Iranians in Spain

Iranians in Spain

Total population
12,344 (2011)

Iranians in Spain do not form a very large population, but they have a history going back for over a millennium.

Migration history

Muhammad ibn Zakariya ar-Razi wrote in the 10th century that some Iranians had already settled in Spain, and Ibn Battuta later claimed the Iranians of Spain preferred to live in Granada because of its similarity to their homeland. However, the impetus for modern Iranian immigration to Spain came largely from the 1979 Iranian Revolution, as a result of which some Iranians came to Spain as political refugees.

Demography

A 1992 survey found that 31.7% worked in administrative jobs, 18.2% were professionals or technicians, 25.7% worked in trade, and another 11% worked in agriculture. The vast majority were between 25–54 years of age, and only one-fifth were women. This is actually a relatively large proportion of women compared to other Muslim migrant communities in Spain, which may be attributed to the fact that most Iranians in Spain are political, rather than economic migrants.

References

Sources

• Kenesson, Summer S. (1992), "Nasrid Luster Pottery: The Alhambra Vases", Muqarnas (BRILL) 9: 93–115, doi:10.2307/1523138, JSTOR 1523138 
• López García, Bernabé; Planet Contreras, Ana I. (2002), "Islam in Spain", in Hunter, Shireen, Islam, Europe's Second Religion: The New Social, Cultural, and Political Landscape, Greenwood, pp. 157–174, ISBN 978-0-275-97608-8 
• Jamshid, M. (1982-07-12), "Iraníes en España", El País (Spain), retrieved 2008-11-04 
• "Población extranjera por sexo, país de nacionalidad y edad (hasta 85 y más).", Avance del Padrón a 1 de enero de 2009. Datos provisionales, Spain: Instituto Nacional de Estadística, 2009, retrieved 2009-06-13