Iran guide
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| Tomb of poet Hafez © Shirin Sadeghi |
A remnant of the vast Persian empire, Iran has undergone major political and social changes in the last 25 years, mostly spurred by the popular Revolution of 1979 that was ultimately overtaken by religious elements. Today, the Islamic Republic of Iran, though rich with history, culture and natural resources, is still struggling with human rights issues and poverty. As one of the youngest populations in the world, with 75% of the people under the age of 35, Iran's potential to achieve a more humane and tolerant civil society remains to be seen.
updated October 2008
Poverty in Iran
Iran has adopted the benchmark of $2 per day as the measure of extreme poverty with 13.5% of the population falling into this category in 1995. By 2002 the target of cutting this rate by more than a half had already been achieved but progress since then has been less convincing. One estimate for 2006 puts the figure at 5.6%. The indicator more commonly quoted in Iran is the national poverty line which is calculated as the income required to purchase sufficient food for minimum dietary needs. Progress against this measure has been very similar to the $2 benchmark but a report published by the Central Bank of Iran in 2008 states that the proportion below the national poverty line has risen to over 19% in urban areas. There is real concern that poverty is now increasing due to the impact of very high inflation in 2007 and 2008.
Health and Gender
Iran is classed as a middle income country and has made significant progress in provision of health and education services in the period covered by the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Net enrolment at primary school level is almost 100% and female students are dominating admissions to tertiary education. The improvement in education and literacy of girls is one of the reasons why rates of child and maternal mortality have fallen towards the MDG targets set for 2015. However, problems remain in some rural areas where delivery of services to ethnic minorities is constrained by cultural misunderstanding and discrimination.
The biggest MDG problem which the present government has exacerbated is the issue of gender equality and the empowerment of women. The patriarchal power structure permits women to hold very few senior positions in commerce or public administration and none at all in the judiciary. In parliament a derisory 2.8% of seats are occupied by women.
Iran has one of the highest rates of HIV/AIDS in any predominantly Muslim country and, although adult prevalence is below 0.2%, the MDG target of halting the increase in this rate is unlikely to be achieved. The main cause of infection is needle drug use which may be out of control in full-capacity prisons and within the narcotics trade. The government was slow to acknowledge the problem and is still not totally forthright with estimates of the numbers which are believed by experts to be at least 3 times the published figure. The substantial rise in prostitution in Iran has also been a significant contributing factor to the problem of HIV/AIDS.
The Economy in Iran
If the outcome of the forthcoming presidential election is dictated by the state of the economy, then the prospects for re-election of Ahmadinejad are poor. Iranians grapple with 30% inflation whilst unemployment hovers around 16-20%. Daily power cuts and petrol rations are frustrating in a country which earned $54 billion in oil revenues in the first half of 2008 alone. With 75% of the population under the age of 35, there is pressing need for the economy to perform.
Whilst sanctions disrupt Iran’s capacity to develop its vast oil and gas resources, the central problem for the economy is that the bulk of national spending is consumed by subsidies of fuel and other goods. These benefit the strong and growing middle class more than the poor. Populist programmes announced by Ahmadinejad on tours around the country early in his presidency never added up to a coherent strategy to narrow the widening gap between rich and poor. Falling oil prices threaten further difficulty for the president as the election approaches.
Privatisation, especially of land, has led to an exponential growth in property development and a new class of nouveau-riche Iranians who have made overnight fortunes from the high property values which are valued in US dollars. The government has announced the intention that 80% of state-owned enterprises will be nationalised by 2010.
The OneWorld Iran Guide was first published in January 2005 with a text written by Volunteer Editor Shirin Sadeghi.
Iran has adopted the benchmark of $2 per day as the measure of extreme poverty with 13.5% of the population falling into this category in 1995. By 2002 the target of cutting this rate by more than a half had already been achieved but progress since then has been less convincing. One estimate for 2006 puts the figure at 5.6%. The indicator more commonly quoted in Iran is the national poverty line which is calculated as the income required to purchase sufficient food for minimum dietary needs. Progress against this measure has been very similar to the $2 benchmark but a report published by the Central Bank of Iran in 2008 states that the proportion below the national poverty line has risen to over 19% in urban areas. There is real concern that poverty is now increasing due to the impact of very high inflation in 2007 and 2008.
Health and Gender
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| Protest for women's rights in Tehran © Women's Learning Partnership for Rights, Development, and Peace |
The biggest MDG problem which the present government has exacerbated is the issue of gender equality and the empowerment of women. The patriarchal power structure permits women to hold very few senior positions in commerce or public administration and none at all in the judiciary. In parliament a derisory 2.8% of seats are occupied by women.
Iran has one of the highest rates of HIV/AIDS in any predominantly Muslim country and, although adult prevalence is below 0.2%, the MDG target of halting the increase in this rate is unlikely to be achieved. The main cause of infection is needle drug use which may be out of control in full-capacity prisons and within the narcotics trade. The government was slow to acknowledge the problem and is still not totally forthright with estimates of the numbers which are believed by experts to be at least 3 times the published figure. The substantial rise in prostitution in Iran has also been a significant contributing factor to the problem of HIV/AIDS.
The Economy in Iran
If the outcome of the forthcoming presidential election is dictated by the state of the economy, then the prospects for re-election of Ahmadinejad are poor. Iranians grapple with 30% inflation whilst unemployment hovers around 16-20%. Daily power cuts and petrol rations are frustrating in a country which earned $54 billion in oil revenues in the first half of 2008 alone. With 75% of the population under the age of 35, there is pressing need for the economy to perform.
Whilst sanctions disrupt Iran’s capacity to develop its vast oil and gas resources, the central problem for the economy is that the bulk of national spending is consumed by subsidies of fuel and other goods. These benefit the strong and growing middle class more than the poor. Populist programmes announced by Ahmadinejad on tours around the country early in his presidency never added up to a coherent strategy to narrow the widening gap between rich and poor. Falling oil prices threaten further difficulty for the president as the election approaches.
Privatisation, especially of land, has led to an exponential growth in property development and a new class of nouveau-riche Iranians who have made overnight fortunes from the high property values which are valued in US dollars. The government has announced the intention that 80% of state-owned enterprises will be nationalised by 2010.
The OneWorld Iran Guide was first published in January 2005 with a text written by Volunteer Editor Shirin Sadeghi.
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