Supreme Leader Announces General Policies on Population (20/05/2014)

Ayatollah Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution, announced the general policies on population on the basis of the first clause in Article 110 of the Constitution and after consulting with the Expediency Council. The following is the full text of these policies issued on May 20, 2014.

In the Name of Allah the Beneficent, the Merciful

Considering the significance of the issue of population in achieving national power and considering the dynamism, development and youthful nature of the population of the country as an opportunity and advantage and with the purpose of making up for population decreases in recent years, I hereby announce the general policies on population.

In view of the affirmative role of population in the progress of the country, it is necessary to formulate comprehensive plans for achieving the economic, social and cultural growth of the country in line with population policies. It is also necessary to adopt essential measures in a careful, rapid and powerful way. This should be done through cooperation and collaborative work by the organizations which are in charge of such affairs. It is necessary to report the results of the pursuit and implementation these policies.

Sayyid Ali Khamenei

30th Ordibehesht, 1393

In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Merciful

General Policies on Population:

1- Improving the dynamism, development and youthful nature of the population by increasing the fertility rate to a higher rate than the rate of sub-replacement fertility.

2- Removing the obstacles of marriage, facilitating marriage, promoting the formation of family and giving birth to more children, encouraging youth to marry at a younger age, supporting young couples and enabling them to afford the cost of living and to raise righteous and competent children.

3- Providing mothers with special resources - particularly during pregnancy and breast-feeding - and with childbirth insurance, treating men's and women's infertility and supporting the organizations in charge of such affairs.

4- Strenghtening the foundation of the family by improving and completing the public educational plans about the essential nature of family and child-rearing, encouraging people to learn the skills which are necessary for life, providing consultative services on the basis of Islamic-Iranian culture and values, developing and supporting the Social Security Organization, improving health and treatment services and paying attention to medical care with the purpose of ensuring fertility.

5- Promoting and establishing an Islamic-Iranian lifestyle and confronting the negative aspects of the western lifestyle.

6- Increasing hope about life, ensuring the health and proper nutrition of the people and preventing social detriments particularly addiction, accidents, pollution and diseases.

7- Creating a culture for respecting the aged, preparing the ground for ensuring their health and for preserving them in families and developing necessary guidelines for benefiting from the experiences and capabilities of old people in appropriate arenas.

8- Empowering the working population by creating an appropriate culture, by improving and strengthening educational organizations and public, entrepreneurial and technical instructions and lessons and by coordinating these instructions with the needs of society, and with talented individuals and their interests with the purpose of creating efficient and productive employment.

9- Environmental and geographical redistribution of the population - in line with environmental capacities - by stressing the necessity of water with the purpose of fair distribution and reducing population pressures.

10- Preserving the population of villages and border and sparsely populated areas and creating new population centers in the Persian Gulf and Sea of Oman coastal areas and islands by developing infrastructural networks, encouraging investment and creating an appropriate environment for business with appropriate levels of income and profit.

11- Managing immigration from and to the country in line with the general policies on population and by developing and implementing necessary guidelines.

12- Encouraging the Iranians who live abroad to be present and to invest in Iran and utilizing their capacities and capabilities.

13- Strengthening the factors (Iranian, Islamic and revolutionary) which bring about national identity, promoting consensus and social convergence nationally, particularly among the residents of border areas and the Iranians who live abroad.

14- Constant follow-up - quantitative and qualitative - of population policies by developing appropriate guidelines, defining domestic standards for human development and carrying out research on population and human development.