| Kurdistan Province | |
| Native Name: | Persian: استان کردستان |
| Settlement Type: | Province |
| Map Alt: | Map of Iran with Kurdistan Province highlighted |
| Coordinates: | 35.5833°N 99°W |
| Coordinates Footnotes: | [1] |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | Iran |
| Subdivision Type1: | Region |
| Subdivision Name1: | Region 3 |
| Seat Type: | Capital |
| Seat: | Sanandaj |
| Parts Type: | Counties |
| Parts Style: | para |
| P1: | 10 |
| Leader Title: | Governor-general |
| Leader Name: | Esmaeil Zarei Kousha |
| Leader Title1: | MPs of Assembly of Experts |
| Leader Name1: | Faegh Rostami and Eghbal Bahmani |
| Leader Title2: | Representative of the Supreme Leader |
| Leader Name2: | Abdolreza Pourzahabi |
| Unit Pref: | Metric |
| Area Total Km2: | 29137 |
| Population Total: | 1603011 |
| Population As Of: | 2015 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Timezone1: | IRST |
| Utc Offset1: | +03:30 |
| Blank Name Sec1: | Main language(s) |
| Blank Info Sec1: | Persian (official) local languages: Ardalan languages Kurdish |
| Blank Name Sec2: | HDI (2017) |
| Blank Info Sec2: | 0.743[2] · 30th |
| Official Name: | استان کردستان |
Kurdistan province (Persian: استان کردستان) is one of 31 provinces of Iran. The province is 28,817 km2 in area and its capital is the city of Sanandaj.[3]
Kurdistan province is in the west of Iran, in Region 3. It borders the Kurdistan Region of Iraq to the west, and the Iranian provinces of West Azerbaijan to the north, Zanjan to the northeast, Hamadan to the east, and Kermanshah to the south.[4] It exists within both Iranian Kurdistan and Kurdistan.
thumb|160px|right|A soldier statue from Ziwiye hoardThe earliest human occupation of Kurdistan dates back to the Paleolithic Period when Neanderthals lived in the Sirwan Valley of Kurdistan more than 40,000 years ago.[5]
Most of the people of this province speak Kurdish and other languages such as Azari and Persian are also common in this province.[6]
Iranian Kurds make up the majority of the population, but Iranian Azeris populate the eastern provincial borderlands. Most of the Kurdish population speak Sorani Kurdish, but Southern Kurdish is spoken in the eastern parts of the province, including in Bijar and Dezej, while Gorani is the main language in many villages in the southwestern part of the province. Oghuz Turkic varieties can be found in the far-eastern part of the province, including in the cities of Delbaran, Pir Taj, Serishabad, Yasukand, and Tup Aghaj. These varieties are described as distinct from Iranian Azerbaijani, although they are closely related to it. While not being the primary language in any settlement in the province, Persian is increasingly becoming the first language, especially among the population in the eastern parts of the province.[7]
A significant majority of the people of Kurdistan province follow the Sunni denomination of Islam. A minority of Shia, Yarsanism and Christian followers also live in this province.[8] [9] [10] [11]
At the time of the 2006 National Census, the province's population was 1,416,334 inhabitants in 337,179 households.[12] The following census in 2011 counted 1,493,645 living in 401,845 households.[13] The 2016 census measured the population of the province as 2,152,471 in 471,310 households.[14]
The population history and structural changes of Kurdistan Province's administrative divisions over three consecutive censuses are shown in the following table. Each county is named after the city that serves as its administrative capital.
| Counties | 2006 | 2011 | 2016 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 116,773 | 132,565 | 158,690 | ||
| 95,461 | 93,714 | 89,162 | ||
| — | 62,844 | 64,015 | ||
| 82,628 | 81,963 | 80,040 | ||
| 196,972 | 136,961 | 140,192 | ||
| 104,704 | 105,996 | 102,856 | ||
| 150,926 | 168,774 | 195,263 | ||
| 409,628 | 450,167 | 501,402 | ||
| 205,250 | 210,820 | 226,451 | ||
| 53,992 | 49,841 | 44,940 | ||
| Total | 1,416,334 | 1,493,645 | 1,603,011 |
According to the 2016 census, 1,134,229 people (over 70% of the population of Kurdistan Province) live in the following cities:[14]
| City | Population | |
|---|---|---|
| 2,305 | ||
| 509 | ||
| 110,218 | ||
| 1,020 | ||
| 50,014 | ||
| 3,193 | ||
| 1,518 | ||
| 455 | ||
| 25,992 | ||
| 6,713 | ||
| 2,219 | ||
| 34,007 | ||
| 78,276 | ||
| 57,077 | ||
| 13,059 | ||
| 1,284 | ||
| 136,654 | ||
| 3,370 | ||
| 1,199 | ||
| 3,101 | ||
| Sanandaj | 412,767 | |
| 165,258 | ||
| 5,121 | ||
| 7,196 | ||
| 1,302 | ||
| 1,645 | ||
| 3,176 | ||
| 3,490 | ||
| 2,091 |
The following sorted table lists the most populous cities in Kurdistan in 2016.[14]
| Rank | City | County | Population | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sanandaj | Sanandaj | 412,767 | |
| 2 | Saqqez | Saqqez | 165,258 | |
| 3 | Marivan | Marivan | 136,654 | |
| 4 | Baneh | Baneh | 110,218 | |
| 5 | Qorveh | Qorveh | 78,276 | |
| 6 | Kamyaran | Kamyaran | 57,077 | |
| 7 | Bijar | Bijar | 50,014 | |
| 8 | Divandarreh | Divandarreh | 34,007 | |
| 9 | Dehgolan | Dehgolan | 25,992 | |
| 10 | Kani Dinar | Marivan | 13,059 |
See main article: Kurdish Cultural Region.
See main article: Kurdish clothing. The people of this province have special clothes that they have been wearing for centuries. The important point about the clothes of the people of this province is that even after the spread of modernism all over the world, the people of this province still try to be faithful to their past traditions in the field of lifestyle.[15] [16] [17] [18] [19]
See main article: Kurdish music. Among the cultural symbols of Kurdistan people are Kurdish dance and singing. This cultural tradition is very popular not only in this province but also throughout the country.
See main article: Chaharshanbe Suri. Chaharshanbeh Suri or Charshanbeh Suri is an Iranian festival of the fire dance celebrated on the eve of the last Wednesday of the year, of ancient Zoroastrian origin. It is the first festivity of Nowruz, the Iranian New Year. In this celebration, people light fires on the mountains and on the roofs of houses, dance, rejoice and stomp their feet.[20] [21]
See main article: Nowruz. Nowruz is one of the most important ceremonies that has been celebrated by Iranians for millennia. Nowruz and related ceremonies are celebrated in the most opulent way possible in Kurdistan province. As the spring equinox, Nowruz marks the beginning of spring in the Northern Hemisphere, better i.e. the moment at which the Sun crosses the celestial equator and equalizes night and day is calculated exactly every year. Traditional customs of Nowruz include fire and water, ritual dances, gift exchanges, reciting poetry, symbolic objects and more.[22] [23] [24] [25] [26] [27] [28] [29]
The major activities of the inhabitants are agriculture and modern livestock farming. Wheat, barley, grains and fruits are the major agricultural products. The chemical, metal, textile, leather and food industries are the main industrial activities in this province. This province has one of the largest rates of unemployment in Iran. According to Iranian statistics, more than twenty thousand people depend on being a kolbar for sustenance.[30]