Economy - overview:
Iran's economy is marked by an inefficient state sector, reliance on the oil sector, which provides the majority of government revenues, and statist policies, which create major distortions throughout the system. Private sector activity is typically limited to small-scale workshops, farming, and services. Price controls, subsidies, and other rigidities weigh down the economy, undermining the potential for private-sector-led growth. Significant informal market activity flourishes and corruption is widespread. Tehran since the early 1990s has recognized the need to reduce these inefficiencies, and in December 2010 the legislature passed President Mahmud AHMADI-NEJAD's Targeted Subsidies Law (TSL) to reduce state subsidies on food and energy. The bill over a five-year period will phase out subsidies that previously cost Tehran $60-100 billion annually and benefited Iran's upper and middle classes most. Direct cash payouts of $45 per person to more than 90% of Iranian households have mitigated initial widespread resistance to the TSL program, though this acceptance remains vulnerable to rising inflation. This is the most extensive economic reform since the government implemented gasoline rationing in 2007. The continued rise in world oil prices in the last calendar year increased Iran's oil export revenue by roughly $28 billion over 2010, easing some of the financial impact of international sanctions. However, expansionary fiscal and monetary policies, government mismanagement, the sanctions, and a depreciating currency are fueling inflation, and GDP growth remains stagnant. Iran also continues to suffer from double-digit unemployment and underemployment. Underemployment among Iran's educated youth has convinced many to seek jobs overseas, resulting in a significant "brain drain."
GDP (purchasing power parity): GDP (official exchange rate): GDP - real growth rate: GDP - per capita (PPP): GDP - composition by sector: Labor force: Labor force - by occupation: Unemployment rate: Population below poverty line: Household income or consumption by percentage share: Distribution of family income - Gini index: Investment (gross fixed): Budget: Taxes and other revenues: Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-): Public debt: Inflation rate (consumer prices): Central bank discount rate: Commercial bank prime lending rate: Stock of narrow money: Stock of broad money: Stock of domestic credit: Market value of publicly traded shares: Agriculture - products: Industries: Industrial production growth rate: Electricity - production: Electricity - consumption: Electricity - exports: Electricity - imports: Oil - production: Oil - consumption: Oil - exports: Oil - imports: Natural gas - production: Natural gas - consumption: Natural gas - exports: Natural gas - imports: Natural gas - proved reserves: Current account balance: Exports: Exports - commodities: Exports - partners: Imports: Imports - commodities: Imports - partners: Reserves of foreign exchange and gold: Debt - external: Stock of direct foreign investment - at home: Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad: Exchange rates:
NOTE: 1) The information regarding Iran on this page is re-published from the 2012 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Iran Economy 2012 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Iran Economy 2012 should be addressed to the CIA.
$928.9 billion (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 18
note: data in US dollars
[see also: GDP country ranks ]
$480.3 billion (2011 est.)
[see also: GDP (official exchange rate) country ranks ]
2.5% (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 138
[see also: GDP - real growth rate country ranks ]
$12,200 (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 97
note: data are in 2011 US dollars
[see also: GDP - per capita country ranks ]
agriculture: 11.2%
[see also: GDP - composition by sector - agriculture country ranks ]
industry: 40.6%
[see also: GDP - composition by sector - industry country ranks ]
services: 48.2% (2011 est.)
[see also: GDP - composition by sector - services country ranks ]
26.37 million
country comparison to the world: 24
note: shortage of skilled labor (2011 est.)
[see also: Labor force country ranks ]
agriculture: 25%
[see also: Labor force - by occupation - agriculture country ranks ]
industry: 31%
[see also: Labor force - by occupation - industry country ranks ]
services: 45% (June 2007)
[see also: Labor force - by occupation - services country ranks ]
15.3% (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 150
note: data are according to the Iranian Government
[see also: Unemployment rate country ranks ]
18.7% (2007 est.)
[see also: Population below poverty line country ranks ]
lowest 10%: 2.6%
[see also: Household income or consumption by percentage share - lowest 10% country ranks ]
highest 10%: 29.6% (2005)
[see also: Household income or consumption by percentage share - highest 10% country ranks ]
44.5 (2006)
country comparison to the world: 42
[see also: Distribution of family income - Gini index country ranks ]
27.6% of GDP (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 45
[see also: Investment (gross fixed) country ranks ]
revenues: $130.6 billion
[see also: Budget revenues country ranks ]
expenditures: $92.22 billion (2011 est.)
