Iranian diaspora
Iranians abroad or Iranian diaspora are Iranian people living outside of Iran and their children born abroad.[1][2][3][4][5][6]
According to various sources, in 2010, there were an estimated four to five million Iranians living abroad, mostly in North America, Europe, Persian Gulf States, Turkey, Australia and the broader Middle East.[7][8][9][10] For the most part, they emigrated after the Iranian Revolution in 1979.
Students abroad
According to the Iranian government in 2013, 55,686 Iranian students were studying abroad.[11] Out of this number, 8,883 students were studying 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.[12][13] According to an estimate by the Iranian Ministry of Education, between 350 and 500 thousand Iranians were studying outside of Iran as of 2014.[14]
According to experts, a Western-educated Iranian can earn in excess of $15,000 a month, up to about $250,000 a year, in a senior executive role at a Western conglomerate in Iran.[15][16]
Statistics by country
Politics
Office-holders
- Haleh Afshar, Member of the House of Lords
- David Alliance, Member of the House of Lords
- Goli Ameri, Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs
- Cyrus Amir-Mokri, Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial Institutions
- Cyrus Habib, Member of the Washington House of Representatives
- Azita Raji, United States Ambassador to Sweden
- Bob Yousefian, Mayor of Glendale
- Jimmy Delshad, Mayor of Beverly Hills
- Amir Khadir, Member of the National Assembly of Quebec
- Reza Moridi, Member of the Legislative Assembly of Ontario
- Majid Jowhari, Member of the Parliament of Canada
- Ali Ehsassi, Member of the Parliament of Canada
- Sam Dastyari, Senator
- Yasmin Fahimi, general secretary of the Social Democratic Party
- Sahra Wagenknecht, Member of the Bundestag and deputy chairperson of the Left Party
- Omid Nouripour, Member of the Bundestag, (Alliance '90/The Greens)
- Farah Karimi, Member of the House of Representatives
- Mazyar Keshvari, Member of the Storting
- Ardalan Shekarabi, Minister for Public Administration
- Maryam Yazdanfar, Member of the Riksdag
- Reza Khelili Dylami, Member of the Riksdag
- Hrant Markarian, Chairman of Armenian Revolutionary Federation
- Moshe Katsav, President of Israel
- Dan Halutz, Chief of General Staff
- Shaul Mofaz, Minister of Defense
Economics
Their combined net worth is $1.3 trillion (2006 est.)[54][7][55][56] 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.[9] In Dubai, Iranian expatriates have invested an estimated $200 billion (2006).[57] Migrant Iranian workers abroad remitted less than two billion dollars home in 2006.[58]
High net-worth individuals
National ranking | Name | Citizenship | Net worth (USD) | Source(s) of wealth |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Pierre Omidyar | 8.7 billion [59] | eBay | |
2 | Ghermezian family | 4.0 billion [60] | Triple Five Group | |
3 | Farhad Moshiri | 2.8 billion [61] | Metalloinvest, Arsenal F.C. | |
4 | Nazarian family | 2.0 billion [62] | Qualcomm | |
5 | Vincent & Robert Tchenguiz | 1.4 billion [63][64] | Real Estate | |
6 | Manny Mashouf | 1.3 billion [65] | Bebe stores | |
7 | Merage family | 1.1 billion [66] | Hot Pockets | |
8 | Nasser David Khalili | 1.0 billion [67] | Real Estate | |
9 | Hassan Khosrowshahi | 950 million [68] | Future Shop | |
10 | Omid Kordestani | 900 million [69] | ||
11 | Anousheh Ansari | 750 million [70] | Sonus Networks | |
12 | Isaac Larian | 723 million [69] | MGA Entertainment | |
13 | Arash Ferdowsi | 400 million [71] | Dropbox | |
Expatriate fund
The government has proposed setting up a joint investment fund with $5 billion in basic capital and an economic union to serve Iranians living abroad. The stated goal is to attract investment from Iranian expatriates and using their experience in stimulating foreign investments.[72] Later, in 2010, it was announced that Iran will start the process by creating a national fund with a basic capital of eight million euros. This fund will later transform into a bank.[7]
The currency used in the fund is the euro and investors are supported by the Organization for Investment, Economic and Technical Assistance of Iran. Iran will pay a guaranteed 10 percent interest on foreign investment.[73] The value of each share in the fund is 1,000 euros. The minimum and the maximum investment amounts are 100,000 and 500,000 shares [sic], respectively.[73]
Religious affiliation
A number of Iranians have converted to Christianity in the diaspora from the predominant Shia Islam. While this group accounts for rather a small percentage of the total diaspora population, it is now far from marginal, with dozens of Iranian churches existing throughout countries with significant Iranian communities, inclunding the United States, Canada,[74] the United Kingdom,[75] Sweden, and Germany.[76] There also notable groups of Baha'i and Jewish Iranians.
