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Sistan and Baluchestan Province استان سیستان و بلوچستان
Province
Sib and Suran Castle
Map of Iran with Sistan and Baluchestan Province highlighted
Coordinates: 28°17′N 61°07′E / 28.283°N 61.117°E / 28.283; 61.117
Country	Iran
Capital	Zahedan
Counties	26
Government
• Governor-general	Mansour Bijar
Area
• Total	180,726 km (69,779 sq mi)
Population
• Total	2,775,014
• Density	15/km (40/sq mi)
Demonym	Baloch & Sistani
Time zone	UTC+03:30 (IRST)
ISO 3166 code	IR-11
Main language(s)	Baluchi Persian
HDI (2017)	0.688 medium · 31st

Sistan and Baluchestan province (Persian: استان سيستان و بلوچستان) is the second largest of the 31 Provinces of Iran, after Kerman Province, with an area of 180,726 km. Its capital is the city of Zahedan. The province is in the southeast of the country, bordering Afghanistan and Pakistan.

History

In the inscriptions at Behistun and Persepolis, Sistan is mentioned as one of the eastern territories of Darius the Great. The name Sistan, as mentioned above, is derived from Saka (also sometimes Saga, or Sagastan), a Central Asian tribe that had taken control over this area in the year 128 BC. During the Arsacid dynasty (248 BC to 224 AD), the province became the seat of Suren-Pahlav Clan. From the Sassanid period until the early Islamic period, Sistan flourished considerably.

During the reign of Ardashir I of Persia, Sistan came under the jurisdiction of the Sassanids, and in 644 AD, the Arab Muslims gained control as the Persian empire was in its final moments of collapsing.

During the reign of the second Sunni caliph, Omar ibn Al-Khattab, this territory was conquered by the Arabs and an Arab commander was assigned as governor. The famous Persian ruler Ya'qub-i Laith Saffari, whose descendants dominated this area for many centuries, later became governor of this province. In 916 AD, Baluchestan was ruled by the Daylamids and thereafter the Seljuqids, when it became a part of Kerman. Dynasties such as the Saffarids, Samanids, Qaznavids, and Seljuqids, also ruled over this territory.

In 1508 AD, Shah Ismail I of the Safavid dynasty conquered Sistan. After the assassination of Nader Shah in 1747, Sistan and Balochistan became part of the Brahui Khanate of Kalat, which ruled it till 1896. Afterwards, it became part of Qajar Iran.

Demographics

Ethnicity

The Baloch form a majority 90% of the population and the Persian Sistani a minority. Smaller communities of Kurds (in the eastern highlands and near Iranshahr); the expatriate Brahui (along the border with Pakistan); and other resident and itinerant ethnic groups, such as the Romani, are also found within the province.

Most of the population are Balōch and speak the Baluchi language, although there also exists among them a small community of speakers of the Indo-Aryan language Jadgali. Baluchestan means "Land of the Balōch"; Sistani are the second largest ethnic group in this province who speak the Sistani dialect of Persian.

Religion

The minority Sistani people of Sistan and Baluchestan province are Shia Muslims, and the majority Baloch people of the Baluchestan area in the province are Sunni Muslims, belonging to hanafi..

Population

At the time of the 2006 National Census, the province's population was 2,349,049 in 468,025 households. The following census in 2011 counted 2,534,327 inhabitants living in 587,921 households. The 2016 census measured the population of the province as 2,775,014 in 704,888 households.

Administrative divisions

The population history and structural changes of Sistan and Baluchestan Province's administrative divisions over three consecutive censuses are shown in the following table.

Cities

According to the 2016 census, 1,345,642 people (over 48% of the population of Sistan and Baluchestan Province) live in the following cities:

The following table shows the ten largest cities of Sistan and Baluchestan province:

Geography

The whole of the province had been previously called Baluchestan, but the government added Sistan to the end of Baluchestan. After the 1979 revolution, the name of the province was changed to Sistan and Baluchestan.

Today, Sistan refers to the area comrising Zabol, Hamun, Hirmand, Zehak and Nimruz counties. The province borders South Khorasan Province in the north, Kerman Province and Hormozgan Province in the west, the Gulf of Oman in the south, and Afghanistan and Pakistan in the east.

Sistan and Baluchestan Province is one of the driest regions of Iran, with a slight increase in rainfall from east to west, and a rise in humidity in the coastal regions. The province is subject to seasonal winds from different directions, the most important of which are the 120-day wind of Sistan, known in Baluchi as Levar; the seventh wind (Gav-kosh); the south wind (Nambi); the Hooshak wind; the humid and seasonal winds of the Indian Ocean; the north wind (Gurich); and the western wind (Gard).

In 2023, Sistan region was affected by several dust events, occurring in April, June, and August. The latter sent 1120 people to hospitals from 10 to 14 August. Winds reached a speed of 108 km/h (67 mph) in Zabol station and reduced visibility to 600 m (2,000 ft).

