Languages spoken in Iran
Asia · Capital: Tehran · Population 88.4 million
The official language of Iran is Persian. An estimated 75% of the population speaks it as a first or additional language, or roughly 66.3 million people. After Persian, the most widely spoken are Azerbaijani at 24% and Mazanderani at 5%. Persian belongs to the Indo-European language family. Persian is also spoken in three of its seven neighbours: Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan. In total, 16 languages are recorded in Iran, and their shares add up to 128.9% of the population, which implies the average resident speaks about 1.3 of them.
What languages are spoken in Iran?
| Language | Share of population | Status | Estimated speakers |
|---|---|---|---|
| PersianIndo-European | 75% | Official | 66.3 million |
| AzerbaijaniTurkic | 24% | Spoken | 21.2 million |
| Mazanderani | 5% | Spoken | 4.4 million |
| Gilaki | 4.6% | Spoken | 4.1 million |
| Southern Kurdish | 4.5% | Spoken | 4 million |
| TurkmenTurkic | 2.8% | Spoken | 2.5 million |
| Northern Luri | 2.1% | Spoken | 1.9 million |
| ArabicAfro-Asiatic | 2% | Spoken | 1.8 million |
| Baluchi | 2% | Spoken | 1.8 million |
| DomariIndo-European | 1.9% | Spoken | 1.7 million |
| Bakhtiari | 1.4% | Spoken | 1.2 million |
| Southern LuriIndo-European | 1.2% | Spoken | 1.1 million |
| Kara-Kalpak | 0.7% | Spoken | 592,192 |
| Central Kurdish | 0.6% | Spoken | 556,837 |
| Western Balochi | 0.6% | Spoken | 494,967 |
| KurdishIndo-European | 0.6% | Spoken | 494,967 |
Percentages are the share of the population that speaks each language, including as a second language, so they add up to well over 100% in multilingual countries. Speaker counts are estimates derived from the percentage and the country's population, not counted figures.
What is the official language of Iran?
The official language of Iran is Persian. Persian is spoken by an estimated 75% of the population, or roughly 66.3 million people, counting both first-language and additional speakers.
Official status comes from Unicode CLDR. It distinguishes languages that are official nationwide, those used as de facto official without being named in law, and those official only in particular regions or territories.
How many people speak Persian in Iran?
An estimated 75% of Iran's 88.4 million people speak Persian, which works out at roughly 66.3 million speakers. That figure is derived from the population and the reported share, and it counts second-language speakers, so it is an estimate rather than a census count.
Key facts about Iran
- Capital
- Tehran
- Population
- 88.4 million
- Continent
- Asia
- Area
- 1,648,195 km²
- Currency
- IRR
- Languages recorded
- 16
- Land borders
- 7
- ISO codes
- IR / IRN / 364
Which countries border Iran?
Iran shares a land border with seven countries: Afghanistan, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Iraq, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, and Türkiye. Persian, the most widely spoken language in Iran, is also spoken in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Pakistan.
Explore more
Language shares, population, and official status: Unicode CLDR. Capital, area, borders, and currency: mledoze/countries (ODbL 1.0). Flag image: flagcdn.com. Speaker counts are estimates derived from population and reported share.