| Group: | Iranian diaspora |
| Population: | 4,037,258 (2021)[1] [2] |
| Region2: | Americas |
| Pop2: | 1,905,813 (47.20%) |
| Region3: | Europe |
| Pop3: | 1,184,552 (29.34%) |
| Region4: | Other (Asia and Oceania) |
| Pop4: | 1,115,572 (23.46%) |
| Languages: | Languages of Iran |
The Iranian diaspora, also known as Iranian expats, are Iranian citizens or people of Iranian descent living outside Iran.[3]
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] [4] Many of them live in North America, Europe, the Arab states of the Persian Gulf, Turkey, Azerbaijan, Australia and the broader Middle East.[5] [6] Many of them migrated to other countries after the Iranian Revolution in 1979.[7] [8]
Iran has experienced since the Iranian Revolution in 1979. The creation of a ministry of immigration has been proposed after reports indicated critical statistics, largely due to political instability.[9] [10] [11]
| Iranian diaspora in 2021 | Article | ||
|---|---|---|---|
| 1,500,000 (2021) | Iranian American | ||
| 400,000 (2021) | Iranian Canadian | ||
| 304,000 (2023) | Iranians in Germany | ||
 United Arab Emirates UAE | 357,000 (2021) | Iranians in the United Arab Emirates | |
 Israel | 250,000 | Iranian Jews in Israel | |
| 86,700 (2023) | Swedish Iranians | ||
| 126,640 (2021) | Immigration to Turkey | ||
| 126,500 (2021)[12] | Iranian Australians | ||
| 110,920 (2021) | Iranians in Iraq | ||
| 90,000 (2021) | Iranians in France | ||
| 112,300[13] (2021) | Iranians in the United Kingdom | ||
| 52,000 (2021) | Iranians in the Netherlands | ||
| 40,000 (2021) | Iranians in Austria | ||
| 400,000 (citizens of Iranian descent)[14] 38,000 (non-Kuwaiti, 2021) | 'Ajam of Kuwait | ||
| 32,700 (2021) | Iranians in Denmark | ||
| 30,000 (2021) | Iranians in Malaysia | ||
| 20,000 (2021) | Norwegian Iranians | ||
| 20,000 (2021) | Demographics of Switzerland | ||
| 20,000 (2021) | Iranians in Belgium | ||
| 20,000 (2021) | Iranians in Qatar | ||
| 16,500 (2021) | Iranians in Georgia | ||
| 14,009 (2022)[15] | Iranians in Italy | ||
| 12,760 (2021) | Demographics of India | ||
| 12,000 (2021) | Iranian New Zealander | ||
| 12,000 (2021) | Iranians in Spain | ||
| 10,129 (2021)[16] | Iranians in Finland | ||
| 10,000 (2021) | Iranians in Azerbaijan | ||
| 10,000 (2021) | Iranians in Armenia | ||
| 10,000 (2021) | Iranians in Syria | ||
| 9,500 (2021) | Omani Iranians | ||
| 8,000 (2019) | Iranians in Tajikistan | ||
| 7,780 (2021) | Iranians in China | ||
 Lebanon | 5,000 (2021) | Iranians in Lebanon | |
| 5,000 (2021) | Iranians in Thailand | ||
| 5,000 (2021) | Iranians in Cyprus | ||
| 5,000 (2021) | Iranians in South Africa | ||
| 4,237 (2022)[17] | Iranians in Japan | ||
| 4,200 (2021) | Iranians in Ukraine | ||
| 4,111 (2021) | Iranians in Hungary | ||
| 3,950 (2021) | Iranian Pakistanis | ||
| 3,800 (2021) | Iranian Afghans | ||
| 3,500 (2021) | Iranians in Romania | ||
| 3,000 (2021) | Iranians in Kazakhstan | ||
| 2,500 (2021) | Demographics of Greece | ||
| 2,434 (2021)[18] | Iranians in Russia | ||
| 2,000 (2021) | Iranian Brazilians | ||
| 2,000 (2021) | Iranian Argentines | ||
| 2,000 (2021) | Iranians in Poland | ||
| 1,797 (2021)[19] | Iranians in Portugal | ||
| 1,770 (2021) | Iranians in South Korea | ||
| 1,500 (2021) | Iranians in the Philippines | ||
| 1,140 (2021) | Iranians in Slovakia | ||
| 1,000 (2021) | Iranians in Tajikistan | ||
| 1,000 (2021) | Iranian Tanzanians | ||
| 1,000 (2021) | Iranians in Ireland | ||
| 1,000 (2021) | Iranians in the Czech Republic | ||
| 500 (2021) | Iranian Mexicans | ||
| 500 (2021) | Iranians in Bulgaria | ||
| 500 (2021) | Iranians in Egypt | ||
| 500 (2021) | Iranians in Kyrgyzstan | ||
| 426 (2021) | Iranians in Estonia | ||
| 410 (2021) | Iranians in Hong Kong | ||
| 400 (2021) | Iranians in Venezuela | ||
| 400 (2021) | Iranians in Indonesia | ||
| 350 (2021) | Iranian Colombians | ||
| 300 (2021) | Iranian Chileans | ||
| 227 (2021) | Iranians in Belarus | ||
| 225 (2021) | Iranians in Sudan | ||
| 200 (2021) | Iranians in Singapore | ||
