Demographic Perspective on the Recent Migration Follows in Yazd Province

The present study has used census data of the years 1986-2016 in Iran to analyze the recent migration flows in Yazd province with an emphasis on the five-year period 2011-2016. The findings of the study shows the presence and active participation of Yazd province in the national system of internal migration during last three decades. Based on the findings, migration as an important component has taken an increasing contribution to the province’s population growth. In the period 2011 to 2016, approximately 39 thousand people were added to the province's population as the result of a positive net migration. In addition, in the same period, about 60 thousand migrants from other provinces moved to Yazd province. The main migration streams to Yazd have been respectively from the origin of the provinces of Fars, Kerman, Isfahan, Tehran, Sistan-and-Baluchestan, Khuzestan and Khorasan-Razavi (with a range from 14.5% to 6%). These seven provinces have been the origin of about 75% of the total in-migration to the destination of Yazd province. On the other hand, approximately 23.5 thousand out-migrants from the province of Yazd have left Yazd for other provinces. Tehran Province (with 19%) and then the provinces of Fars, Isfahan, Kerman (between 11% and 12%) and Khorasan-Razavi (8%) have been five main destinations for more than 62% of out-migrants from Yazd. In addition to the above categories, about 20 thousand movements have occurred within the province border. Also, during the last study period, about 1800 international migrants come to Yazd province, of which about 81% have come from Afghanistan. More scientific research is needed to study the of these demographic movements from the economic, social and cultural perspectives.