Norwegians with Iranian background
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| 21,364 (2017) 0.35% of the Norwegian population |
|
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Oslo, Lørenskog, Skedsmo, Drammen, | |
| Languages | |
|
Norwegian, Persian, Azerbaijani, Kurdish, Arabic |
|
| Religion | |
| Islam, Baha'i, Zoroastrianism, Christianity | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Iranian diaspora |
Norwegian-Iranians (also known as Iranian Norwegians) (Persian: ایرانیان نروژی, Norwegian: Norsk-iranere) are Norwegians of Iranian descent. The first wave of Norwegian-Iranians migrated to Norway as a direct consequence of the political instability that followed the Islamic revolution in 1979. The subsequent difficult situation has since forced many others to seek refuge in Norway.
The History of Norwegian-Iranians began in the aftermath of the 1979 Islamic revolution. During the 1950s and 60's, Iran had been experiencing a process of westernization due to a western-influenced monarchy led by the Pahlavi dynasty. This led to public discontent, and along with the increasingly authoritarian regime, massive protests erupted which, in the end resulted in the overthrow of the shah, and the establishment of the Islamic Republic.
The majority of Norwegian-Iranians are ethnic Persians, with sizeable ethnic minorities being Iranian Azerbaijanis, Kurdish-Iranians, Arab-Iranians, Northern Iranians (Shomali) and Kermanshahi Kurds and Lurs.
Immediately after the revolution, The new regime completely shut down the higher educational system in order to overhaul and Islamicize it. During this process many students and faculty was purged, initiating the first wave of the brain drain. Many of these fled to USA America, and partially to Europe and too rarely to Norway. Generally, the years toward the end of the 8-yearlasting post Islamic revolution war between Iraq and Iran around 1985-1987 some Persians refugees started settling in Norway.
According to at least one source, Iran had no significant emigration or brain drain to wealthier countries before the Islamic Revolution. Emigration from Iran is said by one source to have started in earnest with conscription for the Iran-Iraq War. The Islamic government's need for fresh troops and the high mortality rate of those troops led to the flight of draft-age Iranian men to other countries, including Scandinavia.
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Wikipedia