The Baloch are the majority ethnic inhabitants of the region of

Balochistan Balochistan ( ; bal, بلۏچستان; also romanised as Baluchistan and Baluchestan) is a historical region in Western and South Asia, located in the Iranian plateau's far southeast and bordering the Indian Plate and the Arabian Sea coastline. ...

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

. They speak the Rakhshani and Sarawani dialects of Balochi, an

Iranian language The Iranian languages or Iranic languages are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European language family that are spoken natively by the Iranian peoples, predominantly in the Iranian Plateau. The Iranian languages are groupe ...

. They mainly inhabit mountainous terrains, which have allowed them to maintain a distinct

cultural identity Cultural identity is a part of a person's identity, or their self-conception and self-perception, and is related to nationality, ethnicity, religion, social class, generation, locality or any kind of social group that has its own distinct cultu ...

and resist domination by neighbouring rulers. The Baloch are predominantly Muslim, with the vast majority belonging to the

Hanafi The Hanafi school ( ar, حَنَفِية, translit=Ḥanafiyah; also called Hanafite in English), Hanafism, or the Hanafi fiqh, is the oldest and one of the four traditional major Sunni schools ( maddhab) of Islamic Law (Fiqh). It is named a ...

school of

Sunni Islam Sunni Islam () is the largest branch of Islam, followed by 85–90% of the world's Muslims. Its name comes from the word '' Sunnah'', referring to the tradition of Muhammad. The differences between Sunni and Shia Muslims arose from a disag ...

, but there is also tiny proportion of

Shia Shīʿa Islam or Shīʿīsm is the second-largest branch of Islam. It holds that the Islamic prophet Muhammad designated ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭālib as his successor (''khalīfa'') and the Imam (spiritual and political leader) after him, mos ...

in Balochistan. Approximately 20-25% of the Baloch population live in Iran. Estimates of the Iranian Baloch population range from 1.5-2 million to as many as 4 million. The majority of the Baloch population reside in Pakistan, and a significant number i.e. 600,000 reside in southern Afghanistan. They are also spread in other

countries of the world The following is a list providing an overview of sovereign states around the world with information on their status and recognition of their sovereignty. The 206 listed states can be divided into three categories based on membership withi ...

, such as the Persian Gulf states and Europe. In Iran, the Baloch are divided into two groups: the Makrani and the Sarhadi. The cities such as Iranshahr,

Chabahar Chābahār ( fa, چابهار, bal, چھبار, čahbàr; ; formerly ''Bandar Beheshtī'') is the capital city of Chabahar County, Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Iran. It is a free port (free-trade zone) situated on the coast of the Gulf of ...

Nikshahr Nik Shahr ( fa, نیک‌شهر, also Romanized as Nīk Shahr; also known simply as Nīk; formerly, Geh and Keh) is a city in and the capital of Nik Shahr County, Sistan and Baluchestan province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic R ...

Sarbaz Sarbaz ( fa, سرباز, also Romanized as Sarbāz; also known as Qal‘eh-ye Sarbāz – "Fort Sarbaz") is a city in and the capital of Sarbaz District, in Sarbaz County, Sistan and Baluchestan Province, Iran Iran, officially ...

, and Saravan are known as the

Makran Makran ( fa, مكران), mentioned in some sources as Mecran and Mokrān, is the coastal region of Baluchistan. It is a semi-desert coastal strip in Balochistan, in Pakistan and Iran, along the coast of the Gulf of Oman. It extends westwards, f ...

region, while Zahedan and Khash are known as the Sarhad region. Balochistan of Iran has been regarded as the most underdeveloped, desolate, and poorest region of the country. The government of Iran has been trying to reverse this situation by implementing new plans such as the creation of the

Chabahar Free Trade Zone Chabahar Free Trade–Industrial Zone (CFZ) ( fa, منطقه آزاد تجاری-صنعتی چابهار ) is an Iranian free trade zone formed according to the law on the establishment and administration of free trade–industrial zones . Ch ...

References

{{Ethnic groups in Iran Ethnic groups in Iran Baloch people Sistan and Baluchestan Province

See also

References