Immigration of Pharmacists from Iran to Abroad

One of the most important types of immigration is "brain drain" or, in other words, "elite migration". This results in the loss of human resources and transfer from underdeveloped countries to developed countries. Immigration causes irreparable damage to the countries of origin and usually causes the country of origin to be deprived of advancements in science and technology. A descriptive survey was done via questionnaire. Data were analyzed using SPSS and Excel software , descriptive statistics and inferential statistics. The findings show that the percentage of immigration of pharmacists in comparison with the total growth rate of pharmacists is relatively significant,( from 7.1% in 2006 to 13.8% in 2015). The rate of immigration of pharmacists (about 14%) is much higher than the average Iranian immigration (about 2%) and immigration of educated people in Iran (about 8%) and the average migration in the world (about 2.8%). The rate of immigration of pharmacists is growing. The results showed that the main factors affecting immigration from the point of view of pharmacists in the country is the economic situation of Iran, while according to the Iranian pharmacists living  abroad, the causes of immigration are higher education, and after that, obtaining a higher occupational status and higher income. Also countries where pharmacists are needed include Canada, followed by countries such as Germany, the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, France and Sweden. It seems that job security or, in other words, the availability of jobs appropriating   higher incomes, the possibility of continuing higher education as well as welfare facilities are factors affecting the immigration of pharmacists.