# Swedish Iranians > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Swedish_Iranians > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Swedish_Iranians.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedish_Iranians > Source revision: 1333232852 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) People of Iranian nationality who have settled in Sweden Ethnic group Swedish Iranians svenskiranier ایرانیان سوئد Total population 121,019 Regions with significant populations Stockholm, Gothenburg, Malmö, Uppsala. Languages Swedish, Persian (Armenian, Azerbaijani, Kurdish, Luri, and other languages of Iran) Religion Shi'a Islam, Irreligion, Christianity, Baháʼí Faith, Judaism, Sunni Islam, Zoroastrianism, Other **Swedish Iranians** or **Swedish Persians**[1] consist of people of [Iranian](/source/Iran) nationality who have settled in [Sweden](/source/Sweden), as well as Swedish residents and citizens of Iranian [heritage](/source/Iranian_diaspora). As of 2019, there were 80,136 residents of Sweden born in [Iran](/source/Iran), as well as 40,883 born in Sweden with at least one Iranian-born parent.[2] ## Terminology **Swedish-Iranian** is in some cases used interchangeably with **Swedish-Persian**,[1][3][4][5] partly due to the fact that many are members of the [Persian](/source/Persians) ethnic group, which comprise about 65% of Iran's population.[1][6] While the majority of Iranians come from Persian backgrounds, there is a significant number of [non-Persian Iranians](/source/Ethnic_minorities_in_Iran) such as [Azeris](/source/Iranian_Azeris),[7][8][9] [Lurs](/source/Lurs), and [Kurds](/source/Iranian_Kurdistan) within the Iranian community of Sweden.[6][10] "Swedish-Iranian" is thus more inclusive, since the label "Persian" excludes other non-Persian iranians that have moved to Sweden.[6] The tendency among Swedish Iranians to categorize themselves as "Persian" rather than "Iranian", is sometimes also a strategy used by some members of the group to dissociate themselves from the [Islamic regime of Iran](/source/Islamic_Republic_of_Iran), which has been in charge since the [1979 Revolution](/source/1979_Revolution). The name of the country of Iran was known in much of the world as "Persia", prior to a [name change in 1935](/source/Name_of_Iran#Name_in_the_Western_world).[11] ## Demographics There are approximately 63,828 people[12] born in Iran living in Sweden today, as well as 28,600 people born in Sweden with at least one parent born in Iran. They are one of Sweden's largest immigrant groups, accounting for about 1.7% of the population.[13] The very first wave of Iranian refugees consisted of 5,000 Iranian refugees who fled to Sweden in 1979-1980 most of them were middle-aged, middle-class Pahlavi supporters who were opposing the [revolution](/source/Iranian_revolution). When the [Iran–Iraq War](/source/Iran%E2%80%93Iraq_War) broke out in 1980, almost 20,000 Iranian citizens found asylum in Sweden. Second generation Iranian Swedes are well-represented in higher education and in some well paying professions like dentistry and engineering. About 60% percent of Swedish Iranians go on to higher education – more than the Swedish average (45%).[12] Iranian culture with its emphasis on education may be part of the reason for this. Becoming an engineer or a doctor is a mantra in many families. Abundantly represented minorities amongst the Swedish Iranians, like in other Iranian diaspora nations are [Azerbaijanis](/source/Azerbaijanis), [Kurds](/source/Kurds), [Armenians](/source/Armenians) and [Assyrians](/source/Assyrian_people). ## Notable Iranians in Sweden - [Snoh Aalegra](/source/Snoh_Aalegra), singer and songwriter - [Mana Aghaee](/source/Mana_Aghaee), poet and writer - [Minoo Akhtarzand](/source/Minoo_Akhtarzand), governor of [Jönköping County](/source/J%C3%B6nk%C3%B6ping_County) - [Milad Alami](/source/Milad_Alami), film director - [Poya Asbaghi](/source/Poya_Asbaghi), football manager - [William Atashkadeh](/source/William_Atashkadeh), professional footballer - [Hanif Bali](/source/Hanif_Bali), MP and part of the party executive of the [Moderate