Iran's population increased dramatically in the late 20th century, reaching about 80 million by 2016.Iran Census Results 2016 United Nations , Iran's population is over 87 million. 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 stabilises above 100 million by 2050. Half of Iran's population was under 35 years old in 2012. In January 2025, the average age of the Iranian population was 32 years.

In 2009, the number of households stood at 15.3 million, at 4.8 persons per household. In 2012, the average family income was 11.8 million rials (about $960) per month.

Between 1990 to 2008 Iran's population grew by 17.6 million, an increase of 32%.CO2 Emissions from Fuel Combustion Population 1971–2008 (pdf pages 83–85) IEA (OECD/ World Bank) original population ref e.g. in IEA Key World Energy Statistics 2010 page 57) The literacy rate was 80% in 2002,UNDP.org Table H and 85% in 2016. The 2021 fertility rate was 1.6, below the natural replacement rate of 2.1.

In 2026 Iran recorded lowest birth rate in 66-70 year historic lowest record.

Population

In the 2016 census Iran's population was 79.9 million, a fourfold increase since 1956. Between 1976 and 1986, an average annual population growth of almost 4% was reached. Due to decreasing fertility levels, growth decreased to 1.2% between 2011 and 2016.

+ Population census resultsIran Census Results 2011 United Nations Census date Population Average annual growth (%) Populationdensity/km2 Proportionurban (%) Household size 1956-11-0118,954,704—1231.41966-11-0125,785,2103.131637.51976-11-0133,708,7442.712047.05.021986-11-2249,445,0103.913054.05.111996-11-0160,055,4882.03761.04.842006-11-0170,495,7821.624368.54.032011-11-0175,149,6691.294671.43.552016-11-0179,926,2701.244974.03.3

Age groupNumber (2006)Percentage (2006)Number (2011)Percentage (2011) Total 70,495,782 100 75,149,669 100 0–4 5,463,978 7.75 6,232,552 8.29 5–9 5,509,057 7.81 5,657,791 7.53 10–14 6,708,591 9.52 5,671,435 7.55 15–19 8,726,761 12.38 6,607,043 8.79 20–24 9,011,422 12.78 8,414,497 11.20 25–29 7,224,952 10.25 8,672,654 11.54 30–34 5,553,531 7.88 6,971,924 9.28 35–39 4,921,124 6.98 5,571,018 7.41 40–44 4,089,158 5.80 4,906,749 6.53 45–49 3,522,761 5.00 4,030,481 5.36 50–54 2,755,420 3.91 3,527,408 4.69 55–59 1,887,981 2.68 2,680,119 3.57 60–64 1,464,452 2.08 1,862,907 2.48 65–69 1,197,550 1.70 1,343,731 1.79 70–74 1,119,318 1.59 1,119,968 1.49 75–79 694,122 0.98 913,531 1.22 80+ 645,601 0.92 919,539 1.22 Unclear – – 46,322 0.06

Number of children 0–14 Number of people 15–49 Proportion Number of women 15–49 Proportion 17,681,629 (2006) 43,049,709 (2006) 0.4107 (2006) ~21,524,855 (2006) 0.8215 (2006) 17,561,778 (2011) 45,174,366 (2011) 0.3888 (2011) ~22,587,183 (2011) 0.7775 (2011)

Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group (01.VII.2020) Data refers to the Iranian Year which begins on 21 March and ends on 20 March of the following year. Age groupMaleFemaleTotal% Total 42,484,186 41,553,414 84,037,600 100 0–4 3,751,160 3,584,640 7,335,800 8.73 5–9 3,644,823 3,453,109 7,097,932 8.45 10–14 3,195,837 3,043,160 6,238,997 7.42 15–19 2,850,201 2,723,069 5,573,270 6.63 20–24 2,817,236 2,715,743 5,532,979 6.58 25–29 3,398,106 3,322,934 6,721,040 8.00 30–34 4,246,233 4,166,179 8,412,412 10.01 35–39 4,226,366 4,147,771 8,374,137 9.96 40–44 3,375,662 3,271,031 6,646,693 7.91 45–49 2,687,892 2,591,386 5,279,278 6.28 50–54 2,321,552 2,270,429 4,591,981 5.46 55–59 1,841,337 1,847,872 3,689,209 4.39 60–64 1,510,299 1,557,919 3,068,218 3.65 65–69 1,058,091 1,138,129 2,196,220 2.61 70–74 640 098 748 890 1,388,988 1.65 75–79 415 623 459 393 875 016 1.04 80+ 503 670 511 760 1,015,430 1.21Age groupMaleFemaleTotalPercent 0–14 10,591,820 10,080,909 20,672,729 24.60 15–64 29,274,884 28,614,333 57,889,217 68.88 65+ 2,617,482 2,858,172 5,475,654 6.52

Year 0–14 15–64 65+ 1976 44.5 52 3.5 1985 45.5 51.5 3 1996 39.5 56.1 4.3 2006 25.1 (17,681,629) 69.7 (49,157,562) 5.2 (3,656,591) 2011 23.4 (17,561,778) 70.9 (53,297,122) 5.7 (4,290,769) 2016 24.0 (19,192,665) 69.9 (55,862,087) 6.1 (4,871,518)

Table 9 – Population and Average Annual Growth by Provinces: 2006 and 2011

Province 2006 2011 Average annual growth Alborz 2,076,991 2,412,513 3.04 Ardabil 1,228,155 1,248,488 0.33 Bushehr 886,267 1,032,949 3.11 Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari 857,910 895,263 0.86 East Azerbaijan 3,603,456 3,724,620 0.66 Fars 4,336,878 4,596,658 1.17 Gilan 2,404,861 2,480,874 0.62 Golestan 1,617,087 1,777,014 1.90 Hamadan 1,703,267 1,758,268 0.64 Hormozgan 1,403,674 1,578,183 2.37 Ilam 545,787 557,599 0.43 Isfahan 4,559,256 4,879,312 1.37 Kerman 2,652,413 2,938,988 2.07 Kermanshah 1,879,385 1,945,227 0.69 Khuzestan 4,274,979 4,531,720 1.17 Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad 634,299 658,629 0.76 Kurdistan 1,440,156 1,493,645 0.73 Lorestan 1,716,527 1,754,243 0.44 Markazi 1,351,257 1,413,959 0.91 Mazandaran 2,922,432 3,073,943 1.02 North Khorasan 811,572 867,727 1.35 Qazvin 1,143,200 1,201,565 1.00 Qom 1,046,737 1,151,672 1.93 Razavi Khorasan 5,593,079 5,994,402 1.40 Semnan 589,742 631,218 1.37 Sistan and Baluchestan 2,405,742 2,534,327 1.05 South Khorasan 636,420 662,534 0.81 Tehran 11,345,375 12,183,391 1.44 West Azerbaijan 2,873,459 3,080,576 1.40 Yazd 990,818 1,074,428 1.63 Zanjan 964,601 1,015,734 1.04 Total 70,495,782 75,149,669 1.29

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)

Province 2006 2011 Alborz 2.95 3.21 Ardabil 1.74 1.66 Bushehr 1.26 1.37 Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari 1.22 1.19 East Azerbaijan 5.11 4.96 Fars 6.15 6.12 Gilan 3.41 3.30 Golestan 2.29 2.36 Hamadan 2.42 2.34 Hormozgan 1.99 2.10 Ilam 0.77 0.74 Isfahan 6.47 6.49 Kerman 3.76 3.91 Kermanshah 2.67 2.59 Khuzestan 6.06 6.03 Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad 0.90 0.88 Kurdistan 2.04 1.99 Lorestan 2.43 2.33 Markazi 1.92 1.88 Mazandaran 4.15 4.09 North Khorasan 1.15 1.15 Qazvin 1.62 1.60 Qom 1.48 1.53 Razavi Khorasan 7.93 7.98 Semnan 0.84 0.84 Sistan and Baluchestan 3.41 3.37 South Khorasan 0.90 0.88 Tehran 16.09 16.21 West Azerbaijan 4.08 4.10 Yazd 1.41 1.43 Zanjan 1.37 1.35 Total 100 100

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.

