Provinces of Iran

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Template:Short description Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox subdivision type

File:Provinces of Iran by population.svg
Provinces of Iran by population in 2021
File:Provinces of Iran by population density.svg
Provinces of Iran by population density in 2013
File:Iranian provinces by HDI (2017).svg
Map of the Iranian provinces by Human Development Index in 2017
Legend: <templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" />
  0.800 – 1.000 (very high)
<templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" />
  0.700 – 0.799 (high)
<templatestyles src="Legend/styles.css" />
  0.600 – 0.699 (medium)
File:Provinces of Iran by contribution to national GDP.svg
Provinces of Iran by contribution to national GDP in 2014
File:Provinces of Iran by GDP per capita.svg
Provinces of Iran by GDP per capita in 2012

Iran is subdivided into thirty-one provinces (Template:Langx Ostân), which are the first-level administrative divisions of the country. Each province is governed from a local centre, usually the largest local city, which is called the capital (Persian: Script error: No such module "Lang"., Markaz) of the province. The provincial authority is headed by a governor-general (Persian: Script error: No such module "Lang". Ostândâr), who is appointed by the Minister of the Interior subject to approval of the cabinet. The provinces are subdivided into counties, districts (bakhsh) and villages.[1]

Modern history

File:Iran Administrative Division (Eyalat and Velayat) map 1911 (1290 SH) - English.png
Map of administrative subdivisions of Iran in 1911 – Tehran, eyalats, and velayats

Iran has held its modern territory since the Treaty of Paris in 1857. Prior to 1937, Iran had maintained its feudal administrative divisional structure, dating back to the time the modern state was centralized by the Safavid dynasty in the 16th century, although the boundaries, roles, and rulers changed often. On the eve of the Persian Constitutional Revolution in 1905, Iran was composed of Tehran, being directly ruled by the monarch; four eyalats (Template:Langx elâyât pl., Script error: No such module "Lang". elayat sin.), ruled by Qajar princes; and various velayats (Template:Langx velâyât pl., Script error: No such module "Lang". velayat sin.). Nomadic tribal confederations, such as the Bakhtiari people and Qashqai people, were largely independent of the domestic administrative divisions and were autonomous.

With the Constitutional Revolution, and the formation of the first National Consultative Assembly, Iran's administrative subdivisions were legally defined in 1907.[2] Any change in the boundaries of eyalats, velayats, or their respective sub-districts was banned by the Iranian constitution, except with the passage of a new law by the assembly. Per the 1907 law, the following were defined:[2]

Template:Text and translation

On 22 October 1911, the National Consultative Assembly passed another law, titled "The law of Election of National Consultative Assembly" (Template:Langx). This law presented a complete list of all eyalats and velayats of the country, as well as their constituent districts and cities. This list presented the grouping of various towns and districts into electoral districts for the purpose of the election. According to this law, in 1911, Iran was made up of 27 administrative subdivisions, the region of Tehran, 4 eyalats, and 22 velayats.[3] Below is a list:

<templatestyles src="Col-begin/styles.css"/>

In 1937, Iran was reorganized to form ten numbered provinces with subordinate governorates: Gilan, Mazandaran, East Azerbaijan, West Azerbaijan, Kermanshah, Khuzestan, Pars, Kerman, Khorasan, and Isfahan.[4]

Iran has had a historical claim to Bahrain as its 14th province: Bahrain province, which was under British colonial occupation until 1971. Prior to 1957, Bahrain was placed under Pars province.[5] During Safavid Iran, Bahrain was subordinate to Bushehr governorship and Zubarah (located in modern-day country of Qatar) was its capital city. In 1737, under Afsharid dynasty Bahrain was made subject to Pars governorship.[6] This claim was reasserted by the new theocratic Iranian leadership after 1979 with the famous 1981 coup attempt that occurred.[7]

From 1960 to 1981, the governorates were gradually raised to provincial status one by one. Since then several new provinces have been created, most recently in 2010 when the new Alborz province was split from Tehran province, and before that in 2004 when the province of Khorasan was divided into three provinces.[8]

File:Country divisions in Iran to 1972 - 1351 Iranian calendar.jpg
23 provinces of Iran in 1974
File:Map of Iran with province names and neighboring land.svg
Map of the 31 provinces of Iran

Provinces by population and GDP

Iran population broken down by province
Iran population broken down by province

File:Iran's GDP contribution by province.png

Current provinces

According to Donya-e-Eqtesad, between 2017 and 2019, some 11 of the 20 poorest Iranian cities were in the province of Sistan and Baluchestan. Three other markedly poor cities were located in Kerman province.[9]

