Supreme Leader, Make Me a Match. NewsWire

NewsWire: 8/11/21

• As births keep falling, Iran has launched a state-sponsored matchmaking app. Users are matched through psychological compatibility tests and are offered counseling after they’re married. (The Washington Post)
• NH: Online dating apps like Tinder and Hinge have always been illegal in Iran. But now the government has announced it will launch a state-sponsored dating app called Hamdam.
• The app's matchmaking algorithm will be based on “family values” and “Islamic principles.” Users will need to take psychological tests and be interviewed by counselors. The app will then match love seekers with compatible partners. Unlike traditional dating apps, the service will not use photos, as they are deemed “manipulative.” The app will also provide marriage counseling if users tie the knot. 
• So why is the government playing matchmaker? To increase fertility. 
• Back during the regime of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Iran had one of the highest TFRs in the world--every bit as high as the Arab countries. But in the late 1980s, not long after the Revolution of 1979, the new theocracy decided large families impeded economic development. The regime ushered in a surprising radical, and successful, system of family planning, including free counseling and contraceptives for women at local clinics. Today Iran has the lowest TFR in the Muslim world. (For more historical background, see “Iran Ponders Its Low Birth Rate.”)

• The government knows that it over-corrected, and Iran's top planners have long pondered effective pro-natal initiatives. This is their newest idea. The dating app is intended as a one-stop shop to guide people through finding a partner, getting married, staying married, and ultimately having kids. 
• Other countries have dabbled with similar ideas. In Japan, local governments have started running matchmaking services. (See "Japan's Local Authorities Are Getting Into Matchmaking.") But Iran is the first nation to use this tactic nationwide. I wouldn't be surprised if other low-fertility nations follow suit.