Chapter 3: Persian Gulf, Arabian Peninsula
Iran: Population
Ethnic Groups
/ Language, Religion / Class Structure
/ Statistics
Overview
/ Leadership / System Essentials
/ Infrastructure / Fielded Forces
/ Table of Contents
While adults pray, a boy holds up a picture of Ayatollah Khomeini
Ethnic Groups
Almost two-thirds of Iran's people are of Aryan origin -- their ancestors migrated from Central Asia. The major groups in this category include Persians, Kurds, Lurs, and Baluchi. The remainder are primarily Turkic but also include Arabs, Armenians, Jews, and Assyrians.
Language
The official language is Persian Farsi and it is the language most widely spoken. Turkic, the language of the Azerbaijanis and Turkmen, is the second most widely spoken language. Other languages in use in Iran are Kurdish, Luri, and Arabic.
Religion
Most Iranians are Muslims; 95% belong to the Shiite branch of Islam, the official state religion, and about 4% belong to the Sunni branch, which predominates in neighboring Muslim countries. Non-Muslim minorities include Zoroastrians, Jews, Baha'is, and Christians. Non-Muslims are subject to civil law as established on Islamic principles.
Class Structure
The 1979 Islamic revolution and the war with Iraq transformed Iran's class structure politically, socially, and economically. In general, however, Iranian society remains divided into urban, market-town, village, and tribal groups. Clerics, called Mullahs, dominate politics and nearly all aspects of Iranian life, both urban and rural. After the fall of the Pahlavi regime in 1979, much of the urban upper class of prominent merchants, industrialists, and professionals lost standing and influence to the senior clergy and their supporters. Bazaar merchants, who were allied with the clergy against the Pahlavi shahs, have also gained political and economic power since the revolution. The urban working class has enjoyed somewhat enhanced status and economic mobility, spurred in part by opportunities provided by revolutionary organizations and the government bureaucracy.
Statistics
World ranking (of 191)
- Life Expectancy: 107
- Infant Mortality: 133
- GDP per capita: 97
- Daily Calorie Intake: 63
- Literacy: 144
- Schooling Index: 114
- Educational rank: 142
- Human dev. index: 116
