Iranian diaspora

The Iranian diaspora (collectively known as Iranian expats or expatriates) is the global population of Iranian citizens or people of Iranian descent living outside Iran.^[3]

Iranian diaspora

Map of the Iranian diaspora as of 2021
Total population
4,037,258 (including partial Iranian ancestry) (2021)[1][2]
Americas	1,905,813 (47.20%)
Europe	1,184,552 (29.34%)
Other (Asia and Oceania)	1,115,572 (23.46%)
Languages
Persian and Languages of Iran
Religion
Shia Islam Sunni Islam Zoroastrianism Christianity Baháʼí Judaism Irreligion

In 2021, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran published statistics which showed that 4,037,258 Iranians are living abroad, an increase from previous years. However, this number includes people are of Iranian ancestry living in the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Israel, Turkey and Bahrain whose families left Iran many years, if not many decades, prior to the 1979 revolution. This number also includes people with only partial Iranian ancestry.^[1][2] Over one million of these people and their extended families live in the United States, with anywhere between 100,000 and 500,000 living in countries such as Australia, Canada, Germany, Israel, Sweden, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. Additional communities exist in numerous other countries, including many European nations, China, India, and the United Arab Emirates, along with several other Middle Eastern and Levantine nations.^[4][5] Many of these individuals relocated to other countries following the Iranian Revolution.^[6][7]

Iran has experienced waves of emigration since 1979. The creation of a ministry of immigration has been proposed, after reports indicated critical statistics, largely due to political instability.^[8][9][10]

Statistics by country

Map of the Iranian diaspora as of 2021

  Iran

  + 1,000,000

  + 100,000

  + 10,000

  + 1,000

Popularity change of countries among Iranian Immigrants (2016–2021)^{[citation needed]}

