Iran - Geography - Provinces and Cities

Provinces and Cities

Main articles: Provinces of Iran and Counties of Iran See also: List of Iranian cities by population Alborz Ardabil Bushehr Chaharmahal
and Bakhtiari Isfahan Fars Gilan Golestan Hamadan Hormozgan Ilam Kerman Kermanshah Khuzestan Kohgiluyeh and
Boyer-Ahmad Kurdistan Loristan Markazi Mazandaran Qazvin Qom Razavi
Khorasan Semnan Sistan and
Baluchestan Tehran Yazd Zanjan North
Khorasan South
Khorasan West
Azerbaijan East
Azerbaijan Caspian Sea Persian Gulf Turkmenistan Afghanistan Pakistan Azerbaijan Armenia T
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y Iraq Kuwait Saudi Arabia

Iran is divided into thirty one provinces (ostān), each governed by an appointed governor (استاندار, ostāndār). The provinces are divided into counties (shahrestān), and subdivided into districts (bakhsh) and sub-districts (dehestān).

Iran has one of the highest urban growth rates in the world. From 1950 to 2002, the urban proportion of the population increased from 27% to 60%. The United Nations predicts that by 2030, 80% of the population will be urban. Most internal migrants have settled near the cities of Tehran, Isfahan, Ahvaz, and Qom. The listed populations are from the 2006/07 (1385 AP) census. Tehran, with a population of 7,705,036, is the largest city in Iran and is the capital. Tehran, like many big cities, suffers from severe air pollution. It is the hub of the country's communication and transport network.

Mashhad, with a population of 2,410,800, is the second largest Iranian city and the centre of the Razavi Khorasan Province. Mashhad is one of the holiest Shia cities in the world as it is the site of the Imam Reza shrine. It is the centre of tourism in Iran, and between 15 and 20 million pilgrims go to the Imam Reza's shrine every year.

Another major Iranian city is Isfahan (population 1,583,609), which is the capital of Isfahan Province. The Naqsh-e Jahan Square in Isfahan has been designated by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site. The city contains a wide variety of Islamic architectural sites ranging from the 11th to the 19th century. The growth of the suburban area around the city has turned Isfahan into Iran's second most populous metropolitan area (3,430,353).

The fourth major city of Iran is Tabriz (population 1,378,935), the capital of the East Azerbaijan Province. It is also the second industrial city of Iran after Tehran. Tabriz had been the second largest city in Iran until the late 1960s and one of its former capitals and residence of the crown prince under the Qajar dynasty. The city has proven extremely influential in the country’s recent history.

The fifth major city is Karaj (population 1,377,450), located in Alborz Province and situated 20 km west of Tehran, at the foot of the Alborz mountains; however, the city is increasingly becoming an extension of metropolitan Tehran.

The sixth major Iranian city is Shiraz (population 1,214,808); it is the capital of Fars Province. The Elamite civilization to the west greatly influenced the area, which soon came to be known as Persis. The ancient Persians were present in the region from about the 9th century BC, and became rulers of a large empire under the Achaemenid dynasty in the 6th century BC. The ruins of Persepolis and Pasargadae, two of the four capitals of the Achaemenid Empire, are located in or near Shiraz. Persepolis was the ceremonial capital of the Achaemenid Empire and is situated 70 kilometres (43 mi) northeast of modern Shiraz. UNESCO declared the citadel of Persepolis a World Heritage Site in 1979.

Largest cities or towns of Iran Statistical Center of Iran: Results of national census, 2012
	Rank	City name	Province	Pop.	Rank	City name	Province	Pop.
Tehran Mashhad	1	Tehran	Tehran	8,778,535	11	Urmia	West Azerbaijan	662,734	Isfahan Tabriz
	2	Mashhad	Razavi Khorasan	2,567,243	12	Kerman	Kerman	621,374
	3	Isfahan	Esfahan	1,755,382	13	Zahedan	Sistan and Baluchestan	594,683
	4	Tabriz	East Azerbaijan	1,657,967	14	Arak	Markazi	480,560
	5	Karaj	Alborz	1,459,755	15	Hamadan	Hamadan	479,640
	6	Shiraz	Fars	1,287,423	16	Sanandaj	Kordestan	446,760
	7	Qom	Qom	1,071,503	17	Yazd	Yazd	432,194
	8	Ahwaz	Khuzestan	1,068,908	18	Ardabil	Ardabil	418,262
	9	Rasht	Gilan	863,470	19	Bandar Abbas	Hormozgan	379,301
	10	Kermanshah	Kermanshah	828,313	20	Zanjan	Zanjan	376,284