Eighty Percent of Top Exam Ranks Have Left Iran; This Year's Top Students Also Seeking Immigration

According to a study on the immigration of top students in mathematics and physics from 2001 to 2016, all top 10 students from the years 2008 and 2009 have left Iran, and the top students of 2023 are also seeking to emigrate. The news agency 'Rokna' published a video report showing that the majority of top students are encouraged by their families to seek immigration. The agency described the gathering of top students, stating that 'there were few individuals who wanted to stay in Iran and build their lives; but many just wanted to leave because here, in their homeland, they cannot have a job with a sufficient salary, where favoritism is more important than talent, and because the social situation here is not improving as the younger generation desires.' The Ham-Mihan newspaper also reported that studies show that among the top 10 students in mathematics and physics from 2001 to 2010, 114 individuals are no longer present in Iran. The report emphasizes that this data only covers the years 2001 to 2016, raising the question of how the situation of student immigration has changed in recent years. The report references statistics and surveys indicating that among four groups—startup activists, doctors and nurses, professors, researchers, and university students and graduates—between 63% to 71% of individuals have a 'high' or 'very high' desire to emigrate from Iran. Accordingly, it is emphasized that between 56% to 87% of these groups attribute their desire to emigrate to the general conditions of the country. The Iranian Migration Observatory also stated in its 2023 annual report that economic, political, and social conditions, along with the type of governance, are reasons for the widespread emigration of Iranians.