A significant number of Iranians abroad are irreligious, Agnostic and Atheist.[77][78][79] While reliable statistics are difficult to come by, it is safe to say that the percentage of irreligious Iranians is significantly higher in the diaspora than in Iran, particularly with regard to Iranian-Americans and those living in Europe and Canada.[80]
Notes
[note 1] The Iranian citizens abroad (scope of this article) differ from the other Iranian peoples living in other areas of Greater Iran, who are of related ethno-linguistical family, speaking languages belonging to the Iranian languages (a branch of Indo-European languages). There are an estimated 150 to 200 million native speakers of Iranian languages (including 80 million in Iran as of 2016), the five major groups of Persians, Lurs, Pashtuns, Kurds and Baloch accounting for about 90% of this number.[81] Currently, most of these Iranian people live in Iran, Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Pakistan, parts of Uzbekistan (especially Samarkand and Bukhara), the Caucasus (Ossetia and Azerbaijan) and the Kurdish areas (referred to as Kurdistan) of Turkey, Iraq, Iran and Syria. Smaller groups of Iranian people can also be found in India (Parsi) and western China. Due to recent migrations, there are also large communities of speakers of Iranian languages in Europe, the Americas and Israel.
[note 2] In some countries naturalized citizens, dual citizens, or children with only one Iranian/foreign-born parent are counted (for statistical purposes) as citizens/nationals of the host country only (i.e. citizen of the country of residence). For example all naturalized Swiss citizens have a legal "Swiss origin" even though it is often not the same as their place of birth. Country statistics (by national origin) generally exclude illegal immigration.
[note 3] Same as "Iranian-born" but includes their children born abroad.
[note 4] Iranian ancestry (i.e. second or third generation), not necessarily Iranian citizenship.
[note 5] In the period from 1961 to 2005, the United States has been the main destination of Iranian emigrants. A total of 378,995 Iranians have immigrated to the United States in that period, where the major concentrations of Iranian immigrants are California (158,613 Iran-born in 2000),[17] New York state (17,323),[17] Texas (15,581),[17] Virginia (10,889),[17] and Maryland (9,733)[17] Los Angeles Metropolitan Area was estimated to be host to approximately 114,712 Iranian immigrants,[17] earning the Westwood area of LA the nickname Tehrangeles. In the case of the United States, the US Census Bureau's decennial census form does not offer a designation for individuals of Iranian descent. Consequently, 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. However, studies using alternative statistical methods have estimated the actual number of Iranian Americans in the range of 691,000 to 1.2 million.[9][82]
See also
- Demography of Iran
- Anti-Iranian sentiment
- Foreign relations of Iran
- Industrial Development and Renovation Organization of Iran
- Iran's brain drain
- Iranian nationality law
- Tourism in Iran
- Visa requirements for Iranian citizens
References
- ↑ "DIASPORA". Retrieved 8 February 2015.
- ↑ "Central Asia and the Caucasus". Retrieved 8 February 2015.
- ↑ Shirin Hakimzadeh, "Iran: A Vast Diaspora Abroad and Millions of Refugees at Home", Migration Policy Institute, September 2006 (Retrieved 2011-06-23.)
- ↑ James S. Kessler, "Iranians", The Encyclopedia of Chicago, 2004 (Retrieved 2011-06-23.)
- ↑ "افزایش مهاجرت جوانان آذری به ترکیه". Retrieved 8 February 2015.
- ↑ Азербайджанцы хорошо интегрированы в германское общество – Нусрет Дельбест | Азербайджанцы хорошо интегрированы в германское общество – Нусрет Дельбест | Ежедневный информационный ресурс – "Azeri.ru – Азербайджанцы в России". "Azeri.ru. Retrieved on 201106-18.
- 1 2 3 "No Operation". Presstv.com. Retrieved 2012-12-10.
- ↑ Esfandiari, Golnaz (2004-03-08). "Iran: Coping With The World's Highest Rate Of Brain Drain - RADIO FREE EUROPE / RADIO LIBERTY". Rferl.org. Retrieved 2012-12-10.
