Languages Bakhtiāri, which belongs to the
Luri language of the
Iranian language family, is the province's main language. Bakhtiāri is primarily spoken in the valleys of the higher areas in the western half of the province. It is also spoken in the lower areas around
Lordegān in the south, and by speakers who have moved into the cities in the north-east. In the north-east quarter of the province, people in most cities and villages speak either
Chārmahāli (also in the Southwestern branch of Iranian) or
Chaharmahali Turkic. Chārmahāli is transitional between
Bakhtiari and
Persian varieties of
Isfahan province, but more similar to the latter. Chārmahāli varieties spoken in cities include Dehkordi (in
Shahr-e Kord), Ghafarrokhi (in
Farrokh Shahr), Heysheguni (in
Hafshejān), and Borujeni (in
Borujen). There are also many other varieties of Chārmahāli spoken in rural areas. Most types of Turkic spoken in this province are similar to
Qashqa'i of
Fars province, but they are transitional to the
Āzarbāyjāni (Azerbaijani) language of north-west
Iran. The Chārmahāli and
Turkic language areas overlap with one another, and in the foothills of the
Zagros and in the larger cities, they intermingle with Bakhtiāri as well. and a lexicon of the Bakhtiāri language have also been published.
Population At the time of the 2006 National Census, the province's population was 843,784 in 194,171 households. The following census in 2011 counted 895,263 people in 234,416 households. The 2016 census measured the population of the province as 947,763 in 270,434 households.
Administrative divisions The population history and structural changes of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province's administrative divisions over three consecutive censuses are shown in the following table.
Cities According to the 2016 census, 607,444 people (over 64% of the population of Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province) live in the following cities: == Economy ==