Major drop in income levels since 1980

Iran has witnessed a doubling of its population over the past 20 years and the average income of Iranians plummeted by 30 percent over the same period, the ‘Iran Daily’ reported on Monday. According to the BBC-monitored report, Iran’s population has risen from 37 million to just under 65 million people in 20 years, a rate of increase which has not been matched by economic growth.

Analysts said Iran was still beleaguered by the same problems it faced during its revolution and the Iran-Iraq war, “with poor performance due to low economic growth, a dependence on oil revenues, a stagnation of non-oil exports, persistent inflation, and a reliance on food imports”, the report said.

Poor economic performance has had a direct and prolonged effect on families, it added. A survey in 1997-‘98 estimated that Iranian families were allocating a disproportionate amount of their household income on foodstuffs. In rural areas, in particular, families were reported to have spent nearly half their monthly income on food supplies; families in developed countries typically allocate less than 15 percent of household income to food, the report said.