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In a major journalistic coup, the FEZANA Journal has prepared the first authentic global survey of Zoroastrians which their magazine modestly terms ‘a first draft’ but it is undoubtedly the most scientifically conducted estimate of the world Zoroastrian population.

The total world Zoroastrian population is approximately between 1,25,000 to 1,91,000 according to the Journal (Winter 2004 issue). The divergent figures are on account of the uncertainty over the number of Zoroastrians  in Iran. The figures cited by the Journal for Iran are 24,000 and 90,000.

"After spending the last few weeks collecting material for this issue on worldwide Zarathushti demographics, I cannot but feel in my heart, that, unless we sit up and do something, it could very well be the‘sunset,’ if not the ‘twilight,’” states the quarterly’s editor Roshan Rivetna.

FEZANA Journal publisher Khor­shed Jungalwala notes, "The statistics provided may not be exact in every case but given the progression of time, they have shown a trend that can certainly be considered alarming.”

While pointing out the on going debate of who is a Zoroastrian especially in the North American context, FEZANA president Firdosh Mehta notes, "The (FEZANA) executive welcomes the publication of this issue of the FEZANA Journal with the caveat that in disseminating the information on demographics to the North American community of member associations, it does not in any way take a position on defining who is a Zarathushti or promote any religious agenda.”

"One does not have to be a statistician to grasp what the numbers protend for the homeland communities,” notes Rivetna. "It appears to be more than just the writing on the wall — it is already starting to happen. The doleful figures from Iran, India and Pakistan tell their own story.

" ‘But the numbers are not declining, they are shifting with emigration’ some would say, ‘soon there will be more Zarathushtis in the ‘second diaspora,’ than in India and Iran.

"The diaspora has, no doubt, grown steadily over the last half a century. The question to ask now is whether the growth is from immigration alone (which then becomes a zero-sum game for the world population) or are the Zarathushtis in the new countries sustaining a natural growth in their population. Only time will tell.” 

The introduction to the main article "The Zarathushti world — a demographic picture” compiled by Rivetna states the survey "is not an officially conducted statistically accurate census... .”

(Extracts from the issue)

Methodology: The process

For Iran and India, we invited papers addressing demographic issues in these two countries.

For each of the other countries we established a knowledgeable contact person — either an official of the local association or a long time resident.

For the larger ‘second diaspora’ countries — USA, Canada and Australia, we further communicated directly with a contact person in each state or province.

The questionnaire basically asked for (a) the total count of Zarathushtis in that ‘area’ (country or state/province); (b) the total count of non-Zarathushti spouses; and (c) an estimate of how many more Zarathushtis there might be "out there” that were missed from the count. A short background history and interesting anecdotal information, is also presented for some countries.

The goal was to count all Zarathushtis in each country. Data was collected on a country/state/province level, and not an association level. Special efforts were made by each contact person to seek out and count Zarathushtis "on the fringes” — those who were not affiliated with any associations or recorded in any local databases or directories.

Guidelines

For consistency in responses, the following guidelines were established.

Persons on temporary (for a few months only) professional assignments were counted in their home state/country.

College students away from home were counted in their home state/country.

Transfer of families from one country/state/province to another may have resulted in some families being counted twice (in both states) and others dropped from the count (not counted in either state).

For this survey, all children of mixed marriages were counted as Zarathushtis, unless the children were definitely known to follow another religion.

There were occasional (rather rare) cases of ‘born’ Zarathushtis having leanings towards other religions. For purposes of this survey, unless the person was officially known to have converted to another religion, he/she was counted.

The emergence of Neo-Zarathushtis (or ‘Zarathushtis by choice’) in recent decades is not covered here. A study and discussion of this topic will be presented in a future issue of the FEZANA Journal, after consistent and comprehensive facts and figures have been gathered.

The discrepancy in the figures for Iran are explained by architect Parviz Varjavand in an article "The Zarathushti religion in Iran today.” Varjavand works in Iran but resides in the USA.

 

Iran

Varjavand: To follow the demographic makeup of the Zartoshti population of Iran has also become a question of enormous complexity.

These figures fluctuate between 90,000 to less than 30,000. The less than 30,000 is a number that the community does not wish to admit because if our numbers fall to less than 30,000 in a nation of seventy million, we lose our right to have the one representative that we get to send to the National Islamic Parliament.

One reason why the number of Zartoshtis is reported higher at times when the census is taken is because no proof of religious affiliation is demanded by census takers. Many Iranians who may feel Zartoshti in their hearts report their religion as Zoroastrian, even though, if randomly examined, we find that their names are Muslim names.

The number of persons who ‘somehow feel’ they are Zartoshtis is very high in Iran. Yet when the pro-conversion elements approach them, they realize that these persons do not wish to officially convert. They rather remain in their own imagined fantasy land of "True Zoroastrianism” than convert to any recognized version. Intellectual affiliation to some fantasy norm is easy while actual devoted conversion to a religion with strong boundaries is hard.

Caveats: Data gathered on population and marriages is presented  with copious explanatory notes in the articles  in the FEZANA Journal.

This data could be misleading, if reproduced out of context, without the explanations.

FEZANA Journal presents the raw data as submitted by each respondent. With the limited time and resource available, only minimal verification or validation of the submitted numbers, has been possible.

As such, there might be inconsistencies from respondent to respondent — in the counting process used as well as in the definitions of who is to be counted.

This data should be viewed as ‘a first draft,’ a work in progress. It can be safe to say that the population numbers presented here are a lower limit ­— of Zarathushtis that could be counted; the actual numbers could conceivably be much higher. Additions and corrections, if forthcoming, will be presented in future issues.

The FEZANA Journal reiterates that, while every effort has been made to seek accurate information, the data presented is not an official census, and gives, at best, just a flavor of The Zarathushti World.

While every effort has been made to reach Zarathushtis in all regions of the globe for accurate data, this quick "magazine survey” gives, at best, just a feel of the demographics. It is not an officially accurate census. The raw data, as received from respondents, is presented here, with no attempt at analyzing the data, forecasting trends or drawing conclusions.

The views expressed in these articles are those of the authors, and do not necessarily reflect the views of FEZANA or the FEZANA Journal.