Iran at a glance

Area:	1,648,195sq km (636,313 sq miles)
Population:	74.2 million (UNDP, 2009)
Population Density:	45 people per sq km
Rural Population:	22.1 million (29.8%)
Urban Population:	52.1 million (70.2%)
Peoples:	Persian (52.4%); Arabs (4%); Azeri (25%); Baluchis (1.9%); Kurds (5.7%) Lurs (3.5%) Other (7.5%)
Life Expectancy at birth:	71 years both sexes; 70 years for males and 73 years for females
Capital:	Tehran (7.1 million)
Language:	79 spoken languages – 75 indigenous; 4 immigrant Official Language Persian (Farsi) – 61.2 million (82.5%).
Religion:	98.6% Muslim – 90.8% Shi’a; 7.8% Sunni 1.4% non-Muslim minorities – Baha’is, Christians, Hindus, Jews, Mandeans, Yarsanis, Yezidis, and Zoroastrians.
Estimated Christians:	300,000-390,000 (0.41%)

Overview

Iran has seen a promising demographic transition during the past 60 years, with sharp reductions in fertility and crude birth rates across the board, whilst experiencing simultaneous reductions in infant and child mortality rates. The suspension of the pre-revolutionary family planning programme in 1979 resulted in a prodigious increase in fertility and population growth rates, prompting the population to double between 1979 and 1991 (31 million births). It was not until 1989, with the reintroduction of the family planning programme, that Iran was able to bring its population growth rate back to a manageable level. The protuberant youth population that ensued from this policy has shaped the socio-economic environment that can be observed in contemporary Iran; Iran’s population under 24 years of age comprises 52.4 percent of the population - with 26 percent aged 15-24.

Despite the onus that the youth cohort has placed on Iran in terms of low GDP per capita, it has been suggested that a potential demographic window and demographic dividend could proliferate economic growth and employment opportunities. The empirical evidence to date has suggested these have failed to materialise as Iran maintains a high unemployment rate (10.5%) and low employment-to-population ratio (49% for both sexes). The culmination of these indicators suggests that Iran’s economic growth has been unable to produce the necessary employment opportunities. Iran’s current challenges include high unemployment caused by the prodigious youth cohort that additionally increases the demand on housing and the potential for a second wave of increased fertility rates; high levels of inflation; high prevalence of substance abuse; high levels of depression; prevalent levels of prostitution; religious persecution; and an inherently inhospitable environment towards women.

Population Pyramid for Iran (2006)