Economy of Iran

Economy of Iran
	Tehran province hosts 45% of Iran's industries.
Currency	Iranian rial (IRR,﷼)
Fiscal year	March 21–20
Trade organizations	ECO, OPEC, GECF, WTO (observer), SCO, Brics and others
Country group	Developing/Emerging; Upper-middle income economy;
Statistics
Population	91,997,839 (2025)
GDP	$463.747 billion (nominal; 2025 est.); $1.782 trillion (PPP; 2025 est.);
GDP rank	36th (nominal; 2024); 23rd (PPP; 2024);
GDP growth	4.7% (2021); 3.0% (2022); 2.0% (2023);
GDP per capita	$5,300 (nominal; 2025 est.); $20,369 (PPP; 2025 est.);
GDP per capita rank	117th (nominal; 2024); 93rd (PPP; 2025);
GDP by sector	Agriculture: 6.9% (2016 est.); Industry: 35.3% (2016 est.); Services: 55% (2017 est.);
GDP by component	Household consumption: 49.7%; Government consumption: 14%; Investment in fixed capital: 20.6%; Investment in inventories: 14.5%; Exports of goods and services: 26%; Imports of goods and services: −24.9%; (2017 est.);
Inflation (CPI)	29.5% (2025)
Base borrowing rate	NA
Population below poverty line	55% living on less than 3.4 million tomans/month (2019; per Majlis Research Center); 22% on less than $6.85/day (2022);
Gini coefficient	38.8 medium (2018)
Human Development Index	0.780 high (2022) (78th); 0.584 medium IHDI (2022);
Corruption Perceptions Index	24 out of 100 points (2023, 149th rank)
Labor force	27,358,987 (2019); 39.1% employment rate (2018);
Unemployment	8.90% (Dec 2021);
Average net salary	Urban households:; IRR 17 million, monthly (FY 2013); Rural households:; IRR 10 million, monthly (FY 2013);
Gross savings	41.758% of GDP (2022)
Main industries	petroleum, petrochemicals, fertilizers, caustic soda, car manufacture, parts, pharmaceuticals, home appliances, electronics, telecommunications, energy, power, textiles, construction, cement and other construction materials, food processing (particularly sugar refining and vegetable oil production), ferrous and non-ferrous metal fabrication, armaments
External
Exports	$107.43 billion (2018)
Export goods	petroleum (56%), chemical and petrochemical products, automobiles, fruits and nuts, carpets
Main export partners	China 36%(2024); Turkey 20.21%; Pakistan 10.7%; UAE 10.5%(2024); India 4.5%; Azerbaijan 2.8%; Germany 1.8%;
Imports	$54.46 billion (2018)
Import goods	industrial raw materials and intermediate goods (46%), capital goods (35%), foodstuffs and other consumer goods (19%), technical services
Main import partners	China 28.4%(2025); Brazil 12.9%; Turkey 11.7%; UAE 10.5%(2025); India 10.5%; Germany 4.9%; Italy 1.7%; France 1.7% (2022);
FDI stock	$50.33 billion (December 31, 2017, est.); Abroad: $5.226 billion (December 31, 2017, est.);
Current account	$32.031 billion (2022); 1.623% of GDP (2022);
Gross external debt	$9.142 billion (December 2022)
Public finances
Government debt	IRR 34,091,132 billion (2022); 34.172% of GDP (2022);
Foreign reserves	$85.2 billion (December 31, 2020, est.)
Budget balance	+3% (of GDP) (2022 est.)
Revenues	IRR 8,298,940 billion (2022)
Expenses	IRR 12,487,173 billion (2022)
Credit rating	Economist Intelligence Unit:; CCC (Sovereign risk); CCC (Currency risk); CC (Bank sector risk); CC (Political risk); B (Economic structure risk); CC (Country risk); (February 2014);
	All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars.

Iran has a mixed, centrally planned economy with a large public sector. It consists of hydrocarbon, agricultural and service sectors, in addition to manufacturing and financial services, with over 40 industries traded on the Tehran Stock Exchange. With 10% of the world's proven oil reserves and 15% of its gas reserves, Iran is considered an "energy superpower". Nevertheless since 2024, Iran has been suffering from an energy crisis.

A unique feature of Iran's economy is the reliance on large religious foundations called bonyads, whose combined budgets represent more than 30 percent of central government spending.

In 2007, the Iranian subsidy reform plan introduced price controls and subsidies particularly on food and energy. Contraband, administrative controls, widespread corruption, and other restrictive factors undermine private sector-led growth. The government's 20-year vision involved market-based reforms reflected in a five-year development plan, 2016 to 2021, focusing on "a resilient economy" and "progress in science and technology". Most of Iran's exports are oil and gas, accounting for a majority of government revenue in 2010. In March 2022, the Iranian parliament under the then new president Ebrahim Raisi decided to eliminate a major subsidy for importing food, medicines and animal feed, valued at $15 billion in 2021. Also in March 2022, 20 billion tons of basic goods exports from Russia including vegetable oil, wheat, barley and corn were agreed.

Iran's educated population, high human development, constrained economy and insufficient foreign and domestic investment prompted an increasing number of Iranians to seek overseas employment, resulting in a significant "brain drain". However, in 2015, Iran and the P5+1 reached a deal on the nuclear program which removed most international sanctions. Consequently, for a short period, the tourism industry significantly improved and the inflation of the country was decreased, though US withdrawal from the JCPOA in 2018 hindered the growth of the economy again and increased inflation.

GDP contracted in 2018 and 2019, but a modest rebound was expected in 2020. Challenges include a COVID-19 outbreak starting in February 2020, US sanctions reimposed in mid-2018, increased unemployment due to the sanctions, inflation, food inflation, a "chronically weak and undercapitalized" banking system, and an "anemic" private sector, and corruption. Iran's currency, the Iranian rial, has fallen, and Iran has a relatively low rating in "Economic Freedom", and "ease of doing business".