Iran: cities by population
Iran has a population of 93,168,497 (UN estimate, 2026), with Tehran as its capital. The 50 largest of its 2,397 recorded towns and cities, ranked.
+40%
since 2000 (66,418,659)
+9%
projected by 2050 (101,861,993)
57
people per km²
Figures are the latest available in GeoNames (CC BY 4.0), which draws on national censuses of varying dates — treat them as recent, not same-year. Country totals are UN World Population Prospects 2024 (medium variant) where the UN lists the country separately; the handful it reports under a parent state keep a GeoNames figure and are marked as such. Sources & method.
Largest cities in Iran
| # | Place | Region | Population |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Tehran | Tehran | 7,153,309 |
| 2 | Mashhad | Razavi Khorasan | 2,307,177 |
| 3 | Isfahan | Isfahan | 1,547,164 |
| 4 | Karaj | Alborz Province | 1,448,075 |
| 5 | Tabriz | East Azerbaijan | 1,424,641 |
| 6 | Shiraz | Fars | 1,249,942 |
| 7 | Qom | Qom Province | 900,000 |
| 8 | Ahvaz | Khuzestan | 841,145 |
| 9 | Kermanshah | Kermanshah Province | 621,100 |
| 10 | Rasht | Gilan Province | 594,590 |
| 11 | Kerman | Kerman | 577,514 |
| 12 | Orūmīyeh | West Azerbaijan | 577,307 |
| 13 | Zahedan | Sistan and Baluchestan | 551,980 |
| 14 | Hamadān | Hamadan Province | 528,256 |
| 15 | Arāk | Markazi | 503,647 |
| 16 | Yazd | Yazd Province | 477,905 |
| 17 | Eslamshahr | Tehran | 450,000 |
| 18 | Ardabīl | Ardabil Province | 410,753 |
| 19 | Zanjan | Zanjan | 357,471 |
| 20 | Bandar Abbas | Hormozgan | 352,173 |
| 21 | Sanandaj | Kurdistan Province | 349,176 |
| 22 | Qazvin | Qazvin Province | 333,635 |
| 23 | Khorramshahr | Khuzestan | 330,606 |
| 24 | Khorramabad | Lorestan Province | 329,825 |
| 25 | Shahrīār | Tehran | 309,607 |
| 26 | Qods | Tehran | 309,605 |
| 27 | Kashan | Isfahan | 304,487 |
| 28 | Kāshān | Isfahan | 304,487 |
| 29 | Khomeynī Shahr | Isfahan | 277,334 |
| 30 | Dezful | Khuzestan | 264,709 |
| 31 | Marāgheh | East Azerbaijan | 262,604 |
| 32 | Marāgheh | Razavi Khorasan | 262,604 |
| 33 | Sari | Māzandarān | 255,396 |
| 34 | Borūjerd | Lorestan Province | 251,958 |
| 35 | Qarchak | Tehran | 251,834 |
| 36 | Gorgān | Golestan | 244,937 |
| 37 | Sabzevar | Razavi Khorasan | 243,700 |
| 38 | Golestān | Tehran | 240,000 |
| 39 | Āmol | Māzandarān | 237,528 |
| 40 | Pākdasht | Tehran | 236,319 |
| 41 | Najafābād | Isfahan | 235,281 |
| 42 | Abadan | Khuzestan | 231,476 |
| 43 | Varāmīn | Tehran | 225,628 |
| 44 | Neyshābūr | Razavi Khorasan | 220,929 |
| 45 | Sāveh | Markazi | 220,762 |
| 46 | Naz̧arābād | Alborz Province | 213,388 |
| 47 | Qā’em Shahr | Māzandarān | 204,953 |
| 48 | Bābol | Māzandarān | 202,796 |
| 49 | Nasimshahr | Tehran | 200,393 |
| 50 | Sirjan | Kerman | 199,704 |
Twenty years earlier: Iran in the 2005 World Gazetteer — population then 68,458,680.
Common questions
What is the population of Iran?
Iran has a population of 93,168,497, the UN World Population Prospects estimate for 2026. The UN's medium-variant projection for 2050 is 101,861,993 — a forecast, not a measurement.
What is the capital of Iran?
Tehran.