Ethnicities in Iran
Iran hosts a variety of different ethnicities and languages. In Iranian society, there is a prevalent sense of social cohesion in which the various ethnic groups of the country, including the Lurs, Mazandaranis, Kurds, Azeri, Baluchi, Semnanis etc, are not considered minorities, but are instead regarded as integral parts of the majority of the Iranian population and identity. With the lingua franca in the country among groups being Persian.
The majority of the population of Iran consists of Iranian peoples. The largest groups in this category include Persians, mostly referred to as Fars and Kurds, with other communities including Semnanis, Larestanis, Gilakis, Laks, Mazandaranis, Lurs, Tats, Talysh and Baloch.
Turkic peoples constitute a substantial minority of between 18–19%, with the largest group being the Azerbaijanis. They are the second largest ethnicity in Iran. Other Turkic groups include the Turkmen, Afshar, Qashqai, Khorasani Turks, Shahsevan, Khalaj and Kazakhs peoples.
Iranian Arabs account for about 1–2% of the Iranian population. The remainder, amounting to about 1% of Iranian population, consists of a variety of minor groups, mainly comprising Iranian Iraqis, Iranian Assyrians, Iranian Jews, Iranian Armenians, Iranian Georgians, Circassians and Mandaeans.
In addition to its ethnic diversity, Iranian society is also not uniform in terms of religion, and some ethnic groups are both Shia and Sunni. The largest number of Shia Muslims come from the Gilaki, Mazandarani, Fars, and Lor ethnic groups, followed by the Azerbaijanis. The largest number of Sunni Muslims is from the Turkmen and Baloch ethnic groups. The Kurds and Larestanis show a more balanced distribution between the two sects, with approximately half of each being Shia and the other half Sunni.
At the beginning of the 20th century, Iran had a total population of just below 10 million, with an approximate ethnic composition of: 6 million Persians, 2.5 million Azerbaijanis, 1.2 million Kurds and Baluchs each.
Many of the traditional tribal groups have become urbanized and culturally assimilated during the 19th and 20th centuries, so that ethnic identity in many cases is less than clear-cut.
There have also been considerable intermarriage rates between certain groups, and nearly all groups are fluent in Persian, in many cases marginalizing their traditional native tongue.
Some groups may identify with their status as "ethnic minority" only secondarily, or cite multiple ethnic affiliation.
Iranian peoples
Semnani people
The Semnani people are a Caspian people part of the greater Iranian peoples who primarily live in northern Iran and speak the Semnani language. They inhabit the province of Semnan, east of Tehran. Today, the majority of Semnanis speak Persian as secondary language.Persians
A CIA World Factbook estimate from 2007 put Persians, most commonly known as Fars, at 61% of the population of the country.Achums
The Achums, also known as Larestani people are Iranian peoples who inhabit Southern Iran, with some migrations that occurred to Shiraz and the Arab States of the Persian Gulf. The Larestani homeland is located in the southern halves of both Fars and Bushehr provinces, as well as the western half of Hormozgan and southwestern part of Kerman provinces. The Achomi area includes the cities of Lar, Lamerd, Evaz, Gerash, Khonj, Mohr, Juyom, Zarrindasht and Darab in Fars province, and Asaluyeh, Jam and Dayyer in Bushehr province as well as Parsian, Bastak, Bandar Lengeh, Khamir, Rudan, Minab, Bandar Sirik and parts of Bandar Abbas, Bashagard and Jask in Hormozgan province.Kurds
The Kurds are an Iranian people, who make up the majority of the population of Kurdistan, Ilam, Kermanshah provinces and along with the Azerbaijanis, they are one of the two main ethnic groups in West Azerbaijan province. The northern part of Lorestan province is inhabited by Kurdish Lak people. Kurdish people also make up the plurality of the North Khorasan province and a minority in Razavi Khorasan and are scattered throughout many other provinces of Iran. It is estimated that up to 1 million Kurmanj Kurds live in Razavi Khorasan. Moreover, the previously Kurdish-speaking Modanloo and Pazuki tribes in Mazandaran and Tehran provinces became Persianized and are Persian-speaking now.Laks
The Laks inhabit a large part of Lorestan province where they constitute over 65% of the population and most of the eastern regions of the neighboring province of Kermanshah, and some parts of western Ilam. The area to the east of Mount Kabir is known as Pishe-Kuh, and west of the mountain is known as Poshte-Kuh.Lurs
The Lurs speak the Luri language and inhabit parts of west – south western Iran. Most Lur are Shi’a. They are the fourth largest ethnic group in Iran after the Persians, Azerbaijani, and Kurds. They occupy Lorestan, Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari, Khuzestan, Hamadan, Markazi, Ilam, Isfahan, Fars, Bushehr and Kuh-Gilu-Boir Ahmed provinces. The authority of tribal elders remains a strong influence among the nomadic population. It is not as dominant among the settled urban population. As is true in Bakhtiari and Kurdish societies, Lur women have much greater freedom than women in other groups within the region. The Luri language is Indo-European. The Sharafnama of Sharaf Khan Bidlisi "mentioned two Lur dynasties among the five Kurdish dynasties that had in the past enjoyed royalty or the highest form of sovereignty or independence." In the Mu'jam Al-Buldan of Yaqut al-Hamawi mention is made of the Lurs as a Kurdish tribe living in the mountains between Khuzestan and Isfahan. The term Kurd according to Richard Frye was used for all Iranian nomads for all nomads, whether they were linguistically connected to the Kurds or not.Mazanderanis
