The administrative divisions of Iran are arranged in four levels, the first level of which is the province (: ostÃÂn). Provinces are divided into counties (ôÃÂñóêçÃÂ: shahrestÃÂn); counties are divided into districts (èîô: bakhsh); and districts are divided into rural districts (ïÃÂóêçÃÂ: dehestÃÂn) and cities (ôÃÂñ: shahr). Rural districts contain villages and other population points. One of the cities of the county is appointed as the capital (àñéò: markaz, or center) of the county.
According to the Statistical Center of Iran, the figures are as follows, (end of Iranian calendar 1394):
The total population of a province is the total of its counties.
The total population of a county is the total of its districts.
The total population of a district is the total of its cities and rural districts.
To better understand these subdivisions, the following table for Sepidan County in Fars province (as it existed in 2006) is an example showing the hierarchy of a county's divisions: