9 million, about 550 thousand inhabitants are in the cities of Rasht, Qom, Hamadan, Rezaie, etc.
Iranian cities Most of them are similar to each other and retain their unique traditional appearance to this day. In the center there is usually a square, from which four large streets extend at right angles (along their edges there are ditches for watering trees), there is also a mosque and a covered city bazaar. There is a whole labyrinth adjacent to the main streets narrow streets and alleys, winding and crooked, with blank walls facing them, behind which the rich mansions of the city nobility, immersed in greenery, are hidden. The unsightly dwellings of the poorest part of the population are concentrated on the city outskirts. IN big cities there is a block of new modern houses or an ensemble in which ancient architectural structures coexist with multi-storey hotels and other European-style buildings. There are also entirely new cities and satellite cities planned and built in a Western style. Transport in large cities is buses and taxis, in small cities - cabs.
Rural settlements usually lack a specific layout; some of them are surrounded by adobe walls, sometimes with towers at the corners. The uniqueness of the villages near Yazd is striking; built in the rocks at a considerable height and similar to cave cities.
Nomadic and semi-nomadic tribes who previously played very important role socio-political life of Iran have now largely lost their significance. Many of them, to one degree or another, settled down. There is a transition to sedentarization of nomads and semi-nomads who settle on fertile lands in various parts of the country.
The winter settlements of semi-nomads differ little from the settlements of sedentary peasants, but in the summer they live in camps formed by parallel rows or circles of portable tents.
Who will benefit from the revision of the Turkmanchay Treaty between Russia and Iran?
On September 8, a round table of the Congress of World Azerbaijanis was held in Baku on the topic “Processes in the Middle East: the situation in Southern Azerbaijan,” at which a member of the Azerbaijani Parliament Sabir Rustamkhanly made a call for the dismemberment of Iran, arguing that more than half of the population of this country - 52% - are Azerbaijanis (Turks). This was followed by a sharp statement from the Iranian Embassy in Baku condemning the MP’s speech. About all this in detail - our conversation with the professor Garnik Asatryan.
Mr. Asatryan, you have been working on the problems of ethnodemography in Iran for a long time. What is the number of Azerbaijanis in Iran?
This issue is covered in detail in my book on the ethnic composition of Iran, recently published in Yerevan. But I will try to briefly answer the question, omitting the details.
First, let's just calculate what 52% of 80 million people would be - general population Iran. This is approximately 42-45 million. Further, the habitat of the so-called Azerbaijanis in Iran is the 4 northwestern provinces of the country, i.e. West Azerbaijan, East Azerbaijan, Ardabil and Zanjan. So be it, let’s add here the province of Qazvin, although this region was never part of Greater Aturpatakan (an ancient province of Iran, now called Azarbaijan - a name that was once artificially assigned to the Transcaucasian republic, which never had anything to do with historical Azerbaijan).
According to the 2006 Iranian census, total number The total population of all the above-mentioned provinces is just over 9 million people, of which about 3 million are Kurds (in Western Azerbaijan), plus Azaris, i.e. southern Tats (Iranian-speaking islands that have retained their Iranian dialect), about half a million Talysh (in the eastern part of the Ardabil province: Anbaran, Namin, Khalkhal, etc.), Aysor Syrians (New Aramaic tribe), Armenians, etc. Thus, the total number of “Azerbaijanis” in Iran is about 6 million people, or more precisely, 5.5 million. We deliberately put the term “Azerbaijani” in quotation marks in this context, emphasizing that this is by no means those Azerbaijanis who inhabit the former the Soviet republic, which, of course, is known to any even more or less educated Iranian scholar. The fact is that the Turkic-speaking inhabitants of northwestern Iran are a completely different people: the only thing that connects them with the population of the territory north of the river Araks, i.e. with citizens of the Republic of Azerbaijan - a common language. Baku is trying in every possible way to create the illusion of a divided people, but this is a pure profanation of reality. In this regard, I often quote the statement “about the southern (Iranian) Azerbaijanis” by one of the founders and champions of the Azerbaijani Idea, the late Ziya Buniatov, given in his interview with the Baku newspaper “Zerkalo” (October 25, 1989) after a trip to Tabriz: “...Once again I felt that the unity of the language does not yet mean the unity of the people.” So various statements about the “Azerbaijani minority in Iran,” as well as phantasmagoria regarding their numbers and ethnic affiliation, are nothing more than political hoaxes aimed at provoking separatist sentiments in Iran and drawing the Turkic-speaking population of this country into the orbit of South Caucasian political realities. Yes, it’s worth adding that the common assertion that half of Tehran consists of Azerbaijanis (i.e. 6-7 million people!) is the same nonsense: even in Moscow (and in some European capitals) you can hear today Turkic speech is more common on the streets than in Tehran. A small number of Turkophones, of course, exist in other parts of Iran: in the provinces of Ishafan, Khorasan, Fars, Mamasani and Kohgilue, etc. But these are scattered villages that, for various historical reasons, in particular, according to the model of “elite domination,” switched to Turkic-speaking, but, of course, they are not included in the number of “Azerbaijanis.” The Qashqais (in Fars) are also Turkophones - a separate confederation of tribes numbering several hundred thousand, who, of course, are also not “Azerbaijanis”.
