Editor-in-Chief Lecture
Author
Associate Professor in Demographics, University of Tehran, Iran
Abstract
considered as an axis and center of development and social changes. Almost all aspects of our lives and the world around us have been influenced by demographic changes, which apart from having an effect on social, economic, and environmental sub-systems; have also been a source of significant changes in these domains. In the 20th century, Iran has gone through numerous social transformations, in a way that this century can be called an era of social transformations. Our times at the beginning and the end of the century are much different, and population has been one of the most important components of this difference. The future, too, will certainly be different, partly due to ongoing demographic changes. In fact, demographic changes and everything related to them have all created the present that seems alien compared to the past, and they are creating a future that will be strange today. Over the past half a century, the majority of population was concentrated in rural areas but today they mostly live in urban centers; most of the population in the past was illiterate but now they are mostly literate; people lived in large families but now they have smaller households, also over the past few decades there were talks about the population explosion, especially those of youth, but today, the declining and aging population are the issues of discussions.
Therefore, the only fixed point about human populations is that they are never static but are always dynamic and changing. As such, one should have a vibrant view on the population and adopt favorable and dynamic policies and programs in accordance with demographic changes and foresight in order to take advantage of opportunities and deal with challenges. Nevertheless, population opportunities and challenges are always evolving and becoming permanent. In other words, the nature and type of demographic opportunities and challenges are different over time. Hence, the formulation of population policies and programs in any era requires determining harmful and problem-creating aspects of demographic trends on the one hand, and the opportunities arising from them on the other. Although all periods and stages of the population transition necessitate policy-making but those policies probably may not be as sensitive, necessary and effective as in recent years. In this regard, taking into account the emerging demographic issues as well as their recent and future trends, the Islamic Republic of Iran revised its population policies, which were finally announced by the leader of the Islamic Revolution on May 30, 2013. These policies, compiled in 14 paragraphs, are related to pivotal issues such as: Increasing fertility above the succession level; facilitating marriage and family formation; empowering working-age population; managing migration and domestic and international movements; aging population and using the capacity and capabilities of the elderly; improving social health and quality of life, etc. As such, general population policies are one of the most comprehensive existing policy documents with a dynamic and systemic approach to current and future challenges and opportunities and that have been compiled taken into account the country’s various economic, socio-cultural, health and environmental dimensions. However, the success of policies and programs depends on various factors such as, coherent and sustainable budget and programs; stable and coherent policy, improvement in socio-economic situation, social acceptance, and the support for population studies and researches.
In this special quarterly, population dimensions and issues in Iran in three areas of marriage, fertility and immigration have been investigated and researched upon using an interdisciplinary approach in the form of six scientific articles: ‘Spouse-choosing styles of young people in the context of developmental idealism’; ‘Generational and seasonal changes in marriage’; ‘Fertility tendencies and their determinants’; ‘The sense of security and childbearing intention’; ‘Mothers and the upbringing of the generation with emphasis on social concerns of mothers in relation to parenting’; and, ‘The inclination to emigrate from Iran’.
In the end, I hope that this special issue with the efforts of some faculty members, demographic researchers and reviewers of the articles as well as with the support of the respected editor and members of the editorial board, apart from industrious efforts and follow-up by Ms. Mahnaz Shah-Alizadeh, the executive director of the quarterly, would be fruitful for researchers and policy-makers.
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