Urban population

Iran has one of the steepest urban growth rates in the world. In 2015, approximately 73.4% of Iran's population lived in urban areas, up from 27% in 1950.

The following is a list of the 8 most populous cities in Iran: Rank City Province populationCityMetro 1 Tehran Tehran 8,693,706 14,700,000 2 Mashhad Razavi Khorasan 3,001,184 3,100,000 3 Isfahan Isfahan 1,961,260 3,100,000 4 KarajAlborz 1,592,492 2,500,000 5 Shiraz Fars 1,565,572 1,700,000 6 Tabriz East Azarbaijan 1,588,693 1,760,000 7 Qom Qom 1,201,158 1,240,000 8 Ahvaz Khuzestan 1,184,788 1,320,000

Vital statistics

UN estimates 2022 estimates.

Population (on 1 July)Live birthsper yearDeathsper yearNaturalchangeper yearCrudebirthrate1Crudedeathrate1Naturalchange1Crudemigrationrate1Totalfertilityrate2Infantmortality rate3195016,833,000844,000469,000375,00050.127.922.36.95209.0195117,220,000863,000481,000382,00050.127.922.2 0.36.95207.3195217,614,000883,000485,000398,00050.127.522.6 -0.26.96203.7195318,018,000904,000490,000414,00050.127.223.0 -0.66.98200.5195418,435,000925,000490,000434,00050.126.623.6 -1.07.01197.2195518,874,000946,000491,000455,00050.126.024.1 -0.87.04192.9195619,332,000968,000494,000474,00050.025.524.5 -0.87.08189.5195719,806,000996,000497,000499,00050.225.125.2 -1.37.18185.8195820,295,0001,022,000494,000528,00050.324.326.0 -1.97.28181.6195920,822,0001,046,000494,000551,00050.223.726.5 -1.27.38177.8196021,389,0001,049,000493,000556,00049.023.126.0 0.57.30174.0196121,984,0001,053,000489,000564,00048.022.325.7 1.47.23170.2196222,605,0001,069,000500,000569,00047.422.225.2 2.37.22167.3196323,259,0001,082,000485,000597,00046.620.925.7 2.47.18162.8196423,949,0001,098,000483,000615,00045.920.225.7 3.17.13159.1196524,667,0001,120,000482,000637,00045.519.625.9 3.27.11155.4196625,399,0001,145,000480,000664,00045.118.926.2 2.67.08151.6196726,133,0001,174,000480,000694,00044.918.426.6 1.57.05147.6196826,875,0001,195,000487,000708,00044.518.126.4 1.26.97144.0196927,644,0001,220,000474,000746,00044.217.227.0 0.86.90138.9197028,450,0001,229,000468,000761,00043.216.526.8 1.56.71134.1197129,274,0001,239,000459,000780,00042.415.726.7 1.46.51128.9197230,112,0001,237,000456,000782,00041.115.126.0 1.86.25123.8197330,982,0001,258,000440,000818,00040.614.226.4 1.76.11118.2197431,896,0001,295,000433,000862,00040.613.627.0 1.76.04113.0197532,857,0001,339,000428,000911,00040.813.027.8 1.46.01107.7197633,841,0001,416,000425,000991,00041.812.529.3 -0.26.14102.3197734,876,0001,474,000421,0001,053,00042.312.130.2 -0.56.2096.6197835,994,0001,550,000446,0001,104,00043.112.430.7 0.46.3392.4197937,205,0001,645,000411,0001,234,00044.211.033.2 -0.76.5385.1198038,521,0001,708,000422,0001,286,00044.411.033.4 