Iranian provinces along with additional information and statistics
Province Abbreviation Capital Population (2023)[10] Area (km2) Population density (/km2) Counties Notes Map
Alborz AL Karaj 2,730,000 5,833 465.01 7 Until 23 June 2010, it was part of Tehran province.[11] File:IranAlborz-SVG.svg
Ardabil AR Ardabil 1,284,000 17,800 71.37 12 Until 1993, it was part of East Azerbaijan province.[12] File:IranArdabil-SVG.svg
Bushehr BU Bushehr 1,174,000 22,743 51.15 10 Originally part of Pars province. Until 1977, it was known as Khalij-e Pars (Persian Gulf).[4] File:IranBushehr-SVG.svg
Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari CB Shahr-e Kord 973,000 16,332 58.03 12 Until 1973, it was part of Isfahan province.[13] File:IranChaharMahaalBakhtiari-SVG.svg
East Azerbaijan EA Tabriz 3,925,000 45,650 85.64 23 File:IranEastAzerbaijan-SVG.svg
Pars FA Shiraz 4,904,000 122,608 39.57 37 File:IranFars-SVG.svg
Gilan GN Rasht 2,546,000 14,042 180.22 17 File:IranGilan-SVG.svg
Golestan GO Gorgan 1,893,000 20,195 92.53 14 On 31 May 1997, the counties of Aliabad, Gonbad-e Kavus, Gorgan, Kordkuy, Minudasht, and Torkaman were separated from Mazandaran province to form Golestan province. Gorgan was known as Esteraba or Astarabad until 1937.[4] File:IranGolestan-SVG.svg
Hamadan HA Hamadan 1,756,000 19,368 90.78 10 Originally part of Kermanshah province.[4] File:IranHamadan-SVG.svg
Hormozgan HO Bandar Abbas 1,806,000 70,669 25.14 13 Originally part of Kerman province.[4] Until 1977, the province was known as Banader va Jazayer-e Bahr-e Oman (Ports and Islands of the Sea of Oman).[4] File:IranHormozgan-SVG.svg
Ilam IL Ilam 591,000 20,133 28.82 12 Originally part of Kermanshah province.[4] File:IranIlam-SVG.svg
Isfahan IS Isfahan 5,136,000 107,029 47.85 28 In 1986, some parts of Markazi province were transferred to Isfahan, Semnan, and Zanjan provinces.[4] File:IranEsfahan-SVG.svg
Kerman KN Kerman 3,184,000 183,285 17.27 25 File:IranKerman-SVG.svg
Kermanshah KE Kermanshah 2,003,000 24,998 78.10 14 Between 1950 and 1979, both Kermanshah province and city were known as Kermanshahan, and between 1979 and 1995 as Bakhtaran.[4] File:IranKermanshah-SVG.svg
Khuzestan KH Ahvaz 4,725,000 64,055 73.54 30 File:IranKhuzestan-SVG.svg
Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad KB Yasuj 728,000 15,504 45.99 9 Originally part of Khuzestan province. Until 1990, the province was known as Bovir Ahmadi and Kohkiluyeh.[4] File:IranKohkiluyehBuyerAhmad-SVG.svg
Kurdistan KU Sanandaj 1,614,000 29,137 55.02 10 Originally part of Gilan province.[4] File:IranKurdistan-SVG.svg
Lorestan LO Khorramabad 1,784,000 28,294 62.23 12 Originally part of Khuzestan province.[4] File:IranLorestan-SVG.svg
Markazi MA Arak 1,436,000 29,130 49.07 12 Originally part of Mazandaran province.[4] In 1986, some parts of Markazi province were transferred to Isfahan, Semnan, and Zanjan provinces.[4] File:IranMarkazi-SVG.svg
Mazandaran MN Sari 3,302,000 23,701 138.54 22 File:IranMazandaran-SVG.svg
North Khorasan NK Bojnord 868,000 28,434 30.35 10 On 29 September 2004, Khorasan province was divided into three provinces: North Khorasan, Razavi Khorasan, and South Khorasan.[8] File:IranNorthKhorasan-SVG.svg
Qazvin QA Qazvin 1,284,000 15,549 81.92 6 On 31 December 1996, the counties of Qazvin and Takestan were separated from Zanjan province to form Qazvin province.[4] File:IranQazvin.svg
Qom QM Qom 1,300,000 11,526 112.12 3 Until 1995, Qom was a county of Tehran province.[4] File:IranQom.svg
Razavi Khorasan RK Mashhad 6,444,000 118,884 54.12 34 On 29 September 2004, Khorasan province was divided into three provinces: North Khorasan, Razavi Khorasan, and South Khorasan.[8] File:IranRazaviKhorasan-SVG.svg
Semnan SE Semnan 715,000 97,491 7.20 8 Originally part of Mazandaran province.[4] In 1986, some parts of Markazi province were transferred to Isfahan, Semnan, and Zanjan provinces.[4] File:IranSemnan-SVG.svg
Sistan and Baluchestan SB Zahedan 2,777,000 180,726 15.35 26 Until 1986, the province was known as Baluchestan and Sistan.[4] File:IranSistanBaluchistan-SVG.svg
South Khorasan SK Birjand 786,000 151,913 5.06 12 On 29 September 2004, Khorasan province was divided into three provinces: North Khorasan, Razavi Khorasan, and South Khorasan.[8] File:IranSouthKhorasan-SVG.svg
Tehran TE Tehran 13,323,000 18,814 705.20 16 Until 1986, Tehran was part of Markazi province. File:IranTehran-SVG.svg
West Azerbaijan WA Urmia 3,278,000 37,437 87.22 20 During the Pahlavi dynasty, Urmia was known as Rezaiyeh.[14] File:IranWestAzerbaijan-SVG.svg
Yazd YA Yazd 1,156,000 76,469 14.89 12 Originally part of Isfahan province.[13] In 1986, part of Kerman province was transferred to Yazd province. In 2002, Tabas County (area: 55,344 km2) was transferred from Khorasan province to Yazd province.[4] File:IranYazd-SVG.svg
Zanjan ZA Zanjan 1,103,000 21,773 48.57 8 Originally part of Gilan province. In 1986, some parts of Markazi province were transferred to Isfahan, Semnan, and Zanjan provinces.[4] File:IranZanjan-SVG.svg
Iran (total) IR Tehran 80,528,000 Template:Convert 49.078 484 File:Iran location map.svg

