Iranian diaspora

Summary


The Iranian diaspora refers to Iranian citizens or people of Iranian descent living outside Iran.[3]

Iranian diaspora
Map of the Iranian diaspora in the world as of 2021
Total population
around 4,037,258 (2021)[1][2]
Americas1,905,813 (47.20%)
Europe1,184,552 (29.34%)
West Asia and Other (Asia and Oceania)1,115,572
Languages
Persian Languages of Iran
Religion

This includes the varying ethnicities of the Iranian people including the following groups: Persians, Azeris, Kurds, Lors, Baluchs, Arabs, Turkomens, Assyrians, and Armenians.

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.[1][2] Many of them live in North America, Europe, the Arab states of the Persian Gulf, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Australia and the broader Middle East.[4][5] Other studies have estimated about 1.5 million or fewer Iranians living abroad.[6] Many of them migrated to other countries after the Iranian Revolution in 1979.[7][8]

Statistics by country edit

 
Map of the Iranian diaspora in the world as of 2021.
  Iran
  + 1,000,000
  + 100,000
  + 10,000
  + 1,000
 
Popularity change of countries among Iranian Immigrants (2016–2021).[9]
List of countries and territories by Iranian population
Country Iranian diaspora in 2021 Article
  United States   1,500,000 (2021)[9] Iranian American
  Canada   400,000 (2021)[9] Iranian Canadian
  UAE   357,000 (2021)[9] Iranians in the United Arab Emirates
  Germany   317,105 (2022)[10] Iranians in Germany
  Israel 200,000-250,000 Iranian Jews in Israel
  Sweden   126,770 (2021)[9] Swedish Iranians
  Turkey   126,640 (2021)[9] Immigration to Turkey
  Australia   126,500 (2021)[11] Iranian Australians
  Iraq   110,920 (2021) Iranians in Iraq
  France   90,000 (2021)[9] Iranians in France
  United Kingdom   90,000-400,000 (2021)[9][better source needed] Iranians in the United Kingdom
  Netherlands   52,000 (2021) Iranians in the Netherlands
  Austria   40,000 (2021) Iranians in Austria
  Kuwait   400,000 (citizens of Iranian descent)[12]
  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
  Georgia   16,500 (2021) Iranians in Georgia
  Italy   14,009 (2022)[13] Iranians in Italy
  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)[14] 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)[15] Iranians in Japan
  Ukraine   4,200 (2021) Iranians in Ukraine
  Hungary   4,111 (2021) Iranians in Hungary
  Pakistan   3,950 (2021) Iranians in Pakistan
  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)[16] Iranians in Russia
  Brazil   2,000 (2021) Iranian Brazilians
  Argentina   2,000 (2021) Iranian Argentines
  Poland   2,000 (2021) Iranians in Poland
  South Korea   1,770 (2021) Iranians in South Korea
  Philippines   1,500 (2021) Iranians in the Philippines
  Portugal   1,215 (2021) Iranians in Portugal
  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
  Bolivarian Republic of 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 Belarus
  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
  Sri Lanka   0 (2021) Iranians in Sri Lanka
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)[9] List of sovereign states and

dependent territories

by immigrant population

Socioeconomic status edit

Nearly 60 percent of Iranians abroad have earned at least an undergraduate degree, and have one 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 earn on average $87,288 annually in 2018, and are ranked ninth by income.[17]

Students abroad edit

According to the Iranian government, 55,686 Iranian students were studying abroad in 2013:[18] 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.[19][20] The Iranian Ministry of Education estimated that between 350,000 and 500,000 Iranians were studying outside Iran as of 2014.[21]

Politics edit

Economics edit

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).[22] Migrant Iranian workers abroad remitted less than two billion dollars home in 2006.[23]

High net-worth individuals edit

National ranking Name Citizenship Net worth (USD) Source(s) of wealth
1 Pierre Omidyar 12.9 billion [24] eBay
2 Ghermezian family 4.0 billion [25] Triple Five Group
3 Farhad Moshiri 2.8 billion [26] Metalloinvest, Everton
4 Nazarian family 2.0 billion [27] Qualcomm
5 Vincent & Robert Tchenguiz 1.4 billion [28][29] Real Estate
6 Manny Mashouf 1.3 billion [30] Bebe stores
7 Merage family 1.1 billion [31] Hot Pockets
8 Nasser David Khalili 1.0 billion [32] Real Estate
9 Hassan Khosrowshahi 950 million [33] Future Shop
10 Omid Kordestani 900 million [34] Google
11 Anousheh Ansari 750 million [35] Sonus Networks
12 Isaac Larian 723 million [34] MGA Entertainment
13 Arash Ferdowsi 400 million [36] Dropbox

