Location of Mashhad

The city is the administrative centre of Mashhad County (or the shahrestan of Mashhad) as well as the somewhat smaller district (bakhsh) of Mashhad. The city itself, excluding parts of the surrounding bakhsh and shahrestan, is divided into 13 smaller administrative units, with a total population of almost 2,5 million.

The vast majority of the Mashhadi people are ethnic Persians who form over 95% of the city's population. Other ethnic groups include Kurdish and Turkmen people who have emigrated recently to the city from the North Khorasan province. The people of Mashhad who look like Mongolic people are of Turkmen descent.

Among the non-Iranians, there is a small immigrant population of