 Map of the Iranian diaspora as of 2021 | |
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| ~4,037,258 (official estimate, 2021) ~1.6 million (asylum seekers, 2021)[1][2] | |
| Americas | 1,905,813 (47.20%) |
| Europe | 1,184,552 (29.34%) |
| Other (Asia andOceania) | 1,115,572 (23.46%) |
| Languages | |
| Persian andLanguages of Iran | |
| Religion | |
TheIranian diaspora (collectively known asIranianexpats orexpatriates) is the global population ofIranian citizens or people of Iranian descent living outsideIran.[3]
While Iranian migration has occurred historically, a significant wave of Iranians fled Iran after the1979 Islamic Revolution due topolitical persecution under the new government.[4] This trend has continued and intensified in the 2020s due to economic instability and political unrest.
In 2021, theMinistry of Foreign Affairs of Iran published statistics showing that 4,037,258 Iranians were living abroad. This figure includes people of Iranian ancestry in theUnited Arab Emirates,Kuwait,Israel,Turkey, andBahrain whose families may have left Iran decades prior to the 1979 revolution, as well as those with partial ancestry.[1][2] By December 2025,United Nations data indicated that there were 1.6 million Iranian asylum seekers worldwide, suggesting that approximately 1 in every 15 Iranians has left the country.[5]
Over one million people of Iranian descent live in theUnited States, with significant populations (between 100,000 and 500,000) inAustralia,Canada,Germany, Israel,Sweden, Turkey, and theUnited Kingdom.[6][7] In early 2026, theIranian diaspora began holding rallies around the world in support of the2025–2026 Iranian protests.[8]
Iran has experiencedwaves of emigration since 1979. The government has proposed the creation of a ministry of immigration following reports indicating critical emigration statistics, largely driven by political instability and economic sanctions.[9][10][11]
_change_according_to_Ministry_of_Foreign_affairs_Iran_.png)
.svg)
| Country | Iranian diaspora (est.) | Article |
|---|---|---|
 United States |  568,564 (2021) | Iranian Americans |
 Kuwait | 400,000 (citizens)[13] 38,000 (non-Kuwaiti, 2021) | Ajam of Kuwait |
 United Arab Emirates |  357,000 (2021)[citation needed] | Iranians in the United Arab Emirates |
 Germany | 336,000 (2023)[14] | Iranians in Germany |
 Canada | 280,805 (2021)[15] | Iranian Canadians |
 Israel | 250,000 | Iranian Jews in Israel |
 Bahrain | 225,000 (Estimated)[16] | Ajam of Bahrain |
 Sweden | 126,700 (2023)[citation needed] | Swedish Iranians |
 Turkey | 126,640 (2021)[citation needed] | Immigration to Turkey |
 France | 118,300 (2023)[17][18] | Iranians in France |
 United Kingdom | 114,432 (2021)[19] | Iranians in the United Kingdom |
 Iraq | 110,920 (2021) | Iranians in Iraq |
 Australia | 70,899 (2021)[20] | Iranian Australians |
 Netherlands | 52,000 (2021) | Iranians in the Netherlands |
 Austria | 40,000 (2021) | |
 Denmark | 32,700 (2021) | Iranians in Denmark |
 Italy | 30,532(2024)[21] | Only including Iran-born people |
 Malaysia | 30,000 (2021) | Iranians in Malaysia |
 Norway | 20,000 (2021) | Norwegian Iranians |
 Switzerland | 20,000 (2021) | |
 Belgium | 20,000 (2021) | |
 Qatar | 20,000 (2021) | Iranians in Qatar |
 Georgia | 16,000 (2021) | |
 India | 12,760 (2021) | Demographics of India |
 New Zealand | 12,000 (2021) | Iranian New Zealanders |
 Spain | 12,000 (2021) | Iranians in Spain |
 Finland | 10,129 (2021)[22] | |
 Azerbaijan | 10,000 (2021) | |
 Armenia | 10,000 (2021) | |
 Syria | 10,000 (2021) | Iranians in Syria |
 Oman | 9,500 (2021) | |
 Tajikistan | 8,000 (2019) | |
 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) | |
 South Africa | 5,000 (2021) | |
 Japan | 4,237 (2022)[23] | Iranians in Japan |
 Ukraine | 4,200 (2021) | |
 Hungary | 4,111 (2021) | |
 Pakistan | 3,950 (2021) | Iranian Pakistanis |
 Afghanistan | 3,800 (2021) | |
 Romania | 3,500 (2021) | Iranians in Romania |
 Kazakhstan | 3,000 (2021) | |
 Portugal | 2,934 (2024)[24] | Only including foreign citizens, thus excluding, for instance, the 545 Iranians that have acquiredPortuguese citizenship since 2008.[25] |
