Bookmark with:
Facebook
Iran is a diverse country consisting of people of many religions and
ethnic backgrounds cemented by the Persian culture. The majority of the
population speaks the Persian language, which is also the official
language of the country, as well as other Iranian languages or
dialects. Turkic languages and dialects (most importantly Azeri) are
spoken in different areas in Iran. Additionally, Arabic is spoken in
the southwestern parts of the country.
The main ethnic groups are Persians (51%), Azeris (24%), Gilaki and Mazandarani (8%), Kurds (7%), Arabs (3%), Baluchi (2%), Lurs (2%), Turkmens (2%), Laks, Qashqai, Armenians, Persian Jews, Georgians, Assyrians, Circassians, Tats, Mandaeans, Gypsies, Brahuis, Hazara, Kazakhs and others (1%).
The Iranian peoples are an ethnic and linguistic branch of Indo-European peoples, living mainly on the Iranian plateau and beyond in central, southern, and southwestern Asia and southeastern Europe. As a group of people, they are predominantly defined along linguistic lines as speaking the Iranian languages, a major branch of the Indo-European language family. They are spread across the Iranian plateau, stretching from the Hindu Kush to central Anatolia and from Central Asia to the Persian Gulf - a region that is sometimes termed Greater Iran. Speakers of Iranian languages, however, were once found throughout Eurasia, from the Balkans to western China. As Iranian people are not confined to the borders of the current state of Iran, the term Iranic people is sometimes used to avoid confusion with the citizens of Iran.
The series of ethnic groups
which comprise the Iranian people are traced to a branch of the ancient
Indo-European Aryans known as the Iranians or Proto-Iranians.
Archaeological finds in Russia, Central Asia and the Middle East have
elucidated some scant information about the way of life of these early
people. The Iranian people have played an important role throughout
history: the Achaemenid Persians established one of the world's first
multi-national states and the Scythian-Sarmatian nomads dominated the
vast expanses of Russia and western Siberia for centuries with a group
of Sarmatian warrior women possibly being the inspiration for the Greek
legend of the Amazons. In addition, the various religions of the
Iranian people, including Zoroastrianism and Manichaeism, are believed
by some scholars to be important early philosophical influences on
Judeo-Christianity. Early Iranian tribes are the ancestors of many
modern people, including Persians, Kurds, Lurs, Armenians, Zazas,
Ossetians, Tajiks, Gilakis, Pashtuns, and many other groups.
Iran's population increased dramatically during the latter half of the 20th century, reaching about 72 million by 2008. In recent years, however, Iran's birth rate has dropped significantly. Studies show that Iran's rate of population growth will continue to slow until it stabilizes above 90 million by 2050.More than two-thirds of the population is under the age of 30, and the literacy rate is 82%. Women today compose more than half of the incoming classes for universities around the country and increasingly continue to play pivotal roles in society.
Iran
hosts one of the largest refugee populations in the world, with more
than one million refugees, mostly from Afghanistan and Iraq. Since
2006, Iranian officials have been working with the UNHCR and Afghan
officials for their repatriation. According to estimates, between two
and three million Iranian citizens have emigrated to other countries,
mostly since the Iranian Revolution in 1979.
Religion in Iran is dominated by the Twelver Shi'a branch of Islam, which is the official state religion and to which about 89% of Iranians belong. About 9% of Iranians belong to the Sunni branch of Islam, mainly Kurds and Iran's Balochi Sunni. The remaining 2% are non-Muslim religious minorities, including Bahá'ís, Mandeans, Hindus, Yezidis, Yarsanis, Zoroastrians, Jews, and Christians. The latter three minority religions are officially recognized and protected, and have reserved seats in the Majlis (Parliament). However the Bahá'í Faith, Iran's largest religious minority, is not officially recognized, and has been persecuted during its existence in Iran. Since the 1979 revolution the persecution of Bahá'ís has increased with executions, the denial of civil rights and liberties, and the denial of access to higher education and employment.
According
to the Iranian Constitution, the government is required to provide
every citizen of the country with access to social security that covers
retirement, unemployment, old age, disability, accidents, calamities,
health and medical treatment and care services. This is covered by
public revenues and income derived from public contributions. The World
Health Organization in the last report on health systems ranks Iran's
performance on health level 58th, and its overall health system
performance 93rd among the world's nations.
