Contradictory Statistics from Iran’s Vice Presidency on Number of Iranian Migrants Worldwide
Iran’s Vice Presidency for Science and Technology announced that the population of Iranian migrants worldwide as of 2020 was approximately 1.9 million people, which represents approximately 2.3 percent of the country’s total population.
The report from the Vice Presidency for Science and Technology was presented at a government cabinet session on Sunday, December 12.
The announcement of 1.9 million Iranian migrants worldwide comes at a time when the Secretariat of the Supreme Council of Iranians Abroad, affiliated with Iran’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, had stated last year that there are currently approximately 4 million and 37 thousand Iranians residing outside the country, with 76 percent of them living in America and Europe.
Iranian officials have so far published varying and contradictory reports on the actual number of Iranians residing abroad, including migrants, refugees, workers, and students.
The Vice Presidency for Science and Technology of Iran’s president also stated that based on available statistics, the lowest ranking of Iranians among migrant groups in host societies is related to Sweden (rank 5) and the highest ranking is related to the United Kingdom (rank 29).
This is while statistics from the Secretariat of the Supreme Council of Iranians Abroad show that currently 1.5 million Iranians reside on the American continent, with approximately 79 percent of them living in the United States and 21 percent in Canada.
On the other hand, approximately 1.2 million Iranians live on the European continent, with the United Kingdom hosting 400 thousand and Germany hosting 319 thousand, making them the largest hosts of Iranians living in Europe. Sweden, France, and the Netherlands follow in subsequent rankings.
The Vice Presidency for Science and Technology also stated in its report that based on country rankings in the three-fold Gallup migration potential flow indices, Iran ranks 87th among 150 countries in the world.
Gallup surveys published on its website show that if Iranians who wish to leave the country realize their desires, Iran’s population would decrease by 16 percent.
This figure is 27 percent for the educated population. However, this statistic relates to surveys conducted between 2015 and 2017, before the United States withdrew from the JCPOA.
The country’s economic, livelihood, and welfare situation has become severely critical since 2017.
Recently, officials of the Islamic Republic of Iran have asked Iranians residing abroad to return to the country and invest. Iranian officials claim there are no restrictions on the return of Iranians residing abroad, but numerous reports have been published about the detention of Iranians who have returned to the country, and some of them have even been exchanged with prisoners affiliated with the Islamic Republic in foreign countries.
Source: Radio Farda