Expatriate fund edit

The fund's stated goal is to attract investment from Iranian expatriates and to use their experience in stimulating foreign investments.[37]

Religious affiliation edit

The Iranian diaspora has been commonly defined as a largely people from upper-middle classes,secular and as cultural or nominal Muslims; the majority of them do not take fundamental Islamic rituals, such as daily prayers or fasting, and having largely embraced Western secularism.[38] Some expatriate Iranians consider themselves irreligious, agnostic, or atheist.[39][40][41]

Notes edit

In the period between 1961 and 2005, the United States became the main destination of Iranian emigrants. An estimated 378,995 Iranians have immigrated to the United States in that period, where Iranian immigrants have primarily immigrated to California (158,613 Iran-born in 2000),[42] New York (17,323),[42] Texas (15,581),[42] Virginia (10,889),[42] and Maryland (9,733).[42] The Los Angeles Metropolitan Area was estimated to be host to approximately 114,712 Iranian immigrants,[42] earning the Westwood area of Los Angeles the nickname Tehrangeles.

The US 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 Bureau estimates 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][43]

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2021-06-05. Retrieved 2021-06-06.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. ^ a b "آمار پراکندگی ایرانیان مقیم خارج از کشور + نمودار". Gostaresh.news. Retrieved 2022-08-05.
  3. ^ "Diaspora". Iranicaonline.org. Encyclopædia Iranica. December 15, 1995. pp. 370–387. Archived from the original on 9 February 2015. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
  4. ^ Esfandiari, Golnaz (2004-03-08). "Iran: Coping With The World's Highest Rate Of Brain Drain - RADIO FREE EUROPE / RADIO LIBERTY". Rferl.org. Archived from the original on 2008-04-29. Retrieved 2012-12-10.
  5. ^ a b c "Migration Information Source - Iran: A Vast Diaspora Abroad and Millions of Refugees at Home". Migrationinformation.org. Archived from the original on 2014-02-15. Retrieved 2012-12-10.
  6. ^ According to one 2012-Pew study there were only 1,340,000 Iranian-born expatriates."Faith on the Move: The Religious Affiliation of International Migrants". Pewforum.org. 2012-03-08. Archived from the original on 2013-01-22. Retrieved 2012-12-10.
  7. ^ Saeed Zeydabadi-Nejad, The Politics of Iranian Cinema: Film and Society in the Islamic Republic, Routledge (2009), p. 17
  8. ^ Bagherpour, Amir (September 12, 2020). "The Iranian Diaspora in America: 30 Years in the Making". Frontline. Tehran Bureau, PBS.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Iranians abroad per country" (PDF). iranian.mfa.ir. Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Retrieved 2021-08-27.
  10. ^ "Ausländische Bevölkerung nach Geschlecht und ausgewählten Staatsangehörigkeiten".
  11. ^ "Australia's Population by Country of Birth, 2021 | Australian Bureau of Statistics". 26 April 2022.
  12. ^ Moojan Momen. Shi'i Islam: A Beginner's Guide. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9781780747880.
  13. ^ "Iraniani in Italia - statistiche e distribuzione per regione". Tuttitalia.it (in Italian). Retrieved 16 January 2023.
  14. ^ "Population 31.12. By Origin, Background country, Language, Year, Age, Sex and Information".
  15. ^ "【在留外国人統計(旧登録外国人統計)統計表】 | 出入国在留管理庁".
  16. ^ "Национальный состав населения Российской Федерации согласно переписи населения 2021 года". Archived from the original on 2022-12-30. Retrieved 2023-01-05.
  17. ^ "Iranian Americans free to thrive in the U.S." 20 July 2018.
  18. ^ "12,000 foreign students studying at Iranian universities". Payvand.com. Archived from the original on 2017-04-17. Retrieved 2017-07-17.
  19. ^ "14,000 foreign students studying in Iran". Payvand.com. Archived from the original on 2016-10-24. Retrieved 2017-07-17.