Provincial abbreviations

Table below shows the provinces' abbreviation, which can be used in postal addresses and academic affiliations for the sake of simplicity.

Province Abbreviation Method
Alborz AL First two letters
Ardabil AR First two letters
Azerbaijan, East EA First two words
Azerbaijan, West WA First two words
Bushehr BU First two letters
Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari CB First two words
Pars FA First two letters
Gilan GI First two letters
Golestan GO First two letters
Hamadan HA First two letters
Hormozgan HO First two letters
Ilam IL First two letters
Isfahan IS First two letters
Kerman KE First two letters
Kermanshah KS First two words
Khorasan, North NK First two words
Khorasan, Razavi RK First two words
Khorasan, South SK First two words
Khuzestan KH First two letters
Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad KB First two words
Kurdistan KU First two letters
Lorestan LO First two letters
Markazi MA First two letters
Mazandaran MN First and last letter
Qazvin QA First two letters
Qom QO First two letters
Semnan SE First two letters
Sistan and Baluchestan SB First two words
Tehran TE First two letters
Yazd YA First two letters
Zanjan ZA First two letters

Historical provinces

Template:Achaemenid Provinces Template:Sassanid Provinces

Safavid Dynasty

The Tadhkirat Al-Muluk, a work made circa 1725 (1137) which details the Safavid administration mentions that Iran had four territories governed by Valis: (Arabistan, Luristan, Georgia and Kurdistan).

And thirteen provinces governed by Beglarbegis: (Azarbayjan (also called Tabriz Province), Chukhur-i Sa'd, Qarabagh-Ganja, Shirvan, Astarabad, Mashhad, Marv, Herat, Qandahar, Kirman, Kuh-Giluya, Qazvin and Hamadan).[15]

See also

References and notes

Template:Reflist

External links

Template:Sister project

Official provincial websites

Template:Div col

Template:Div col end

Script error: No such module "Navbox". Template:Articles on first-level administrative divisions of Asian countries Template:Types of administrative country subdivision

  1. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  2. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  3. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  4. ↑ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  5. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  6. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  7. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  8. ↑ a b c d Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  9. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  10. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  11. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  12. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  13. ↑ a b Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".Template:Dead link
  14. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
  15. ↑ Script error: No such module "citation/CS1".
Retrieved from "http://debianws.lexgopc.com/wiki143/index.php?title=Provinces_of_Iran&oldid=1703101"