Sistan and Baluchestan today

Sistan and Baluchestan is the poorest of Iran's 31 provinces, with a HDI score of 0.688.

The government of Iran has been implementing new plans such as creating the Chabahar Free Trade-Industrial Zone.

Economy

Industry is new to the province. Efforts have been done and tax, customs and financial motivations have caused more industrial investment, new projects, new producing jobs and improvement of industry. The most important factories are the Khash cement factory with production of 2600 tons cement daily and three other cement.

Factories under construction:

• Cotton cloth and fishing net weaving factories and the brick factory can be named as well.

The province has important geological and metal mineral potentials such as chrome, copper, granite, antimony, talc, manganese, iron, lead, zinc, tin, nickel, platinum, gold and silver.

One of the main mines in this province is Chel Kooreh copper mine in 120 km north of Zahedan.

Sistan embroidery has been an ancient handicraft of the region that has been traced as far back as 5th-century BC, originating from the Scythians.

Transportation

Road transport

This section is empty. You can help by adding to it. (March 2022)

National rail network

The city of Zahedan has been connected to Quetta in Pakistan for a century with a broad gauge railway. It has weekly trains for Kovaitah. Recently a railway from Bam, Iran to Zahedan has been inaugurated. There may be plans to build railway lines from Zahedan to Chabahar.

Airports

Sistan and Baluchistan province has two main passenger airports:

• Zahedan Airport
• Chabahar Airport (Konarak Airport)

Ports

The Port of Chabahar in the south of the province is the main port. It is to be connected by a new railway to Zahedan. India is investing on this port. The port stands on the Coast of Makran and is 70 km west of Gwadar, Pakistan.

Higher education

1. University of Sistan and Baluchestan
2. Chabahar Maritime University
3. Zabol University
4. Islamic Azad University of Iranshahr
5. Islamic Azad University of Zahedan
6. Zahedan University of Medical Sciences
7. Zabol University of Medical Sciences
8. International University of Chabahar
9. Velayat University of Iranshar
10. Jamiah Darul Uloom Zahedan

Water

Iran ranks among the most water stressed countries in the world. However, Sistan-Baluchestan province suffers from major water problems that were aggravated by corruption in Iran's water supply sector, lack of transparency, neglect of marginalized communities, and political favoritism. The IRGC and other politically connected entities control water resources, prioritizing projects for political and economic gain rather than public need. They divert supplies to favored regions, causing shortages in vulnerable provinces like Khuzestan and Sistan-Baluchestan. For example, water diversion projects in Isfahan and Yazd provinces receive priority despite critical shortages in Khuzestan and Sistan-Baluchestan. Reports also indicate that certain agricultural and industrial enterprises with ties to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) have received significant amounts of water, while small farmers and rural communities struggle with severe shortages.

Iran's central government prioritizes water allocation for industrial and urban centers, often at the expense of rural and minority populations. These groups face severe water shortages, ecological degradation, and a loss of livelihoods. This pattern of unequal development not only exacerbates regional disparities but also fuels social unrest and environmental crises. Iran's water policy is also characterized by an overreliance on dam construction and large-scale diversion projects, primarily benefiting politically connected enterprises and urban elites. This has led to the drying of rivers, wetlands, and other vital ecosystems, intensifying dust storms and land subsidence in regions like Khuzestan and Sistan-Baluchestan. Such environmental degradation, combined with insufficient governmental oversight and transparency, worsens living conditions for marginalized communities, reinforcing cycles of poverty and socio-political marginalization.

Gallery

Landmarks such as the Firuzabad Castle, Rostam Castle and the Naseri Castle are located in the province.

• Naseri Castle, Iranshahr
• Rostam Castle, in Hamun County

See also

• Balochi cuisine
• Bazman, volcano mountain
• Baloch people
• Sistan region
• Balochistan region
• Balochistan, Afghanistan
• Balochistan, Pakistan

Media related to Sistan and Baluchestan Province at Wikimedia Commons

Notes

1. Also romanized as Ostân-e Sistân o Balučestân; Balochi: سیستان ءُ بلۏچستان اوستان, romanized as Sistàn o Balòcestàn ostàn or Asli Baluchestan
2. Separated from Iranshahr County after the 2016 census
3. Separated from Iranshahr County after the 2006 census
4. Separated from Chabahar County after the 2016 census
5. Separated from Nik Shahr County after the 2011 census
6. Separated from Saravan County after the 2016 census
7. ^ Separated from Zabol County after the 2011 census
8. Separated from Zabol County after the 2006 census
9. Separated from Nik Shahr County after the 2016 census
10. Separated from Saravan County and Sarbaz County after the 2006 census
11. Separated from Zahedan County after the 2011 census
12. Separated from Chabahar County and Nik Shahr County after the 2011 census
13. Separated from Sarbaz County after the 2016 census
14. Separated from Saravan County after the 2006 census
15. Separated from Khash County after the 2016 census
16. Separated from Konarak County after the 2016 census

