In 1800, the population of the modern-day territory of Iran was approximately 6.3 million. This figure would see modest growth throughout the 19th century, as several wars and a mass famine in 1870-1871 (modern estimates put its death toll at around 1.5 million people) were largely balanced out by a surge in migration to Iran; this migration came as the Russian Empire expanded into the Caucuses, and caused a wave of refugees to flee southwards to avoid forced expulsion and ethnic cleansing in the North Caucasus region, particularly from 1864 onwards. As a result, the population of Iran reached ten million by the turn of the 20th century.

Twentieth century growth Iran’s population would begin to grow rapidly in the 20th century, as the discovery of oil in the country in 1908 led to an economic boom, and the socio-economic reforms implemented under Reza Shah would see a number of medical and healthcare advancements across the country. Although unpopular with religious fundamentalists, Reza Shah's reforms had long-term influence on the demographic development of Iran, even after his abdication in 1941. Following the Second World War, Iran became increasingly westernized and developed relatively strong relations with the U.S.; however, western influence, economic imbalances and the oppression of the Mohammed Reza Shah's regime became the driving forces behind the Iranian Revolution, which was one of the most significant moments in the history of the region.

Growth after the Revolution The 1979 Iranian Revolution saw the removal of the Shah and an end to Iran's so called westernization; the monarchy was replaced by an Islamic, theocratic regime led by the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. During Khomeini's decade in charge he oversaw Iran's transition into an Islamic Republic, which implemented radical political and cultural changes in the country, and this coincided with an increased population growth rate in the 1980s. This growth was promoted by the Iranian government, who encouraged a baby boom during the Iran–Iraq War between 1980 and 1988, as part of an effort to increase future Iranian military manpower. As a result of this strategy, the population of Iran would grow from approximately 38.6 million in 1980 to over 56 million just a decade later. Following the implementation of a UN-brokered ceasefire in 1988, population growth in Iran would slow, as economic sanctions and government implementation of family planning policies would lead to a drop in fertility. Population growth has continued steadily into the 21st century, however, and in 2020, Iran is estimated to have a population of 84 million.

This statistic shows Iran's total population from 2020 to 2022, with projections up until 2030. In 2022, the total population of Iran amounted to approximately 84.9 million inhabitants. The population of Iran Iran is the second largest nation in the Middle East and one of the founding members of the United Nations, NAM, OIC and OPEC. With a rapidly growing total population of just under 78 million inhabitants, it is the world’s seventeenth most populous nation. Iran’s total population has grown by 10 million inhabitants over the past decade. In 2010, Iran’s population grew by around 1.6 percent in comparison to the previous year, which is partially due to due the high fertility rate. In 2010, the fertility rate of Iran was at almost 2 percent. Surprisingly, Iran does not have a high life expectancy. In 2010, the life expectancy in Iran was just 73 years. Looking at the age structure of Iran's population shows that the vast majority, more than 71 percent of Iran inhabitants, were aged between 15 and 64 the same year, while only around 5.2 percent of the population in Iran were aged over 65. Therefore, it is assumed that the growing total population is due to an increase in the young population in Iran and immigrants. People migrating from surrounding countries, such as Afghanistan and Iraq, have increased Iran’s total population drastically.

Iran IR: Urban Population Growth data was reported at 1.790 % in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of 1.858 % for 2016. Iran IR: Urban Population Growth data is updated yearly, averaging 4.296 % from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 5.558 % in 1983 and a record low of 1.790 % in 2017. Iran IR: Urban Population Growth data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Iran – Table IR.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated using World Bank population estimates and urban ratios from the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects.; ; World Bank staff estimates based on the United Nations Population Division's World Urbanization Prospects: 2018 Revision.; Weighted average;

Urban population (% of total population) in Iran was reported at 77.7 % in 2024, according to the World Bank collection of development indicators, compiled from officially recognized sources. Iran - Urban population (% of total) - actual values, historical data, forecasts and projections were sourced from the World Bank on August of 2025.

