Nearly 33,000 villages have been deserted today and 25,000 villages have a population of less than 20 households, said Seyed Abolfazl Razavi, deputy of first vice-president for rural development and deprived areas.
This has left 10 million hectares of agricultural lands fallow, IRNA quoted him as saying.
The villages also have rich assets including ancient monuments dating back to the pre-historic era. The monuments can be publicized as tourist attractions to create income for the rural households and prevent them from migrating to the metropolises, he added.