Iran's economy is a mixture of central planning,
state ownership of oil and other large enterprises, village
agriculture, and small-scale private trading and service ventures.
President KHATAMI has continued to follow the market reform plans of
former President RAFSANJANI and has indicated that he will pursue
diversification of Iran's oil-reliant economy although he has made
little progress toward that goal. The strong oil market in 1996 helped
ease financial pressures on Iran and allowed for Tehran's timely debt
service payments. Iran's financial situation tightened in 1997 and
deteriorated further in 1998 because of lower oil prices. The
subsequent zoom in oil prices in 1999 afforded Iran fiscal breathing
room but does not solve Iran's structural economic problems.

purchasing power parity - $347.6 billion (1999 est.)

1% (1999 est.)

purchasing power parity - $5,300 (1999 est.)

agriculture: 21%
industry: 34%
services: 45% (1997 est.)

53% (1996 est.)

lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

30% (1999 est.)

15.4 million
note: shortage of skilled labor

agriculture 33%, industry 25%, services
42% (1997 est.)

25% (1999 est.)

revenues: $34.6 billion
expenditures: $34.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $11.8
billion (FY96/97)

petroleum, petrochemicals, textiles, cement and other
construction materials, food processing (particularly sugar refining
and vegetable oil production), metal fabricating, armaments

5.7% (FY95/96 est.)

95.31 billion kWh (1998)

fossil fuel: 92.33%
hydro: 7.67%
nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (1998)

88.638 billion kWh (1998)

0 kWh (1998)

0 kWh (1998)

wheat, rice, other grains, sugar beets,
fruits, nuts, cotton; dairy products, wool; caviar

$12.2 billion (f.o.b., 1998 est.)

petroleum 80%, carpets, fruits, nuts, hides,
iron, steel

Japan, Italy, Greece, France, Spain, South Korea

$13.8 billion (f.o.b., 1998 est.)

machinery, military supplies, metal works,
foodstuffs, pharmaceuticals, technical services, refined oil products

Germany, Italy, Japan, UAE, UK, Belgium

$21.9 billion (1996 est.)

$116.5 million (1995)

10 Iranian rials (IR) = 1 toman; note - domestic figures are
generally referred to in terms of the toman

Iranian rials (IR) per US$1 - 1,754.90 (January 2000),
1,725.93 (1999), 1,751.86 (1998), 1,752.92 (1997), 1,750.76 (1996),
1,747.93 (1995); black market rate: 7,000 rials per US$1 (December
1998); note - as of May 1995, the "official rate" of 1,750 rials per
US$1 is used for imports of essential goods and services and for oil
exports, whereas the "official export rate" of 3,000 rials per US$1 is
used for non-oil exports and imports not covered by the official rate

21 March - 20 March