Party](/source/Moderate_Party) - [Sean Banan](/source/Sean_Banan), singer, comedian and entertainer - [Arash Bayat](/source/Arash_Bayat), footballer - [Hanni Beronius](/source/Hanni_Beronius), beauty queen and [Miss Universe Sweden 2012](/source/Miss_Universe_Sweden) - [Cameron Cartio](/source/Cameron_Cartio), singer - [Akira Corassani](/source/Akira_Corassani), UFC fighter - [Ashk Dahlén](/source/Ashk_Dahl%C3%A9n), scholar, linguist, translator - [Reza Khelili Dylami](/source/Reza_Khelili_Dylami), politician - [Ali Esbati](/source/Ali_Esbati), politician - [Athena Farrokhzad](/source/Athena_Farrokhzad), poet - [Rashid Farivar](/source/Rashid_Farivar), politician - [Mohammad Fazlhashemi](/source/Mohammad_Fazlhashemi), professor in History of Ideas, [Umeå University](/source/Ume%C3%A5_University) - [Azita Ghahreman](/source/Azita_Ghahreman), poet, translator, writer, member of the [International PEN](/source/International_PEN) - [Saman Ghoddos](/source/Saman_Ghoddos), international footballer* - [Ali Ghodsi](/source/Ali_Ghodsi), businessman - [Adam Hemati](/source/Adam_Hemati), footballer for Persepolis F.C. - [Jasmine Kara](/source/Jasmine_Kara), singer and songwriter - [Arash Labaf](/source/Arash_(entertainer)), platinum-selling artist - [Lina Leandersson](/source/Lina_Leandersson), actress - [Janet Leon](/source/Janet_Leon), singer - [Lasse Lindroth](/source/Lasse_Lindroth), comedian and actor - [Parisa Liljestrand](/source/Parisa_Liljestrand), Minister of Culture. - [Reza Madadi](/source/Reza_Madadi), professional MMA fighter and convicted criminal. - [Jila Mossaed](/source/Jila_Mossaed), poet, member of the Swedish Academy, Chair No. 15[14] - [Babak Najafi](/source/Babak_Najafi), film director, screenwriter, and cinematographer - [Marall Nasiri](/source/Marall_Nasiri), actress - [Amin Nazari](/source/Amin_Nazari), professional football player - [Omid Nazari](/source/Omid_Nazari), professional football player* - [Shima Niavarani](/source/Shima_Niavarani), actress - [Bahar Pars](/source/Bahar_Pars), actress - [Trita Parsi](/source/Trita_Parsi), founder and president of the [National Iranian American Council](/source/National_Iranian_American_Council) - [Nahid Persson Sarvestani](/source/Nahid_Persson_Sarvestani), film director - [Zinat Pirzadeh](/source/Zinat_Pirzadeh), comedian - [Laleh Pourkarim](/source/Laleh_Pourkarim), singer-songwriter - [Romina Pourmokhtari](/source/Romina_Pourmokhtari), Minister for the Environment. - [Arash Pournouri](/source/Arash_Pournouri), music manager - [Daniel Rahimi](/source/Daniel_Rahimi), professional Ice hockey player - [Eddie Razaz](/source/Eddie_Razaz), singer - [Behrang Safari](/source/Behrang_Safari), Swedish international footballer - [Ilya Salmanzadeh](/source/Ilya_Salmanzadeh), music producer - [Nima Sanandaji](/source/Nima_Sanandaji), scientist and author - [Ardalan Shekarabi](/source/Ardalan_Shekarabi), politician - [Maryam Yazdanfar](/source/Maryam_Yazdanfar), [Riksdag](/source/Parliament_of_Sweden) politician - [Sara Zahedi](/source/Sara_Zahedi), mathematician and winner of [European Mathematical Society](/source/European_Mathematical_Society) prize - [Nina Zanjani](/source/Nina_Zanjani), actress - [Mika Zibanejad](/source/Mika_Zibanejad), professional Ice hockey player ## See also - [Iran-Sweden relations](/source/Iran-Sweden_relations) - [Iranian diaspora](/source/Iranian_diaspora) ## References 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-Daha_1-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-Daha_1-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-Daha_1-2) Daha, Maryam (September 2011). "Contextual Factors Contributing to Ethnic Identity Development of Second-Generation Iranian American Adolescents". *Journal of Adolescent Research*. **26** (5): 543–569. [doi](/source/Doi_(identifier)):[10.1177/0743558411402335](https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0743558411402335). [S2CID](/source/S2CID_(identifier)) [146592244](https://api.semanticscholar.org/CorpusID:146592244). ... the majority of the participants self-identified themselves as Persian instead of Iranian, due to the stereotypes and negative portrayals of Iranians in the media and politics. Adolescents from Jewish and Baháʼí faiths asserted their religious identity more than their ethnic identity. The fact Iranians use Persian interchangeably is nothing to do with current Iranian government because the name Iran was used before this period as well. Linguistically modern Persian is a branch of Old Persian in the family of Indo-European languages and that includes all the minorities as well more inclusively. