Literature in Iran
Persian is Iran's official language and the language of the country's ethnic majority (i.e., the Persians), and Persian literature has been the country's most influential literary tradition. Apart from Iran, Persian literature was used and developed further through several medieval Persianate societies in Asia Minor, Central Asia, and South Asia, and the language is still used widely in Central Asia (Tajikistan and Uzbekistan) and Afghanistan.
Ethnicities in Iran
According to the CIA World Factbook, Persians in Iran constitute up to 61% of the country's population.
Another source, Library of Congress states Iran's Persians compose 65% of the country's population. However, other sources mention that Persians only comprise 50.5%, or 55.3%. All these numbers include the Mazandaranis and Gilakis as Persian people, though the CIA World Factbook makes a distinction between the Persian language and the Mazandarani and Gilaki language, respectively.