References

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14. Jahangiri, Ishaq (13 August 2017). "Letter of approval regarding reforms and divisional changes in Sistan and Baluchestan province". Qavanin (in Persian). Ministry of Interior, Council of Ministers. Archived from the original on 7 April 2023. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
15. Davodi, Parviz (24 July 1386). "Approval letter regarding the reforms of country divisions in Sistan and Baluchestan province, Iranshahr County". Research Center of the Islamic Council (in Persian). Ministry of Interior. Archived from the original on 3 February 2013. Retrieved 7 April 2023.
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Bibliography

• W. Barthold (1984). "Sistan, the Southern Part of Afghanistan, and Baluchistan". An Historical Geography of Iran. Translated by Svat Soucek. Princeton University Press. pp. 64–86. ISBN 978-1-4008-5322-9.
• Kameel Ahmady (2019). From border to border. Comprehensive research study on identity and ethnicity in Iran. London: Mehri publication. ISBN 9781914165221.

External links

• Official website of Sistan and Baluchestan Governorship
• Chabahar Free Trading Zone, Sistan and Baluchistan

v t e Places adjacent to Sistan and Baluchestan province
South Khorasan province Farah province,  Afghanistan Nimruz province,  Afghanistan Kerman province Sistan and Baluchestan province Balochistan,  Pakistan Hormozgan province Arabian Sea

v t e Provinces of Iran
Alborz Ardabil Bushehr Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari East Azerbaijan Fars Gilan Golestan Hamadan Hormozgan Ilam Isfahan Kerman Kermanshah Khuzestan Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad Kurdistan Lorestan Markazi Mazandaran North Khorasan Qazvin Qom Razavi Khorasan Semnan Sistan and Baluchestan South Khorasan Tehran West Azerbaijan Yazd Zanjan

v t e Fars province, Iran
Capital	Shiraz
Counties and cities	Abadeh County Abadeh Bahman Izadkhvast Soghad Surmaq Bakhtegan County Abadeh Tashk Arsanjan County Arsanjan Beyza County Beyza Bavanat County Surian Chenar Shahijan County Qaemiyeh Darab County Darab Jannat Shahr Eqlid County Eqlid Sedeh Estahban County Estahban Ij Runiz Evaz County Evaz Bidshahr Fishvar Farashband County Farashband Dehram Nujin Fasa County Fasa Now Bandegan Sheshdeh Zahedshahr Firuzabad County Firuzabad Meymand Gerash County Gerash Arad Jahrom County Jahrom Duzeh Qotbabad Kavar County Kavar Kazerun County Kazerun Baladeh Khesht Konartakhteh Nowdan Kharameh County Kharameh Khonj County Khonj Khorrambid County Safashahr Qaderabad Lamerd County Lamerd Ahel Alamarvdasht Eshkanan Chah Varz Larestan County Lar Beyram Banaruiyeh Juyom Khur Latifi Mamasani County Nurabad Khumeh Zar Marvdasht County Marvdasht Kamfiruz Ramjerd Seyyedan Mohr County Mohr Asir Galleh Dar Varavi Neyriz County Neyriz Meshkan Qatruyeh Pasargad County Saadat Shahr Qir and Karzin County Qir Efzar Karzin Rostam County Masiri Sarchehan County Korehi Sarvestan County Sarvestan Sepidan County Ardakan Hamashahr Zarqan County Lapui Zarqan Shiraz County Shiraz Darian Zarrin Dasht County Hajjiabad Dowbaran Shahr-e Pir Khafr County Bab Anar Khavaran
Landmarks	Afif-Abad Garden Amir's dam Arg of Karim Khan Barmdelak lagoon Bishapur Delgosha Garden Eram Garden Nazar Garden Istakhr Ghal'eh Dokhtar Ka'ba-ye Zartosht Kazerun fire temple Lake Parishan Naqsh-e Rajab Naqsh-e Rustam Palace of Ardashir Sangtarashan cave Pars Museum Pasargadae Persepolis Qavam House Qur'an Gate Saadi's mausoleum Sarvestan Sassanian palace Shah Cheragh Colossal Statue of Shapur I in Shapur cave Tangeh Bolaghi Tomb of Ali ibn Hamzah, Shiraz Hāfezieh Tomb of Seyed Alaeddin Husayn Tounbbot Vakil Bath Vakil Bazaar Vakil Mosque
Populated places	List of cities, towns and villages in Fars Province

• Sistan and Baluchestan province
• Balochistan
• Provinces of Iran
• Gulf of Oman