 Brazil | 2,525 (2024)[26] | Only including Iranian-born people |
 Greece | 2,500 (2021) | |
 Russia | 2,434 (2021)[27] | Iranians in Russia |
 Argentina | 2,000 (2021) | |
 Poland | 2,000 (2021) | Iranians in Poland |
 South Korea | 1,770 (2021) | |
 Philippines | 1,500 (2021) | Iranians in the Philippines |
 Slovakia | 1,140 (2021) | |
| Tajikistan | 1,000 (2021) | |
 Tanzania | 1,000 (2021) | |
 Ireland | 1,000 (2021) | |
 Czech Republic | 1,000 (2021) | |
 Mexico | 500 (2021) | |
 Bulgaria | 500 (2021) | |
 Egypt | 500 (2021) | |
 Kyrgyzstan | 500 (2021) | |
 Estonia | 426 (2021) | |
 Hong Kong | 410 (2021) | |
 Venezuela | 400 (2021) | |
 Indonesia | 400 (2021) | |
 Colombia | 350 (2021) | Iranian Colombians |
 Chile | 300 (2021) | |
 Belarus | 227 (2021) | |
 Sudan | 225 (2021) | |
 Singapore | 200 (2021) | |
 Serbia | 171 (2021) | |
 Bolivia | 150 (2021) | |
 Slovenia | 125 (2021) | |
 Bosnia and Herzegovina | 110 (2021) | |
 Jordan | 100 (2021) | |
 Kenya | 70 (2021) | |
 Ghana | 70 (2021) | |
 Uruguay | 70 (2021) | |
 Ivory Coast | 65 (2021) | |
 Croatia | 60 (2021) | |
 Turkmenistan | 54 (2021) | |
 Uganda | 50 (2021) | |
 Tunisia | 47 (2021) | |
 Senegal | 47 (2021) | |
 Bangladesh | 44 (2021) | |
 Mauritius | 41 (2021) | |
 Vietnam | 40 (2021) | |
 Nicaragua | 40 (2021) | |
 Democratic Republic of the Congo | 23 (2021) | |
 Brunei | 21 (2021) | |
 Algeria | 20 (2021) | |
 Gambia | 17 (2021) | |
 Niger | 15 (2021) | |
 Nigeria | 15 (2021) | |
 Ethiopia | 12 (2021) | |
 Madagascar | 12 (2021) | |
 Albania | 12 (2021) | |
 North Macedonia | 11 (2021) | |
 Cameroon | 10 (2021) | |
 Guinea | 10 (2021) | |
 Namibia | 10 (2021) | |
 Burkina Faso | 6 (2021) | |
 Cuba | 3 (2021) | |
 Mali | 2 (2021) | |
 North Korea | 1 (2021) | |
 Saudi Arabia | 110,000 (2023) | |
| 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)[28] | List of sovereign states and dependent territories by immigrant population |
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, includingIsaac Larian, the founder ofMGA Entertainment, andPierre Omidyar, who foundedeBay in 1995 inSan Jose,California. Iranian households in theUnited States earned on average $87,288 annually as of 2018, and areranked ninth by income.[29]
According to theIranian government, 55,686 Iranian students were studying abroad in 2013:[30] 8,883 studied inMalaysia, 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.[31][32] TheIranian Ministry of Education estimated that between 350,000 and 500,000 Iranians were studying outside Iran as of 2014.[33]
Armenia:Hrant Markarian, Chairman ofArmenian Revolutionary FederationAustralia:Sam Dastyari, FormerSenatorUnited Kingdom:Seema Kennedy, Former Member of theHouse of CommonsUnited Kingdom:Haleh Afshar, Member of theHouse of LordsUnited Kingdom:David Alliance, Member of theHouse of LordsCanada,
Quebec:Amir Khadir, Former Member of theNational Assembly of QuebecCanada,
Ontario:Reza Moridi, Former Member of theLegislative Assembly of OntarioCanada:Majid Jowhari, Member of theParliament of CanadaCanada:Ali Ehsassi, Member of theParliament of CanadaFrance:Pouria Amirshahi, Former Member of theFrench National AssemblyFrance:Mahmoud Khayami, founder ofIran KhodroFrance:Pierre Omidyar, investigative journalist forHonolulu Civil Beat andFirst Look Media, also founder ofeBayFrance:Patrick Ali Pahlavi, member of thePahlavi dynastyGermany:Yasmin Fahimi, Head of theGerman Trade Union ConfederationGermany:Sahra Wagenknecht, Member of theBundestag and founder ofBSWGermany:Omid Nouripour, Member of theBundestag, (Alliance '90/The Greens)Israel:Moshe Katsav, FormerPresident of IsraelIsrael:Dan Halutz, FormerChief of General StaffIsrael:Shaul Mofaz, FormerMinister of DefenseKuwait:Ahmed Lari, Member ofNational Assembly of KuwaitKuwait:Hassan Jawhar, Member ofNational Assembly of KuwaitKuwait:Jenan Boushehri, Member ofNational Assembly of KuwaitNew Zealand:Golriz Ghahraman, Former Member ofNew Zealand ParliamentNetherlands:Farah Karimi, Member of theSenate, Former Member of theHouse of RepresentativesNorway:Masud Gharahkhani, President of theStortingNorway:Mazyar Keshvari, Former Member of theStortingSweden:Ardalan Shekarabi, Member of theRiksdagSweden:Maryam Yazdanfar, Former Member of theRiksdagSweden:Reza Khelili Dylami, Former Member of theRiksdagSweden:Alireza Akhondi, Member of theRiksdagUnited States:Goli Ameri, FormerAssistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural AffairsUnited States:Cyrus Amir-Mokri,Assistant Secretary of the Treasury for Financial InstitutionsUnited States,
