International statistics show that Iran is not among the top 30 emigrant-sending countries in terms of brain drain and emigration of human resources. In addition, we are not among the first 20 countries that send emigrants to other countries.

According to the public relations and information center of the Vice-Presidency for science and technology affairs quoted by the “emigration monitoring center of Iran”, inaccurate, unofficial and exaggerated statistics on the emigration of students, elites, and non-resident Iranians have been reported by invalid resources. A considerable part of these fake news is made based on an unofficial report by the international monetary fund while no such report has been published. The term “brain drain” is allocated to Iran while such a phenomenon does not exist.

The latest statistics of “UNESCO” as an official and international unit show that the country has a suitable condition in terms of overall emigration rate and a number of students, compared to other countries. This trend has improved in current years and shows the growth of Iran in the return and maintenance of young and creative human resources in the country.

Favorable Condition of Iran in Maintenance of Human Resources

The report of “UNESCO” in 2019 shows that Iran was the 12^th student-sending country in 2011, which improved in the next years in a way that Iran was ranked 18^th in this field in 2016. In addition, the growth rate of a number of Iranian students outside the country is extremely low in Iran compared to the neighboring countries. This growth rate is 4% in Iran while a considerable part of human resources of Saudi Arabia and Pakistan emigrate to other countries in a way that their emigration rate is 74% and 33%, respectively.

In addition, these statistics show the high increased share of international students in some countries, such as Bangladesh, Kazakhstan and Ukraine (more than 100%). The countries of China (980 thousand) and India (300 thousand) have the highest student-sending rate since the population of international students in these countries has increased to 32% and 46% during 2011-2016.

The interesting point of this report is that Germany is one of the main student-sending countries, and about 120 thousand German students study abroad. Countries such as South Korea, Nigeria, France, Kazakhstan and Saudi Arabia and Ukraine have been allocated to next ranks.

Use of Human Capital with the Help of Innovation Ecosystem

Reverse emigration has been initiated in the country with the formation of the entrepreneurship ecosystem. Today, the growth of knowledge-based companies and startups has led to the flourishing of activity in this ecosystem. In addition, several elites have returned to the country to work in these startups to witness their own advancement and development. The structure and system used in the country to return students and elites to the country have been effective, and Iran is not a student-sending country based on international statistics.