Provinces of Iran

Iranian Provinces استان‌های ایران (Persian)
Also known as: Province استان
Alborz Ardabil Bushehr Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari Isfahan Fars Gilan Golestan Hamadan Hormozgan Ilam Kerman Kermanshah Khuzestan Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Kurdistan Luristan Markazi Mazandaran Qazvin Qom Razavi Khorasan Semnan Sistan and Baluchestan Tehran Yazd Zanjan North Khorasan South Khorasan West Azerbaijan East Azerbaijan Caspian Sea Persian Gulf Turkmenistan Afghanistan Pakistan Azerbaijan Armenia T u r k e y Iraq Kuwait Saudi Arabia
Category	Unitary state
Location	Iran
Number	31 Provinces
Populations	557,599 (Ilam Province) – 12,183,391 (Tehran)
Areas	5,830 km2 (2,252 sq mi) (Alborz) – 181,790 km2 (70,188 sq mi) (Sistan and Baluchestan)
Government	Provincal Government, National Government
Subdivisions	Counties

Iran is subdivided into thirty one provinces (Persian: استان‎‎ Ostān, plural استان‌ها Ostānhā), each governed from a local center, usually the largest local city, which is called the capital (Persian: Markaz مرکز) of that province. The provincial authority is headed by a Governor-General (Persian: Ostāndār استاندار), who is appointed by the Minister of the Interior subject to approval of the cabinet.

According to the Encyclopedia Britannica,

Until 1950, Iran was divided into twelve provinces: Ardalan, Azerbaijan, Baluchestan, Fars, Gilan, Araq-e Ajam, Khorasan, Khuzestan, Kerman, Larestan, Lorestan, and Mazandaran.

In 1950, Iran was reorganized to form ten numbered provinces with subordinate governorates: Gilan; Mazandaran; East Azerbaijan; West Azerbaijan; Kermanshah; Khuzestan; Fars; Kerman; Khorasan; Isfahan.

From 1960 to 1981 the governorates were raised to provincial status one by one. Since then several new provinces have been created, most recently in 2004 when the province of Khorasan was split into three new provinces as well as splitting of the new Alborz Province from Teheran province in 2010.