Iran faces demographic challenge as births drop below one million for first time

Iranian Health Minister Mohammad Reza Zafarghandi announced that the number of births in Iran is projected to fall below one million for the first time in 2024.

The alarming forecast was revealed on Wednesday during a meeting with officials from the Medical Sciences Universities at the Ministry of Health.

Zafarghandi highlighted that unlike Western countries, Iran is experiencing an aging population before achieving full development.

“While other nations first developed and then faced population decline, Iran is encountering these issues concurrently,” he explained.

The minister emphasized that current fertility rates have dropped from 2.01 in 2016 to 1.66, and if the trend continues to 1.1, Iran will face a severe demographic crisis.

Pointing to the existing population laws that support married dormitories, infertile couples, and provide loans, he stressed the need for a scientific approach to population growth and warned against relying on untested global slogans and actions.

Zafarghandi called for a national resolve to address the crisis, urging changes in cultural and economic policies and responsibilities to create a cultural wave for increasing the youth population.

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