Iran hosts 2.3 million Afghan refugees in 23 yrs

Other refugees were from Iraq, Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan, Armenia and Turkey, Bahman Abbasi said.

He referred to positive and negative consequences of immigration in refugee-hosting countries, saying recruiting workforce with no need of training them is among positive factors.

Abbasi pointed to population growth, decreasing local workers' salaries, spread of diseases and facing cultural and social difficulties as negative consequences of immigration to these countries.

According to Statistical Center of Iran, Afghan, Pakistani and Iraqi refugees are the majority of refugees in Iran.

Based on the statistics, about 1,584,000 refugees from Afghanistan, 34,500 ones from Iraq and 14,320 ones from Pakistan are living in Iran.

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