The population growth rate in Iran last year (ended March 19) increased to 2.3%, from 1.3 % two years ago, said Ali Akbar Mahzoon, director general of Population Statistics and Information at the National Organization for Civil Registration (NOCR). Speaking at a seminar on the National Population Day in Tehran on Wednesday, he said the country’s population had reached 80 million (1.08% of the world population). The NOCR said during the last year, 1.5 million babies were born in the country, while 374,000 deaths were registered in the same period, ISNA reported. Iran ranks 17th in the world in terms of population. The fertility rate or number of births per woman was at its peak in the 1990s at 6.8 births but saw a steep decline to 1.92 births in 2012. The median age in Iran is 30.1 years.
