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While Iran's President Assails Western Capitalism, His Country Reels

(International Business Times) Palash R. Ghosh - Iran is wracked by widespread unrest, anti-government street demonstrations, rising inflation, high unemployment, in addition to the ongoing deleterious effects of economic sanctions by the U.S., UN and EU in response to Iran's nuclear program. Jamsheed Choksy, a professor of Iranian and international studies at Indiana University, notes that Iran's annual GDP growth rate has dropped from 4.7% in 2005 to 1.5% last year. Inflation has remained in double digits for the past half decade. Last year inflation peaked at 25.6%. Meanwhile, unemployment has risen from 10.3% in 2005 to 12.5% in 2009 and is projected at 15% for 2010. Subsidies for gasoline, natural gas, electricity, water, bread, rice, cooking oil, milk, sugar, transportation services and medicine are believed to account for 25% of the country's GDP, or $100 billion.
2010-09-24 09:36:00
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