what language does iran speak

The official language of Iran is Persian, locally known as Farsi. Persian (Farsi) is an Indo-European language and is the primary language spoken by around 53-70% of the population. It serves as the lingua franca and is used in government, education, and formal communications. Besides Persian, Iran is linguistically diverse, with about 79 living languages spoken. Other significant languages include Azerbaijani (a Turkic language spoken by about 18% of the population), Kurdish (around 10%), and smaller percentages of Arabic, Gilaki, Mazandarani, Luri, and Balochi speakers. Minority languages like Hebrew, Armenian, Assyrian, and Georgian are also spoken by small communities. Arabic holds formal religious status but is spoken natively by a small percentage of the population. Thus, while Persian (Farsi) is the official and dominant language, Iran features a rich linguistic tapestry with multiple other languages spoken across the country. Most Iranians, regardless of their native tongue, also speak Persian due to its status in education and government. This summarizes the linguistic situation of Iran as it stands today.