# Iranian diaspora

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 4,037,258 Iranians are living abroad, an increase from previous years. However, this number includes people are of Iranian ancestry living in the United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Israel, Turkey and Bahrain whose families left Iran many years, if not many decades, prior to the 1979 revolution. This number also includes people with only partial Iranian ancestry. Over one million of these people and their extended families live in the United States, with anywhere between 100,000 and 500,000 living in countries such as Australia, Canada, Germany, Israel, Sweden, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. Additional communities exist in numerous other countries, 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.
Iran has experienced waves of emigration 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

List of countries and territories by Iranian population :
| Country | Iranian diaspora in 2021 | Article |
| United States | 400,000 - 620,000 | Iranian American |
| Canada | 400,000 (2021) | Iranian Canadian |
| Germany | 266,000 (2023) | Iranians in Germany |
| United Arab Emirates UAE | 357,000 (2021) | Iranians in the United Arab Emirates |
| France | 118,300 (2023) | Iranians in France |
| United Kingdom | 114,432 (2021) | Iranians in the United Kingdom |
| Israel | 250,000 | Iranian Jews in Israel |
| Sweden | 126,700 (2023) | Swedish Iranians |
| Turkey | 126,640 (2021) | Immigration to Turkey |
| Australia | 126,500 (2021) | Iranian Australians |
| Iraq | 110,920 (2021) | Iranians in Iraq |
| Netherlands | 52,000 (2021) | Iranians in the Netherlands |
| Austria | 40,000 (2021) | Iranians in Austria |
| Kuwait | 400,000 (citizens of Iranian descent) 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 |
| Italy | 19,887 (2022) | Iranians in Italy |
| Georgia | 16,500 (2021) | Iranians in Georgia |
| 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) | 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) | Iranians in Japan |
| Ukraine | 4,200 (2021) | Iranians in Ukraine |
| Hungary | 4,111 (2021) | Iranians in Hungary |
| Pakistan | 3,950 (2021) | Iranian Pakistanis |
| 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) | Iranians in Russia |
| Brazil | 2,208 (2024) | Iranian Brazilians |
| Argentina | 2,000 (2021) | Iranian Argentines |
| Poland | 2,000 (2021) | Iranians in Poland |
| Portugal | 1,797 (2021) | Iranians in Portugal |
| South Korea | 1,770 (2021) | Iranians in South Korea |
| Philippines | 1,500 (2021) | Iranians in the Philippines |
| 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 |
| 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 Sudan |
| 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 |
| 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) | List of sovereign states and dependent territories by immigrant population |

## Socioeconomic status

Nearly 60 percent of Iranians abroad have earned at least an undergraduate degree. They have some 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 earned on average $87,288 annually as of 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

* Armenia Hrant Markarian, Chairman of Armenian Revolutionary Federation
* Australia Sam Dastyari, Senator
* United Kingdom Seema Kennedy, Member of the House of Commons
* United Kingdom Haleh Afshar, Member of the House of Lords
* United Kingdom David Alliance, Member of the House of Lords
* Canada Quebec Amir Khadir, Member of the National Assembly of Quebec
* Canada Ontario 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
* NED Farah Karimi, Member of the House of Representatives
* 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 Washington 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 of Beverly Hills, California
* 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 Kuwait

## 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

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

### 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

Members of the Iranian diaspora are considered to be mostly secular. The majority of them do not take fundamental Islamic rituals, such as daily prayers or fasting, and have largely embraced Western secularism. Most expatriate Iranians consider themselves to be irreligious, agnostic, or atheist.