Iran IR: International Migrant Stock: % of Population data was reported at 3.446 % in 2015. This records a decrease from the previous number of 3.719 % for 2010. Iran IR: International Migrant Stock: % of Population data is updated yearly, averaging 3.988 % from Dec 1990 (Median) to 2015, with 6 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 7.640 % in 1990 and a record low of 3.446 % in 2015. Iran IR: International Migrant Stock: % of Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Iran – Table IR.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. International migrant stock is the number of people born in a country other than that in which they live. It also includes refugees. The data used to estimate the international migrant stock at a particular time are obtained mainly from population censuses. The estimates are derived from the data on foreign-born population--people who have residence in one country but were born in another country. When data on the foreign-born population are not available, data on foreign population--that is, people who are citizens of a country other than the country in which they reside--are used as estimates. After the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991 people living in one of the newly independent countries who were born in another were classified as international migrants. Estimates of migrant stock in the newly independent states from 1990 on are based on the 1989 census of the Soviet Union. For countries with information on the international migrant stock for at least two points in time, interpolation or extrapolation was used to estimate the international migrant stock on July 1 of the reference years. For countries with only one observation, estimates for the reference years were derived using rates of change in the migrant stock in the years preceding or following the single observation available. A model was used to estimate migrants for countries that had no data.; ; United Nations Population Division, Trends in Total Migrant Stock: 2008 Revision.; Weighted average;

Iran IR: Urban Population data was reported at 60,380,245.000 Person in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 59,308,964.000 Person for 2016. Iran IR: Urban Population data is updated yearly, averaging 29,945,168.500 Person from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 60,380,245.000 Person in 2017 and a record low of 7,390,294.000 Person in 1960. Iran IR: Urban Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Iran – Table IR.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated using World Bank population estimates and urban ratios from the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects. Aggregation of urban and rural population may not add up to total population because of different country coverages.; ; World Bank staff estimates based on the United Nations Population Division's World Urbanization Prospects: 2018 Revision.; Sum;

There were approximately 37 thousand Iranian nationals residing in the United Kingdom in 2021, an increase from the 31 thousand Iranian nationals residing in the United Kingdom in 2008. The highest number of Iranian nationals residing in the United Kingdom was 44 thousand in 2011, 2014, and 2015.

Analysis unit

Persons, households, and dwellings

UNITS IDENTIFIED: - Dwellings: yes - Vacant Units: No - Households: yes - Individuals: yes - Group quarters: yes

UNIT DESCRIPTIONS: - Dwellings: no - Households: People who have a common residence (stable or unstable) and also common expenditures. They need not be related. - Group quarters: Collective households: People who live in a place as a group, and that place is considered their normal residence.

Universe

Unsettled population

Kind of data

Population and Housing Census [hh/popcen]

Sampling procedure

MICRODATA SOURCE: Statistical Centre of Iran

SAMPLE SIZE (person records): 1299825.

SAMPLE DESIGN: Simple random sampling is used to draw samples from private settled and collective households who answered the long household questionnaire. The data were classified into urban and rural areas within counties. The sampling portion in each category was 20%. Unsettled population

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

Form No.2 Household Questionnaire - General types (for most of normal and collective households); Form No.3 Household Questionnaire - General and detailed types (for the rest of normal and collective households and all of unsettled normal households); Form No.4 Institutional Household Questionnaire (for all all institutional households)

This dataset is about countries per year in Iran. It has 64 rows. It features 4 columns: country, country full name, and urban population living in areas where elevation is below 5 meters .

Iran IR: Proportion of People Living Below 50 Percent Of Median Income: % data was reported at 12.500 % in 2022. This records a decrease from the previous number of 13.200 % for 2021. Iran IR: Proportion of People Living Below 50 Percent Of Median Income: % data is updated yearly, averaging 12.700 % from Dec 1986 (Median) to 2022, with 19 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 20.600 % in 1986 and a record low of 10.500 % in 2013. Iran IR: Proportion of People Living Below 50 Percent Of Median Income: % data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Iran – Table IR.World Bank.WDI: Social: Poverty and Inequality. The percentage of people in the population who live in households whose per capita income or consumption is below half of the median income or consumption per capita. The median is measured at 2017 Purchasing Power Parity (PPP) using the Poverty and Inequality Platform (http://www.pip.worldbank.org). For some countries, medians are not reported due to grouped and/or confidential data. The reference year is the year in which the underlying household survey data was collected. In cases for which the data collection period bridged two calendar years, the first year in which data were collected is reported.;World Bank, Poverty and Inequality Platform. Data are based on primary household survey data obtained from government statistical agencies and World Bank country departments. Data for high-income economies are mostly from the Luxembourg Income Study database. For more information and methodology, please see http://pip.worldbank.org.;;The World Bank’s internationally comparable poverty monitoring database now draws on income or detailed consumption data from more than 2000 household surveys across 169 countries. See the Poverty and Inequality Platform (PIP) for details (www.pip.worldbank.org).