Then another question arises: why do such Baku “misconceptions” regarding the ethnic picture of Iran circulate in some circles in Iran itself? For example, the statement of the Iranian cultural center in Baku states, in particular, that the “Azerbaijani community” of Iran includes 35 million people (Azeri Hamvatanlar)?
But here the reason is different: strange as it may seem, an illusion of a different kind is sometimes actualized in Iran - regarding the revision of the Turkmanchay Treaty of 1828 between Russia and Iran. That is, to this day, in some circles in Iran, the dream of returning the territory north of the Araks, including today's South Caucasian republic called Azerbaijan, is alive. The issue of the size of the “Azerbaijani community” in Iran takes on a different connotation here. In Iran, they are trying in every possible way to add the Shiite factor, which in fact is also very illusory. In today’s Republic of Azerbaijan, Shiism is manifested mainly among Iranian national minorities - the Talysh and Tats The emphatically secular policy of the Baku regime is, in fact, not a manifestation of its anti-religious essence, but rather one of the main components of the comprehensive system of persecution of national minorities in the republic. In general, I think Shiism will never become a political factor in Azerbaijan. Obviously, Islam can become a factor. in this country only in the form of its extreme manifestations - Salafism, etc. Politics of Iran in in this direction, essentially, playing with fire. I believe the Iranians must finally decide on some fundamental concepts regarding the Republic of Azerbaijan and the South Caucasus as a whole. The territorial integrity of their country is at stake. A clear vision of the situation and an objective assessment of the ethnopolitical texture of the region directly determines the future of Iran: whether it will be a single state or fall apart. This is especially important given that the latter is main goal extra-regional Western centers strength. Operating with outdated concepts, often laden with emotional and religious charges, is fraught with the danger of unpredictable consequences for Iran. I think Iranians should be guided by an objective picture of the so-called. “Azerbaijan question”, and it is as follows:
Firstly, there has never been and cannot be a real historical Azerbaijani factor in Iran by definition: the Turkic-speaking Iranians in the north are not part of the divided people of Azerbaijanis, but an integral component of the Iranian people, preserving many of the original parameters of Iran and the Iranian world.
Secondly, the number of the Turkic-speaking population of Iran does not exceed 6 million, and it, as has been said, does not have a Turkic ethnic affiliation, despite being Turkic. Therefore, the northwestern provinces of Iran should be protected from political developments in the Republic of Azerbaijan (in fact, this is political education, since it was created, it should have been called, rather, the Republic of Shirvan or something like that).
Thirdly, I have no doubt that the Republic of Azerbaijan will never be a friendly partner of Iran: the main reason for the creation and strengthening of this ethno-political unit was initially the weakening and dismemberment of Iran, and it will always be so.
It is strange that at the moment, when Iranian-Azerbaijani relations are at least outwardly at a good level, the Congress of World Azerbaijanis is organizing anti-Iranian actions in Baku.
This is natural: as soon as the Iranians begin to please Azerbaijan and move towards rapprochement, such attacks are not long in coming. In this regard, the speech of the named deputy from the close circle of the country’s leadership cannot be accidental. The interethnic situation in Azerbaijan is now very tense: not only the Talysh, but also the Tats and other peoples have actively begun to speak out for their rights - new political organizations of national minorities are being created every now and then, and everything is heading towards a radical change in the ethnopolitical situation in the republic. It is interethnic instability in Azerbaijan itself that gives rise to the desire of its leadership to undermine the situation in Iran.
Interviewed by: Rustam Iskandari
http://www.amar.org.ir/Portals/1/Iran/census-2.pdf Official Population Census 2011Original text(English)
With an estimated population of 67 million in 2004, Iran is one of the most populous countries in the Middle East. ... Iran’s second largest ethnolinguistic minority, the Kurds, make up an estimated 5 percent of the country’s population and reside in the provinces of Kerman and Kurdistan as well as in parts of West Azerbaijan and Ilam. Kurds in Iran are divided along religious lines as Sunni, Shi"ite, or Ahl-e Haqq.
Original text(English)
With an estimated population of 67 million in 2004, Iran is one of the most populous countries in the Middle East. ... Iran’s second largest ethnolinguistic minority, the Kurds, make up an estimated 5 percent of the country’s population and reside in the provinces of Kerman and Kurdistan as well as in parts of West Azerbaijan and Ilam. Kurds in Iran are divided along religious lines as Sunni, Shi"ite, or Ahl-e Haqq.
Original text (English)
With an estimated population of 67 million in 2004, Iran is one of the most populous countries in the Middle East. ... Iran’s second largest ethnolinguistic minority, the Kurds, make up an estimated 5 percent of the country’s population and reside in the provinces of Kerman and Kurdistan as well as in parts of West Azerbaijan and Ilam. Kurds in Iran are divided along religious lines as Sunni, Shi"ite, or Ahl-e Haqq.