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Instead of paying interest, the new banks give "guaranteed returns" or commissions on loans. In measures to promote competition between banks, and to loosen Bank Markazi's control in order to encourage savings within the official banking sector were introduced. In Bank Markazi introduced reforms allowing private banking operations to register officially and offer most services in competition with the public sector. However, the raft of new currency and export regulations that followed the collapse of the rial in April put the recently legalized private sector under huge pressure because, for many of the bazaar traders, currency dealings represented a significant share of their total business.
There is a basic lack of confidence in the banking system.
Many informal banking operations are run from the bazaars. In addition, Iranians who are able to do so operate bank accounts outside the country, importing funds as needed rather than using the domestic system. Bank Melli, which has acted for the central bank , handles most Iranian banking operations outside the country.
The requirements to abide by Islamic principles were never imposed on Bank Melli. The exchange has stayed open since the revolution but did not play a significant role in the nation's business until the s. Since , the stock exchange has expanded continuously. The insurance industry had a negligible role in the accumulation of funds to finance development, largely because insurance was not used by most of the population; the insurance industry in Iran had barely started in On 25 June , the revolutionary government announced the nationalization of all insurance companies.
The company writes all classes of insurance and reinsurance. As of , there was no further published data on premium income in Iran. Iran's fiscal year coincides with its calendar year, beginning on 21 March. The budget is prepared by the Finance Ministry and submitted to parliament. Trade reforms implemented since have boosted economic growth and reduced budget deficits.
Public debt in amounted to The International Monetary Fund IMF reported that in , the most recent year for which it had data, central government revenues were r, billion and expenditures were r, billion. Government outlays by function were as follows: general public services, Also levied are real estate taxes, municipal taxes, and a levy on expatriate salaries.
Another tax is a public education cost levy to be paid by manufacturing and service companies. Most goods entering Iran are subject to customs duties, the majority of which are on the CIF cost, insurance, and freight value. A number of government organizations and charitable institutions are permitted to import goods free of duty.
Until the early s, Iran rarely participated in foreign businesses. The National Iranian Oil Company NIOC invested in the construction of oil refineries in Madras , India, and other places and participated in several ventures with foreign oil firms that held concessions for Iranian oil. With the vast increase in oil revenues, Iran became one of the world's leading creditor nations; in alone, bilateral agreements worth hundreds of billions of rials were signed with France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom.
Prior to World War II , foreign companies had important investments in Iranian banks, insurance companies, transport, and the oil industry.

In , the legislature enacted a law providing for withdrawal of invested capital in the currency that was brought into Iran, for the export of annual profits, and for adequate compensation in the event of nationalization of the industry or business. In , the United States and Iran exchanged notes recognizing that the United States would guarantee its private investments in Iran against loss through actions by Iran, and the following year the Majlis enacted a law protecting foreign capital investments.
Foreign companies moved into Iran to exploit mineral resources, to establish banks in partnership with Iranian capital, to build factories, and to carry out segments of the shah's vast economic development program. Since , the instability of the revolutionary government and the catastrophic war with Iraq have had a chilling effect on Western investment in Iran. The country emerged from the war with Iraq in terrible economic shape. In , desperate for Western assistance in rebuilding its oil sector, Iran contracted with the French Oil Company, Total, to develop its Sirri oil field.
It was the first instance of foreign investment in the vital petroleum sector since the revolution. Foreigners observe investment in Iran warily, although Iran hopes to attract billions of dollars worth of foreign investment by creating a favorable investment climate by reducing restrictions and duties on imports and creating free trade zones. Additionally, disagreements between reformers and conservatives make foreign investors wary of doing business in Iran, as does the international standoff over the country's nuclear program. In September , Iran threatened to impose investment limits on countries opposing its right to access nuclear fuel cycle technology.
Iran's first development plan — 56 foundered because of the lack of oil revenues during the nationalization dispute and also because the IBRD refused to lend the hoped-for one-third of the projected development expenditures. The second plan — 63 also ran into financial diffi culties when the domestic budget consumed a larger proportion of the oil revenues than expected.
An austerity program from , however, facilitated economic recovery. The third plan — 68 was successful, and the period witnessed rapid economic growth. This plan placed emphasis not only on the building of an infrastructure but also on projects making use of local resources.
The private sector exceeded the target planned for investment. The fourth plan — 73 was far more successful than the previous ones, with most of its objectives realized beyond expectation. The mean annual GNP growth was In its revised form, the fifth plan — 78 provided for infrastructural development and other expenditures.