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** ["Population statistics"](http://www.scb.se/en/finding-statistics/statistics-by-subject-area/population/population-composition/population-statistics/). *Statistiska Centralbyrån*. Retrieved 2020-06-21. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-Nakamura2003_3-0)** Nakamura, Raymond M. (2003). [*Health in America: A Multicultural Perspective*](https://books.google.com/books?id=nSvf31-rRhkC). Kendall/Hunt Pub. p. 31. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-7575-0637-6](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-7575-0637-6). Iranian/Persian Americans – The flow of Iranian citizens into the United States began in 1979, during and after the Islamic Revolution. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-Zanger2001_4-0)** Zanger, Mark (2001). [*The American Ethnic Cookbook for Students*](https://books.google.com/books?id=JTBSpuCkl9AC&pg=PA213). ABC-CLIO. p. 213. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-57356-345-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-57356-345-1). Retrieved December 21, 2016. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Racial and Ethnic Relations in America, Carl Leon Bankston,"Therefore, Turkish and Iranian (Persian) Americans, who are Muslims but not ethnically Arabs, are often mistakenly..", Salem Press, 2000 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-BozorgMehr_6-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-BozorgMehr_6-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-BozorgMehr_6-2) Bozorgmehr, Mehdi (2009). ["Iran"](https://books.google.com/books?id=z-y_q4J_eCEC). In Mary C. Waters; Reed Ueda; Helen B. Marrow (eds.). *The New Americans: A Guide to Immigration since 1965*. Harvard University Press. p. 469. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-674-04493-7](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-674-04493-7). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-7)** Svante E. Cornell (20 May 2015). [*Azerbaijan Since Independence*](https://books.google.com/books?id=TaZzCQAAQBAJ&pg=PA7). Routledge. p. 7. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-317-47621-4](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-317-47621-4). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-8)** Barbara A. West (1 January 2009). [*Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Asia and Oceania*](https://books.google.com/books?id=pCiNqFj3MQsC&pg=PA68). Infobase Publishing. p. 68. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-4381-1913-7](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-4381-1913-7). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-9)** James Minahan (1 January 2002). [*Encyclopedia of the Stateless Nations: S-Z*](https://books.google.com/books?id=Zu5GpDby9H0C&pg=PA1766). Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 1766. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-313-32384-3](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-313-32384-3). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-10)** Elizabeth Chacko, Contemporary ethnic geographies in America // Ines M. Miyares, Christopher A. Airriess (eds.), Rowman & Littlefield, 2007, pp. 325–326 1. **[^](#cite_ref-11)** Darya, Fereshteh Haeri (2007). [*Second-generation Iranian-Americans: The Relationship Between Ethnic Identity, Acculturation, and Psychological Well-being*](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C23&q=%22Second+-generation+Iranian-Americans%3A+The+relationship+between+ethnic+identity%2C+acculturation%2C+and+psychological+well-being%22&btnG=). pp. 3–4. