Iran - Andrew Burke [6]
Lowest point: Caspian Sea (-28m)
Rate of inflation: 13/25% (official/unofficial)
Per capita GDP: US$2440/8700 (nominal/PPP)
Population living in towns and cities: 70%
University places taken by women: 65%
Women as a percentage of paid workforce: about 13%
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INFLATION, RISING PRICES & YOU
Whether you choose to believe the official inflation rate of 13% or the more widely agreed 25%, the reality for Iranians – and for travellers – is that prices are rising steadily and look likely to continue to do so through the life of this book. As much as we’d love for our prices to be exact, they won’t be. All prices are a guide, not gospel. The reality is that many transport, hotel and food prices will have risen before this book has even been published.
The good news for travellers is that costs in Iran are very reasonable by Western standards, so rises shouldn’t break the bank. And with the Iranian rial losing value against most other currencies (yes, even the US dollar), 25% inflation shouldn’t mean a full 25% rise in dollar/euro/pound terms. Within a short time you’ll know approximately by how much prices have risen and can factor that into negotiations for whatever goods or services you’re seeking.
Prices will rise. Accepting and expecting it will make your journey less argumentative, suspicious and much more enjoyable.
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‘They have the oil, not us…remember. But anyway, Iran absolutely has the right to nuclear power. Absolutely! Lots of other countries have nuclear power so why shouldn’t Iran have it? We might have a lot of oil but the refineries are so old that a lot of it actually gets drilled here, then exported, and then we have to buy it back as petrol. Ridiculous, isn’t it? And you know how dirty those Paykans are, look at the pollution. If nuclear energy is cleaner isn’t that good? You know, what annoys me most is that despite all the president’s rhetoric, Iran has not actually broken the rules of this Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty we keep hearing about; but still the Americans and Europeans impose sanctions that make the economy even worse. I don’t want a nuclear bomb and I don’t think we should have one – it’s too dangerous. Now that the CIA says we’re officially not making one, do you think they’ll lift the sanctions?’
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Reza isn’t real, but this conversational snapshot of issues in Iran comes from dozens of encounters with real people in Iran and is broadly representative of opinion – and of course like any country there is a range of ideas.
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I don’t know, Reza, not everyone in the US and Europe is convinced, though at least now a military attack seems less likely. If America and Iran started talking a bit more that could help, and maybe then the sanctions could be lifted, which would help the economy. Being so isolated must be a big problem, especially for a country where millions of kids are finishing school and looking for jobs every year.
‘Yes, there are not enough jobs for the young people – and two thirds of the population are young people. Look at my children. My son is doing military service in Kermanshah, thankfully, because for now I don’t have to pay for him and he’s not going to get shot like those poor boys fighting drug smugglers on the Afghanistan border. My daughter is studying engineering at university. I wanted her to get married and give us some grandchildren, but the women today are different. She was smart enough to get into university and that is not easy, so if she really wants to study then I suppose I should support her – that’s what my wife says, anyway. But I do worry about her because it’s harder for women to find good jobs than it is for men. I don’t want her to have to emigrate to find a job. Already too many young people are going off to Canada, America and Europe, and it’s always the smartest who leave. Still, she is a good girl, she hasn’t been arrested for showing too much hair yet and hasn’t asked me to buy her a new nose…I’m serious, that’s what my friend’s daughter did.’
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In the