- 1 2 3 4 5 "Migration Information Source - Iran: A Vast Diaspora Abroad and Millions of Refugees at Home". Migrationinformation.org. Retrieved 2012-12-10.
- ↑ 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. Retrieved 2012-12-10.
- ↑ http://www.payvand.com/news/13/feb/1151.html
- ↑ http://www.payvand.com/news/13/jul/1094.html
- ↑ http://www.bbc.com/news/business-33238813
- ↑ http://www.payvand.com/news/14/sep/1002.html
- ↑ http://finance.yahoo.com/news/iranian-expats-hard-woo-western-104201359.html
- ↑ http://www.webcitation.org/6lQ80hakB
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 "Migration Information Source - Spotlight on the Iranian Foreign Born". Migrationinformation.org. Retrieved 2012-12-10.
- ↑ "Iranian-Americans and the 2010 Census: Did We Shrink?". Retrieved 4 July 2014.
- ↑ The Wall Street Journal, Iran's Political Crisis Fuels Expatriates' Fears, Hopes
- ↑ Gopalan, Shamini. "U.S. State Department". Highbeam.com. Retrieved November 28, 2011.
- ↑ "Iranian-Americans cast ballots on Iran's future". Retrieved 8 February 2015.
- ↑ "Alliance of Iranian Americans". Sotoodeh.net. January 7, 2003. Retrieved November 28, 2011.
- ↑ "Iranian Trade Group". Iraniantrade.org. Retrieved November 28, 2011.
- ↑ http://www.nytimes.com/2016/10/09/world/middleeast/iran-cellphone-service-att.html
- ↑ Iran's Foreign Policy in the Post-Soviet Era: Resisting the New World order. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
- ↑ Joshua Project. "Tajik, Afghan of Afghanistan Ethnic People Profile". Joshuaproject.net. Retrieved 2012-12-10.
- ↑ "UAE soldiers to learn Persian". Alarabiya.net. 2011-04-09. Retrieved 2012-12-10.
- ↑ "Sanctions on Iran unable to curb trade | Economy | GMA News Online | The Go-To Site for Filipinos Everywhere". Gmanetwork.com. 2008-08-18. Retrieved 2012-12-10.
- ↑ Travel Video Television News - Iranians investing heavily in Dubai Archived October 13, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ "National Household Survey (NHS) Profile, 2011". Retrieved 8 February 2015.
- ↑ "SCHWERPUNKT: Iraner in Deutschland". Isoplan.de. Retrieved 2012-12-10.
- ↑ Zuwanderung und Integration. Retrieved 2012-12-10.
- ↑ http://www.un.org/esa/population/meetings/EGM_Ittmig_Arab/P02_Kapiszewski.pdf
- ↑ Christoph Marcinkowski (15 July 2013). "The Iranian Shi`i Diaspora in Malaysia". Middle East Institute. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
- ↑ Vijenthi Nair (11 June 2011). "Iranians feeling at home in Malaysia". The Star. Retrieved 19 August 2015.
- ↑ http://www.scb.se/Statistik/BE/BE0101/2011A01B/be0101_Fodelseland_och_ursprungsland.xls
- ↑ Sakurai 2003, p. 41
- 1 2 3 4 http://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/products/dyb/dybcensus/V3_table4.xls
- ↑ "Всероссийская перепись населения 2002 года". Perepis2002.ru. Retrieved 2012-12-10.
- ↑ Joshua Project. "Language - Persian, Iranian :: Joshua Project". Retrieved 8 February 2015.
- 1 2 "שנתון סטטיסטי לישראל 2008 - מספר 59 פרק 2 - מספר לוח 24". Cbs.gov.il. Retrieved 2012-12-10.
- ↑ "Estimated population resident in the United Kingdom, by foreign country of birth (Table 1.3)". Office for National Statistics. September 2009. Retrieved 8 July 2010.
- ↑ "CBS StatLine - Population; sex, age, origin and generation, 1 January". Retrieved 8 February 2015.
- ↑ "Expanded Community Profile - Australia". Australian 2011 Census data. Australian Bureau of Statistics. Retrieved 11 January 2013.
- ↑
- ↑ Statistik Austria. "STATISTIK AUSTRIA - Bevölkerung nach Staatsangehörigkeit und Geburtsland". Retrieved 8 February 2015.
