World Factbook
Iran
Jomhuri-ye Eslami-ye Iran
Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)
Literacy
male
90% (2016 est.)
female
81% (2016 est.)
total population
86% (2016 est.)
Languages
Languages
Persian Farsi (official), Azeri and other Turkic dialects, Kurdish, Gilaki and Mazandarani, Luri, Balochi, Arabic
major-language sample(s)
چکیده نامه جهان، منبعی ضروری برای کسب اطلاعات کلی جهان (Persian) The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
Religions
Muslim (official) 98.5%, Christian 0.7%, Baha'i 0.3%, agnostic 0.3%, other (includes Zoroastrian, Jewish, Hindu) 0.2% (2020 est.)
Sex ratio
at birth
1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years
1.05 male(s)/female
15-64 years
1.04 male(s)/female
total population
1.03 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
65 years and over
0.87 male(s)/female
Birth rate
11.24 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Death rate
4.42 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Median age
male
33.6 years
total
35.2 years (2025 est.)
female
34.1 years
Population
male
45,098,223
total
89,177,357 (2025 est.)
female
44,079,134
Nationality
noun
Iranian(s)
adjective
Iranian
Tobacco use
male
23.8% (2025 est.)
total
13.3% (2025 est.)
female
2.8% (2025 est.)
Urbanization
urban population
77.3% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization
1.32% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Age structure
0-14 years
23.3% (male 10,512,797/female 10,040,282)
15-64 years
69.8% (male 31,413,125/female 30,267,241)
65 years and over
7% (2024 est.) (male 2,869,617/female 3,283,875)
Ethnic groups
Persian, Azeri, Kurd, Lur, Baloch, Arab, Turkmen, and Turkic tribes
Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio
42.8 (2025 est.)
youth dependency ratio
30.4 (2025 est.)
potential support ratio
8.1 (2025 est.)
elderly dependency ratio
12.4 (2025 est.)
Physician density
1.81 physicians/1,000 population (2023)
Health expenditure
Health expenditure (as % of GDP)
5.8% of GDP (2021)
Health expenditure (as % of national budget)
19% of national budget (2022 est.)
Net migration rate
-15.52 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Hospital bed density
1.9 beds/1,000 population (2019 est.)
Total fertility rate
1.53 children born/woman (2025 est.)
Drinking water source
improved: rural
rural: 94.4% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 97.7% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 98.7% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 5.6% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 2.3% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 1.3% of population (2022 est.)
Education expenditure
Education expenditure (% GDP)
2.8% of GDP (2023 est.)
Education expenditure (% national budget)
18.8% national budget (2022 est.)
Infant mortality rate
male
15.4 deaths/1,000 live births
total
9.7 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)
female
13.2 deaths/1,000 live births
Population growth rate
-0.87% (2025 est.)
Gross reproduction rate
0.74 (2025 est.)
Population distribution
population 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
Life expectancy at birth
male
74.3 years
female
77.1 years
total population
75.6 years (2024 est.)
Maternal mortality ratio
16 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)
Sanitation facility access
improved: rural
rural: 100% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 100% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 100% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 0% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 0% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 0% of population (2022 est.)
Alcohol consumption per capita
beer
0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine
0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
total
0.02 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits
0.02 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols
0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Major urban areas - population
9.500 million TEHRAN (capital), 3.368 million Mashhad, 2.258 million Esfahan, 1.721 million Shiraz, 1.661 million Tabriz, 1.594 million Karaj (2023)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate
25.8% (2016)
Currently married women (ages 15-49)
69.6% (2022 est.)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight
4.3% (2017 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)
male
14 years (2020 est.)
total
14 years (2020 est.)
female
14 years (2020 est.)