Administrative divisions of Iran

The first level of country subdivisions of Iran are the provinces (Persian: استان‌ها; ostānhā). Each province is further subdivided into counties called shahrestan (Persian: شهرستان, romanized: shahrestān), and each county (or shahrestan) is subdivided into districts called bakhsh (Persian: بخش, romanized: bakhsh). There are usually a few cities (Persian: شهر, romanized: shahr) and rural districts called dehestan (Persian: دهستان, romanized: dehestān) in each district (or bakhsh). Rural districts are a collection of a number of villages. One of the cities of the county is appointed as the capital of the county.

Map of Iran's Provinces

According to the Statistical Center of Iran, the figures are as follows, as of March 2016 (end of Iranian calendar 1394): [1]

English Persian sing. Persian pl. number
Provinces استان ostān استان‌ها ostānhā 31
Counties شهرستان shahrestān شهرستانها shahrestānhā 429
Districts بخش bakhsh بخشها bakhshhā 1057
cities شهر shahr شهرها shahr hā 1245
rural districts دهستان dehestān دهستانها dehestānhā 2589

Guide

The total population of a province is the total of its counties.

The total population of a county is the total of its districts.

The total population of a district is the total of its cities and rural districts.

To better understand these subdivisions, the following table for Sepidan County in Fars province (as it existed in 2006) is an example showing the hierarchy of a county's divisions:

Sepidan County (2006)[2]
Administrative division Pop.
Central District 24,059
Khafri Rural District 4,035
Komehr Rural District 3,812
Ardakan (city) 16,212
Beyza District1 36,694
Banesh Rural District 9,718
Beyza Rural District 13,761
Kushk-e Hezar Rural District 9,622
Beyza (city) 3,593
Hamaijan District 27,048
Hamaijan Rural District 15,449
Shesh Pir Rural District 8,197
Sornabad Rural District 3,402
Total 87,801
1 Became a part of Beyza County
Administrative divisions of Iran in 1956

See also

References and notes

  1. ^ "Geo 94" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 October 2018. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  2. ^ "Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1385 (2006)" (Excel). Statistical Center of Iran. Archived from the original on 20 September 2011. Retrieved 30 October 2022