One in every four Iranians suffers from poverty - welfare ministry

Poverty has affected 22 to 27 percent of Iran's population, the head of the state-run Institute of Labor and Social Welfare warned on Sunday as the country's economic outlook grows increasingly grim.

Ebrahim Sadeghifar said almost one in every four Iranians struggles to meet their basic essential needs.

"Today, poverty in Iran is not a marginal issue but has become an undeniable reality that affects a significant portion of society," he said.

On November 17, the Research Center of the Iranian Chamber of Commerce, in a report, warned that by the end of 2021, around 32 million people in the country were below the food poverty line. It further cautioned that this trend is rapidly expanding due to severe inflation in recent years.

On October 30, the Parliamentary Research Center also reported an increase in the poverty rate in 2023 to over 30 percent. It added, "Last year, at least one-third of the population could not meet their basic needs and lived below the poverty line."

In his Sunday remarks, the head of the Institute of Labor and Social Welfare which is affiliated with the Labor and Social Welfare Ministry called for examining and addressing the root causes of the expansion of poverty in political, social, and cultural issues.

Sadeghifar said statistics show an increase in school dropouts due to economic and social problems, adding that studies are needed to explain why poverty persists in Iran despite the country's oil resources.