  20. ^ Coughlan, Sean (2015-06-23). "US universities on symbolic visit to Iran - BBC News". Bbc.com. Archived from the original on 2017-01-05. Retrieved 2017-07-17.
  21. ^ "Over 350,000 Iranians studying abroad: Education Minister". Payvand.com. Archived from the original on 2016-10-24. Retrieved 2017-07-17.
  22. ^ Iran Daily - Domestic Economy - 04/04/06 Archived February 19, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  23. ^ Iran Daily - Domestic Economy - 10/22/07 Archived October 25, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
  24. ^ "Forbes 400: Pierre Omidyar". Forbes. Archived from the original on 2017-08-23. Retrieved 2017-09-01.
  25. ^ Avissar, Irit (October 27, 2010). "Canadian Jewish family in talks to buy Clal Insurance". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on June 3, 2016. Retrieved September 18, 2016.
  26. ^ Farhad Moshiri Archived 2019-07-14 at the Wayback Machine Forbes.com. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
  27. ^ "Izak Nazarian: From Tehran Rags to LA Riches". vosizneias.com. 29 September 2009. Archived from the original on 2016-12-13. Retrieved 2016-09-18.
  28. ^ "Vincent and Robert Tchenguiz". The Times. London. Archived from the original on 5 May 2009.
  29. ^ "Tchenguiz brothers held in Kaupthing raid: source". Reuters. 9 March 2011. Archived from the original on 20 November 2015. Retrieved 1 July 2017.
  30. ^ "#754 Manny Mashouf & family". Forbes. 2007-03-08. Archived from the original on 2006-05-03. Retrieved 2017-09-01.
  31. ^ "The Forbes 400". Forbes. 30 September 2002. Archived from the original on 19 August 2017. Retrieved 1 September 2017.
  32. ^ "#701 Nasser Khalili - The World's Billionaires 2009". Forbes. 2009-03-11. Archived from the original on 2017-08-19. Retrieved 2017-09-01.
  33. ^ "No. 10: Hassan Khosrowshahi of Inwest Investments Ltd., DRI Capital Inc. has an estimated net worth of $0.94 billion". Vancouver Sun. May 14, 2012. Archived from the original on January 16, 2019. Retrieved February 9, 2019.
  34. ^ a b Wells, Jane (20 Aug 2008). "Barbie v. Bratz: How Much $$$ For Mattel?". CNBC. Archived from the original on 19 August 2017. Retrieved 9 September 2017.
  35. ^ Kurata, Phillip (2012-02-24). "Iranian-American Woman Follows Dream to Wealth and Success". Payvan News. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2016-09-18.
  36. ^ "Arash Ferdowsi - The 25 Richest Tech Entrepreneurs Under 30". Complex. 15 August 2012. Archived from the original on 24 June 2014. Retrieved 18 September 2016.
  37. ^ "Iran Daily - Domestic Economy - 04/19/09". Archived from the original on 2009-06-22. Retrieved 2017-07-17.
  38. ^ Gholami, Reza (2016). Secularism and Identity: Non-Islamiosity in the Iranian Diaspora. Routledge. pp. 2–5. ISBN 9781317058274.
  39. ^ Public Opinion Survey of Iranian Americans. Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans (PAAIA)/Zogby, December 2008. Retrieved April 11, 2014.
  40. ^ "Persian NYers Show Their Pride at Murray Hill Parade". Time Warner Cable News. Archived from the original on April 19, 2014. Retrieved April 20, 2014.
  41. ^ "Disparaging Islam and the Iranian-American Identity: To Snuggle or to Struggle". Payvand.com. 21 September 2009. Archived from the original on 8 May 2014.
  42. ^ a b c d e f "Migration Information Source - Spotlight on the Iranian Foreign Born". Migrationinformation.org. Archived from the original on 2012-12-14. Retrieved 2012-12-10.
  43. ^ Mostashari, Ali (October 2003). "Factsheet on the Iranian-American Community" (PDF). Iranian Studies Group Research. Archived (PDF) from the original on 2009-03-05. Retrieved 2017-07-17.

Sources edit

  • 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 edit

  • 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 on August 2010