List of countries and territories by Iranian population

Country	Iranian diaspora in 2021	Article
United States	400,000 - 620,000	Iranian American
Canada	400,000 (2021)[citation needed]	Iranian Canadian
Germany	266,000 (2023)[11][citation needed]	Iranians in Germany
United Arab Emirates UAE	357,000 (2021)[citation needed]	Iranians in the United Arab Emirates
France	118,300 (2023)[12][13]	Iranians in France
United Kingdom	114,432[14] (2021)	Iranians in the United Kingdom
Israel	250,000	Iranian Jews in Israel
Sweden	126,700 (2023)[citation needed]	Swedish Iranians
Turkey	126,640 (2021)[citation needed]	Immigration to Turkey
Australia	126,500 (2021)[15]	Iranian Australians
Iraq	110,920 (2021)	Iranians in Iraq
Netherlands	52,000 (2021)	Iranians in the Netherlands
Austria	40,000 (2021)	Iranians in Austria
Kuwait	400,000 (citizens of Iranian descent)[16] 38,000 (non-Kuwaiti, 2021)	'Ajam of Kuwait
Denmark	32,700 (2021)	Iranians in Denmark
Malaysia	30,000 (2021)	Iranians in Malaysia
Norway	20,000 (2021)	Norwegian Iranians
Switzerland	20,000 (2021)	Demographics of Switzerland
Belgium	20,000 (2021)	Iranians in Belgium
Qatar	20,000 (2021)	Iranians in Qatar
Italy	19,887 (2022)[17]	Iranians in Italy
Georgia	16,500 (2021)	Iranians in Georgia
India	12,760 (2021)	Demographics of India
New Zealand	12,000 (2021)	Iranian New Zealander
Spain	12,000 (2021)	Iranians in Spain
Finland	10,129 (2021)[18]	Iranians in Finland
Azerbaijan	10,000 (2021)	Iranians in Azerbaijan
Armenia	10,000 (2021)	Iranians in Armenia
Syria	10,000 (2021)	Iranians in Syria
Oman	9,500 (2021)	Omani Iranians
Tajikistan	8,000 (2019)	Iranians in Tajikistan
China	7,780 (2021)	Iranians in China
Lebanon	5,000 (2021)	Iranians in Lebanon
Thailand	5,000 (2021)	Iranians in Thailand
Cyprus	5,000 (2021)	Iranians in Cyprus
South Africa	5,000 (2021)	Iranians in South Africa
Japan	4,237 (2022)[19]	Iranians in Japan
Ukraine	4,200 (2021)	Iranians in Ukraine
Hungary	4,111 (2021)	Iranians in Hungary
Pakistan	3,950 (2021)	Iranian Pakistanis
Afghanistan	3,800 (2021)	Iranian Afghans
Romania	3,500 (2021)	Iranians in Romania
Kazakhstan	3,000 (2021)	Iranians in Kazakhstan
Greece	2,500 (2021)	Demographics of Greece
Russia	2,434 (2021)[20]	Iranians in Russia
Brazil	2,208 (2024)[21]	Iranian Brazilians
Argentina	2,000 (2021)	Iranian Argentines
Poland	2,000 (2021)	Iranians in Poland
Portugal	1,797 (2021)[22]	Iranians in Portugal
South Korea	1,770 (2021)	Iranians in South Korea
Philippines	1,500 (2021)	Iranians in the Philippines
Slovak Republic	1,140 (2021)	Iranians in Slovakia
Tajikistan	1,000 (2021)	Iranians in Tajikistan
Tanzania	1,000 (2021)	Iranian Tanzanians
Ireland	1,000 (2021)	Iranians in Ireland
Czech Republic	1,000 (2021)	Iranians in the Czech Republic
Mexico	500 (2021)	Iranian Mexicans
Bulgaria	500 (2021)	Iranians in Bulgaria
Egypt	500 (2021)	Iranians in Egypt
Kyrgyzstan	500 (2021)	Iranians in Kyrgyzstan
Estonia	426 (2021)	Iranians in Estonia
Hong Kong	410 (2021)	Iranians in Hong Kong
Venezuela	400 (2021)	Iranians in Venezuela
Indonesia	400 (2021)	Iranians in Indonesia
Colombia	350 (2021)	Iranian Colombians
Chile	300 (2021)	Iranian Chileans
Belarus	227 (2021)	Iranians in Belarus
Sudan	225 (2021)	Iranians in Sudan
Singapore	200 (2021)	Iranians in Singapore
Serbia	171 (2021)	Iranians in Serbia
Bolivia	150 (2021)	Iranian Bolivians
Slovenia	125 (2021)	Iranians in Slovenia
Bosnia and Herzegovina	110 (2021)	Iranians in Bosnia and Herzegovina
Jordan	100 (2021)	Iranians in Jordan
Kenya	70 (2021)	Iranians in Kenya
Ghana	70 (2021)	Ghanaian Iranians
Uruguay	70 (2021)	Iranian Uruguayans
Ivory Coast	65 (2021)	Iranian Ivorians
Croatia	60 (2021)	Iranians in Croatia
Turkmenistan	54 (2021)	Iranians in Turkmenistan
Uganda	50 (2021)	Iranians in Uganda
Tunisia	47 (2021)	Iranians in Tunisia
Senegal	47 (2021)	Iranians in Senegal
Bangladesh	44 (2021)	Iranians in Bangladesh
Mauritius	41 (2021)	Iranians in Mauritius
Vietnam	40 (2021)	Iranians in Vietnam
Nicaragua	40 (2021)	Iranian Nicaraguans
Democratic Republic of the Congo	23 (2021)	Iranians in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Brunei	21 (2021)	Iranians in Brunei
Algeria	20 (2021)	Iranians in Algeria
Gambia	17 (2021)	Iranians in Gambia
Niger	15 (2021)	Iranians in Niger
Nigeria	15 (2021)	Iranian Nigerians
Ethiopia	12 (2021)	Iranians in Ethiopia
Madagascar	12 (2021)	Iranians in Madagascar
Albania	12 (2021)	Iranians in Albania
North Macedonia	11 (2021)	Iranians in North Macedonia
Cameroon	10 (2021)	Iranian Cameroonians
Guinea	10 (2021)	Iranians in Guinea
Namibia	10 (2021)	Iranian Namibians
Burkina Faso	6 (2021)	Iranians in Burkina Faso
Cuba	3 (2021)	Iranian Cubans
Mali	2 (2021)	Mali Iranians
North Korea	1 (2021)	Iranians in North Korea
Saudi Arabia	1 (2023)	Iranians in Saudi Arabia
West Asia and Other	2,433,000 (60,26%) (2021)	Anglosphere
North, Central and South America	1,905,813 (47,20%) (2021)	Americas
Europe	1,184,552 (29,34%) (2021)	Europe
Total:	4,037,258 (2021)[23]	List of sovereign states and dependent territories by immigrant population

