List of largest cities of Iran

Iran has one of the highest urban population growth rates in the world. From 1950 to 2002, the urban proportion of the population increased from 27% to 60%.^[1] The United Nations (UN) predicts that by 2030 80% of the population will live in urban areas.^[2] Most internal migrants have settled near the cities of Tehran, Isfahan, Karaj, Ahvaz, Mashhad and Qom. Tehran, with a population of 8.7 million (2016 census), is the largest city in Iran and is the nation's capital. Tehran is home to around 11% of Iran's population. It is the hub of the country's communication and transport networks.^[3]

The most populated cities of Iran in 2010.

Iranian population density map (based on data from the 1996 census).

Mashhad, with a population of 4.2 million (as of 2019), is the second-largest Iranian city and the centre of the province of Razavi Khorasan. Mashhad is one of the holiest Shi'a cities in the world as it is the site of the Imam Reza shrine. It is the centre of tourism in Iran and between 15 and 20 million pilgrims go to Imam Reza's shrine every year.^[4][5]

The third most populous city of Iran is Isfahan with a population 2.5 million (as of 2019). This city is one of the most industrial cities of Iran with large industries and hosts several UNESCO World Heritage Sites. The city has a wide variety of historic monuments and is known for its paintings, history and architecture.

The fourth most populous Iranian city is Karaj, with a population of 2.1 million (as of 2019). Karaj is the capital of Alborz province and is situated 35 km west of Tehran, at the foot of Alborz mountains; however, the city is increasingly becoming an extension of metropolitan Tehran.

The fifth most populous Iranian city is Shiraz (population 1.57 million), which is located in the southwest of Iran with a moderate climate and has been a regional trade center for over a thousand years. Shiraz is one of the oldest cities of ancient Persia, known as the city of poets, literature and flowers. It is also considered by many Iranians to be the city of gardens and also a major center for Iran's electronic industries.

The other major cities are Tabriz (population 1.56 million), Qom (population 1.2 million) and Ahvaz (population 1.18 million).^[6]

List of Metro Cities

There are 10 large cities or metropolitan cities in Iran with the population over a million or more.

Rank	City	Population
1	Tehran	15,800,000
2	Mashhad	3,989,070
3	Isfahan	3,416,000
4	Karaj	2,512,737
5	Shiraz	1,800,000
6	Tabriz	1,773,023
7	Qom	1,260,000
8	Ahvaz	1,184,788
9	Kermanshah	1,083,833
10	Urmia	1,000,000

Cities over 100,000 population

The following sorted table, lists the most populous cities in Iran with a population of more than 100,000 according to 2016 Census results announced by Statistical Center of Iran.^[7][8] A city is displayed in bold if it is the province capital.

