Iran & Syrian Refugees
Who are they?
The Syrian refugees are approximately 4.1 million people fleeing the violence and destruction of the Syrian Civil War. About 51% of them are under age 18.
74% of the refugees are Syrian Arabs. 9% are Kurds, the second largest ethnic group.
About 85% of the refugees speak Arabic, the official language of Syria. Other languages spoken include Kurdish, Turkish, Aramaic, Circassian, and Armenian.
74% of the refugees are Sunni Muslims. 13% are Shia Muslims, 10% are Christians, and 3% are Druze.
Iran & How They Can Help Syrian Refugees
Iran's population was last measured at 81,824,270 with a density of 47.56 people per square kilometer.
Persian, Iran's official language, is spoken by about 60% of the population. Other languages include Turkic dialects (25%), Kurdish (10%), Arabic, Turkish, Armenian, and others.
99.4% of Iranians are Muslims (90-95% Shia, 5-10% Sunni). The Iranian government is a theocratic republic with Islamic rule.
Average Age & Age Distribution
The average age in Iran is 28.3 years.
- 0-14 years: 23.69%
- 15-24 years: 17.58%
- 25-54 years: 46.87%
- 55-64 years: 6.58%
- 65+ years: 5.28%
Iran's GDP was $404.1 billion USD as of 2014. GDP per capita was last measured at roughly $17,100 USD.
Occupations are 16.3% in the agricultural sector, 35.1% in industry, and 48.6% in services. Iran is becoming an industrialized country with manufacturing and technological projection. The unemployment rate is 11.2% as of 2014. There is a shortage of skilled labor.
Iran & Syrian Refugees
The vast majority of Iranians are Shia Muslims, while most Syrian refugees are Sunni Muslims. The two groups typically don't get along, so this issue would be a potential problem if Iran were to take in refugees.
Iran has supported Syria's President Bashar al-Assad, thus becoming directly involved in the conflict displacing the refugees. However, they haven't taken any in. So far, they have only sent supplies to be distributed among the refugees.
Iran needs to take more responsibility for the Syrian refugees, but taking in many may not be the best idea. They should continue to send necessary supplies to the refugees, maybe even send a greater number than they have been. If any refugees are accepted by Iran, the numbers should be kept small.