Piranshahr (Pîranşar)

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Piranshahr (also Xanê or Khane, Kurdish: Pîranşar, Azeri: Piranşəhr, Persian: پیرانشهر, Literally: City of Piran, from the name of the local tribe of Piran) is a city located in West Azarbaijan Province in northwest Iran. The population of the city was around 270,000 inhabitants in 2014. The city is located west of Lake Urmia at the elevation of about 1,800 metres above sea level. Piranshahr is on the border between Iran and Iraq, and the high mountains of Siyah Kooh and Sipan lie respectively to the northwest and south. Piranshahr is one of the touristic areas of Iran because of its cold weather in winter and cool in summer.

The city has been home to various ethnic groups during its long history. For this reason, the demographics of the city have undergone numerous changes, with Kurds currently constituting the majority of the population. Nonetheless, many historical documents attest to the fact that at the beginning of the 20th century, the majority of the city's population was composed of Azerbaijanis.

The ethnic composition of Piranshahr is 94% Kurdish and 6% Azarbaijani, known locally as Ajams or Torks.

According to the Piranshahr's organization for Civil Registration the highest average annual growth rate in the province is in Piranshahr