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Iran Demographics Profile

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Population85,888,910 (July 2021 est.)
Nationalitynoun: Iranian(s)

adjective: Iranian
Ethnic groupsPersian, Azeri, Kurd, Lur, Baloch, Arab, Turkmen and Turkic tribes
LanguagesPersian Farsi (official), Azeri and other Turkic dialects, Kurdish, Gilaki and Mazandarani, Luri, Balochi, Arabic

major-language sample(s):
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ReligionsMuslim (official) 99.4% (Shia 90-95%, Sunni 5-10%), other (includes Zoroastrian, Jewish, and Christian) 0.3%, unspecified 0.4% (2011 est.)
Age structure0-14 years: 24.11% (male 10,472,844/female 10,000,028)

15-24 years: 13.36% (male 5,806,034/female 5,537,561)

25-54 years: 48.94% (male 21,235,038/female 20,327,384)

55-64 years: 7.72% (male 3,220,074/female 3,337,420)

65 years and over: 5.87% (male 2,316,677/female 2,670,254) (2020 est.)
Dependency ratiostotal dependency ratio: 45.6

youth dependency ratio: 36

elderly dependency ratio: 9.6

potential support ratio: 14.2 (2020 est.)
Median agetotal: 31.7 years

male: 31.5 years

female: 32 years (2020 est.)
Population growth rate1.03% (2021 est.)
Birth rate15.78 births/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Death rate5.14 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Net migration rate-0.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Population distributionpopulation is concentrated in the north, northwest, and west, reflecting the position of the Zagros and Elburz Mountains; the vast dry areas in the center and eastern parts of the country, around the deserts of the Dasht-e Kavir and Dasht-e Lut, have a much lower population density
Urbanizationurban population: 76.3% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization: 1.32% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Major cities - population9.259 million TEHRAN (capital), 3.264 million Mashhad, 2.177 million Esfahan, 1.675 million Shiraz, 1.627 million Tabriz, 1.582 million Karaj (2021)
Sex ratioat 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.)
Maternal mortality rate16 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)
Infant mortality ratetotal: 15.1 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 16.24 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 13.91 deaths/1,000 live births (2021 est.)
Life expectancy at birthtotal population: 75.06 years

male: 73.71 years

female: 76.48 years (2021 est.)
Total fertility rate1.93 children born/woman (2021 est.)
Contraceptive prevalence rate77.4% (2010/11)
Drinking water sourceimproved: urban: 98.6% of population

rural: 93.1% of population

total: 97.2% of population

unimproved: urban: 1.4% of population

rural: 6.9% of population

total: 2.8% of population (2017 est.)
Health expenditures8.7% (2018)
Physicians density1.58 physicians/1,000 population (2018)
Hospital bed density1.6 beds/1,000 population (2017)
Sanitation facility accessimproved: urban: 98.9% of population

rural: 95.7% of population

total: 98.1% of population

unimproved: urban: 1.1% of population (2015 est.)

rural: 4.3% of population

total: 1.9% of population (2017 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate<.1% (2020 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS54,000 (2020 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths3,200 (2020 est.)
Major infectious diseasesdegree of risk: intermediate (2020)

food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea

vectorborne diseases: Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever

note: a new coronavirus is causing sustained community spread of respiratory illness (COVID-19) in Iran; sustained community spread means that people have been infected with the virus, but how or where they became infected is not known, and the spread is ongoing; illness with this virus has ranged from mild to severe with fatalities reported; as of 20 July 2021, Iran has reported a total of 3,548,704 cases of COVID-19 or 4,225 cumulative cases of COVID-19 per 100,000 population with 104.03 cumulative deaths per 100,000 population; as of 19 July 2021, 6.98% of the population has received at least one dose of COVID-19 vaccine
Obesity - adult prevalence rate25.8% (2016)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight4.1% (2010/11)
Education expenditures4% of GDP (2018)
Literacydefinition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 85.5%

male: 90.4%

female: 80.8% (2016)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)total: 15 years

male: 15 years

female: 15 years (2017)

Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021

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