Qom ( pronunciation ) (Persian:قم‎‎), also spelled as Ghom, is the 8th largest city in Iran. It lies 125 kilometres (78 mi) 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.