The Role of Population in Maintaining the Sovereignty of the Country with an Economic Security Approach

In different communities, the characteristics of population have influenced the sovereignty and security, and functions as an important factor. Just as the size of the young population in terms of age and type of activity can provide workforce for the country, or the size of the elderly population can have a large financial burden to maintain them, demographic characteristics such as level of education and skills and the like -which are mentioned in the context of human capital- can also have positive and negative effects on society. Since population is one of the important factors in national sovereignty and security, the present study examines the relationship between population and national sovereignty using descriptive and analytical methods in the context of demographic changes in Iran. According to the findings of the research, currently Iran with a population of 78 million people is considered a regional and a global middle power. However, due to the gradual decline in total fertility rate in Iran, there is concern that Iran will experience negative population growth, resulting to an elderly population, which is arguably a danger to Iran's power and security in the region.