34% Decline in Purchasing Power of Iranians Over 9 Years

EghtesadOnline: Studies by Majlis Research Center, the research arm of the parliament, show per capita income or average income of the Iranian people saw a 34% decline between the fiscal 2011-12 and fiscal 2019-20.

News ID: ۷۸۵۵۲۱

06 June 2020

According to a report read out on the parliament floor on Sunday by Mohammad Qasemi, the caretaker of MRC, despite the nominal increase in household income, their purchasing power has eroded by one-third over the nine years.

“It would take at least six years for families to regain the purchasing power they had in the fiscal 2011-12, provided the country registers an 8% annual economic growth from this year (2020-21) forward,” he was quoted as saying by Fars News Agency.

The Statistical Center of Iran has estimated a 7.2% decline in Iran's GDP in the last fiscal year (ended March 19, 2020), adding that excluding oil production, the economic growth is estimated to stand at 0%.

SCI's latest report on Iran's economic growth showed gross domestic product, excluding oil production, recorded a positive growth rate of 0.9% in the third quarter of the last fiscal year (Sept. 23-Dec. 21).

The overall GDP growth, including oil production, however, stood at -1.7% for the period, new data provided by SCI chief, Javad Hosseinzadeh, show.

The Statistical Center of Iran's latest report shows the average goods and services Consumer Price Index in the 12-month period ending May 20 increased by 29.8% compared with the corresponding period of last year.

The consumer inflation for the month under review (April 20-May 20) registered a year-on-year increase of 21% compared with the similar month of the previous Iranian year.

The overall CPI (using the Iranian year to March 2017 as the base year) stood at 210 last month, indicating a 2.5% rise compared with the previous month.