The Mazanderanis or Tabari people are an Iranian people whose homeland is the North of Iran. Like the closely related Gilaks, the Mazanderanis are a Caspian people who inhabit the south coast of the Caspian Sea, part of the historical region that used to be called Tabaristan and are currently one of the main ethnic groups residing in the northern parts of Iran. They speak the Mazandarani language, a language native to around 4 million people, but all of them can speak Persian. The Alborz mountains mark the southern boundary of Mazanderani settlement. The Mazanderani peoples number differs between three million and four million and many of them are farmers and fishermen. Mazanderanis form also the majority in the eastern parts of Tehran province, in Firuzkuh, Damavand and parts of Shemiranat. Also the cities of Bandar-e Gaz and Kordkuy in Golestan province and the city of Shahmirzad in Semnan province are inhabited by Mazanderanis. The city of Gurgan was previously Mazandarani-speaking but is now a Farsi-speaking city.Gilaks
The Gilaks are an Iranian people native to the northern Iran province of Gilan and are one of the main ethnic groups residing in the northern part of Iran. Gilaks, along with the closely related Mazandarani people, comprise part of the Caspian people, who inhabit the southern and southwestern coastal regions of the Caspian Sea. They speak the Gilaki language and their population is estimated to be between three and four million. Gilaki people live both alongside the Alborz mountains, and in the surrounding plains. Consequentially, those living along the northern side of the Alborz mountains tend to raise livestock, while those living in the plains farm. Gilaks play an important role in provincial and national economy, supplying a large portion of the region's agricultural staples, such as rice, grains, tobacco and tea. Other major industries include fishing and caviar exports, and the production of silk. Gilaki people also inhabit the western parts of Mazandaran province, namely the cities of Ramsar and Tonekabon.Talysh
The Talysh are an Iranian people. The Talysh of Iran are about 430,000 and live mostly in the province of Gilan in north of Iran. They are indigenous to a region shared between Republic of Azerbaijan and Iran which spans the South Caucasus and the southwestern shore of the Caspian Sea. Another significant amount of Talysh live therefore also in the Republic of Azerbaijan. The Iranian cities of Hashtpar, Rezvanshahr, Fuman and Masuleh and parts of Astara are Talysh-speaking.Tats
The Tats are an Iranian people. The Tats of Iran are centralised near the Alborz Mountains, especially in the south of Qazvin province.They speak the Tati language, consisting of a group of northwestern Iranian dialects closely related to the Talysh language. Persian and Azerbaijani are also spoken.
Tats of Iran are mainly Shia Muslims and about 300,000 population. A large part of Qazvin province and the majority of Takestan county is inhabited by Tat people.
Baloch
The Balochs are an Iranian people. The Balochis of Iran live in southern and central parts of Sistan and Baluchestan province, one of the most remote and isolated areas of Iran, especially from the majority of the people. The northern part of the province is called Sistan and 63% of the population are ethnic Baloch while the rest are Persian Sistani. The Baloch are Sunni Muslims with a minority who are Shia, in contrast to the Sistani Persians who are adherents of Shia Islam. The capital of Sistan and Baluchestan is Zahedan and is inhabited by Baloch people, the next largest city of the province is Zabol in Sistan and is inhabited predominantly by Sistani Persians.The town of Jask in neighbouring Hormozgan province is also inhabited by Baloch people. Baloch people also make up a minority in the eastern parts of Kerman, Razavi Khorasan and South Khorasan. Balochs also make up about 30% of the populations of both Mazandaran and Golestan provinces.
Turkic peoples
According to Victoria Arakelova, Turkic peoples in Iran can be differentiated between "proper Turkic groups and the Turkic-speaking ethnic Iranians, predominantly the Azaris".The largest Turkic-speaking group in Iran are the Iranian Azerbaijanis, forming the second largest ethnicity in the nation after the Persians.
Smaller Turkic groups account for about 2% of Iranian population between them, about half of this number is accounted for by the
Iranian Turkmen, the other half comprises various tribal confederacies such as the Qashqai or the Khorasani Turks. According to an estimation presented by the anthropologist Sekandar Amanolahi in peer-reviewed journal Iran and the Caucasus, the number of Iranian Turkophones "does not exceed 9 millions".