Household Savings Grow Under Rouhani Gov’t

A comparison of the incomes and expenses of Iranian households shows the former has been increasingly overtaking the latter since Hassan Rouhani took office in August 2013 as Iran's president, according to a new report published by the Statistical Center of Iran.

According to the report, which is based on a survey of 18,871 households constituting 65,294 people, the average per capita annual income of urban households for the fiscal March 2015-16 stood at 278.87 million rials ($7,416), i.e. each family earned 23.230 million rials ($617) per month on average, registering a 15.6% rise compared to the year before.

Iranian families living in urban areas spent a yearly average of 262.390 million rials ($6,978), i.e. each family spent 21.860 million rials ($581) per month on average, marking an 11.7% increase year-on-year.

The above figures mean the average income was 16.48 million rials ($438) more than the average expenditure on a yearly or 1.37 million rials ($36) on a monthly basis.

The report also shows each family consisted of 3.4 members on average and that four-member families, comprising 30.4% of the society, had the highest proportion of Iran's population.

Moreover, 59.8% of families had only one employed member and 25.6% of the families did not have any employed members.

During March 2015-16, the “food and tobacco” expenditures saw a 7.4% increase and “non-food” a 13.1% increase over the preceding year.

The “food and tobacco” category constituted 23.8% or 58.120 million rials ($1,545) of the urban household’s total spending and “non-food” accounted for 76.2% or 176.730 million rials ($4,700).

Housing, with 44.2%, accounted for the largest portion of urban households' expenses in the “non-food” category, followed by transport and communications with 15.1%, healthcare with 13.8%, goods and services with 12.5%, and shoes and clothing with 5.5%.

Figures for the preceding year (March 2014-15) also show the incomes being higher than the expenses. In that year, the average annual gross income of urban households stood at 241.31 million rials ($6,417) or 20.1 million rials ($534.43) per month, indicating an 18% rise year-on-year. The average annual gross expense of each urban household stood at 234.865 million rials ($6,246) or 19.57 million rials ($520.3) per month, registering an increase of 14% compared to the preceding year.

The above figures mean the average income was 6.44 million rials ($171) more than the average expenditure on a yearly basis or 530,000 rials ($14) on a monthly basis.

SCI put the average annual gross income of urban households at 204.500 million rials ($5,440) or 17.17 million rials ($456) per month, and the average annual gross expense of each urban household stood at 205 million rials ($5,453) or 17.03 million rials ($452) per month in the year Rouhani took office (March 2013-14).

The above figures mean the average income was 500,000 rials ($13) less than the average expenditure on a yearly basis or 140,000 rials ($3.7) on a monthly basis.