The expansion of poverty under Iran’s regime in recent years has become a serious concern. Official statistics present a catastrophic picture of poverty in the country, although these figures are often manipulated to understate the reality.
According to a report by the Research Center of the regime’s parliament, the poverty rate has remained around 30% between 2019 and 2024. This means that approximately 25 to 26 million people in Iran live below the poverty line. However, unofficial and international sources estimate that as much as 80% of the Iranian population faces this challenge.
The Research Center reported a rise in the poverty rate to 30.1% in 2023. Salam Sattoudeh, a member of the regime’s parliament, also stated in early 2025 that about 25 million people live below the official poverty line. This figure is alarming and on the rise.
It must always be noted that statistics related to the poverty line and other negative indicators under Iran’s regime are either not published at all or are manipulated. The numbers released by the authorities are significantly lower than the actual conditions experienced by the population.
Beyond the spread of poverty, reports indicate that the income gap between individuals living below the poverty line and the line itself is increasing. This is known as the “poverty gap” index. The parliamentary Research Center reported that this index reached approximately 0.28 in 2022.
Poverty varies across different regions of Iran. For example, in the southeastern province of Sistan and Baluchestan, two-thirds of the population live in poverty. In contrast, the poverty rate in Tehran is around 13%.
In Tehran, the official poverty line is set at over 200 million rials (approximately $241). Anyone earning less than this amount is effectively considered to be living in poverty. In a metropolis like Tehran, the rising cost of housing alone has pushed many into poverty. Meanwhile, the official monthly wage for a worker with two children barely reaches 150 million rials (around $180). Some independent experts estimate the actual poverty line to be twice that amount, at roughly $500 per month.
Workers’ Wages Have Lagged Behind Inflation by 200% in Four Years
Official reports show that in Tehran, 55% of individuals’ income is spent on housing.
Chronic and high inflation in recent years has played a major role in increasing the number of impoverished people under Iran’s regime. In nearly five decades of clerical rule, the inflation rate has only been in single digits for about four years. Meanwhile, people’s incomes have not risen in line with inflation.
Fathollah Bayat, head of the Syndicate of Contract and Project Workers, stated that workers’ incomes have lagged behind inflation by as much as 200% over the past four years. This has reduced the purchasing power of the middle and lower classes, pushing a large number of workers below the poverty line.
The rise in unemployment has further worsened poverty under Iran’s regime. Iran’s Statistical Center recently reported at least 2 million unemployed individuals, including 800,000 university graduates. This situation has severely weakened household incomes across the country.
The deteriorating economic situation and damage to productive sectors have reduced job opportunities. As a result, many of Iran’s educated elites have chosen to emigrate. Under persistent high inflation, this has led to growing poverty among large segments of the population.
According to many regime officials, more than 60% of the country’s economy is controlled by regime-affiliated institutions and the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).
The High Number of People Living Below the Poverty Line Is the Result of the Mullahs’ Plundering
Former MP Behzad Nabavi stated in September 2019 that “60% of Iran’s national wealth is controlled by just four entities.” Under such conditions, the appointed government acts merely as a logistical coordinator—if that. Even this limited role is often denied to appointed governments, especially those aligned with the regime’s losing faction. Regime-aligned ideologues claim that public despair is due to incompetent and rent-seeking managers, but this is a way of minimizing the actual problem.
The regime’s incompetence—despite Iran’s vast oil, gas, and mineral wealth—has driven a large segment of the population below the poverty line. Iran possesses 28 billion barrels of oil (18% of global reserves), 56 times more discovered oil and gas than all of Europe, 38 times Europe’s mineral reserves, and 34 trillion cubic meters of gas (17.3% of global reserves), yet it has plunged its people into poverty.
While it is currently claimed that 25 million Iranians live below the poverty line, earlier statistics expose the lies of forgetful liars.
According to statistics from the Research Center of the regime’s Chamber of Commerce, about 32 million people were living below the poverty line at the beginning of 2022.
However, on November 17, 2024, the state-run website BourseNews reported that the poverty line in 2024 had risen by over 80% compared to 2022.
Considering the 32 million impoverished people in 2021 and the 80% increase between 2022 and November 2024, the number of poor individuals has reached 57 million. Undoubtedly, this number has continued to rise since November 2024, not decline.
