Iran’s economy expands by 3.3% in nine months
Iran’s economy witnessed a notable expansion of 3.3% in the nine months to December 21, 2022, with the country’s gross domestic product (GDP) reaching over 58,000 trillion rials.
The growth, as reported by the Iranian government’s statistics agency on Thursday, was largely driven by the non-oil sectors, which saw an increase of 2.9% year-on-year during the period.
The manufacturing and mining sectors, in particular, showed a robust growth of 5.3% year-on-year in the three quarters to late December, according to the Statistical Center of Iran (SCI).
The SCI, while calculating the GDP, considers fixed prices reported in 2011 as a baseline. In 2011, the U.S. dollar was valued at nearly 18,000 rials in the Iranian market, whereas its current value is around 498,000 rials.
This shows the significant inflationary pressure faced by the Iranian economy.
Despite the growth in the non-oil sector, the services sector did not perform as well as expected, posting a modest expansion of only 2.6%, while agriculture contracted by 4.3% over the March-December 2022 period.
The data comes as the Central Bank of Iran reported a GDP growth of 3.6% for Iran’s economy in the quarter to late September.
The country’s economy faces a range of economic challenges, including inflation, unemployment, and U.S. sanctions, but the growth in the non-oil sector provides a glimmer of hope for Iran’s economic future.