Nationality:
noun: Iranian(s)
adjective: Iranian

Ethnic groups:
Persian 61%, Azeri 16%, Kurd 10%, Lur 6%, Baloch 2%, Arab 2%, Turkmen and Turkic tribes 2%, other 1%

Languages:
Persian (official) 53%, Azeri Turkic and Turkic dialects 18%, Kurdish 10%, Gilaki and Mazandarani 7%, Luri 6%, Balochi 2%, Arabic 2%, other 2%

Religions:
Muslim (official) 99.4% (Shia 90-95%, Sunni 5-10%), other (includes Zoroastrian, Jewish, and Christian) 0.3%, unspecified 0.4% (2011 est.)

Population:
80,840,713 (July 2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 19
[see also: Population country ranks ]

Age structure:
0-14 years: 23.7% (male 9,834,866/female 9,350,017)
15-24 years: 18.7% (male 7,757,256/female 7,341,309)
25-54 years: 46.1% (male 18,955,874/female 18,289,849)
55-64 years: 6.3% (male 2,519,630/female 2,603,458)
65 years and over: 5.1% (male 1,941,692/female 2,246,762) (2014 est.)
population pyramid:

Dependency ratios:
total dependency ratio: 41.5 %
youth dependency ratio: 33.9 %
elderly dependency ratio: 7.6 %
potential support ratio: 13.1 (2014 est.)

Median age:
total: 28.3 years
male: 28 years
female: 28.6 years (2014 est.)

Population growth rate:
1.22% (2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 97
[see also: Population growth rate country ranks ]

Birth rate:
18.23 births/1,000 population (2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 105
[see also: Birth rate country ranks ]

Death rate:
5.94 deaths/1,000 population (2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 168
[see also: Death rate country ranks ]

Net migration rate:
-0.08 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 115
[see also: Net migration rate country ranks ]

Urbanization:
urban population: 69.1% of total population (2011)
rate of urbanization: 1.25% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)

Major urban areas - population:
TEHRAN (capital) 7.304 million; Mashhad 2.713 million; Esfahan 1.781 million; Karaj 1.635 million; Tabriz 1.509 million; Shiraz 1.321 million (2011)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.05 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 1.06 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 1.04 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.89 male(s)/female
total population: 1.03 male(s)/female (2014 est.)

Maternal mortality rate:
21 deaths/100,000 live births (2010)
country comparison to the world: 137
[see also: Maternal mortality rate country ranks ]

Infant mortality rate:
total: 39 deaths/1,000 live births
country comparison to the world: 55
male: 39.53 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 38.45 deaths/1,000 live births (2014 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 70.89 years
country comparison to the world: 148
male: 69.32 years
female: 72.53 years (2014 est.)

Total fertility rate:
1.85 children born/woman (2014 est.)
country comparison to the world: 146
[see also: Total fertility rate country ranks ]

Contraceptive prevalence rate:
73.3% (2002)
[see also: Contraceptive prevalence rate country ranks ]

Health expenditures:
6% of GDP (2011)
country comparison to the world: 110
[see also: Health expenditures country ranks ]

Physicians density:
0.89 physicians/1,000 population (2005)
[see also: Physicians density country ranks ]

Hospital bed density:
1.7 beds/1,000 population (2009)
[see also: Hospital bed density country ranks ]

Drinking water source:
improved:
urban: 97.7% of population
rural: 91.7% of population
total: 95.9% of population
unimproved:
urban: 2.3% of population
rural: 8.3% of population
total: 4.1% of population (2012 est.)

Sanitation facility access:
improved:
urban: 92.8% of population
rural: 81.6% of population
total: 89.4% of population
unimproved:
urban: 7.2% of population
rural: 18.4% of population
total: 10.6% of population (2012 est.)

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
0.2% (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 102
[see also: HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate country ranks ]

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
70,900 (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 54
[see also: HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS country ranks ]

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
4,600 (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 43
[see also: HIV/AIDS - deaths country ranks ]

Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk: intermediate
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea
vectorborne diseases: Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever
note: highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza has been identified in this country; it poses a negligible risk with extremely rare cases possible among US citizens who have close contact with birds (2013)

Obesity - adult prevalence rate:
19.4% (2008)
country comparison to the world: 99
[see also: Obesity - adult prevalence rate country ranks ]

Children under the age of 5 years underweight:
4.6% (2004)
country comparison to the world: 92
[see also: Children under the age of 5 years underweight country ranks ]

Education expenditures:
3.7% of GDP (2012)
country comparison to the world: 119
[see also: Education expenditures - percent of GDP country ranks ]

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 85%
male: 89.3%
female: 80.7% (2008 est.)

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 15 years
male: 15 years
female: 15 years (2012)

Unemployment, youth ages 15-24
total: 23%
country comparison to the world: 48
male: 20.2%
female: 33.9% (2008)