In 2020, around **** percent of the Iranian population identified as Muslim. Around ** percent identified as Shia Muslims in the same year, while a much smaller share followed the Sunni Muslim religion. In Iran, most Sunni Muslims belong to ethnic minority groups. Iran’s demographics The total population in Iran has grown steadily and is expected to surpass ** million in 2028. The vast majority of the population in the country was between 15 and 64 years of age. At the same time, the share of people aged above 64 increased in recent years and constituted over ***** percent of the total population. Muslim population worldwide In Europe, it was estimated that the Muslim population could triple by the middle of the century. In Southeast Asia, Indonesia had the largest share of Muslims as a proportion of its population. On the African continent, the highest number of Muslims was estimated in Nigeria, with close to a hundred million Islam followers. In the United States, less than one percent of the population identified as Muslims.

In 2023, the share of urban population in Iran remained nearly unchanged at around 77.26 percent. Nevertheless, 2023 still represents a peak in the share in Iran. A population may be defined as urban depending on the size (population or area) or population density of the village, town, or city. The urbanization rate then refers to the share of the total population who live in an urban setting. International comparisons may be inconsistent due to differing parameters for what constitutes an urban center.Find more key insights for the share of urban population in countries like Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

Iran IR: Urban Population: % of Total Population data was reported at 74.394 % in 2017. This records an increase from the previous number of 73.880 % for 2016. Iran IR: Urban Population: % of Total Population data is updated yearly, averaging 55.525 % from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 74.394 % in 2017 and a record low of 33.735 % in 1960. Iran IR: Urban Population: % of Total Population data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Iran – Table IR.World Bank.WDI: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. The data are collected and smoothed by United Nations Population Division.; ; United Nations Population Division. World Urbanization Prospects: 2018 Revision.; Weighted average;

This scatter chart displays female population (people) against urban population living in areas where elevation is below 5 meters (% of total population) in Iran. The data is about countries per year.

The crude birth rate in Iran declined to 12.95 live births per 1,000 inhabitants in 2023. This marks the lowest rate during the observed period. The crude birth rate refers to the number of live births in a given year, expressed per 1,000 population. When studied in combination with the crude death rate, the rate of natural population increase can be determined.Find more statistics on other topics about Iran with key insights such as infant mortality rate, total fertility rate, and total life expectancy at birth.

Internally displaced persons are defined according to the 1998 Guiding Principles (http://www.internal-displacement.org/publications/1998/ocha-guiding-principles-on-internal-displacement) as people or groups of people who have been forced or obliged to flee or to leave their homes or places of habitual residence, in particular as a result of armed conflict, or to avoid the effects of armed conflict, situations of generalized violence, violations of human rights, or natural or human-made disasters and who have not crossed an international border.

"People Displaced" refers to the number of people living in displacement as of the end of each year.

"New Displacement" refers to the number of new cases or incidents of displacement recorded, rather than the number of people displaced. This is done because people may have been displaced more than once.

Contains data from IDMC's data portal.

The share of urban population in Iran stood at 77.26 percent in 2023. In a steady upward trend, the share rose by 43.52 percentage points from 1960.

Iran IR: Rural Population Growth data was reported at -0.891 % in 2017. This records a decrease from the previous number of -0.830 % for 2016. Iran IR: Rural Population Growth data is updated yearly, averaging 1.118 % from Dec 1960 (Median) to 2017, with 58 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 2.591 % in 1983 and a record low of -0.983 % in 2006. Iran IR: Rural Population Growth data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by World Bank. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Iran – Table IR.World Bank: Population and Urbanization Statistics. Rural population refers to people living in rural areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated as the difference between total population and urban population.; ; World Bank staff estimates based on the United Nations Population Division's World Urbanization Prospects: 2018 Revision.; Weighted average;

This scatter chart displays agricultural land (km²) against urban population living in areas where elevation is below 5 meters (% of total population) in Iran. The data is about countries per year.

In financial year 2023, it is estimated that 5.63 thousand more Iranians migrated to Australia than emigrated. This reflected an increase in net overseas migration from Iran to Australia compared to the previous financial year.