Sistan and Baluchestan province (Persian:استان سيستان و بلوچستان)[a] is the second largest of the 31Provinces of Iran, afterKerman province, with an area of 180,726 km2. Its capital is the city ofZahedan.[4] The province is in the southeast of the country, borderingAfghanistan andPakistan.[5][6]
The name of the region wasBaluchistan at first. Later it became «Baluchistan and Sistan», and today it has become «Sistan and Baluchestan».[7][8][9]
In the inscriptions atBehistun andPersepolis,Sistan is mentioned as one of the eastern territories ofDarius the Great. The name Sistan is derived fromSaka (also sometimesSaga, orSagastan), a Central Asian tribe that had taken control over this area in the year 128 BC. During theArsacid dynasty (248 BC to 224 AD), the province became the seat ofSuren-Pahlav Clan. From theSassanid period until the early Islamic period, Sistan flourished considerably.[citation needed]
During the reign ofArdashir I of Persia, Sistan came under the jurisdiction of the Sassanids, and in 644 AD, theArab 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 anArab commander was assigned as governor. The famousPersian rulerYa'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 theDaylamids and thereafter theSeljuqids, when it became a part ofKerman. Dynasties such as theSaffarids,Samanids,Qaznavids, and Seljuqids, also ruled over this territory.[citation needed]
In 1508 AD, ShahIsmail I of theSafavid dynasty conquered Sistan. After the assassination ofNader Shah in 1747, Sistan and Balochistan became part of the BrahuiKhanate of Kalat, which ruled it until 1896. Afterwards, it became part ofQajar Iran.[10]
TheBaloch form a majority 70-76% of the population and thePersian Sistani a minority. Smaller communities ofKurds (in the eastern highlands and nearIranshahr); the expatriateBrahui (along the border with Pakistan); and other resident and itinerant ethnic groups, such as theRomani, are also found within the province.[citation needed]
Most of the population areBalōch and speak theBaluchi language, although there also exists among them a small community of speakers of theIndo-Aryan languageJadgali.[11]: 25 Baluchestan means "Land of the Balōch"; Sistani Persians are the second largest ethnic group in this province who speak theSistani dialect of Persian.[citation needed]
At the time of the 2006 National Census, the province's population was 2,349,049 in 468,025 households.[15] The following census in 2011 counted 2,534,327 inhabitants living in 587,921 households.[16] The 2016 census measured the population of the province as 2,775,014 in 704,888 households.[2]
The population history and structural changes of Sistan and Baluchestan Province's administrative divisions over three consecutive censuses are shown in the following table.
The whole of the province had previously been calledBaluchestan, but the government added Sistan to the end of Baluchestan and became Baluchestan and Sistan. After the1979 revolution, the name of the province was changed to Sistan and Baluchestan.[7][8]
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 the120-day wind of Sistan, known in Baluchi asLevar; the seventh wind (Gav-kosh); the south wind (Nambi); theHooshak 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,[31] June,[30] 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).[32]
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.
The city ofZahedan has been connected toQuetta in Pakistan for a century with a broad gauge railway. It has weekly trains for Kovaitah. Recently a railway fromBam, Iran to Zahedan has been inaugurated. There may be plans to build railway lines from Zahedan toChabahar.[34]
Iran ranks among the mostwater stressed countries in the world. Sistan-Baluchestan province suffers from major water problems that were aggravated by corruption in Iran'swater supply sector, lack of transparency, neglect of marginalized communities, andpolitical favoritism. TheIRGC 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 likeKhuzestan and Sistan-Baluchestan. For example, water diversion projects inIsfahan andYazd 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.[38]
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.[39]
^ab"Inside Iran's Most Secretive Region". The Diplomat. Retrieved26 January 2025.Eighty years ago, this area was called "Balochistan." Later it became "Balochistan and Sistan" and today it's "Sistan and Balochistan"
^ab"Sistan and Baluchestan Tourist and Travel Guide". ADVENTURE IRAN. Retrieved26 January 2025.Sistan and Baluchestan province comprises two large sections, Sistan in the north and Baluchestan in the south. The Farsi name "Sistan" comes from Old Persian Sakastana, meaning "Land of the Saka". The name Baluchestan- also written "Baluchestan"- means "Land of the Baluch" in the Persian language and is used to represent the majority of Baloch people inhabiting the province. Sistan was added to thLarge intestinee name of the Baluchestan province to represent the minority Persian people who speak the Sistani dialect of Persian.
^Delforooz, Behrooz Barjasteh (2008). "A sociolinguistic survey of among the Jagdal in Iranian Balochistan". In Jahani, Carina; Korn, Agnes; Titus, Paul Brian (eds.).The Baloch and others: linguistic, historical and socio-political perspectives on pluralism in Balochistan. Wiesbaden: Reichert Verlag. pp. 23–44.ISBN978-3-89500-591-6.
^"Ahmady, Kameel. A Peace-Oriented Investigation of the Ethnic Identity Challenge in Iran (A Study of Five Iranian Ethnic Groups with the GT Method), 2022, 13th Eurasian Conferences on Language and Social Sciences pp.591-624".13th Eurasian Conferences on Language and Social Sciences. 2022. Pp.591-624.
^Davodi, Parviz (c. 2023) [Approved 5 March 1386]."Reforms of national divisions in Sistan and Baluchestan province, Zabol County".qavanin.ir (in Persian). Ministry of the Interior, Board of Ministers. Proposal 4/1/42/149078; Letter 58538/T26118AH. Archived fromthe original on 21 July 2023. Retrieved31 December 2023 – via Laws and Regulations Portal of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
^Rahimi, Mohammad Reza (21 October 2012) [Approved 29 September 1391].Resolution on the national divisions in Sistan and Baluchestan province.rc.majlis.ir (Report) (in Persian). Ministry of the Interior, Council of Ministers. Proposal 5676/42/4/1; Notification 200666/T46606H. Archived fromthe original on 10 January 2013. Retrieved8 January 2025 – via Research Center of the Law System of the Islamic Consultative Assembly of the Farabi Library of Mobile Users.
^Rahimi, Mohammad Reza (c. 2023) [Approved 29 September 1391].Carrying out reforms of national divisions in Sistan and Baluchestan province.qavanin.ir (Report) (in Persian). Ministry of the Interior, Council of Ministers. Proposal 5603/42/1/1. Archived fromthe original on 22 March 2023. Retrieved31 December 2023 – via Laws and Regulations Portal of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Kameel Ahmady (2019).From border to border. Comprehensive research study on identity and ethnicity in Iran. London: Mehri publication.ISBN9781914165221.
![[icon]](/mt/?noimg=&dark=on&url=http%3a%2f%2fen.wikipedia.org%2fwiki%2fFile%3aWiki_letter_w_cropped.svg)
