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. In 2021, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Iran published statistics which showed that 2 to 4,037,258 Iranians are living abroad, an increase from previous years.Though many of these people are of Iranian ancestry in UAE, Kuwait, Israel, Turkey and Bahrain, not necessarily recent migrants but people who moved out hundreds of years ago or at least prior to the revolution. These numbers also include half and people with only partial ancestry as well. Over one million of these people and their extended families live in the United States, with anywhere between 100k-500k living in countries such as Australia, Canada, Germany, Israel, Sweden, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. Further populations exist in numerous other regions, including many European nations, China, India, and the United Arab Emirates, along with several other Middle Eastern and Levantine nations. Many of these individuals relocated to other countries following the Iranian Revolution of 1979. Iran has experienced Human capital flight from Iran since 1979. The creation of a ministry of immigration has been proposed, after reports indicated critical statistics, largely due to political instability.

Statistics by country

[[File:Map of the Iranian Diaspora in the World.svg|thumb|295x295px|Map of the Iranian diaspora as of 2021 {{Legend|#000000|Iran}} {{Legend|#165016|+ 1,000,000}} {{Legend|#2ca02c|+ 100,000}} {{Legend|#65e365|+ 10,000}} {{Legend|#b7f4b7|+ 1,000}}]]

Socioeconomic status

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.

Students abroad

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

Politics

Economics

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. In Dubai, Iranian expatriates have invested an estimated $200 billion (2006). Migrant Iranian workers abroad remitted less than two billion dollars home in 2006.

High net-worth individuals

Expatriate fund

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

Religious affiliation

The Iranian diaspora has been commonly defined as a largely people from upper-middle classes, secular and as not Muslims at all; the majority of them do not take fundamental Islamic rituals, such as daily prayers or fasting, and having largely embraced Western secularism. Most expatriate Iranians consider themselves to be irreligious, agnostic, or atheist.

Sources