Washington:Cyrus Habib, Former Member of theWashington House of RepresentativesUnited States:Azita Raji, FormerUnited States Ambassador to SwedenUnited States:Bob Yousefian, Former Mayor ofGlendaleUnited States:Jimmy Delshad, Former Mayor ofBeverly Hills, CaliforniaIn 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.[7] InDubai, Iranian expatriates have invested an estimated $200 billion (2006).[34] Migrant Iranian workers abroad remitted less than two billion dollars home in 2006.[35]
| Rank | Name | Citizenship | Net worth (USD) | Source(s) of wealth |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pierre Omidyar |  IranUSAFrance | 12.9 billion[36] | eBay |
| 2 | Ghermezian family | IranCAN | 4.0 billion[37] | Triple Five Group |
| 3 | Farhad Moshiri | IranUK | 2.8 billion[38] | Metalloinvest, Everton |
| 4 | Nazarian family | IranUSA | 2.0 billion[39] | Qualcomm |
| 5 | Vincent & Robert Tchenguiz | IranUK | 1.4 billion[40][41] | Real Estate |
| 6 | Manny Mashouf | IranUSA | 1.3 billion[42] | Bebe stores |
| 7 | Merage family | IranUSA | 1.1 billion[43] | Hot Pockets |
| 8 | Nasser David Khalili | IranUK | 1.0 billion[44] | Real Estate |
| 9 | Hassan Khosrowshahi | IranCAN | 950 million[45] | Future Shop |
| 10 | Omid Kordestani | IranUSA | 900 million[46] | |
| 11 | Anousheh Ansari | IranUSA | 750 million[47] | Sonus Networks |
| 12 | Isaac Larian | IranUSA | 723 million[46] | MGA Entertainment |
| 13 | Arash Ferdowsi | IranUSA | 400 million[48] | Dropbox |
The fund's stated goal is to attract investment from Iranian expatriates and to use their experience in stimulatingforeign investments.[49]
Members of the Iranian diaspora are considered to be mostlysecular. The majority of them do not take fundamental Islamic rituals, such as daily prayers or fasting, and have largely embraced Western secularism.[50] According to a 2008 survey by the Public Affairs Alliance of Iranian Americans (PAAIA), 42% of Iranian Americans identified asMuslim, 9% asChristian, 6% asJewish, 5% asZoroastrian, 7% asBaháʼí, and 31% as other or non-religious.[51][52][53] A 2012 national telephone survey of a sample of 400 Iranian-Americans, commissioned by the PAAIA and conducted by Zogby Research Services, asked the respondents what their religions were. The responses broke down as follows:Muslim 31%,atheist/realist/humanist 11%,agnostic 8%, Baháʼí 7%,Jewish 5%,Protestant 5%,Roman Catholic 2%,Zoroastrian 2%, "Other" 15%, and "No response" 15%.[54] The survey had a cooperation rate of 31.2%.[54] Themargin of error for the results was ± 5 percentage points, with higher margins of error for sub-groups.[54] Notably, the number of Muslims decreased from 42% in 2008 to 31% in 2012.[54][55]
In the period between 1961 and 2005, the United States became the main destination of Iranian emigrants. An estimated 378,995 Iranians immigrated to the United States in that period, withCalifornia being the most common destination (158,613 Iran-born in 2000),[56]New York (17,323),[56]Texas (15,581),[56]Virginia (10,889),[56] andMaryland (9,733).[56] TheLos Angeles Metropolitan Area was estimated to be home to approximately 114,712 Iranian immigrants,[56] earning theWestwood area of Los Angeles the nicknameTehrangeles.
TheU.S. 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. The2000 census estimated 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.[7][57]
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
| Asia |
| ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Europe | |||||||||
| North America | |||||||||
| Oceania | |||||||||
| South America | |||||||||
| See also | |||||||||
| By origin in Asia  |
| ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| By residence |
| ||||||||||||||||||