0.86.5879.5198140,476,0001,756,000463,0001,293,00044.111.632.4 15.96.5674.3198242,500,0001,886,000467,0001,419,00044.411.033.4 14.26.5569.3198344,028,0001,930,000458,0001,472,00043.910.433.5 1.26.5165.1198445,628,0001,966,000420,0001,546,00043.19.233.9 1.26.4461.5198547,266,0001,974,000415,0001,559,00041.88.833.0 1.76.2658.2198648,913,0001,957,000409,0001,547,00040.08.431.7 2.06.0155.3198750,541,0001,915,000407,0001,507,00037.98.129.9 2.35.6952.6198852,112,0001,872,000399,0001,473,00036.07.728.3 1.85.3949.8198953,645,0001,828,000358,0001,470,00034.16.727.4 1.25.1147.4199055,794,0001,788,000395,0001,393,00032.57.225.3 13.24.8646.5199157,991,0001,790,000359,0001,431,00030.96.224.7 13.24.5143.1199259,372,0001,697,000358,0001,340,00028.56.022.5 0.84.0841.3199359,755,0001,579,000352,0001,227,00026.15.820.3 -13.93.6839.8199459,986,0001,367,000340,0001,027,00022.85.717.1 -13.23.2738.2199560,795,0001,244,000335,000908,00020.45.514.9 -1.62.8936.8199661,598,0001,145,000333,000811,00018.65.413.2 -0.22.5735.4199762,481,0001,081,000334,000747,00017.35.412.0 2.12.3334.0199863,461,0001,064,000336,000727,00016.85.311.5 3.92.2032.5199964,475,0001,065,000333,000732,00016.65.211.4 4.32.1031.0200065,544,0001,071,000337,000735,00016.45.211.2 5.12.0229.5200166,675,0001,082,000344,000738,00016.35.211.1 5.91.9428.1200267,327,0001,086,000345,000742,00016.15.111.0 -1.31.8726.4200367,955,0001,081,000370,000712,00016.05.510.5 -1.31.8225.6200469,062,0001,107,000345,000762,00016.15.011.1 4.91.8023.4200570,183,0001,134,000348,000786,00016.25.011.2 4.81.7821.9200671,276,0001,173,000349,000824,00016.54.911.6 3.71.7720.6200772,319,0001,221,000350,000872,00016.94.812.1 2.31.7719.4200873,318,0001,265,000369,000896,00017.35.012.2 1.41.7718.2200974,323,0001,304,000381,000923,00017.55.112.4 1.11.7717.2201075,374,0001,337,000385,000953,00017.85.112.6 1.31.7716.3201176,343,0001,388,000381,0001,008,00018.25.013.2 -0.51.8015.5201277,324,0001,464,000378,0001,085,00018.94.914.0 -1.31.8914.8201378,459,0001,526,000385,0001,141,00019.44.914.5 01.9614.2201479,962,0001,579,000391,0001,188,00019.84.914.9 3.92.0413.6201581,791,0001,583,000395,0001,188,00019.44.814.6 7.82.0513.1201683,306,0001,584,000394,0001,190,00019.04.714.3 3.92.0712.6201784,505,0001,572,000396,0001,176,00018.64.713.9 0.32.0712.2201885,618,0001,475,000404,0001,071,00017.24.712.5 0.51.9711.8201986,564,0001,308,000421,000886,00015.14.910.2 -0.41.7711.4202087,290,0001,243,000486,000757,00014.25.68.7 -0.11.7111.0202187,923,0001,204,000566,000638,00013.76.47.3 -0.11.6910.7202288,550,0001,151,000531,000620,0001367 0.11.710 Notes 1 per 10002 TFR = number of children per woman3 per 1000 births

Registered births and deaths