Foreign students from 123 countries study in Iran: Minister

Students from 123 countries are studying at Iranian universities, Iran’s minister of science, research and technology says.

Mohammad Farhadi said more than 35,000 students from various continents are studying in Iranian universities and academic centers.

He added that around 50 percent of foreign students study humanities, 30 percent are enrolled in technical and engineering courses, 17 percent study medical sciences and the remaining three percent are students of arts.

The official, who was addressing a gathering of non-Iranian graduates in the southern city of Shiraz, said Iranian universities have been working hard to promote their international position, saying that the country is ready to admit students from Asia, Africa and Latin America.

Iran still lags behind some states in the Middle East when it comes to the number of foreign nationals it admits to its academic centers. The country is making efforts to attract more foreign students into its private and public universities.