Language and ethnicity Most of the inhabitants are ethnic
Azerbaijanis who speak a
Turkic language related to
Turkish. In Qarajadaḡ (today
Arasbaran), that is, the region between the Aras river and the Sabalan mountain range, there are six Shiʿite, Turkic-speaking tribes of
Kurdish origin: Chalabianlu, Mohammadkhanlu, Hosaynkhanlu, Hajialilu, Hasanbeiglu and Qarachorlu.
Population At the time of the 2006 National Census, the province's population was 3,527,267 in 911,241 households. The following census in 2011 counted 3,724,620 people in 1,085,455 households. The 2016 census measured the population of the province as 3,909,652 in 1,223,028 households.
Administrative divisions At the 1986 census, there were twelve counties in East Azerbaijan province. By the 1996 census, two additional counties had been formed:
Jolfa (from part of
Marand), and
Malekan (from part of
Bonab). Between 1996 and 2002, five new counties were formed:
Ajabshir,
Azarshahr,
Charuymaq,
Osku, and
Varzaqan. The table below illustrates further changes since the 2006 census. The cities of
Ahar and
Mianeh of East Azerbaijan Province, along with
Parsabad and
Meshginshahr from
Ardabil province, and
Piranshahr and
Salmas from
West Azerbaijan, are six cities in
Azerbaijan region that have joined the group of large cities with populations of over 100,000 people due to population changes after the 2016 census. The population history and structural changes of East Azerbaijan Province's administrative divisions over three consecutive censuses are shown in the following table.
Cities According to the 2016 census, 2,809,424 people (over 71% of the population of East Azerbaijan Province) live in the following cities: ==Geography==