The Statistical Center of Iran has published a report on the income and expenses of Iranian households in 1396 (2017, 2018). Based on the report, the average annual income and expenditure of an urban Iranian household was 370 and 330 million rials which shows 15.7% growth compared to last year. Taadol newspaper has reviewed this report and written that since the rate of inflation was 8% last year, the entirety of this increased income has been spent and nothing has been added to the household’s savings.
Household expenses have been divided into food (23.3%) and non-food (76.7%). Among the food category, bread and cereals had the greatest share at 22%. The high cost of housing in large urban centers has caused the cost of housing to be the highest non-food expense for urban Iranian households.
The average gross annual expenditure for a rural household was estimated at 178 million rials which has grown by 13.9% compared to the previous year.
Taadol has also examined the reports from the Central Bank of Iran. The Central Bank figures show the average gross annual expenditure of a household to be 420 million rials which has grown by 7.2% compared to last year. It is unclear what has caused the 90 million rial difference between the estimated from the Central bank and the Statistical Center of Iran.
The Central Bank has divided household expenses as follows: 35.5% to housing, energy and utilities; 23.5% to food and drinks; 10.6% to transportation; 5.7% to hygiene and medicine; and 4.2% to clothing.