Esfarayen County

For the city, see Esfarayen.

Esfarayen County Persian: شهرستان اسفراین
County
Location of Esfarayen County in North Khorasan province (bottom right, green)
Location of North Khorasan province in Iran
Coordinates: 36°57′N 57°31′E[1]
Country	Iran
Province	North Khorasan
Capital	Esfarayen
Districts	Central, Zorqabad
Population  (2016)[2]
• Total	120,513
Time zone	UTC+3:30 (IRST)
Esfarayen County at GEOnet Names Server

Esfarayen County (Persian: شهرستان اسفراین) is in North Khorasan province, Iran. Its capital is the city of Esfarayen.^[3]

History

In 2023, Bam and Safiabad District was separated from the county in the establishment of Bam and Safiabad County. At the same time, Daman Kuh and Zorqabad Rural Districts were separated from the Central District to form Zorqabad District.^[4]

Demographics

Language and ethnicity

The surrounding mountains and deserts have become totally Kurdish and Turkmen in their ethnicity and language. It was only Esfarayen that resisted the flood of violence that swept away the ancient and sedentary Persian-speaking farmers and townsfolk of northern Khorasan, starting with the Mongol invasion, the coming of destructive tribes, and finally the massive murder and depopulation of northern Khorasan in the 18th and 19th centuries by the hands of Turkmen raiders and slave catchers.

Khorasani Persians were found in great numbers at the slave markets of Khiva and Kashgar in China in the late 19th century, being sold by the Turkmens. Esfarayen preserves what the entire northwestern Khorasan (including the whole southern half of Turkmenistan) must have looked like before the avalanche of the Turkic nomadic invasion began in the 11th century.

Population

At the time of the 2006 National Census, the county's population was 119,152 in 30,307 households.^[5] The following census in 2011 counted 127,012 people in 35,903 households.^[6] The 2016 census measured the population of the county as 120,513 in 36,519 households.^[2]

Administrative divisions

Esfarayen County's population history and administrative structure over three consecutive censuses are shown in the following table.

Esfarayen County Population

Administrative Divisions	2006[5]	2011[6]	2016[2]
Central District	99,381	107,743	103,603
Azari RD	13,596	14,762	14,203
Daman Kuh RD	7,887	7,641	7,252
Milanlu RD	3,936	3,293	3,904
Ruin RD	15,810	15,266	14,135
Zorqabad RD	6,831	6,409	4,619
Esfarayen (city)	51,321	60,372	59,490
Bam and Safiabad District[a]	19,771	19,133	16,887
Bam RD	9,041	7,888	6,902
Safiabad RD	7,683	7,718	6,558
Safiabad (city)	3,047	3,527	3,427
Zorqabad District[b]
Daman Kuh RD
Zorqabad RD
Total	119,152	127,012	120,513
RD = Rural District

See also

Media related to Esfarayen County at Wikimedia Commons

Iran portal

Notes

1. Transferred to Bam and Safiabad County after the 2016 census^[4]
2. Established after the 2016 census^[4]

References

1. OpenStreetMap contributors (26 October 2024). "Esfarayen County" (Map). OpenStreetMap (in Persian). Retrieved 26 October 2024.
2. Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1395 (2016): North Khorasan Province. amar.org.ir (Report) (in Persian). The Statistical Center of Iran. Archived from the original (Excel) on 27 October 2020. Retrieved 19 December 2022.
3. Habibi, Hassan (c. 2015) [Approved 21 June 1369]. Approval of the organization and chain of citizenship of the elements and units of the divisions of Khorasan province, centered in Mashhad. rc.majlis.ir (Report) (in Persian). Ministry of the Interior, Defense Political Commission of the Government Council. Proposal 3223.1.5.53; Approval Letter 3808-907; Notification 84902/T125K. Archived from the original on 17 November 2015. Retrieved 6 January 2024 – via Islamic Parliament Research Center.
4. Hosseinnejad, Mohammad Reza (12 February 2023) [Approved 27 July 1400]. "Explaining the details of changes in national divisions in North Khorasan". mehrnews.com (in Persian). Ministry of the Interior, Board of Ministers. Archived from the original on 22 March 2023. Retrieved 12 January 2024 – via Mehr News Agency.
5. Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1385 (2006): North Khorasan Province. amar.org.ir (Report) (in Persian). The Statistical Center of Iran. Archived from the original (Excel) on 20 September 2011. Retrieved 25 September 2022.
6. Census of the Islamic Republic of Iran, 1390 (2011): North Khorasan Province. irandataportal.syr.edu (Report) (in Persian). The Statistical Center of Iran. Archived from the original (Excel) on 19 January 2023. Retrieved 19 December 2022 – via Iran Data Portal, Syracuse University.