Parliamentary Research Center: 23 to 40 percent of Iran's population is at risk of poverty

The Iranian Parliament Research Center announced in a report that about 23 to 40 percent of Iran's population was at risk of poverty in 2018.

The difference between the two figures of 23 to 40 percent is due to different scenarios and differences in how the poverty line is calculated.

According to this report, while in 2017, about 16 percent of the country's population was below the "absolute poverty" line, by the end of 2018, about 23 to 40 percent will be below the poverty line, with different scenarios for the income status of households, and the cost of meeting minimum living needs will increase sharply.

The center had previously announced in a report that in 2016, the ratio of absolute poverty to the total population was estimated at 15 percent in urban areas and 11.6 percent in rural areas.

There is disagreement among the responsible institutions regarding how to calculate the poverty line in Iran, and the responsible institutions do not provide unified statistics on this matter.

The center announced in its report that, based on calculations, the poverty line in 2017 for a family of four in Tehran was about two million and five hundred thousand tomans, and this figure is expected to reach about three million and four hundred thousand tomans by the end of the fall of 2018.

According to the report, "the cost of the poor's food basket" has increased by about 42 percent from the beginning of 2018 to the end of this year, while during this period, "at best, the income of the poor has remained stable or even decreased due to job loss."

According to the center, this situation has led to an increase in the poverty rate, and it is predicted that by the end of 2018, between the first three and four deciles will be below the poverty line.

A number of labor and union sources, as well as some independent economists, define the poverty line at a higher level than official institutions.

Among them, Hossein Raghfar, a university professor, estimated the absolute poverty line for an urban family of four at four million Tomans in 2017.

In its report, the Parliamentary Research Center has mentioned various scenarios for supporting low-income people and their opponents and supporters.

While reviewing the 2019 budget, Iranian parliamentarians approved a resolution that, if approved by the Guardian Council, basic goods will be imported next year with state currency and distributed to the people using "electronic coupons."

Iranian media has referred to "Kala Card" as an "electronic coupon."

This plan is reminiscent of the Iran-Iraq war, in which for eight years and for several years afterward, some food items, including meat, rice, and sugar, were distributed among the people in the form of coupons.

Last year, the government also provided support packages to some groups with the aim of offsetting the economic effects of US sanctions.

People who receive this money cannot withdraw it from their accounts and can only purchase "essential goods (food)."

Source: Radio Farda