Research Report; 'Inflation Record-Breaking' in the Islamic Republic

A research report published on February 13 in the Iran Open Data database, based on official statistics from the Islamic Republic, shows that the increase in prices during the first 30 months of Ebrahim Raisi's presidency is nearly equal to the total inflation of the last 15 years of Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi's reign. According to data from the Statistical Center of Iran, the consumer price index has increased 2.3 times from August 2021 (the beginning of Ebrahim Raisi's presidency) to January 2024. The data indicates that the best and most stable period for Iran's economy was in the 1960s, with a geometric mean inflation rate of only 1.6 percent. After the revolution, the worst inflationary decades were the 1990s and 2010s, with average inflation rates of 24 and 25 percent, respectively, but this record has been broken in the 2020s. The average inflation rate in the first three years of the 2020s has exceeded 45 percent, which is unprecedented in the history of inflation in Iran. A comparison of inflation rate changes from 1951 to the end of 2022 shows that after the 1979 revolution, not only did the inflation rate increase, but the Iranian economy also experienced very severe fluctuations. Uncontrolled inflation in Iran; the government has no plans to improve people's livelihoods. Workers' wages are crushed under inflation; a member of the Supreme Labor Council states that the cost of living basket exceeds '23 million and 500 thousand tomans.' The implications of inflation; workers without fixed wages are concerned about wage justice. Hidden consequences of inflation; after meat and nuts on credit, 'clothing on credit' has reached the market before the New Year. Prices have risen again; a 2 percent increase in housing inflation was recorded in January.