Administrative divisions of Iran


The administrative divisions of Iran are arranged in four levels, the first level of which is the province. Provinces are divided into counties ; counties are divided into districts ; and districts are divided into rural districts and cities. Rural districts contain villages and other population points. One of the cities of the county is appointed as the capital of the county.
According to the Statistical Center of Iran, the figures are as follows, as of 2016 :
EnglishPersian singularPersian pluralNumber
Provincesاستان ostānاستان‌ها ostānhā31
Countiesشهرستان shahrestānشهرستانها shahrestānhā429
Districtsبخش bakhshبخشها bakhshhā1057
Rural Districtsدهستان dehestānدهستانها dehestānhā2589
Citiesشهر shahrشهرها shahrhā1245

Guide

The total population of a province is the total of its counties.
The total population of a county is the total of its districts.
The total population of a district is the total of its cities and rural districts.
To better understand these subdivisions, the following table for Sepidan County in Fars province is an example showing the hierarchy of a county's divisions:
Administrative divisionPop.
Central District24,059
Khafri Rural District4,035
Komehr Rural District3,812
Ardakan 16,212
Beyza District36,694
Banesh Rural District9,718
Beyza Rural District13,761
Kushk-e Hezar Rural District9,622
Beyza 3,593
Hamaijan District27,048
Hamaijan Rural District15,449
Shesh Pir Rural District8,197
Sornabad Rural District3,402
Total87,801