Amid growing concerns over the intensifying brain drain crisis in Iran, and as statistics point to the departure or desire to leave among a large portion of the country’s skilled workforce, Hossein Simayee Sarraf, the Iranian regime’s Minister of Science, has admitted that in recent years, “25% of university professors” have emigrated.
On Friday, November 22, Sarraf described this figure as “worrying” and a factor contributing to the “decline of universities and academic performance of students.” He added that if this trend continues, “their replacements may be of a weaker caliber.”
This regime official also highlighted various factors contributing to migration from Iran—including “job-related, economic, and socio-political” reasons—and identified economic problems as the primary driver behind the emigration of professors. He added, “Some of them don’t even plan to return.” Referring to the income levels of university professors in “our neighboring countries across the water,” he stated that “the salary of our full professors with 50 pay grades barely reaches $1,000.”
This comes in the aftermath of the death of Mahsa Amini in the custody of Iran’s morality police and the nationwide protests of 2022, which led to increased pressure from Iranian authorities on students—who were at the forefront of the protests—as well as professors who supported them. A significant number of these professors were suspended, dismissed, or forced into early retirement.
Additionally, other professors were removed from teaching positions after Ebrahim Raisi assumed presidency, due to their lack of alignment with the university presidents appointed under his administration.
While it was previously claimed that Massoud Pezeshkian, the president of Iran’s regime, had called for a review of the situation of dismissed professors, Kayhan newspaper—one of the most hardline publications in Iran and effectively a mouthpiece for the Supreme Leader and the regime’s core establishment—quickly attacked this idea, describing Pezeshkian’s remarks as “promoting lawlessness.”
Mahmoud Najafi Arab, the head of Tehran’s Chamber of Commerce, recently warned that in the past two to three years, more than 2,000 “startup visas” have been issued to young Iranians. Startup visas are granted to individuals with entrepreneurial ideas who intend to establish their businesses abroad.
Iranian economic experts warn that the emigration of entrepreneurs reduces economic growth and job creation while weakening Iran’s innovation and technology industries.
The accelerating trend of Iranian emigration in recent years has also repeatedly made headlines in the healthcare sector, fueling concerns over the collapse of the country’s healthcare system.
Recently, the head of Iran’s Nursing Organization stated that according to statistics from the Ministry of Health, “around 1,500 nurses left the profession last year.” However, these figures only account for nurses in the public sector and do not include private-sector nurses or graduates in this field who have not entered the workforce.
The state-run Ham Mihan newspaper reported in June 2024, quoting Iraj Khosronia, the head of the Scientific Society of Internal Medicine Specialists, about a shortage of specialized doctors nationwide.
Khosronia told the newspaper, “There is only one gynecologist for every 7,000 women in the country.”
Abolhassan Mostafavi, a member of the regime’s Majlis’ (parliament) Education and Research Committee, also recently reported a shortage of “12,000 doctors.”
Mostafavi stated, “Due to the shortage of doctors, many of our clinics in smaller towns have closed after 40 years.”
Official statistics indicate that over the past two decades, more than 6 million Iranians have emigrated.
The government-affiliated Rokna news agency, citing these figures, reported that around 40% of Iranian migrants hold higher education degrees, and the emigration of educated women has seen a “significant increase.”
