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.

As of 2020, around 98.5 percent of the Iranian population identify as Muslims. According to forecasts for 2050, the share of Muslims in Iran was projected to slightly decline by 0.3 percent.

Iran: Shia Muslims as percent of the total population: The latest value from 2013 is 90 percent, unchanged from 90 percent in 2012. In comparison, the world average is 31.6 percent, based on data from 15 countries. Historically, the average for Iran from 1960 to 2013 is 92.1 percent. The minimum value, 90 percent, was reached in 2008 while the maximum of 94 percent was recorded in 1960.

This statistic illustrates the distribution of Sunni and Shia amongst Muslim population in Iran and Saudi Arabia as of 2009. As of 2009, around 73 million Iranian Muslims belonged to the Shia faith, whereas only 4.8 million people in Saudi Arabia followed Shia Islam.

Graph and download economic data for Population, Total for Islamic Republic of Iran (POPTOTIRA647NWDB) from 1960 to 2023 about Iran and population.

As of 2020, 32.2 percent of Iranian survey respondents stated that they follows the Shia Muslim belief. This was followed by 22.2 percent of respondents who said that they have no religious belief.

Population Growth for the Islamic Republic of Iran was 1.20408 % Chg. at Annual Rate in January of 2023, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, Population Growth for the Islamic Republic of Iran reached a record high of 4.13505 in January of 1983 and a record low of 0.83103 in January of 2021. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Population Growth for the Islamic Republic of Iran - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on June of 2025.

Population Ages 0 to 14 for the Islamic Republic of Iran was 22.83878 % of Total in January of 2023, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, Population Ages 0 to 14 for the Islamic Republic of Iran reached a record high of 46.15673 in January of 1987 and a record low of 22.83878 in January of 2023. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Population Ages 0 to 14 for the Islamic Republic of Iran - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on June of 2025.

As of 2025, ** percent of Iran's population belong to the Shia branch of Islam. Sunni - Muslims and other Islamic sects form * percent of the society.

Population for Islamic Republic of Iran was 82.91391 Mil. of Persons in January of 2019, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, Population for Islamic Republic of Iran reached a record high of 82.91391 in January of 2019 and a record low of 18.49549 in January of 1955. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for Population for Islamic Republic of Iran - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on June of 2025.

Graph and download economic data for Population Ages 0 to 14 for the Islamic Republic of Iran (SPPOP0014TOZSIRN) from 1960 to 2023 about 0 to 14 years, Iran, and population.

Iran, République islamique d’: Sunni Muslims as percent of the total population: Pour cet indicateur, The Cline Center for Democracy fournit des données pour la Iran, République islamique d’ de 1960 à 2013. La valeur moyenne pour Iran, République islamique d’ pendant cette période était de 6.1 pour cent avec un minimum de 4 pour cent en 1960 et un maximum de 9 pour cent en 2013.

Graph and download economic data for Employment to Population Ratio for the Islamic Republic of Iran (SLEMPTOTLSPZSIRN) from 1991 to 2024 about Iran, employment-population ratio, employment, and population.

IPUMS-International is an effort to inventory, preserve, harmonize, and disseminate census microdata from around the world. The project has collected the world's largest archive of publicly available census samples. The data are coded and documented consistently across countries and over time to facillitate comparative research. IPUMS-International makes these data available to qualified researchers free of charge through a web dissemination system. The IPUMS project is a collaboration of the Minnesota Population Center, National Statistical Offices, and international data archives. Major funding is provided by the U.S. National Science Foundation and the Demographic and Behavioral Sciences Branch of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. Additional support is provided by the University of Minnesota Office of the Vice President for Research, the Minnesota Population Center, and Sun Microsystems.

Iran (Islamic Republic of) administrative levels 0 (country), 1 (province, ostān), and 2 (district, baxš) population statistics

UNICEF's country profile for Iran (Islamic Republic of), including under-five mortality rates, child health, education and sanitation data.

WorldPop produces different types of gridded population count datasets, depending on the methods used and end application. Please make sure you have read our Mapping Populations overview page before choosing and downloading a dataset.

Datasets are available to download in Geotiff and ASCII XYZ format at a resolution of 30 arc-seconds (approximately 1km at the equator)

-Unconstrained individual countries 2000-2020: Population density datasets for all countries of the World for each year 2000-2020 – derived from the corresponding Unconstrained individual countries 2000-2020 population count datasets by dividing the number of people in each pixel by the pixel surface area. These are produced using the unconstrained top-down modelling method.
-Unconstrained individual countries 2000-2020 UN adjusted: Population density datasets for all countries of the World for each year 2000-2020 – derived from the corresponding Unconstrained individual countries 2000-2020 population UN adjusted count datasets by dividing the number of people in each pixel, adjusted to match the country total from the official United Nations population estimates (UN 2019), by the pixel surface area. These are produced using the unconstrained top-down modelling method.

