The low land that covers the south and south-west plain of the Caspian Sea and parts of Talesh heights and parts of the northern and southern Alborz in the west (the end of Shahroud Valley) is called Gilan. This province is separated from the rest of the country with the high wall of Alborz and Talesh, and is bounded northwards to the Caspian Sea and the Republic of Azerbaijan, westwards to Ardebil province, eastwards to the province of Mazandaran and southwards to Qazvin and Zanjan. The area covered by the province is 14711 sq. km. According to the survey in 1385 the whole population of the province is 2404861, among whom 1295751 are city dwellers. After Tehran, Gilan has the highest population density in Iran. The population distribution in Gilan, especially in the central plain is in a way that the villages are so close to each other and the communication and transportation is very easy between the villages and townships. In a shallow comparison, there is one city in every 478 sq. km. and in every 5 sq. km there is a village, while the average in Iran is one township in every 3322 sq. km. and one village in every 25 sq.km. According to the administrative divisions by the end of 1385 there are 16 counties, 43 districts, 49 townships and 109 agglomerations in Gilan.