Relative poverty: Share of population below 40% of the median in Iran
Iran: Relative poverty: Share of population below 40% of the median was 6.9% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Relative poverty: Share of population below 40% of the median in Iran, 1986–2023
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Iran recorded 6.9% for relative poverty: share of population below 40% of the median in 2023.
That represents a change of up 1.9% on the previous year and up 36.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, relative poverty: share of population below 40% of the median in Iran peaked at 13.9% in 1986 and was at its lowest, 5.0%, in 2013.
Iran ranks 48th of 120 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 20 years of available data.
Relative poverty: Share of population below 40% of the median in Iran, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1986 | 13.9% | — |
| 1990 | 12.2% | -11.7% |
| 1994 | 11.1% | -9.5% |
| 1998 | 12.3% | +11.1% |
| 2005 | 10.6% | -13.6% |
| 2006 | 11.2% | +5.2% |
| 2009 | 11.2% | +0.3% |
| 2011 | 6.0% | -46.3% |
| 2012 | 5.2% | -13.4% |
| 2013 | 5.0% | -3.3% |
| 2014 | 6.3% | +25.4% |
| 2015 | 6.2% | -1.5% |
| 2016 | 6.3% | +1.7% |
| 2017 | 6.7% | +6.0% |
| 2018 | 6.6% | -1.8% |
| 2019 | 6.7% | +2.0% |
| 2020 | 6.8% | +1.3% |
| 2021 | 7.1% | +4.9% |
| 2022 | 6.7% | -5.6% |
| 2023 | 6.9% | +1.9% |
Iran compared with similar countries
- Iran's 6.9% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 8.0%, 86% of the median. (35 countries reporting)
- Iran's 6.9% is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 5.6%, 1.2× the median. (10 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Relative poverty: Share of population below 40% of the median in Iran changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | -46.3% | 11.2% | 6.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 13.9% | 13.9% | 13.9% | 1 |
| 1990s | 11.9% | 11.1% | 12.3% | 3 |
| 2000s | 11.0% | 10.6% | 11.2% | 3 |
| 2010s | 6.1% | 5.0% | 6.7% | 9 |
| 2020s | 6.9% | 6.7% | 7.1% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Iran
More poverty & inequality data for Iran
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 8 surveys (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per person (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Fertility rate vs. share living in extreme poverty 1.7 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 2,420 kg per hectare (2023)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, annual growth rate 4.44 % change on previous year (2023)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via -11.11 % change on previous year (2025)
- Gender Inequality Index 0.482 (2023)
- Share of government consumption in GDP vs. share of population living in extreme poverty 29.4% (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is relative poverty: share of population below 40% of the median in Iran?
- Relative poverty: share of population below 40% of the median in Iran was 6.9% in 2023, according to World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest relative poverty: share of population below 40% of the median recorded in Iran?
- The highest recorded value was 13.9% in 1986.
- What is the lowest relative poverty: share of population below 40% of the median recorded in Iran?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.0% in 2013.
- How does Iran rank for relative poverty: share of population below 40% of the median?
- Iran ranks 48th out of 120 countries with data for 2023.
- Is relative poverty: share of population below 40% of the median rising or falling in Iran?
- Over the last ten years it is up 36.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Iran data come from?
- The figures come from World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Relative poverty: Share of population below 40% of the median. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
Percentage of population living in households with an income or consumption below 40% of the median.