Data for earlier dates is available directly from WorldPop.

WorldPop (www.worldpop.org - School of Geography and Environmental Science, University of Southampton; Department of Geography and Geosciences, University of Louisville; Departement de Geographie, Universite de Namur) and Center for International Earth Science Information Network (CIESIN), Columbia University (2018). Global High Resolution Population Denominators Project - Funded by The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (OPP1134076). https://dx.doi.org/10.5258/SOTON/WP00674

Abstract

The 2011 census was the seventh national population and housing census of the country which was conducted on October 24, 2011 throughout Iran.

By providing correct statistics and information on the size, structure, and characteristics of Iran’s population, this census serves as an appropriate tool for the country’s planners, policymakers, and officials in the process of designing and implementing social, economic, and cultural programs. Furthermore, this census as one of the fundamental activities in the country’s statistical system provides essential frameworks for future in-depth analysis and surveys within the areas of population and household.

A total of almost 114,000 enumerators and trained supervisors and logistic staff participated in this national event which lasted from October 24 to November 13, 2011 in 31 provinces, 1,143 cities, and 96,459 settlements2; the census was the product of over two years of intense preparatory technical activities in the SCI in coordination with Iran’s executive institutions and General Governs. To gain assurance of appropriate implementation, two pilot censuses were conducted in 2009 (30 provinces) and 2010 (four provinces) and the questionnaires and the execution modalities and methods of the census were finalized and adopted by the National Census Committee based on the conclusion and lessons learnt from these two pilot studies.

Geographic coverage

National coverage

Analysis unit

Household

Kind of data

Census/enumeration data [cen]

Mode of data collection

Face-to-face [f2f]

Research instrument

The census forms are designed to collect items for different purposes. Four forms have been used in the 1390 Census: - Form 1. Listing - Form 2. The household Questionnaire - Form 3. The institutional Household Questionnaire - Form 4. Village Profile

Form 2 (the Household Questionnaire and Form 3 (The Institutional Household Questionnaire) Information on the private settled, private unsettled and collective households is collected through Form 2. Household Questionnaire and information on the institutional households through Form 3. Institutional Household Questionnaire. Due to the similarity between the two forms and their significance in the Census process their contents are reviewed and described in this part.

Cleaning operations

The data collected through each census or survey may be accompanied by some missing or inconsistent data. Such errors might be caused by the respondent’s wrong or inadequate response or during the data processing. Thus, to be centain about the consistency of the data produced, the Edit and Imputation Committee is established. This Committee, in addition to cleaning the data, is required to identify errors and to reduce them in the first stages of enumeration and to introduce instruments to achieve this purpose. Some of these instruments can be manpowers such as editing clerks in provinces and other instruments like machine-based editing.

The Committee should also apply some methods to identify quality data at the earliest time possible. The Committee’s objectives on the whole are: a. To analyse the topics and types of errors in previous censuses technically. b. To study the methods used in previous censuses, and the methods used in other countries in the past with a look at future. c. To determine the range of edit and imputation and to select the best and the most efficient methodology for Census Edit and Imputation.

Discover the latest eCommerce statistics in Iran (Islamic Republic of) for 2025, including store count by category and platform, estimated sales amount by platform and category, products sold by platform and category, and total app spend by platform and category. Gain valuable insights into the retail landscape in Iran (Islamic Republic of), uncovering the distribution of stores across categories and platforms.

Open and free data for assessing the human presence on the planet.

The Global Human Settlement Layer (GHSL) project produces global spatial information, evidence-based analytics, and knowledge describing the human presence on the planet. The GHSL relies on the design and implementation of spatial data processing technologies that allow automatic data analytics and information extraction from large amounts of heterogeneous geospatial data including global, fine-scale satellite image data streams, census data, and crowd sourced or volunteered geographic information sources.

The JRC, together with the Directorate-General for Regional and Urban Policy (DG REGIO) and Directorate-General for Defence Industry and Space (DG DEFIS) are working towards a regular and operational monitoring of global built-up and population based on the processing of Sentinel Earth Observation data produced by European Copernicus space program. In addition, the EU Agency for the Space Programme (EUSPA) undertakes activities related to user uptake of data, information and services.