On Jan. 7, Irans Minister of Science, Research and TechnologyReza Faraji Danasaid, Every year, about 150,000 highly talented people emigrate from Iran, equalingan annual loss of $150 billion to the economy.Though the monetary value may be inaccurate (the World Bank put the economic cost of Irans brain drain at $50 billion in 2010), the fact is that Iran has experienced one of the highest levels of brain drain overthe past decades.According to the International MonetaryFund, Iran has the highest brain drain rate in the world. An estimated 25%of all Iranians with post-secondary education now live in "developed" countries of theOECD.
Faraji Dana went on to outline that Iran has to provide proper conditions for the return of experts to the country."He cited China as a good example to follow,since it has succeeded in luring its educated people back to the country.
Brain drain has been a negative socioeconomic phenomenon in Iran for decades. It causesa loss of valuable human resources andconstrainsthe countrys economic development.The emigration of educated Iranians has gone through differentphases in post-revolutionary Iran.Even prior to the 1979 revolution, the main reason for leaving Iran was to secure a higher educational degree.However, the fact is that in post-revolutionary decadesa growing number of such students never returned to the country.In the immediate aftermath of the revolution, arbitrary legal cases, confiscations, discriminationand other sources of tension compelled many Iranians to leave the country.Later, the Iran-Iraq war becamethe main reason for a large wave of emigration.In the post-war era, a significant segment of families decided to emigrate due to economic, political and social pressures, including a tight domestic job market.
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