Qom , also spelled as
Ghom; is the 8th largest city in
Iran. It lies by road southwest of
Tehran and is the capital of
Qom Province. At the 2011 census its population was 1,074,036 (957,496 at the 2006 census, in 241,827 families), comprising 545,704 men and 528,332 women. It is situated on the banks of the
Qom River. Qom enjoys a dry and warm climate with low annual rainfall due to remoteness from the sea and being situated in the vicinity of desert.