Most Azeris Living in Tehran and Other Cities Intermarry and Assimilate Into Mainstream Iranian Culture
Outside of Africa, Iran is among the most ethnically diverse nations in the world. Persians might be a plurality, but Iran is also home to Azeris, Kurds, Baluch, Arabs, Turkmens, Lurs, Gilakis, Armenians, and Assyrians, among others.
It is a mistake, however, to interpret ethnicity in Iran the same way as in the United States or Europe. In Iran, ethnicity is fluid, especially among larger ethnic groups like the Azeris who assimilate and inter-marry more.
As with most Middle Eastern countries, censuses are highly contentious and political. In practice, this leads to a lot of guesswork. Most analysts estimate the Azeris number between 14 million and 22 million, quite a margin of error. Some Israeli estimates that place the Azeri population at 30 million appear unhinged from reality.
There are three largely Azeri provinces in northwestern Iran: Ardebil, East Azerbaijan, and West Azerbaijan. Their combined population is about 8 million. About 5 million Azeris live in the greater Tehran area, making the group around 30 percent of the capital city. Smaller populations are scattered in other major cities.
This is where numbers become murky. Most Azeris moving to Tehran and other cities intermarry and assimilate into mainstream culture. Policy analysts outside Iran count their children and grandchildren as Azeris, even though they themselves would identify as “Iranian”—rather than “Persian.”
Read the rest in the Middle East Forum Observer.