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-0-542-97374-1](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-0-542-97374-1). Retrieved 21 December 2016. According to previous studies, the presence of heterogeneity is evident among Iranian immigrants (also known as Persians – Iran was known as Persia until 1935) who came from myriads of religious (Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Armenian, Assyrian, Baháʼí and Zoroastrian), ethnic (Turk, Kurds, Baluchs, Lurs, Turkamans, Arabs, as well as tribes such as Ghasghaie, and Bakhtiari), linguistic/dialogic background (Persian, Azari, Gialki, Mazandarani, Kurdish, Arabic, and others). Cultural, religious and political, and various other differences among Iranians reflect their diverse social and interpersonal interactions. Some studies suggest that, despite the existence of subgroup within Iranian immigrants (e.g. various ethno-religious groups), their nationality as Iranians has been an important point of reference and identifiable source of their identification as a group across time and setting. 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:0_12-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:0_12-1) ["Klassresa är möjlig trots hinder"](http://www.svd.se/opinion/brannpunkt/klassresa-ar-mojlig-trots-hinder_6842603.svd). *SvD.se* (in Swedish). Retrieved 2017-12-18. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-13)** ["be0101_Fodelseland_och_ursprungsland (XLS)"](http://www.scb.se/Statistik/BE/BE0101/2011A01B/be0101_Fodelseland_och_ursprungsland.xls). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-14)** ["Chair no. 15 - Jila Mossaed | Swedish Academy"](https://www.svenskaakademien.se/en/the-academy/chair-no-15-jila-mossaed). *www.svenskaakademien.se*. Retrieved 2 March 2022. ## External links - Hosseini-Kaladjahi, Hassan; Kelly, Melissa (2012) [2000]. ["SWEDEN iv. Iranian Community"](https://iranicaonline.org/articles/sweden-iv). *Encyclopaedia Iranica*. - [Iranian-Swedish Community Classifieds Website in Persian (Farsi) Language](http://sweden.choone.com) v t e Immigration to Sweden Europe Albanians Austrians Belarusians Belgians Walloons Bosnians Britons Bulgarians Croats Czechs Danes Dutch Finns French Germans Greeks Hungarians Icelanders Irish Italians Kosovan Latvians Lithuanians Macedonians Moldovans Norwegians Poles Portuguese Romanis Romanians Russians Serbs Slovaks Slovenians Spaniards Swiss Ukrainians Yugoslavians Americas Argentines Bolivians Brazilians Canadians Chileans Colombians Cubans Ecuadorians Jamaicans Mexicans Peruvians Americans in Sweden Uruguayans Venezuelans Asia Afghans Arabs Armenians Assyrians Bangladeshis Burmese Chinese Emiratis Filipinos Georgians Indians Indonesians Iraqis Iranians Israelis Japanese Jordanians Kazakhs Kyrgyzs Kurds Kuwaiti Lebanese Malaysians Mongolians Nepalis Pakistanis Palestinians Saudis South Koreans Syrians Taiwanese Thais Turks Uzbeks Vietnamese Yazidis Yemenis Africa Algerians Angolans Burundians Cameroonians Egyptians Eritreans Ethiopians Gambians Ghanaians Ivorians Kenyans Liberians Libyans Moroccans Nigerians Senegalese Somalis South Africans Sudanese Tanzanians Tunisians Oceania Australians New Zealanders See also Demographics of Sweden v t e Iranian diaspora Lists Culture Organizations Occupations Asia East China Japan South Pakistan Southeast Malaysia Philippines Thailand West Azerbaijan Bahrain Iraq Israel Kuwait Lebanon Qatar Syria Turkey [simple] United Arab Emirates Europe Finland France Germany Netherlands Spain Sweden Norway United Kingdom Romania Russia North America Canada United States Oceania Australia New Zealand South America Brazil [pt] Colombia [es] See also Iranian peoples Foreign relations of Iran Human capital flight from Iran Iranian nationality law Diasporic irreligion 2022–2023 diaspora protests 2026 diaspora protests Baloch diaspora Kurdish diaspora --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Swedish Iranians](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedish_Iranians) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swedish_Iranians?action=history)). 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