Iran

Iran (Persian: ?????) is a Middle Eastern country located in Southwest Asia bordering Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Turkmenistan to the north, Pakistan and Afghanistan to the east, Turkey and Iraq to the west. Although locally known as Iran at least since the Sassanian period, until 1935 the country was referred to in the West as Persia. In 1959, Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi announced that both terms could be used. In 1979 a revolution which was eventually led by the Ayatollah Khomeini, established a theocratic Islamic Republic, changing the country's official name into the Islamic Republic of Iran (?????? ?????? ?????). The name Iran is a cognate of the Aryan meaning "Land of the Aryans."

Demographics

Main article: Demographics of Iran

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The majority of Iran's population speak one of the Iranian languages, though only Persian is an official language . While the number, percentage, and definition of the different Iranian peoples is disputed, the major ethnic groups in Iran include the Persians (51%), Azeris (24%), Gilaki and Mazandarani (8%), Kurds (7%), Arabs (3%), Baluchi (2%), Lurs (2%), Turkmen people (2%), Qashqai, Armenians, Persian Jews, Assyrians and others.¹ See also: Ethnic minorities in Iran.

Related Topics:
Iranian languages - Persian - Persians - Azeris - Gilaki and Mazandarani - Kurds - Arabs - Baluchi - Lurs - Turkmen people - Qashqai - Armenians - Persian Jew - Assyria - Ethnic minorities in Iran

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Most Iranians are Muslims; 89% belong to the Shi'a branch of Islam, the official state religion, and about 10% belong to the Sunni branch, which predominates in most Muslim countries. Non-Muslim religious minorities include the Bahá'í Faith, Zoroastrians, as well as Jews, Christians, and Mandeans. The latter three are officially recognised minority religions and have reserved seats in the Majlis (Parliament). Iran's population size increased dramatically during the latter half of the 20th century.

Related Topics:
Shi'a - Islam - Sunni - Religious minorities - Bahá'í Faith - Zoroastrians - Jews - Christians - Mandeans - Majlis - 20th century

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¹ Please note that the numbers are according to the 2004 edition of CIA's The World Factbook. Different claims include higher numbers for Persian-speaking groups and respectively lower numbers for Turkic-speaking groups or vice versa. Some people in the first group claim that the CIA statistics are based on guesses made around 1964, while the CIA claims that their numbers are based on information from January 2004.

Related Topics:
2004 - CIA - The World Factbook - 1964

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