Rank	City	Province	Date of Official Foundation of Municipality	2016 Census	2011 Census	Change
1	Tehran	Tehran	1907	8,693,706	8,154,051	+6.62%
2	Mashhad	Razavi Khorasan	1918	3,001,184	2,749,374	+9.16%
3	Isfahan	Isfahan	1907	1,961,260	1,756,126	+11.68%
4	Karaj	Alborz	1951	1,592,492	1,614,626	−1.37%
5	Shiraz	Fars	1907	1,565,572	1,460,665	+7.18%
6	Tabriz	East Azerbaijan	1907	1,558,693	1,494,988	+4.26%
7	Qom	Qom	1926	1,201,158	1,074,036	+11.84%
8	Ahvaz	Khuzestan	1925	1,184,788	1,112,021	+6.54%
9	Kermanshah	Kermanshah	1912	946,651	851,405	+11.19%
10	Urmia	West Azerbaijan	1928	736,224	667,499	+10.30%
11	Rasht	Gilan	1907	679,995	639,951	+6.26%
12	Zahedan	Sistan and Baluchestan	1938	587,730	560,725	+4.82%
13	Hamadan	Hamadan	1911	554,406	525,794	+5.44%
14	Kerman	Kerman	1907	537,718	534,441	+0.61%
15	Yazd	Yazd	1926	529,673	486,152	+8.95%
16	Ardabil	Ardabil	1925	529,374	482,632	+9.68%
17	Bandar Abbas	Hormozgan	1925	526,648	435,751	+20.86%
18	Arak	Markazi	1927	520,944	526,182	−1.00%
19	Eslamshahr	Tehran	1978	448,129	389,102	+15.17%
20	Zanjan	Zanjan	1923	430,871	386,851	+11.38%
21	Sanandaj	Kurdistan	1928	412,767	373,987	+10.37%
22	Qazvin	Qazvin	1924	402,748	381,598	+5.54%
23	Khorramabad	Lorestan	1931	373,416	348,216	+7.24%
24	Gorgan	Golestan	1925	350,676	329,536	+6.42%
25	Sari	Mazandaran	1927	347,402	296,417	+17.20%
26	Shahriar	Tehran	1952	309,607	249,473	+24.10%
27	Qods	Tehran	1989	309,605	283,517	+9.20%
28	Kashan	Isfahan	1930	304,487	275,325	+10.59%
29	Malard	Tehran	1995	281,027	290,817	−3.37%
30	Dezful	Khuzestan	1920	264,709	248,380	+6.57%
31	Nishapur	Razavi Khorasan	1931	264,375	239,185	+10.53%
32	Babol	Mazandaran	1925	250,217	219,467	+14.01%
33	Khomeyni Shahr	Isfahan	1932	247,128	244,696	+0.99%
34	Sabzevar	Razavi Khorasan	1930	243,700	231,557	+5.24%
35	Golestan	Tehran	1996	239,556	259,480	−7.68%
36	Amol	Mazandaran	1933	237,528	219,915	+8.01%
37	Pakdasht	Tehran	1991	236,319	206,490	+14.45%
38	Najafabad	Isfahan	1931	235,281	221,814	+6.07%
39	Borujerd	Lorestan	1935	234,997	240,654	−2.35%
40	Abadan	Khuzestan	1924	231,476	212,744	+8.80%
41	Qarchak	Tehran	1976	231,075	191,588	+20.61%
42	Bojnord	North Khorasan	1931	228,931	199,791	+14.59%
43	Varamin	Tehran	1941	225,628	218,991	+3.03%
44	Bushehr	Bushehr	1922	223,504	195,222	+14.49%
45	Saveh	Markazi	1931	220,762	200,481	+10.12%
46	Qaem Shahr	Mazandaran	1935	204,953	196,050	+4.54%
47	Birjand	South Khorasan	1928	203,636	178,020	+14.39%
48	Nasimshahr	Tehran	1995	200,393	157,474	+27.25%
49	Sirjan	Kerman	1936	199,704	185,623	+7.59%
50	Khoy	West Azerbaijan	1923	198,845	200,958	−1.05%
51	Ilam	Ilam	1936	194,030	172,213	+12.67%
52	Piranshahr	West Azerbaijan	1948	193,501	170,600	+13.42%
53	Shahr-e Kord	Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari	1931	190,441	159,775	+19.19%
54	Semnan	Semnan	1925	185,129	153,680	+20.46%
55	Fardis	Alborz	2013	181,174	181,174	0.00%
56	Maragheh	East Azerbaijan	1921	175,255	162,275	+8.00%
57	Shahin Shahr	Isfahan	1976	173,329	143,308	+20.95%
58	Malayer	Hamadan	1934	170,237	159,848	+6.50%
59	Mahabad	West Azerbaijan	1931	168,393	147,268	+14.34%
60	Saqqez	Kurdistan	1935	165,258	139,738	+18.26%
61	Bandar-e Mahshahr	Khuzestan	1954	162,797	153,778	+5.86%
62	Rafsanjan	Kerman	1935	161,909	151,420	+6.93%
63	Gonbad-e Kavus	Golestan	1934	151,910	144,546	+5.09%
64	Shahrud	Semnan	1925	150,129	140,474	+6.87%
65	Marvdasht	Fars	1950	148,858	138,649	+7.36%
66	Kamal Shahr	Alborz	1996	141,669	109,943	+28.86%
67	Jahrom	Fars	1925	141,634	114,108	+24.12%
68	Torbat-e Heydarieh	Razavi Khorasan	1928	140,019	131,150	+6.76%
69	Marivan	Kurdistan	1957	136,654	110,464	+23.71%
70	Andimeshk	Khuzestan	1956	135,116	126,811	+6.55%
71	Shahreza	Isfahan	1929	134,952	123,767	+9.04%
72	Zabol	Sistan and Baluchestan	1928	134,950	137,722	−2.01%
73	Yasuj	Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad	1970	134,532	108,505	+23.99%
74	Miandoab	West Azerbaijan	1935	134,425	123,081	+9.22%
75	Khorramshahr	Khuzestan	1925	133,097	129,418	+2.84%
76	Marand	East Azerbaijan	1929	130,825	124,323	+5.23%
77	Jiroft	Kerman	1946	130,429	111,034	+17.47%
78	Bam	Kerman	1937	127,396	107,131	+18.92%
79	Behbahan	Khuzestan	1937	122,604	107,412	+14.14%
80	Dorud	Lorestan	1949	121,638	99,499	+22.25%
81	Nazarabad	Alborz	2002	119,512	107,806	+10.86%
82	Mohammadshahr	Alborz	1996	119,418	100,519	+18.80%
83	Izeh	Khuzestan	1958	119,399	117,093	+1.97%
84	Bandar-e Anzali	Gilan	1922	118,564	116,664	+1.63%
85	Andisheh	Tehran	2003	116,062	96,807	+19.89%
86	Iranshahr	Sistan and Baluchestan	1940	113,750	97,012	+17.25%
87	Fasa	Fars	1926	110,825	104,809	+5.74%
88	Borazjan	Bushehr	1928	110,567	95,449	+15.84%
89	Baneh	Kurdistan	1948	110,218	85,190	+29.38%
90	Chabahar	Sistan and Baluchestan	1950	106,739	85,633	+24.65%
91	Robat Karim	Tehran	1983	105,393	78,097	+34.95%
92	Kashmar	Razavi Khorasan	1929	102,282	90,200	+13.39%
93	Shushtar	Khuzestan	1927	101,878	106,815	−4.62%
94	Quchan	Razavi Khorasan	1937	101,604	103,760	−2.08%
95	Lahijan	Gilan	1928	101,073	94,051	+7.47%
96	Ahar	East Azerbaijan	1944	100,641	92,608	+8.67%
97	Masjed Soleyman	Khuzestan	1959	100,497	103,369	−2.78%
98	Torbat-e Jam	Razavi Khorasan	1933	100,449	94,758	+6.01%

