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Source: https://www.inss.org.il/publication/iran-immigration/
Iranians Are Leaving Iran
(Institute for National Security Studies-Tel Aviv University) Dr. Raz Zimmt - There has been a rise in the number of Iranian asylum seekers who illegally and unofficially leave via Turkey for European countries and request refugee status. The number of Iranian emigrants increased from 15,500 in 2016 to 42,000 in 2019, according to the Iran Migration Observatory at Sharif University of Technology in Tehran. From 2010 to 2020 there were 500,000 Iranian emigrants, the Nilgam Center reported. Intensifying economic difficulties, combined with restrictions on personal freedoms, limit opportunities for many educated and skilled young people, and are considered central factors encouraging emigration. In 2019-2020, the unemployment rate reached 18% among young people aged 18-35, the Statistical Center of Iran reported. In May 2020, Minister of Labor Ali Rabii said 40% of university graduates in Iran were unemployed. In 2021, it was estimated that more than four million Iranians live outside Iran. The writer, a research fellow at INSS, is a veteran Iran-watcher for the Israel Defense Forces.