[see also: Budget expenditures country ranks ]
27.2% of GDP (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 108
[see also: Taxes and other revenues country ranks ]
8% of GDP (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 8
[see also: Budget surplus (+) or deficit (-) country ranks ]
11.6% of GDP (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 120
note: includes publicly guaranteed debt
[see also: Public debt country ranks ]
22.5% (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 219
note: official Iranian estimate
[see also: Inflation rate (consumer prices) country ranks ]
NA%
[see also: Central bank discount rate country ranks ]
12.5% (31 December 2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 71
[see also: Commercial bank prime lending rate country ranks ]
$57.16 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 44
[see also: Stock of narrow money country ranks ]
$367.8 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 27
[see also: Stock of broad money country ranks ]
$144 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 44
[see also: Stock of domestic credit country ranks ]
$107.2 billion (31 December 2010)
country comparison to the world: 46
[see also: Market value of publicly traded shares country ranks ]
wheat, rice, other grains, sugar beets, sugar cane, fruits, nuts, cotton; dairy products, wool; caviar
petroleum, petrochemicals, fertilizers, caustic soda, textiles, cement and other construction materials, food processing (particularly sugar refining and vegetable oil production), ferrous and non-ferrous metal fabrication, armaments
-0.5% excluding oil (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 153
[see also: Industrial production growth rate country ranks ]
212.8 billion kWh (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 19
[see also: Electricity - production country ranks ]
206.7 billion kWh (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 18
[see also: Electricity - consumption country ranks ]
6.15 billion kWh (2009 est.)
[see also: Electricity - exports country ranks ]
2.06 billion kWh (2009 est.)
[see also: Electricity - imports country ranks ]
4.252 million bbl/day (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 4
[see also: Oil - production country ranks ]
1.845 million bbl/day (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 14
[see also: Oil - consumption country ranks ]
2.523 million bbl/day (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 3
[see also: Oil - exports country ranks ]
297,100 bbl/day (2009 est.)
country comparison to the world: 36
[see also: Oil - imports country ranks ]
138.5 billion cu m (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 5
[see also: Natural gas - production country ranks ]
137.5 billion cu m
country comparison to the world: 4
note: excludes injection and flaring (2010 est.)
[see also: Natural gas - consumption country ranks ]
7.87 billion cu m (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 25
[see also: Natural gas - exports country ranks ]
6.9 billion cu m (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 29
[see also: Natural gas - imports country ranks ]
29.61 trillion cu m (1 January 2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 2
[see also: Natural gas - proved reserves country ranks ]
$42 billion (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 12
[see also: Current account balance country ranks ]
$131.8 billion (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 34
[see also: Exports country ranks ]
petroleum 80%, chemical and petrochemical products, fruits and nuts, carpets
China 19%, India 14.8%, Japan 11.6%, Turkey 8%, South Korea 6.7%, Italy 6.2%, Spain 4.7% (2010)
$76.1 billion (2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 41
[see also: Imports country ranks ]
industrial supplies, capital goods, foodstuffs and other consumer goods, technical services
China 17.4%, UAE 16.7%, Germany 7.6%, South Korea 6.3%, Russia 5.7%, Turkey 4.8%, Italy 4.2% (2010)
$109.7 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 22
[see also: Reserves of foreign exchange and gold country ranks ]
$17.9 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 81
[see also: Debt - external country ranks ]
$18.02 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 72
[see also: Stock of direct foreign investment - at home country ranks ]
$2.425 billion (31 December 2011 est.)
country comparison to the world: 66
[see also: Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad country ranks ]
Iranian rials (IRR) per US dollar -
2) The rank that you see is the CIA reported rank, which may habe the following issues:
a) They assign increasing rank number, alphabetically for countries with the same value of the ranked item, whereas we assign them the same rank.
b) The CIA sometimes assignes counterintuitive ranks. For example, it assigns unemployment rates in increasing order, whereas we rank them in decreasing order
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This page was last modified 07-Mar-12