Overview: 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. After a decade of economic decline, Iran's real GDP grew by 10% in FY90 and 6% in FY91, according to Iranian Government statistics. An oil windfall in 1990 combined with a substantial increase in imports contributed to Iran's recent economic growth. Iran has also begun implementing a number of economic reforms to reduce government intervention (including subsidies) and has allocated substantial resources to development projects in the hope of stimulating the economy. Lower oil revenues in 1991 - oil accounts for more than 90% of export revenues - together with a surge in imports greatly weakened Iran's international financial position. By mid-1992 Iran was unable to meet its obligations to foreign creditors. Subsequently the government has tried to boost oil exports, curb imports (especially of consumer goods), and renegotiate terms of its foreign debts.

National product: GNP - exchange rate conversion - $90 billion (FY92)

National product real growth rate: 6% (FY91)

National product per capita: $1,500 (FY91)

Inflation rate (consumer prices): 23.7% (September 1991-September 1992)

Unemployment rate: 30% (1991 est.)

Budget: revenues $63 billion; expenditures $80 billion, including capital expenditures of $23 billion (FY90 est.)

External debt: $17 billion (FY91 est.)

Industrial production: growth rate 12% (1990 est.); accounts for almost 30% of GDP, including petroleum

Electricity: 15,649,000 kW capacity; 43,600 million kWh produced, 710 kWh per capita (1992)

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

Agriculture: accounts for about 20% of GDP; principal products - wheat, rice, other grains, sugar beets, fruits, nuts, cotton, dairy products, wool, caviar; not self-sufficient in food

Illicit drugs: illicit producer of opium poppy for the domestic and international drug trade; transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin to Europe

Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-80), $1.0 billion; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $1.675 billion; Communist countries (1970-89), $976 million; note - aid fell sharply following the 1979 revolution

Currency: 1 Iranian rial (IR)=10 tomans

Exchange rates: Iranian rials (IR) per US$1 - 67.095 (January 1993), 65.552 (1992), 67.505 (1991), 68.096 (1990), 72.015 (1989), 68.683 (1988); black-market rate 1,400 (January 1991); note - in March 1993 the Iranian government announced a new single-parity exchange rate system with a new official rate of 1,538 rials per dollar

Fiscal year: 21 March-20 March