A unique feature of Iran's economy is the reliance on large religious foundations called bonyads, whose combined budgets represent more than 30 percent of central government spending.

[37] The government's 20-year vision involved market-based reforms reflected in a five year development plan, 2016 to 2021, focusing on "a resilient economy" and "progress in science and technology".

[39] In March 2022, the Iranian parliament under the then new president Ebrahim Raisi decided to eliminate a major subsidy for importing food, medicines and animal feed, valued at $15 billion in 2021.

[40] Iran's educated population, high human development, constrained economy and insufficient foreign and domestic investment prompted an increasing number of Iranians to seek overseas employment, resulting in a significant "brain drain".

[50][51] There are accounts in the biblical Book of Esther of dispatches being sent from Susa to provinces as far out as India and the Kingdom of Kush during the reign of Xerxes the Great (485–465 BC).

Between 1954 and 1960 a rapid increase in oil revenues and sustained foreign aid led to greater investment and fast-paced economic growth, primarily in the government sector.

[59] The government's long-term objectives since the revolution were stated as economic independence, full employment, and a comfortable standard of living but Iran's population more than doubled between 1980 and 2000 and its median age declined.

[79] One major problem often cited by Iranian industrialists is that the government is not supporting them by authorizing imports of similar parts or products into the country, undermining their activity and domestic market.

[citation needed] Expansion of public healthcare and international relations are the other main objectives of the fifth plan, an ambitious series of measures that include subsidy reform, banking recapitalization, currency, taxation, customs, construction, employment, nationwide goods and services distribution, social justice and productivity.

According to the Central Bank of Iran, the gap between the rich and the poor narrowed because of monthly subsidies but the trend could reverse if high inflation persists.

[129] Iranian media has questioned the reason behind Iran's government non-repatriation of its foreign reserves before the imposition of the latest round of sanctions and its failure to convert into gold.

[131] Money in circulation reached $700 billion in March 2020 (based on the 2017 pre-devaluation exchange rate), thus furthering the decline of the Iranian rial and rise in inflation.

[134] In 2025, the Iranian budget bill granted 51% of the total oil and gas export revenues, estimated at about 12 billion euros, to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) and the Law Enforcement Command (LEF).

[47] Iran's economy has a relatively low rating in the Heritage Foundation's "Index of Economic Freedom" (164 out of 180);[48][44] and ease of doing business ranking (127 among 190) according to the World Bank.

[49] Critics have complained that privatization has led not to state owned businesses being taken over by "skilled businesspeople" but by the powerful Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps "and its associates".

[149] In 2020, an Iranian businessperson complained to a foreign journalist (Dexter Filkins) that the uncertainty of "chronic shortages of material and unruly inspectors pushing for bribes" made operating his business very difficult -- "Plan for the next quarter?

The IRGC also runs the telecommunication company, laser eye-surgery clinics, makes cars, builds bridges and roads and develops oil and gas fields.

[162][168] Operating everything from vast soybean and cotton farms to hotels, soft drink, automobile manufacturing, and shipping lines, they are seen as overstaffed, corrupt and generally unprofitable.

[179] Beyond the formal government structure, approximately 2.3 million individuals are employed in quasi-governmental organizations, including state-owned enterprises, national banks, municipalities, and the Islamic Azad University.

[180] Iran is classed as a middle income country and has made significant progress in provision of health and education services in the period covered by the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

[citation needed] Adjusted for purchasing power parity, Iran's 2017–2018 median income was equivalent to about $28,647 (2017 conversion factor, private consumption, LCU).

However, closer data analysis reveals significant wealth concentration, with the top 10% of earners holding 52.7% of the national income - a larger share than in the United States or European countries.

[211] By 2003, a quarter of Iran's non-oil exports were of agricultural products,[212] including fresh and dried fruits, nuts, animal hides, processed foods, and spices.

Estimates of service sector spending in Iran are regularly more than two-fifths of GDP, much government-related, including military expenditures, government salaries, and social security disbursements.

About 1,659,000 foreign tourists visited Iran in 2004 and 2.3 million in 2009 mostly from Asian countries, including the republics of Central Asia, while about 10% came from the European Union and North America.

[315] Since the mid-1990s, Iran has increased its economic cooperation with other developing countries in "South–South integration" including Syria, India, China, South Africa, Cuba, and Venezuela.

[162] In the 1990s and early 2000s, indirect oilfield development agreements were made with foreign firms, including buyback contracts in the oil sector whereby the contractor provided project finance in return for an allocated production share.

[323] Foreign investors concentrated their activities in the energy, vehicle manufacture, copper mining, construction, utilities, petrochemicals, clothing, food and beverages, telecom and pharmaceuticals sectors.

Although the United States has consistently blocked its bid to join the organization, observer status came in a goodwill gesture to ease nuclear negotiations between Iran and the international community.

[citation needed][347] In 2018, the United States government unilaterally withdrew from the JCPOA agreement and re-imposed its sanctions on Iran's oil sales, petrochemicals, shipping, metals trading and banking transactions.