📊 Iran's economy in numbers
How Iran's economy is actually doing, measured the same way as the countries it is usually compared with. Every figure shows its source and year. Figures the regime keeps opaque, such as how much oil it sells and at what discount, are reported only as others have estimated them.
Markets today
| Market | Latest | 30 days | 12 months |
|---|---|---|---|
| US dollar, open market (rials) | 2,690,000 | +17.6% | — |
| Euro, open market (rials) | 3,026,761 | +14.0% | — |
| Brent crude (US$ / barrel) | 101.43 | +5.3% | — |
| WTI crude (US$ / barrel) | 90.05 | -1.6% | — |
| Gold (world price) (US$ / ounce) | 4,153 | -4.0% | — |
Artesh market collection, sampled every 30 minutes. Rial rates are the unofficial open-market rate, not the government's official rate. A rising dollar price means a weaker rial.
What a litre of petrol costs
| Price tier | Toman / litre | US cents / litre at open-market rate |
|---|---|---|
| First 60 litres a month | 1,500 | 0.6¢ |
| Second tier | 3,000 | 1.1¢ |
| Above quota | 10,000 | 3.7¢ |
Official pump prices: Government of Iran (spokeswoman Fatemeh Mohajerani), as of 2026-09-08. Converted at today's open-market dollar rate.
Iran next to its peers
| Indicator | Iran | United States | Euro area | Russia | Venezuela | Saudi Arabia | Iraq | UAE | Turkey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inflation (consumer prices) |
42.2% 2025 |
— | — |
8.7% 2025 |
254.9% 2016 |
2.1% 2025 |
0.3% 2025 |
1.3% 2025 |
34.9% 2025 |
| Real GDP growth |
-2.8% 2025 |
— | — |
1.0% 2025 |
1.6% 2025 |
4.5% 2025 |
-2.2% 2025 |
4.0% 2024 |
3.6% 2025 |
| GDP per person |
$3,924 2025 |
— | — |
$17,547 2025 |
$3,495 2025 |
$34,537 2025 |
$5,410 2025 |
$50,274 2024 |
$18,599 2025 |
| GDP (total) |
$363bn 2025 |
— | — |
$2,561bn 2025 |
$100bn 2025 |
$1,277bn 2025 |
$254bn 2025 |
$552bn 2024 |
$1,597bn 2025 |
| Unemployment |
8.3% 2025 |
— | — |
2.1% 2025 |
5.3% 2025 |
3.0% 2025 |
15.5% 2025 |
2.2% 2025 |
8.5% 2025 |
| Youth unemployment (15–24) |
21.9% 2025 |
— | — |
7.6% 2025 |
10.4% 2025 |
10.0% 2025 |
32.0% 2025 |
6.5% 2025 |
16.0% 2025 |
| Oil rents (share of GDP) |
18.3% 2021 |
— | — |
9.7% 2021 |
11.3% 2014 |
23.7% 2021 |
42.8% 2021 |
15.7% 2021 |
0.1% 2021 |
| Fuel share of goods exports |
56.4% 2022 |
— | — |
43.1% 2021 |
97.7% 2013 |
79.4% 2024 |
100.0% 2016 |
68.2% 2023 |
6.2% 2024 |
Source: World Bank Open Data (latest year available for each country; unemployment figures are ILO modelled estimates). The United States and the euro area are the yardsticks most readers know; Russia and Venezuela are fellow sanctioned oil exporters; Saudi Arabia, Iraq and the UAE are Gulf producers; Turkey is Iran's large neighbour.
Inflation, % a year, 2000 to today
Not charted: Venezuela (its hyperinflation, in the thousands of percent, flattens every other line; the figures are in the table above).
GDP per person, US$, 2000 to today
Youth unemployment, %, 2000 to today
Crude oil production (thousand barrels a day)
| Month | Iran | Russia | Venezuela | Saudi Arabia | Iraq | UAE | Turkey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jun 2026 | 3,150 | 9,582 | 1,160 | 7,290 | 1,945 | 4,170 | 127 |
| May 2026 | 3,100 | 9,717 | 1,160 | 6,630 | 1,320 | 2,680 | 127 |
| Apr 2026 | 3,680 | 9,827 | 1,100 | 6,600 | 1,420 | 2,570 | 123 |
| Mar 2026 | 3,850 | 9,977 | 1,060 | 7,500 | 1,620 | 2,150 | 122 |
| Feb 2026 | 4,070 | 9,976 | 980 | 10,760 | 4,461 | 4,032 | 122 |
| Jan 2026 | 4,080 | 10,026 | 830 | 10,110 | 4,391 | 3,972 | 118 |
| Dec 2025 | 4,080 | 10,027 | 955 | 10,060 | 4,321 | 3,937 | 121 |
| Nov 2025 | 4,030 | 10,106 | 1,005 | 9,940 | 4,391 | 3,992 | 125 |
| Oct 2025 | 4,130 | 10,074 | 1,005 | 9,990 | 4,461 | 3,927 | 128 |
| Sep 2025 | 4,060 | 9,946 | 1,000 | 10,220 | 4,461 | 3,957 | 129 |
| Aug 2025 | 3,980 | 9,803 | 995 | 9,320 | 4,461 | 3,887 | 122 |
| Jul 2025 | 4,000 | 9,813 | 980 | 9,420 | 4,361 | 3,847 | 122 |
Source: US Energy Information Administration, crude oil including lease condensate. Production is not exports: Iran's export volumes are tracked by private tanker-tracking firms and reported in the press.
What these numbers can't tell you
Iran does not publish reliable figures for its oil exports, the discounts it gives buyers (mostly independent Chinese refiners), or where the revenue goes. Those numbers come from tanker trackers such as Kpler, Vortexa and TankerTrackers and are reported, with differing estimates, by outlets like Reuters and Bloomberg. Artesh reports them as those sources' estimates in its daily oil and gas brief, and follows the money behind them in Follow the Money and the sanctions list.
World Bank data refreshed October 6, 2026.