Largest cities in the provinces

This is a list of the largest cities of the 31 provinces, based on the city's population as of the 2016 census.^[9]

Province	Largest city	2nd Largest	3rd Largest	4th largest
Tehran	Tehran	Eslamshahr	Shahriar	Shahr-e Qods
Razavi Khorasan	Mashhad	Nishapur	Sabzevar	Torbat-e Heydarieh
East Azerbaijan	Tabriz	Maragheh	Marand	Ahar
Alborz	Karaj	Fardis	Kamalshahr	Nazarabad
Isfahan	Isfahan	Kashan	Khomeyni Shahr	Najafabad
Fars	Shiraz	Marvdasht	Jahrom	Fasa
Khuzestan	Ahvaz	Dezful	Abadan	Mahshahr
Mazandaran	Sari	Babol	Amol	Qa'em Shahr
West Azerbaijan	Urmia	Khoy	Mahabad	Piranshahr
Kerman	Kerman	Sirjan	Rafsanjan	Jiroft
Gilan	Rasht	Bandar-e Anzali	Lahijan	Langrud
Sistan and Baluchestan	Zahedan	Zabol	Iran Shahr	Chabahar
Kermanshah	Kermanshah	Eslamabad-e Gharb	Javanrud	Kangavar
Lorestan	Khorramabad	Borujerd	Dorud	Aligudarz
Hamadan	Hamadan	Malayer	Nahavand	Asadabad
Golestan	Gorgan	Gonbad-e Kavus	Bandar Torkaman	Ali Abad
Kurdistan	Sanandaj	Saghez	Marivan	Baneh
Hormozgan	Bandar Abbas	Minab	Qeshm	Kish
Markazi	Arak	Saveh	Khomein	Mahallat
Ardabil	Ardabil	Parsabad	Meshkinshahr	Khalkhal
Qazvin	Qazvin	Alvand	Mohammadiyeh	Takestan
Qom	Qom	Qanavat	Jafariyeh	Kahak
Yazd	Yazd	Meybod	Ardakan	Bafq
Zanjan	Zanjan	Abhar	Khorramdareh	Qidar
Bushehr	Bushehr	Borazjan	Bandar Ganaveh	Bandar Kangan
Chahar Mahal and Bakhtiari	Shahr-e Kord	Borujen	Lordegan	Farrokhshahr
North Khorasan	Bojnurd	Shirvan	Esfarayen	Ashkhaneh
Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad	Yasuj	Dogonbadan	Dehdasht	Likak
South Khorasan	Birjand	Ghayen	Tabas	Ferdows
Semnan	Semnan	Shahrud	Damghan	Garmsar
Ilam	Ilam	Dehloran	Eyvan	Abdanan

