Iranian or Persian Whats the Difference

The terms Iranian and Persian are often used interchangeably to describe people from Iran, and some people think they mean the same thing, but is one term correct? The terms â€Å"Persian† and â€Å"Iranian† don’t necessarily mean the same thing. Some people draw a distinction in that Persian relates to a particular ethnicity, and being Iranian is a claim to a certain nationality. Thus, a person could be one without being the other. The Difference Between Persia and Iran benoitb / Getty Images Persia was the official name of Iran in the Western world prior to 1935 when the country and vast surrounding lands were known as Persia (derived from the ancient kingdom of Parsa and the Persian empire). However, Persian people within their country have long called it Iran (often spelled Eran). In 1935, the name Iran came into existence internationally and The Islamic Republic of Iran, with the boundaries in existence today, was founded in 1979 following the revolution which ousted the government of the Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi (1919–1980). Generally, â€Å"Persia† today refers to Iran because the country formed over the center of the ancient Persian empire and the majority of its original citizens inhabited that land. Modern Iran is comprised of a large number of different ethnic and tribal groups. People who identify as Persian account for the majority, but there are also large numbers of Azeri, Gilaki and Kurdish people, too. While all are citizens of Iran are Iranians, only some can identify their lineage in Persia. The Revolution of 1979 Citizens werent called Persian after the revolution of 1979, during which the country’s monarchy was deposed and an Islamic Republic government was put in place. The king, who was considered to be the last Persian monarch and had attempted to modernize the country, fled the country in exile. Today, some consider â€Å"Persian† to be an old term that hearkens back to the former days of monarchy, but the term still has cultural value and relevance. Thus, Iran is used in the context of political discussion, while both Iran and Persia are used in cultural context. Iran Population Composition The CIA World Factbook for 2011 pinned the ethnicity breakdown for Iran as follows: 51% Persian24% Azeri8% Gilaki and Mazandaran7% Kurd3% Arab2% Lur2% Baloch2% Turkmen1% other In 2019, ethnic percentages are not estimated, but tribes in Iran are listed as Persian, Azeri, Kurd, Lur, Baloch, Arab, Turkmen and Turkic. Official Language of Iran The official language of the country is Persian, though locally it is called Farsi. Percentages estimated in 2011 were: 58 percent of Iranians speak Persian or a  Persian dialect26 percent speak Turkic and Turkic dialects9 percent speak KurdishOthers speak Luri, Balochi, Arabic, Turkish and other languages But in 2019, no percentages were offered, but Persian (official), Azeri Turkic and Turkic dialects, Kurdish, Gilaki and Mazandarani, Luri, Balochi, and Arabic are listed. Are Persians Arabs? Persians are not Arabs. Arab people live in the Arab world made up of 22 countries in the Middle East and North Africa including Algeria, Bahrain, the Comoros Islands, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania, Oman, Palestine and more. Persians live in Iran to the Indus River of Pakistan and to Turkey in the west.Arabs trace their ancestry to the original inhabitants of tribes of Arabia from the Syrian Desert and Arabian Peninsula; Persians are a part of the Iranian inhabitants.Arabs speak Arabic; Persians speak Iranian languages and dialects.