Language, Religion, Population
Language
Iran’s official language is Persian or Farsi, but many other languages and Persian dialects are spoken by the nation’s different ethnic groups. Turkic, the most widely spoken language after Farsi, is the language of Azeris and Turkmen. Other major languages include Kurdish, luri, and Arabic. All school instruction is in Farsi.
Religion
Iran is the world’s most populous Shi’I Muslim country. About 89 percent of Iranians are Shi’ite Muslim, while some 10 percent are Sunni Muslims. Shi’ite Islam is the state religion and has been since the 1500s. Before that time, most Persian were Sunni Muslims. Shi’ism adds a strong nationalist element to the religious principles of Islam.
There are about 350,000 Baha’is, 80,000 Christians and 30,000 Jews. With the exception of the baha’is, each minority group has representation in the Majlis (parliament).
Population
Iran’s population of 70 million is growing by 0.9 percent annually. Tehran the capital and largest city, has 12 million inhabitants. Other major cities are Mashhad, Tabriz, Esfahan, Abadan and Shiraz. About two-thirds of population lives in urban areas. Most Iranians are ethnic Persians (51 percent). Smaller groups include Azeris (24 percent), Gilakis and Mazandaranis (8), Kurdish (7), Arab (3), Lurs (2), Baluchis (2), Turkmen (2), among others.
