Study of the causes and consequences of elite migration in Iran

In the recent decades, the issues of elite migration have been considered as a serious problem from political, economical and security perspective. With their immigrations elite take all the educational expenses that have been spent on them to the destination country. This amount comprises a large amount of their countries budget. This phenomenon has been existed in Iran for a long time, but in the recent two decades this process has undergone a rapid pace. The statistics of (International Monetary Fund) have shown that during the recent decade, about 150 to 180 thousand graduated people have gone out of Iran. Considering the rate of population in Iran, this amount causes Iran to be the first among the other countries in the world.
More than 93 percent of these people have chosen United States of America, Canada, Australia, France and Germany as their destinations.
This study analyses this issue in recent decades based on a sociological perspective by using authentic and creditable documents in a descriptive–analytic method. It also considers the effective factors on this phenomenon and the results that it may have on different aspects in Iran.
Keywords: Elite migration, brain drain, drain globalization, Iran