Kurdistan province


Kurdistan province is one of 31 provinces of Iran. The province is in area and its capital is the city of Sanandaj.
Kurdistan province is located in the west of Iran, in Region 3. It borders the Kurdistan region of Iraq to the west, and the Iranian provinces of West Azerbaijan to the north, Zanjan to the northeast, Hamadan to the east, and Kermanshah to the south.

History

The earliest human occupation of Kurdistan dates back to the Paleolithic Period when Neanderthals lived in the Sirwan Valley of Kurdistan more than 40,000 years ago.

Demographics

Language and ethnicity

Whilst most of the people of this province speak Kurdish, other languages such as Azerbaijani and Persian are also common.
Iranian Kurds make up the majority of the population, but Iranian Azeris populate the eastern provincial borderlands. Most of the Kurdish population speak Sorani Kurdish, but Southern Kurdish is spoken in the eastern parts of the province, including in Bijar and Dezej, while Gorani is the main language in many villages in the southwestern part of the province. Oghuz Turkic varieties can be found in the far-eastern part of the province, including in the cities of Delbaran, Pir Taj, Serishabad, Yasukand, and Tup Aghaj. These varieties are described as distinct from Iranian Azerbaijani, although they are closely related to it. While not being the primary language in any settlement in the province, Persian is increasingly becoming the first language, especially among the population in the eastern parts of the province.

Religion

A significant majority of the people of Kurdistan province follow the Sunni denomination of Islam. A minority of Shia, Yarsanism and Christian followers also live in this province.

Population

At the time of the 2006 National Census, the province's population was 1,416,334 inhabitants in 337,179 households. The following census in 2011 counted 1,493,645 living in 401,845 households. The 2016 census measured the population of the province as 2,152,471 in 471,310 households.

Administrative divisions

The population history and structural changes of Kurdistan province's administrative divisions over three consecutive censuses are shown in the following table. Each county is named after the city that serves as its administrative capital.
Counties200620112016
Baneh116,773132,565158,690
Bijar95,46193,71489,162
Dehgolan—62,84464,015
Divandarreh82,62881,96380,040
Ghorveh196,972136,961140,192
Kamyaran104,704105,996102,856
Marivan150,926168,774195,263
Sanandaj409,628450,167501,402
Saqqez205,250210,820226,451
Sarvabad53,99249,84144,940
Total1,416,3341,493,6451,603,011

Cities

According to the 2016 census, 1,134,229 people live in the following cities:
CityPopulation
Armardeh2,305
Babarashani509
Baneh110,218
Bardeh Rasheh1,020
Bijar50,014
Bolbanabad3,193
Buin-e Sofla1,518
Chenareh455
Dehgolan25,992
Delbaran6,713
Dezej2,219
Divandarreh34,007
Ghorveh78,276
Kamyaran57,077
Kani Dinar13,059
Kani Sur1,284
Marivan136,654
Muchesh3,370
Pir Taj1,199
Saheb3,101
Sanandaj412,767
Saqqez165,258
Sarvabad5,121
Serishabad7,196
Shuyesheh1,302
Tup Aghaj1,645
Uraman Takht3,176
Yasukand3,490
Zarrineh2,091

Most populous cities

The following sorted table lists the most populous cities in Kurdistan in 2016.
RankCityCountyPopulation
1SanandajSanandaj412,767
2SaqqezSaqqez165,258
3MarivanMarivan136,654
4BanehBaneh110,218
5QorvehQorveh78,276
6KamyaranKamyaran57,077
7BijarBijar50,014
8DivandarrehDivandarreh34,007
9DehgolanDehgolan25,992
10Kani DinarMarivan13,059

Culture

Clothing

The people of this province have special clothes that they have been wearing for centuries. The important point about the clothes of the people of this province is that even after the spread of modernism all over the world, the people of this province still try to be faithful to their past traditions in the field of lifestyle.

Dance and music

Among the cultural symbols of Kurdistan people are Kurdish dance and singing. This cultural tradition is very popular not only in this province but also throughout the country.

Important annual celebrations

Chaharshanbeh Suri

Chaharshanbeh Suri or Charshanbeh Suri is an Iranian festival of the fire dance celebrated on the eve of the last Wednesday of the year, of ancient Zoroastrian origin. It is the first festivity of Nowruz, the Iranian New Year. In this celebration, people light fires on the mountains and on the roofs of houses, dance, and rejoice.

Nowruz

Nowruz is one of the most important ceremonies that has been celebrated by Iranians for millennia. Nowruz and related ceremonies are celebrated in the most opulent way possible in Kurdistan province. As the spring equinox, Nowruz marks the beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, better i.e. the moment at which the Sun crosses the celestial equator and equalizes night and day is calculated exactly every year. Traditional customs of Nowruz include fire and water, ritual dances, gift exchanges, reciting poetry, symbolic objects and more.

Economy

The major activities of the inhabitants are agriculture and modern livestock farming. Wheat, barley, grains and fruits are the major agricultural products. The chemical, metal, textile, leather and food industries are the main industrial activities in this province. This province has one of the largest rates of unemployment in Iran. According to Iranian statistics, more than twenty thousand people depend on being a kolbar for sustenance.

Colleges and universities

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