The Gilaki people (in Gilaki: گیلک) are an Iranian people whose homeland is the Gilan Province in northwest Iran. Along with the Mazandarani people, the Gilaki comprise one of the Caspian people, inhabiting the southern coastal region of the Caspian Sea. They speak the Gilaki language, which is closely related to Mazandarani. Gilaki is not a dialect of Persian, but it shares many words with it as well as with Kurdish. The Mazandarani people call their language Geleki or Gilaki but more recently call it Mazani or Mazandarani from the name of their province.
| Major Ethnic Groups of Iran |
|---|
|
Mazandarani
Persian
Iranian Kurd Iranian Kurd Gilaki Lur Lur Iranian Balochi Iranian Azari Turkmen Qashqai Uninhabited Iranian Arab Arab |
In 2000, there were about 2.4 million Gilaki, an increase from 1.9 million people in 1990. In 1977, a university was built in Rasht, the largest city of Gilan province.
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