Golestan province
Golestan province (Persian: استان گلستان, (Golestân), Ostân-e Golestân) is one of the 31 provinces of Iran, located in the northeast of the country and southeast of the Caspian Sea. Its capital is Gorgan, formerly called Esterabad until 1937. Golestan was split off from Mazandaran province in 1997.
Golestan province
استان گلستان | |
|---|---|
Province | |
Location of Golestan province in Iran | |
| Coordinates: 37°20′N 55°09′E | |
| Country | Iran |
| Region | Region 1 |
| Capital | Gorgan |
| Counties | 14 |
| Government | |
| • Governor-general | Ali-Mohammad Zanganeh |
| • MPs of Assembly of Experts | Seyed Abdol Hadi Hosseini Shahroudi Kazem Nourmofidi |
| • Representative of the Supreme Leader | Kazem Nourmofidi |
| Area | |
| • Total | 20,367 km2 (7,864 sq mi) |
| Population (2016) | |
| • Total | 1,868,819 |
| • Density | 92/km2 (240/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+03:30 (IRST) |
| Area code | 017 |
| Main language(s) | Persian
Mazandarani Turkmen |
| HDI (2017) | 0.778 high · 20th |
| Website | http://golestanp.ir/ |
The province was made a part of Region 1 upon the division of the provinces into 5 regions, solely for coordination and development purposes, on 22 June 2014. Majority of its population are Sunni Muslims.
At the 2006 census, the province's population was 1,593,055 in 379,354 households. The following census in 2011 showed an increase in population to 1,777,014 in 482,842 households. At the most recent census conducted in 2016, the population had risen to 1,868,819 in 550,249 households.