Socioeconomic status

Nearly 60 percent of Iranians abroad have earned at least an undergraduate degree. They have some of the highest rates of self-employment among immigrant groups. Many have founded their own companies, including Isaac Larian, the founder of MGA Entertainment, and Pierre Omidyar, who founded eBay in 1995 in San Jose, California. Iranian households in the United States earned on average $87,288 annually as of 2018, and are ranked ninth by income.^[24]

Students abroad

See also: Higher education in Iran and Iran's brain drain

According to the Iranian government, 55,686 Iranian students were studying abroad in 2013:^[25] 8,883 studied in Malaysia, 7,341 in the United States, 5,638 in Canada, 3,504 in Germany, 3,364 in Turkey, 3,228 in Britain, and the rest in other countries.^[26][27] The Iranian Ministry of Education estimated that between 350,000 and 500,000 Iranians were studying outside Iran as of 2014.^[28]

Politics

•  Armenia Hrant Markarian, Chairman of Armenian Revolutionary Federation
•  Australia Sam Dastyari, Senator
•  United Kingdom Seema Kennedy, Member of the House of Commons
•  United Kingdom Haleh Afshar, Member of the House of Lords
•  United Kingdom David Alliance, Member of the House of Lords
•  Canada Quebec Amir Khadir, Member of the National Assembly of Quebec
•  Canada Ontario Reza Moridi, Member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
•  Canada Majid Jowhari, Member of the Parliament of Canada
•  Canada Ali Ehsassi, Member of the Parliament of Canada
•  France Pouria Amirshahi, Former Member of the French National Assembly
•  France Mahmoud Khayami, founder of Iran Khodro
•  France Pierre Omidyar, investigative journalist for Honolulu Civil Beat and First Look Media, also founder of eBay
•  France Patrick Ali Pahlavi, member of the Pahlavi dynasty
•  Germany Yasmin Fahimi, general secretary of the Social Democratic Party
•  Germany Sahra Wagenknecht, Member of the Bundestag and deputy chairperson of the Left Party
•  Germany Omid Nouripour, Member of the Bundestag, (Alliance '90/The Greens)
•  Israel Moshe Katsav, President of Israel
•  Israel Dan Halutz, Chief of General Staff
•  Israel Shaul Mofaz, Minister of Defense
•  New Zealand Golriz Ghahraman, Member of New Zealand Parliament from the 52nd New Zealand Parliament part of the Green Party of Aotearoa New Zealand
•  NED Farah Karimi, Member of the House of Representatives
•  Norway Mazyar Keshvari, Member of the Storting
•  Sweden Ardalan Shekarabi, Minister for Public Administration
•  Sweden Maryam Yazdanfar, Member of the Riksdag
•  Sweden Reza Khelili Dylami, Member of the Riksdag
•  Sweden Alireza Akhondi, Member of the Riksdag
•  United States Goli Ameri, Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs
•  United States Cyrus Amir-Mokri, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Institutions
•  United States Washington Cyrus Habib, Member of the Washington House of Representatives
•  United States Azita Raji, United States Ambassador to Sweden
•  United States Bob Yousefian, Mayor of Glendale
•  United States Jimmy Delshad, Mayor of Beverly Hills, California
•  Kuwait Ahmed Lari, Member of National Assembly of Kuwait
•  Kuwait Hassan Jawhar, Member of National Assembly of Kuwait
•  Kuwait Jenan Boushehri, Member of National Assembly of Kuwait

