Freedom of Religion in Iran - Religious Demography

Religious Demography

The country has a total area of approximately 1,636,000 km² (632,000 mi²), and its population is approximately 69 million. In 2006, the population was approximately 98 percent Muslim, of which an estimated 89% were Shi'a and 9% Sunni (mostly Turkomen, Arabs, Baluchs, and Kurds living in the southwest, southeast, and northwest). Although there are no official statistics of the size of the Sufi Muslim population, some reports estimated between two to five million people practice Sufism compared to approximately 100,000 before 1979.

Bahá'ís, Christians, Zoroastrians, Mandaeans, and Jews combined constitute approximately two percent of the population. The largest non-Muslim minority is the Bahá'í community, which has an estimated 300,000 to 350,000 adherents throughout the country. Estimates on the size of the Jewish community vary from 20,000 to 30,000. These figures represent a substantial reduction from the estimated 75,000 to 80,000 Jews who resided in the country prior to the 1979 Iranian Revolution. According to U.N. figures, there were approximately 300,000 Christians, the majority of whom are ethnic Armenians. Unofficial estimates indicated an Assyrian Christian population of approximately 10,000. There also were Protestant denominations, including evangelical churches. The Mandaean Sabaeans, a community whose religion draws on pre-Christian gnostic beliefs, numbered approximately 5,000 to 10,000 persons, with members residing primarily in Khuzestan in the southwest. As of 2006, there were indications that members of all religious minorities are emigrating at a higher rate than previously.