The Research Center of the Iran Chamber reported that, according to the latest available statistics, approximately 32 million people in the country were living below the poverty line (food insecurity) by the end of 2021. This trend continues to expand rapidly due to the severe inflation of recent years.
On November 16, the Research Center examined the causes of inflation in the Iranian economy and the necessary measures to address this phenomenon under various scenarios, focusing on monetary perspectives and the impact of exchange rates.
The Iran Chamber emphasized that in economies with 20% inflation, discussions about production, investment, and economic growth are practically futile and unconventional.
According to this report, the population living below the poverty line (food insecurity) in Iran in 2017 was estimated at around 18 million, but due to inflation and shocks in 2018 and 2019, this number rose to over 26 million at the beginning of 2020.
The report highlighted the rapid expansion of the food poverty line due to severe inflation in recent years, stressing that in such an environment, discussions about investment goals and production, as well as controlling poverty and inequality, would be mere illusions.
The Majlis Research Center reported on October 24 that the poverty rate in 2023 increased by 0.4 percentage points compared to 2022, reaching 30.1%.
According to this report, last year at least one-third of the population could not meet their basic needs and lived below the poverty line.
In its report, the Research Center of the Iran Chamber stated that most economists believe that inflation in Iran is a monetary phenomenon that can be controlled by managing the money supply, noting: “Limiting the cause of current inflation in Iran to liquidity growth misleads the audience and its policy implications are very risky.”
The Iran Chamber noted that part of the chronic and persistent inflation in Iran is related to liquidity growth, citing the large size of the government, the imposition of numerous costs on the government budget, financing structural budget deficits through money creation mechanisms, the lack of an efficient budgeting system, financial dominance, and the lack of independence of the central bank as some reasons for liquidity growth in the country.
In its November 17 issue, the newspaper Ham-Mihan published a report titled “Installment Living,” emphasizing that reaching a crisis point is significant for society, stating that families have no choice but to resort to installment purchases for meat, chicken, and dairy products, which are always facing rising prices.
This report pointed out that the first six deciles of society are living under relative poverty, and with the daily rise in prices of goods in the country, it noted that in these conditions, families cannot afford to buy many of these items, leaving them with no choice but to eliminate or purchase these goods on installment.
Ham-Mihan listed rice, detergents, pasta, oil, electronic devices, clothing, shoes, bags, gold, and hygiene and cosmetic products as some of the items that have become installment purchases in people’s lives.
The report noted that alongside installment purchases, the sale of second-hand goods is also thriving, highlighting that items which might have been found next to trash bins in the past are now being sold on goods sale platforms, and the market is flourishing.
In recent years, due to the inefficiency of the Iranian regime in managing the country’s economy, numerous reports have been published about the sharp increase in poverty and the poor economic conditions of the people in Iran.
The newspaper Donya-e-Eqtesad reported on August 25 that the poverty line for a three-person household in Tehran this year is approximately 20 million tomans.
This media outlet quoted economic experts as stating that approximately 26 million Iranians are unable to meet their basic needs.
The newspaper Etemad also reported in May 2024, after examining available data on poverty rates, that a 10% increase in the poverty rate over two years translates to about eight million more people living in poverty in the country.
This newspaper emphasized that the likelihood of non-poor individuals falling below the poverty line has increased, and the capacity to secure budget resources from the non-poor population has diminished.
