An analysis of population growth in Isfahan City since 1956

Abstract

This thesis mainly analyses the very rapid annual growth (4.5 percent) of population in Isfahan City since 1956, and is divided into nine chapters. In a preliminary analysis of the historical background of population fluctuations throughout the centuries, the unofficial and unreliable estimates of travellers and visitors have been examined. Subsequently, an effort has been made to understand the influence upon population growth of the changing economic characteristics of the city, notably the increasing numbers of factories and workshops and particularly the new steal mill, which have attracted numerous migrants, largely from the rural areas and smaller towns around Isfahan City. The thesis is also concerned with the population composition and structure in Isfahan City, and the way that sex composition, age structure and marital status influence population growth. Consideration is then given to measuring the influence of natural increase on the population growth, particularly the two basic elements of births and deaths in the city and their changes over a period of twenty years. The evolution of families and households in the city has been surveyed, which has revealed an interesting reduction in the number of extended families and the increase in the number of smaller nuclear families. Finally the pattern of areal expansion of the city since the 17th century has been considered, especially to see the relationships between population growth and areal expansion. The main difficulty throughout the study was the lack of reliable census and vital registration data for Iran as a whole and also for Isfahan City. Therefore a wide variety of sources had to be used.