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However, a lag in oil revenues led to rescheduling of the plan for six years instead of five and the postponement or slowdown of individual projects. Because of political opposition and social unrest during the last year of the shah's reign, the plan was abandoned in However, the government's cutbacks on oil production and, consequently, of the oil revenues that were to finance the plan , coupled with the diversion of resources to the war with Iraq, made it impossible to fulfill the plan's goals.
It aimed to increase productivity in key industrial and economic sectors and to promote the non-oil export sector. Other projects were aimed at revitalizing the petroleum sector and developing the natural gas sector. The five-year plan implemented from — 04 was to privatize at least six major state-owned enterprises such as communications and tobacco , and at least 2, smaller state-owned firms. The conservative parliament that took office in May ruled against key reforms planned for the — 09 economic plan. Nevertheless, Iran's five-year plans have envisaged a gradual move towards a market-oriented economy, but political and social concerns and external debt problems have hampered progress.
Upon being elected president in June , conservative populist Mahmoud Ahmadinejad pledged to fight poverty and corruption while creating new jobs in the public sector.
He proposed sharing the nation's oil wealth more broadly and reducing the country's income gap between rich and poor. Ahmadinejad also favored the promotion, where possible, of local firms over foreign enterprises. Traditionally, the family and the tribe were supplemented by Islamic waqf obligatory charity institutions for the care of the infirm and the indigent.
Social welfare programs include workers' compensation, disability benefits, maternity allowances, retirement benefits, death benefits, and family and marriage allowances. These programs cover all employed persons between the ages of 18 and 65 who reside in the country. There is a special pension system in force for public employees. Old age benefits are available at age 65 for men and age 60 for women.
In , forest plantations covered 2,, hectares 5,, acres. I collected 21 months of behavioral data on 7 two- male groups of wild siamangs Symphalangus syndactylus in southern Sumatra Indonesia to test the hypothesis that dominance relationships regulate the interactions of adult male siamangs and ultimately facilitate multi- male social groups. Materials and Methods The present study was a cross-sectional psychometric evaluation conducted on married women in Ilam, Iran, in Tamerlane conquered Persia in , and after a revolt in , killed hundreds of thousands of people and built a tower with their skulls. Male role endorsement explains negative attitudes toward lesbians and gay men among students in Mexico more than in Germany.
Seasonal workers are covered for medical services during the working season. Employed persons in urban areas are covered by workers' compensation. Family allowances are available for working families with limited means. Statistics on violence against women including spousal abuse are unavailable. Provisions in the Islamic Penal and Civil code discriminate against women, especially in property rights. The testimony of a woman in court is worth half of a man's statement.
Women receive more harsh punishments for criminal offenses. A woman can only divorce a man for limited reasons, but a man may divorce his wife without cause. Gender segregation is enforced in most public places. The Jewish, Christian, and Baha'i minorities face government discrimination in education, employment, and public accommodations. They also suffer harassment and abuse. Serious human rights abuses persist, including summary execution, disappearance, torture, rape, stoning, flogging, arbitrary arrest and detention, and harsh prison conditions.
The Iranian government continues to restrict freedoms of speech, assembly, religion, association, and the press. Beginning in the s, national campaigns against such major diseases as malaria and smallpox were undertaken. Other major health problems included high infant mortality, smallpox outbreaks, venereal disease, trachoma, typhoid fever , amoebic dysentery, malaria, tuberculosis, and the debilitating effects of smoking opium.
The creation in of a health corps, consisting of physicians and high school graduates who agreed to spend the period of their military service serving in semimobile medical units in rural areas, helped to reduce the death rate. Roving health corps teams, comprising a doctor, a dentist, a pathologist, and when possible a nurse, served the villages, offering medical services to 10, — 15, rural inhabitants annually.
As of , the death rate was estimated at 5. The infant mortality rate in was The Islamic republic has continued to provide health care programs to rural areas.
As of , there were an estimated physicians, nurses, and 19 dentists per , people in Iran. Many physicians left the country after the revolution and health conditions were reportedly deteriorating; however, by the mids, many doctors who had been in exile during the shah's reign had returned.
Total health care expenditure was estimated at 4. Average life expectancy in was estimated at Iran's estimated birth rate in was Cholera was reported in 2, individuals. Malaria cases are high. There were an estimated deaths from AIDS in Rapid urbanization and migration of refugees into the country have made housing one of the country's most acute social problems.
Although housing has always been given top priority in development plans, the gap between supply and demand for dwellings has grown increasingly wide. During the fourth plan — 73 , nearly , housing units were built, but because some , new families were added to the urban population during that period, the average density rose from 7. During the same period, the national urban housing deficit rose from , to 1. In — , the government presented programs focused on attracting private sector investment and approving legal and economic measures.