Poverty: Share of population living on less than $8.30 a day in Iran
Iran: Poverty: Share of population living on less than $8.30 a day was 36.0% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Poverty: Share of population living on less than $8.30 a day 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 36.0% for poverty: share of population living on less than $8.30 a day in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 20 years on record.
That represents a change of down 7.5% on the previous year and down 9.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, poverty: share of population living on less than $8.30 a day in Iran peaked at 70.5% in 1990 and was at its lowest, 36.0%, in 2023.
That places Iran 48th out of 120 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 20 years of available data.
Poverty: Share of population living on less than $8.30 a day in Iran, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1986 | 67.1% | — |
| 1990 | 70.5% | +5.1% |
| 1994 | 63.7% | -9.7% |
| 1998 | 60.1% | -5.7% |
| 2005 | 37.7% | -37.3% |
| 2006 | 38.2% | +1.4% |
| 2009 | 36.9% | -3.5% |
| 2011 | 38.3% | +3.7% |
| 2012 | 37.2% | -2.8% |
| 2013 | 39.8% | +7.0% |
| 2014 | 42.1% | +5.8% |
| 2015 | 41.5% | -1.5% |
| 2016 | 41.7% | +0.5% |
| 2017 | 38.6% | -7.3% |
| 2018 | 42.1% | +9.0% |
| 2019 | 47.4% | +12.6% |
| 2020 | 48.4% | +2.1% |
| 2021 | 42.8% | -11.7% |
| 2022 | 39.0% | -8.8% |
| 2023 | 36.0% | -7.5% |
Iran compared with similar countries
- Iran's 36.0% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 21.4%, 1.7× the median. (35 countries reporting)
- Iran's 36.0% is above the median for Middle East, North Africa, Afghanistan & Pakistan, which is 32.3%, 1.1× the median. (10 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 67.1% | 67.1% | 67.1% | 1 |
| 1990s | 64.8% | 60.1% | 70.5% | 3 |
| 2000s | 37.6% | 36.9% | 38.2% | 3 |
| 2010s | 41.0% | 37.2% | 47.4% | 9 |
| 2020s | 41.6% | 36.0% | 48.4% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Iran
More poverty & inequality data for Iran
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 8 surveys (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per person (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per US$ 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 poverty: share of population living on less than $8.30 a day in Iran?
- Poverty: share of population living on less than $8.30 a day in Iran was 36.0% in 2023, according to World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest poverty: share of population living on less than $8.30 a day recorded in Iran?
- The highest recorded value was 70.5% in 1990.
- What is the lowest poverty: share of population living on less than $8.30 a day recorded in Iran?
- The lowest recorded value was 36.0% in 2023.
- How does Iran rank for poverty: share of population living on less than $8.30 a day?
- Iran ranks 48th out of 120 countries with data for 2023.
- Is poverty: share of population living on less than $8.30 a day rising or falling in Iran?
- Over the last ten years it is down 9.4%. 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 Poverty: Share of population living on less than $8.30 a day. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Percentage of population living in households with an income or consumption below $8.30 per day.