Universities exceed foreign student targets Tehran Times. According to the plan, some 1.5% of the population of university students in the country should be non-Iranian. However, the figure stood at 1.64% in the past Iranian calendar year (March 2020-March 2021), Afshin Akhoundzadeh, an official at the Organization of Student Affairs, said, IRNA reported last Wednesday. Also, according to the 20-Year National Vision Document (ending 2025), foreign students should account for 1.8% of the whole student population, which is likely to even reach 2%, Akhoundzadeh explained. “Some 57,675 foreign nationals from 133 countries are studying in Iranian universities, 30,600 of whom are studying in universities affiliated with the Ministry of Science, while 25,000 others are receiving education in Azad University, and about 2,000 in medical universities.”