Tehran's poverty line has almost doubled in two years

The Majlis Research Center has published a report on Iran's economic situation. According to the report, the poverty line, inflation rate, unemployment, and Gini coefficient have all been on the rise over the past eight years.

The average national poverty line in Iran has increased from 500,000 Tomans per month for a family of four in 2011 to 2 million Tomans in 2019. The poverty line in Tehran has also increased from 1 million Tomans in 2011 to 4.5 million Tomans.

In 2017, the average poverty line in the country was slightly less than one million and 500 thousand tomans, and the poverty line in Tehran was two million and 500 thousand tomans. This means that the poverty line in Tehran has almost doubled in two years.

This statistic was published in the latest report by the Parliamentary Research Center. According to the report, the country's poverty rate has increased from a little over 15 percent in 2011 to 18.4 percent in 2018. This is the highest poverty rate in the country from 2011 to 2018.

Per capita income

The report also stated that the country's per capita income decreased by 34 percent from 2011 to 2019, and the purchasing power of each Iranian decreased by about a third compared to 2011.

While the per capita income of each Iranian in 2011 was slightly more than seven million tomans, this income fell to four million and 800 thousand tomans in 2019.

The trend of per capita income in these years has always been downward, except for 2017, when per capita income increased by about one million tomans compared to 2016.

According to this report, if economic growth of 8% is achieved from 2011 onwards, it will take six years to return to the income level of 2011.

Economic growth

The Majlis Research Center, in its report, stated that Iran's average economic growth from 2012 to 2019 was close to zero. This rate has also fluctuated greatly in recent years, for example, from around minus eight percent in 2012 to around 13 percent in 2016, and fell again to around minus seven percent in 2019.

The economic growth rate forecast for 2020 is around minus six percent and for 2021 is around three percent.

Inflation rate

The Majlis Research Center has announced the average long-term inflation rate of the Iranian economy at nearly 20 percent. This is while the average global inflation rate in 2018 was 2.4 percent. Iran has the highest inflation rate after Venezuela, Zimbabwe, and Argentina.

According to this report, the point-to-point inflation rate in 2019 was slightly more than 50 percent. This is the highest inflation rate since 1994.

Point-to-point inflation for food and beverages in 2019 was 85.3%.

In calculating point-by-point inflation, the price index of goods is measured at the end of each month relative to the previous month. For example, the price index for May 2019 (the weighted average price of the household basket) is compared to the price index for the same period the previous year, i.e. the price index in May 2019.

Unemployment rate

The Parliamentary Research Center has announced the unemployment rate by province, gender, youth, and graduates.

Accordingly, among the provinces, Kermanshah has the highest unemployment rate with 18.7 percent, followed by Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province with 17.4 percent and Khuzestan with 15.7 percent.

The unemployment rate in Tehran province is 12.2 percent.

In most provinces, the unemployment rate for women is much higher than for men, sometimes up to twice as high. Only in the provinces of North Khorasan, Zanjan, and Hamedan is the unemployment rate for women slightly lower than for men.

Gini coefficient

According to a report by the Iranian Parliament Research Center, the Gini coefficient has increased from 37 percent in 2011 to 40.9 percent in 2018. The report states: “The upward trend in the Gini coefficient and the ratio of the richest ten percent to the poorest ten percent of the population since 2013 indicates a significant increase in inequality and social divide as a result of negative economic growth and high inflation in the economy during these years.”

The Gini index or Gini coefficient is an economic indicator for calculating the distribution of wealth among people. A high Gini coefficient in a country is usually considered an indicator of high class and income inequality in that country.

Source: DW