Gallery

• 
  1. Tehran, Tehran province
• 
  2. Mashhad, Khorasan Razavi province
• 
  3. Isfahan, Isfahan province
• 
  4. Karaj, Alborz province
• 
  5. Shiraz, Fars province
• 
  6. Tabriz, East Azerbaijan province
• 
  7. Ahvaz, Khūzestān province
• 
  8. Qom, Qom province
• 
  9. Kermanshah, Kermanshah province
• 
  10. Urmia, West Azerbaijan province
• 
  11. Rasht, Gilan province
• 
  12. Zahedan, Sistan and Baluchestan province

See also

• List of cities in Iran by province
• List of cities in Asia

References

1. Payvand. "Iran: Focus on reverse migration". Archived from the original on January 11, 2004. Retrieved 2006-04-17.
2. "Islamic Azad University", retrieved 28 Jan 2008 Archived November 10, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
3. Assari, Ali; T.M. Mahesh (2011). "Urbanization Process in Iranian Cities". Asian Journal of Development Matters. 5 (1): 151–154. Retrieved 7 January 2013.
4. Religious Tourism Potentials Rich retrieved 28 Feb 2008 Archived February 24, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
5. Mashhad, Iran Archived 2010-11-27 at the Wayback Machine retrieved 28 Feb 2008
6. "Population of Cities in Iran 2023". worldpopulationreview.com. Retrieved 2023-07-03.
7. "Statistical Center of Iran > Population and Housing Censuses".
8. "Population of Cities in Iran (Islamic Republic of) 2021 – StatisticsTimes.com". statisticstimes.com. Retrieved 2023-07-03.
9. "Iran: Provinces, Major Cities & Towns – Population Statistics, Maps, Charts, Weather and Web Information". citypopulation.de. Retrieved 2023-07-03.

Bibliography

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• Fredy Bemont. Les Villes de l'Iran (in French). OCLC 489929494. 1969–1973
• Michael E. Bonine (1979). "Morphogenesis of Iranian Cities". Annals of the Association of American Geographers. 69 (2): 208–224. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8306.1979.tb01252.x. JSTOR 2563066.
• Heinz Gaube (1979). Iranian Cities. New York University Press. ISBN 0814729711.
• Fisher, William Bayne; Avery, P.; Hambly, G. R. G.; Gershevitch, Ilya; Melville, C.; Boyle, John Andrew; Frye, Richard Nelson; Yarshater, Ehsan; Jackson, Peter; Lockhart, Laurence (1991). "Traditional Iranian City in the Qajar Period". From Nadir Shah to the Islamic Republic. Vol. 7. Cambridge University Press. pp. 542+. ISBN 9780521200950. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
• Masoud Kheirabadi (2000). Iranian Cities: Formation and Development. Syracuse University Press. ISBN 978-0-8156-2860-6.
• Eckart Ehlers (2011) [1991]. "Cities: Modern Urbanization and Modernization in Persia". Encyclopædia Iranica.