Iran fails to publish statistics, avoids criticism, Shargh says

Bloomberg: Iranian official bodies are withholding publication of economic indicators, preventing analysis of the country’s performance, Shargh reported, citing economists.

Bloomberg

By Ladane Nasseri

Iranian official bodies are withholding publication of economic indicators, preventing analysis of the country’s performance, Shargh reported, citing economists.

The central bank hasn’t announced gross domestic product or economic growth in about two years and the last time Iran’s statistics center published the unemployment rate was 12 months ago, when it stood at 14.6 percent, the newspaper said.

The veracity of a recent Economy Ministry announcement that unemployment now stands at 10 percent is questionable, as there is no explanation for a “sudden” drop at a time of recession, Shargh said. President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s claim that 2.5 million jobs will be created this year will require economic growth of about 20 percent, it said.

No one was immediately available to comment at the central bank’s media affairs office or at the statistics center. The International Monetary Fund has predicted zero economic growth for Iran this year, compared with 1 percent in 2010. Iran’s population is 75 million.