Provinces of Iran
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| Government of Islamic Republic of Iran |
Iran is subdivided into thirty provinces (Persian: استان ostān, plural استانها ostānhā), each governed from a local center, usually the largest local city, which is called the capital (Persian: مرکز markaz) of that province. The provincial authority is headed by a Governor-General[1] (Persian: استاندار ostāndār), who is appointed by the Minister of the Interior subject to approval of the cabinet.
History
Until 1950, Iran was divided into twelve provinces: Ardalan, Azarbaijan, Baluchestan, Fars, Gilan, Araq-e Ajam, Khorasan, Khuzestan, Kerman, Larestan, Lorestan, and Mazandaran.[2] In 1950, Iran was reorganized to form ten numbered provinces with subordinate governorates: Gilan; Mazandaran; East Azarbaijan; West Azarbaijan; Kermanshah; Khuzestan; Fars; Kerman; Khorasan; Isfahan.[2] From 1960 to 1981 the governorates were raised to provincial status one by one. Since then several new provinces have been created, most recently in 2004 when the province of Khorasan was split into three new provinces. [3]
Further Subdivisions
Each province is further subdivided into counties called shahrestan (Persian: شهرستان shahrestān), and each shahrestan is subdivided into districts called bakhsh (Persian: بخش bakhsh). There are usually a few cities (Persian: شهر shahr) and rural agglomerations (Persian: دهستان dehestān) in each county. Rural agglomerations are a collection of a number of villages. One of the cities of the county is appointed as the capital of the county.
To better understand such subdivisions, the following table may be helpful. Assume that province P is divided into two counties: A and B. County A has 3 districts: Central, X, and Y. The Central district is the district that contains City M, the capital of the county. Each district might contain one or more cities and/or one or more RAs (rural agglomerations). In our example, the Central district contains City M, City N, and RA T composed of the villages V1, V2, V3, and V4, in turn; district X contains City O and RA U; and district Y has no cities and one RA V. The minimal county consists of only one city as the only district, named Central, of course. The county B in the following table is of such type, containing only one city Q.
| Province | County | District | City / RA* | Villages |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| P | A | Central | City M (c) | |
| City N | ||||
| RA T | V1, V2, V3, V4 | |||
| X | City O | |||
| RA U | V5, V6 | |||
| Y | RA V | V7, V8, V9 | ||
| B | Central | City Q |
Listing
According to the Statistical Center of Iran[4], the figures are as follows, as of March 2005 (end of Iranian Calendar 1383):
- Number of Ostans (provinces): 30
- Number of Shahrestans (counties): 324
- Number of Bakhshes (districts) : 865
- Number of Shahrs (townships) : 982
- Number of Dehestans (rural agglomerations): 2378
Info
| Province | Capital | Area(km²)[5] | Population[6] | Density (people/km²) |
Shahrestans |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ardabil[7] | Ardabil | 17,800 | 1,257,624 | 70.7 | 9 |
| Azarbaijan, East | Tabriz | 45,650 | 3,500,183 | 76.7 | 19 |
| Azarbaijan, West | Urmia[8] | 37,437 | 2,949,426 | 78.8 | 14 |
| Bushehr[9] | Bushehr | 22,743 | 816,115 | 35.9 | 9 |
| Chahar Mahaal and Bakhtiari[10] | Shahrekord | 16,332 | 842,002 | 51.6 | 6 |
| Fars | Shiraz | 122,608 | 4,385,869 | 35.8 | 23 |
| Gilan | Rasht | 14,042 | 2,410,523 | 171.7 | 16 |
| Golestan[11] | Gorgan | 20,195 | 1,637,063 | 81.1 | 11 |
| Hamadan[12] | Hamadan | 19,368 | 1,738,772 | 89.8 | 8 |
| Hormozgan[13][14] | Bandar Abbas | 70,669 | 1,314,667 | 18.6 | 11 |
| Ilam[12] | Ilam | 20,133 | 545,093 | 27.1 | 7 |
| Isfahan[15] | Isfahan | 107,029 | 4,454,595 | 41.6 | 21 |
| Kerman | Kerman | 180,836 | 2,432,927 | 13.5 | 14 |
| Kermanshah[16] | Kermanshah[16] | 24,998 | 1,938,060 | 77.5 | 13 |
| Khorasan, North[17] | Bojnourd | 28,434 | 786,918 | 27.7 | 6 |