| 171 (2021) | Iranians in Serbia | ||
| 150 (2021) | Iranian Bolivians | ||
| 125 (2021) | Iranians in Slovenia | ||
| 110 (2021) | Iranians in Bosnia and Herzegovina | ||
| 100 (2021) | Iranians in Jordan | ||
| 70 (2021) | Iranians in Kenya | ||
| 70 (2021) | Ghanaian Iranians | ||
| 70 (2021) | Iranian Uruguayans | ||
| 65 (2021) | Iranian Ivorians | ||
| 60 (2021) | Iranians in Croatia | ||
| 54 (2021) | Iranians in Turkmenistan | ||
| 50 (2021) | Iranians in Uganda | ||
| 47 (2021) | Iranians in Tunisia | ||
| 47 (2021) | Iranians in Senegal | ||
| 44 (2021) | Iranians in Bangladesh | ||
| 41 (2021) | Iranians in Mauritius | ||
| 40 (2021) | Iranians in Vietnam | ||
| 40 (2021) | Iranian Nicaraguans | ||
| 23 (2021) | Iranians in the Democratic Republic of the Congo | ||
| 21 (2021) | Iranians in Brunei | ||
| 20 (2021) | Iranians in Algeria | ||
| 17 (2021) | Iranians in Gambia | ||
| 15 (2021) | Iranians in Niger | ||
| 15 (2021) | Iranian Nigerians | ||
| 12 (2021) | Iranians in Ethiopia | ||
| 12 (2021) | Iranians in Madagascar | ||
| 12 (2021) | Iranians in Albania | ||
| 11 (2021) | Iranians in North Macedonia | ||
| 10 (2021) | Iranian Cameroonians | ||
| 10 (2021) | Iranians in Guinea | ||
| 10 (2021) | Iranian Namibians | ||
| 6 (2021) | Iranians in Burkina Faso | ||
| 3 (2021) | Iranian Cubans | ||
| 2 (2021) | Mali Iranians | ||
| 1 (2021) | Iranians in North Korea | ||
| 1 (2023) | Iranians in Saudi Arabia | ||
| 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)[20] | List of sovereign states and dependent territories |
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.[21]
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:[22] 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.[23] [24] The Iranian Ministry of Education estimated that between 350,000 and 500,000 Iranians were studying outside Iran as of 2014.[25]
Armenia Hrant Markarian, Chairman of Armenian Revolutionary Federation
Australia Sam Dastyari, Senator
Canada Amir Khadir, Member of the National Assembly of Quebec Canada 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
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 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
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 KuwaitSee 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.[6] In Dubai, Iranian expatriates have invested an estimated $200 billion (2006).[26] Migrant Iranian workers abroad remitted less than two billion dollars home in 2006.[27]
See also: Social class in Iran and List of Iranians by net worth.
| National ranking | Name | Citizenship | Net worth (USD) | Source(s) of wealth | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pierre Omidyar | 12.9 billion [28] | eBay | |||
| Ghermezian family | 4.0 billion [29] | Triple Five Group | |||
| Farhad Moshiri | 2.8 billion [30] | Metalloinvest, Everton | |||
| Nazarian family | 2.0 billion [31] | Qualcomm | |||
| 1.4 billion [32] [33] | Real Estate | ||||
| Manny Mashouf | 1.3 billion [34] | Bebe stores | |||
| Merage family | 1.1 billion [35] | Hot Pockets | |||
| Nasser David Khalili | 1.0 billion [36] | Real Estate | |||
| Hassan Khosrowshahi | 950 million [37] | Future Shop | |||
| Omid Kordestani | 900 million [38] | ||||
| Anousheh Ansari | 750 million [39] | Sonus Networks | |||
| Isaac Larian | 723 million | ||||
| Arash Ferdowsi | 400 million [40] | Dropbox |
The fund's stated goal is to attract investment from Iranian expatriates and to use their experience in stimulating foreign investments.[41]
See also: Religion in Iran and Irreligion in Iran. 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.[42] Some expatriate Iranians consider themselves to be irreligious, agnostic, or atheist.[43] [44] [45]
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),[46] New York (17,323), Texas (15,581), Virginia (10,889), and Maryland (9,733). The Los Angeles Metropolitan Area was estimated to be host to approximately 114,712 Iranian immigrants, 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.[47]