Iran's population grew around 1.5 per cent annually over the past four years to just under 75 million people, the head of the country's statistical organization announced Sunday, dpa reported.
Adel Azar said Iran's population now numbers 74.7 million, from 70.4 million four years ago. The capital Tehran's population now numbers 12.5 million.
The Mehr news agency further quoted Azar as saying that households' average monthly income stands at 740 dollars while average monthly costs exceed 820 dollars.
The population of Iran has more than doubled since the 1979 Islamic revolution and that of Tehran more than tripled.
The 1980-1988 war with Iraq and the devastation of border areas in the west and south-west of Iran led to the migration of many border residents to Tehran, which is considered as the main reason for the population boom in the capital.
Unemployment, a housing shortage and drastic traffic problems are three of the main problems caused by Tehran's overcrowding. d