Economics

See also: Foreign direct investment in Iran

In 2000, the Iran Press Service reported that Iranian expatriates had invested between $200 and $400 billion in the United States, Europe, and China, but almost nothing in Iran.^[5] In Dubai, Iranian expatriates have invested an estimated $200 billion (2006).^[29] Migrant Iranian workers abroad remitted less than two billion dollars home in 2006.^[30]

High net-worth individuals

See also: Social class in Iran and List of Iranians by net worth

National ranking	Name	Citizenship	Net worth (USD)	Source(s) of wealth
1	Pierre Omidyar	Iran USA France	12.9 billion [31]	eBay
2	Ghermezian family	Iran CAN	4.0 billion [32]	Triple Five Group
3	Farhad Moshiri	Iran UK	2.8 billion [33]	Metalloinvest, Everton
4	Nazarian family	Iran USA	2.0 billion [34]	Qualcomm
5	Vincent & Robert Tchenguiz	Iran UK	1.4 billion [35][36]	Real Estate
6	Manny Mashouf	Iran USA	1.3 billion [37]	Bebe stores
7	Merage family	Iran USA	1.1 billion [38]	Hot Pockets
8	Nasser David Khalili	Iran UK	1.0 billion [39]	Real Estate
9	Hassan Khosrowshahi	Iran CAN	950 million [40]	Future Shop
10	Omid Kordestani	Iran USA	900 million [41]	Google
11	Anousheh Ansari	Iran USA	750 million [42]	Sonus Networks
12	Isaac Larian	Iran USA	723 million [41]	MGA Entertainment
13	Arash Ferdowsi	Iran USA	400 million [43]	Dropbox

Expatriate fund

See also: Privatization in Iran § Iranian expatriates role, and Tehran Stock Exchange § Foreign portfolio investment

The fund's stated goal is to attract investment from Iranian expatriates and to use their experience in stimulating foreign investments.^[44]

Religious affiliation

See also: Religion in Iran and Irreligion in Iran

Members of the Iranian diaspora are considered to be mostly secular. The majority of them do not take fundamental Islamic rituals, such as daily prayers or fasting, and have largely embraced Western secularism.^[45] Most expatriate Iranians consider themselves to be irreligious, agnostic, or atheist.^[46][47][48]

Notes

In the period between 1961 and 2005, the United States became the main destination of Iranian emigrants. An estimated 378,995 Iranians immigrated to the United States in that period, with California being the most common destination (158,613 Iran-born in 2000),^[49] New York (17,323),^[49] Texas (15,581),^[49] Virginia (10,889),^[49] and Maryland (9,733).^[49] The Los Angeles Metropolitan Area was estimated to be home to approximately 114,712 Iranian immigrants,^[49] earning the Westwood area of Los Angeles the nickname Tehrangeles.

The U.S. Census Bureau's decennial census form does not offer a designation for individuals of Iranian descent, and therefore it is estimated that only a fraction of the total number of Iranians are writing in their ancestry. The 2000 census estimated that the Iranian American community (including the US-born children of the Iranian foreign-born) numbers around 330,000. Studies using alternative statistical methods have estimated the actual number of Iranian Americans in the range of 691,000 to 1.2 million.^[5][50]

See also

• Iran portal

• Demographics of Iran
• Foreign relations of Iran
• Industrial Development and Renovation Organization of Iran
• Human capital flight from Iran
• Iranian nationality law
• Tourism in Iran
• Visa requirements for Iranian citizens

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Sources

• Sakurai, Keiko (July 2003), Nihon no Musurimu shakai 日本のムスリム社会 [Japan's Muslim Societies], Chikuma Shobō, ISBN 4-480-06120-7

External links

• History of Iranian diaspora - Encyclopædia Iranica
• Country Profile - Iran Migration Policy Institute (including modern history of Iranian migration)
• Iranian Diaspora in pre-Islamic times
• High Council of Iranians Abroad- "Strengthening the national identity of Iranians outside Iran and to defend their rights, helping the propagation of Persian calligraphy and language, and easing the participation in national security."
• Iranians Abroad - resources and links parstimes.com
• Iranian Alliances Across Borders (IAAB) (non-profit, non-partisan, and non-religious)
• Iranian diaspora - press article (2009)
• Seminar for Iranians Abroad Held in Tehran in August 2010