- ↑ "Bis zu 20.000 Menschen mit iranischen Wurzeln". Retrieved 8 February 2015.
- ↑ "Innvandrarbefolkninga og personar med annan innvandringsbakgrunn, etter innvandringskategori, kjønn og landbakgrunn. 1. januar 2001". Statistics Norway (in Norwegian).
- ↑ "5. Facts and figures - Middle Eastern peoples". Te Ara Encyclopedia of New Zealand. 2009-03-04. Retrieved 2012-12-10.
- ↑ "Little Iran in Lebanon?". 5 January 2010. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
- ↑ "Iranians in Lebanon: Between History and Politics". ASHARQ AL-AWSAT. Retrieved 8 February 2015.
- ↑ "Población extranjera por sexo, país de nacionalidad y edad (hasta 85 y más).", Avance del Padrón a 1 de enero de 2009. Datos provisionales, Spain: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, 2009, retrieved 2009-06-13
- ↑ "The Serviço de Estrangeiros e Fronteiras" (PDF). sef.pt. Retrieved 2013-04-01.
- ↑ "The End Of Sanctions And The New Iranian Economy [Infographic]". internationalmoneytransfers.org. Retrieved 2016-01-29.
- ↑ Iran Daily - Domestic Economy - 02/14/07 Archived March 6, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ http://iran-daily.com/newspaper/page/4887/4/18621/0
- ↑ Iran Daily - Domestic Economy - 04/04/06 Archived February 19, 2008, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ Iran Daily - Domestic Economy - 10/22/07 Archived October 25, 2007, at the Wayback Machine.
- ↑ "Forbes 400: Pierre Omidyar". Forbes.
- ↑ IRIT AVISSAR (October 27, 2010). "Canadian Jewish family in talks to buy Clal Insurance". The Jerusalem Post.
- ↑ Farhad Moshiri Forbes.com. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
- ↑ "Izak Nazarian: From Tehran Rags to LA Riches". vosizneias.com.
- ↑ "Vincent and Robert Tchenguiz". The Times. London. Archived from the original on 5 May 2009.
- ↑ "Tchenguiz brothers held in Kaupthing raid: source". Reuters. 9 March 2011.
- ↑ "#754 Manny Mashouf & family". Forbes. 2007-03-08.
- ↑ "The Forbes 400". Forbes. 30 September 2002.
- ↑ "#701 Nasser Khalili - The World's Billionaires 2009". Forbes. 2009-03-11.
- ↑ "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.
- 1 2 Jane Wells (20 Aug 2008). "Barbie v. Bratz: How Much $$$ For Mattel?". CNBC.
- ↑ Phillip Kurata (2012-02-24). "Iranian-American Woman Follows Dream to Wealth and Success". Payvan News.
- ↑ "Arash Ferdowsi - The 25 Richest Tech Entrepreneurs Under 30". Complex. 15 August 2012.
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20090622201104/http://www.iran-daily.com/1388/3377/html/economy.htm. Archived from the original on June 22, 2009. Retrieved August 8, 2010. Missing or empty
|title=
(help) - 1 2 "Iran, world, political, sport, economic news and headlines". MehrNews.com. 2010-02-08. Retrieved 2012-12-10.
- ↑
- ↑ Miller, Duane Alexander (January 2012). "Iranian Diaspora Christians in the American Midwest & Scotland: Historical Background, Present Realities, & Future Challenges". Global Missiology. 9 (2): 1–9. Retrieved 16 November 2012.
- ↑
- ↑ Public Opinion Survey of Iranian Americans. Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans (PAAIA)/Zogby, December 2008. Retrieved April 11, 2014.
- ↑ "Persian NYers Show Their Pride at Murray Hill Parade". Time Warner Cable News. Retrieved April 20, 2014.
- ↑ "Disparaging Islam and the Iranian-American Identity: To Snuggle or to Struggle". payvand.com. 21 September 2009.
- ↑
- ↑ Gordon, Raymond G., Jr. (ed.) (2005). "Report for Iranian languages". Ethnologue: Languages of the World (Fifteenth ed.). Dallas: SIL International.
- ↑ http://isg-mit.org/projects-storage/census/Factsheet.pdf
Sources
- Sakurai, Keiko (July 2003), 日本のムスリム社会 [Japan's Muslim Societies], Chikuma Shobō, ISBN 4-480-06120-7
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Iranian diaspora. |
- 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