Afghans in Iran
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| (c. 2.5 million (2015 Iranian estimate), of which nearly 1 million are registered refugees, 450,000 entered Iran with passports and visas, and around 1 million entered Iran illegally. c. 951,142 registered Afghan refugees according to the UNHCR) |
|
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Sizeable populations in Tehran, Zabol, the outskirts of Mashhad, and around the Afghanistan-Iran border | |
| Languages | |
| Persian (including Dari and Hazaragi) and other languages of Afghanistan | |
| Religion | |
| Shia and Sunni Islam |
Afghans in Iran are mostly refugees who have fled wars in Afghanistan since the April 1978 Saur Revolution in Kabul. It also includes an unknown number of illegal migrant workers as well as a smaller number of traders, exchanged students, diplomats, and tourists. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), as of 2016 there are 951,142 registered Afghan citizens living in Iran. Most of these were born and raised in Iran during the last three and a half decades.
Iran's Ministry of Interior reported in 2015 that the total number of Afghans in Iran could be as high as 2.5 million, which includes those who are registered by the UNHCR as refugees as well as Iranian visa holders and those who entered the country illegally. Afghans in Iran are under the care and protection of the UNHCR, and provided legal status by the Government of Iran. They cannot obtain Iranian citizenship or permanent residency, and live in Iran under time-limited condition of stay.
Iran opened its border gates to Afghans escaping from the Soviet war in Afghanistan and the subsequent civil war but they are now asked to leave the country. Many face forceful deportation every year, which began in 2006 when about 146,387 undocumented Afghans were deported. In 2010, six Afghan prisoners were executed by being hanged in the streets of Iran, which sparked angry demonstrations in Afghanistan. Approximately 4,000 and 5,000 Afghans were reported in 2010 to be in Iranian jails.
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