# Sistan and Baluchestan province

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$^2$. Its capital is the city of Zahedan. The province is in the southeast of the country, bordering Afghanistan and Pakistan.
The name of the region was Baluchistan at first. Later it became «Baluchistan and Sistan», and today it has become «Sistan and Baluchestan».

## 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. Large islante 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.$^{:25}$ Baluchestan means "Land of the Balōch"; Sistani Persians 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 school of thought.

### 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.
Sistan and Baluchestan Province :
| Counties | 2006 | 2011 | 2016 |
| Bampur | — | — | — |
| Chabahar | 214,017 | 264,051 | 283,204 |
| Dalgan | — | 62,813 | 67,857 |
| Dashtiari | — | — | — |
| Fanuj | — | — | 49,161 |
| Golshan | — | — | — |
| Hamun | — | — | 41,017 |
| Hirmand | — | 65,471 | 63,979 |
| Iranshahr | 264,226 | 219,796 | 254,314 |
| Khash | 161,918 | 155,652 | 173,821 |
| Konarak | 68,605 | 82,001 | 98,212 |
| Lashar | — | — | — |
| Mehrestan | — | 62,756 | 70,579 |
| Mirjaveh | — | — | 45,357 |
| Nik Shahr | 185,355 | 212,963 | 141,894 |
| Nimruz | — | — | 48,471 |
| Qasr-e Qand | — | — | 61,076 |
| Rask | — | — | — |
| Saravan | 239,950 | 175,728 | 191,661 |
| Sarbaz | 162,960 | 164,557 | 186,165 |
| Sib and Suran | — | 73,189 | 85,095 |
| Taftan | — | — | — |
| Zabol | 317,357 | 259,356 | 165,666 |
| Zahedan | 663,822 | 660,575 | 672,589 |
| Zarabad | — | — | — |
| Zehak | 70,839 | 75,419 | 74,896 |
| Total | 2,349,049 | 2,534,327 | 2,775,014 |

### 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:
| City | Population |
| Adimi | 3,613 |
| Ali Akbar | 4,779 |
| Bampur | 12,217 |
| Bazman | 5,192 |
| Bent | 5,822 |
| Bonjar | 3,760 |
| Chabahar | 106,739 |
| Dust Mohammad | 6,621 |
| Espakeh | 4,719 |
| Fanuj | 13,070 |
| Galmurti | 10,292 |
| Gosht | 4,992 |
| Hiduj | 1,674 |
| Iranshahr | 113,750 |
| Jaleq | 18,098 |
| Khash | 56,584 |
| Konarak | 43,258 |
| Mehrestan | 12,245 |
| Mirjaveh | 9,359 |
| Mohammadabad | 3,468 |
| Mohammadan | 10,302 |
| Mohammadi | 5,606 |
| Negur | 5,670 |
| Nik Shahr | 17,732 |
| Nosratabad | 5,238 |
| Nukabad | 5,261 |
| Pishin | 16,011 |
| Qasr-e Qand | 11,605 |
| Rask | 10,115 |
| Saravan | 60,014 |
| Sarbaz | 2,020 |
| Sirkan | 2,196 |
| Suran | 13,580 |
| Zabol | 134,950 |
| Zahedan | 587,730 |
| Zarabad | 4,003 |
| Zehak | 13,357 |
The following table shows the ten largest cities of Sistan and Baluchestan province:
| Rank | Name | Population (2016) |
| 1 | Zahedan | 587,730 |
| 2 | Zabol | 134,950 |
| 3 | Iranshahr | 113,750 |
| 4 | Chabahar | 106,739 |
| 5 | Saravan | 60,014 |
| 6 | Khash | 56,584 |
| 7 | Konarak | 43,258 |
| 8 | Jaleq | 18,098 |
| 9 | Nik Shahr | 17,732 |
| 10 | Pishin | 16,011 |

## Geography

The whole of the province had previously been called Baluchestan, but the government added Sistan to the end of Baluchestan and became Baluchestan and Sistan. 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
### 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

* University of Sistan and Baluchestan
* Chabahar Maritime University
* Zabol University
* Islamic Azad University of Iranshahr
* Islamic Azad University of Zahedan
* Zahedan University of Medical Sciences
* Zabol University of Medical Sciences
* International University of Chabahar
* Velayat University of Iranshar
* Jamiah Darul Uloom Zahedan

## Water

Iran ranks among the most water stressed countries in the world. 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