| Khorasan, Razavi[17] | Mashhad | 144,681 | 5,202,770 | 36.0 | 19 |
| Khorasan, South[17] | Birjand | 69,555 | 510,218 | 7.3 | 4 |
| Khuzestan | Ahvaz | 64,055 | 4,345,607 | 67.8 | 18 |
| Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad[18][19] | Yasuj | 15,504 | 695,099 | 44.8 | 5 |
| Kurdistan[20] | Sanandaj | 29,137 | 1,574,118 | 54.0 | 9 |
| Lorestan[18] | Khorramabad | 28,294 | 1,758,628 | 62.2 | 9 |
| Markazi[21][15] | Arak | 29,130 | 1,361,394 | 46.7 | 10 |
| Mazandaran | Sari | 23,701 | 2,818,831 | 118.9 | 15 |
| Qazvin[22] | Qazvin | 15,549 | 1,166,861 | 75.0 | 5 |
| Qom[23] | Qom | 11,526 | 1,064,456 | 92.4 | 1 |
| Semnan[21][15] | Semnan | 97,491 | 589,512 | 6.0 | 4 |
| Sistan and Baluchistan[24] | Zahedan | 181,785 | 2,290,076 | 12.6 | 8 |
| Tehran[25] | Tehran | 18,814 | 12,150,742 | 645.8 | 13 |
| Yazd[10][26] | Yazd | 129,285 | 958,318 | 7.4 | 10 |
| Zanjan[20][15] | Zanjan | 21,773 | 970,946 | 44.6 | 7 |
| Iran | Tehran | 1,628,554 | 68,467,413 | 42.0 | 324 |
Historical Provinces of Iran
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|---|---|---|
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See also Taxation districts of the Achaemenid Empire (according to Herodotus) | ||
Provinces of the Sasanian Empire | ||
|---|---|---|
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* indicates short living provinces | ||
See also
References and notes
- ^ IRNA, Online Edition. ""Paris for further cultural cooperation with Iran"". Retrieved 2007-10-21.
- ^ a b Gwillim Law, Statoids website. ""Provinces of Iran"". Retrieved 2006-04-30.
- ^ Online edition, Al-Jazeera Satellite Network. ""Iran breaks up largest province"". Retrieved 2006-04-30.
- ^ website of the Statistical Center of Iran website in English is no longer updated (2006).
- ^ Statistical Centre, Government of Iran. ""General Characteristics of Ostans according to their administrative divisions at the end of 1383 (2005 CE)"". Retrieved 2006-04-30.
- ^ Statistical Centre, Government of Iran. ""Population estimation by urban and rural areas, 2005"". Retrieved 2006-04-30.
- ^ Until 1993, Ardabil was part of East Azarbaijan province.
- ^ Until 1979, the city was known as Rezaiyeh.
- ^ Originally part of Fars province. Until 1977, the province was known as Khalij-e Fars (Persian Gulf).
- ^ a b Originally part of Isfahan province.
- ^ On 1997-05-31, the shahrestans of Aliabad, Gonbad-e-kavus, Gorgan, Kordkuy, Minudasht, and Torkaman were separated from Mazandaran province to form Golestan province.
- ^ a b Originally part of Kermanshah province.
- ^ Originally part of Kerman province. Until 1977, the province was known as Banader va Jazayer-e Bahr-e Oman (Ports and Islands of the Sea of Oman).
- ^ Hormozgan includes several islands such as Qeshm, Lavan, Kish and Hormoz as well as Abu Musa island which is jointly administered by Iran and the United Arab Emirates.
- ^ a b c d In 1986, some parts of Markazi province were transferred to Isfahan, Semnan, and Zanjan provinces.
- ^ a b Between 1979 and 1995 Kermanshah province and its capital, were both known as Bakhtaran.
- ^ a b c On 2004-09-29, Khorasan was divided into three provinces. North Khorasan; Razavi Khorasan; South Khorasan.
- ^ a b Originally part of Khuzestan province.
- ^ Until 1990, the province was known as Bovir Ahmadi and Kohkiluyeh.
- ^ a b Originally part of Gilan province.
- ^ a b Originally part of Mazandaran province.
- ^ On 1996-12-31, the shahrestans of Qazvin and Takestan were separated from Zanjan province to form the province of Qazvin.
- ^ Until 1995, Qom was a shahrestan of Tehran province.
- ^ Until 1986, the province was known as Baluchestan and Sistan.
- ^ Until 1986, Tehran was part of Markazi province.
- ^ In 1986, part of Kerman province was transferred to Yazd province. In 2002, Tabas shahrestan (area: 55,344 km²) was transferred from Khorasan province to Yazd.
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