Ethnicity Persians The majority of people living in Tehran province are ethnically
Persian, and Tehran is the largest Persian-speaking city in the world.
Azerbaijanis Azerbaijanis are one of the Iranian ethnic groups living in Tehran province, who also form the largest group of immigrants in Tehran province. Azeris in Tehran speak the
Azeri and
Persian languages.
Mazanderanis Mazanderanis are the third largest tribe of Tehran province, who mostly migrated to Tehran from the cities of
Babol,
Sari,
Amol,
Qaem Shahr and
Savadkuh. In addition to Tehran city, Mazanderani language is also spoken in
Firuzkuh,
Damavand and
Shemiranat cities.
Kurds Many
Kurds have migrated to Tehran province in recent years to continue their
studies or to find
jobs. Also, the people of
Sarbandan,
Jaban,
Sorkheh Deh and
Khosrovan districts of
Damavand county in the east of Tehran province speak
Kurmanji Kurdish language. The people of these areas are Kurmanji Kurds who moved to this area from
Khorasan during the
Qajar period. Simultaneously with the migration of Kurmanji tribes from Khorasan to Damavand, another group of Kurds from Khorasan migrated from
Chenaran to
Piranshahr, one of the cities of Kurdistan south of
Lake Urmia.
Lurs Many
Lurs migrate to Tehran province every year, and in this way, Tehran has a minority of Lurs. Also,
Hadavand clan is one of the oldest and largest clans of Tehran province, which moved to Tehran province during the time of
Karim Khan Zand.
Gilaks A population of
Gilaks also live in Tehran and speak the
Gilaki and
Persian languages.
Armenians A population of
Armenians mainly lives in the eastern areas of Tehran.
Citizens of other countries A population of
Iraqi nationals who are of Iranian origin that live in
Dolat Abad area of Tehran. The unstable situation and the war in neighbouring
Afghanistan and
Iraq prompted a rush of refugees into the country who arrived in their millions, with Tehran being a magnet for much seeking work, who subsequently helped the city to recover from war wounds, working for far less pay than local construction workers. Many of these refugees are being repatriated with the assistance of the UNHCR, but there are still sizable groups of Afghan and Iraqi refugees in Tehran who are reluctant to leave, being pessimistic about the situation in their own countries. Afghan refugees are mostly
Dari-speaking Tajik,
Parsiwans and
Hazara, speaking a variety of Persian, and Iraqi refugees are mainly
Mesopotamian Arabic-speakers who are often of Iranian and
Persian ethnic heritage.
Population At the time of the 2006 National Census, the province's population was 13,281,858 in 3,729,010 households. The following census in 2011 counted 12,183,391 people in 3,731,480 households. The 2016 census measured the population of the province as 13,267,637 in 4,288,563 households.
Administrative divisions The population history and structural changes of Tehran province's administrative divisions over three consecutive censuses are shown in the following table.
Cities According to the 2016 census, 12,452,230 people (nearly 94% of the population of Tehran province) live in the following cities: The following table shows the ten largest cities of Tehran province: ==Geography==